This study examined the perceptions of practitioner teacher and mentor teachers about the development of instructional self-reflection and self-regulation skills through the first round of a state-mandated mentoring for practitioner teachers during the 2020-2021 school year. The referenced Louisiana mandate requires mentoring for certain alternative certification candidates and includes time and activity specifications intended to increase instructional effectiveness. The qualitative case study was conducted in a rural school district in north Louisiana that has historically overcome the challenge of hiring certified teachers by hiring and training alternative certification candidates who have been unofficially supported by mentor teachers as they work toward certification. An analysis of observation artifacts revealed that "Standards & Objectives" and "Questioning" were the most common instructional challenges and the focus of mentoring cycles for practitioner teachers. Interviews with three practitioner teachers and three mentor teachers demonstrated: (1) participants, including trained mentors, were not familiar with the framework of Louisiana mentor training; (2) both groups were accustomed to instructional self-reflection and did not invest much effort developing the skill; (3) mentoring cycles were used to develop instructional self-regulation skills; and (4) video models were utilized more than co-teaching opportunities. Implications for practice include: (1) a policy revision to allow the use of video exemplars in addition to modeled lessons; (2) evaluation of current mentor-training programs, including certification and experience for mentor trainers and practice in developing instructional self-reflection skills; (3) continuous self-evaluation by mentor-training providers; and (4) additional district-level support for practitioner teachers and mentor teachers engaged in state-mandated mentoring partnerships. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]