Scheduled for Pedagogy II Free Communications, Saturday, April 3, 2004, 8:45 AM - 10:00 AM, Convention Center: 209


(Re)searching Mentoring in Teacher Education: The HOPE Mentoring Experience

Nick Forsberg, University of Regina, Regina, SK, Canada and David Chorney, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

The HOPE Mentoring Experience, which is currently entering its 9th year, provides personal and professional development for pre-service teachers in this four-year developmental Teacher Education program. The framework for the Mentoring Experience is built upon a foundation of Personal and Social Responsibility (Hellison, 2001) and nurtures a pedagogical relationship between 3rd and 4th year Physical Education majors. Employing the skills and processes associated with Mentoring provides an opportunity for undergraduate students and faculty from a major Canadian University to engage in reflective practice and not only share their "learning" about 'teaching' but more importantly, what it means to 'teach'. Significance: This (re)search is critically important given the focus on reflection in teacher education and the need to develop reflective practitioners. More importantly, this work emphasizes the concept of reflection in action. Design: The (re)search design utilizes a Case Study framework and focuses on the "curriculum-as-plan" (theoretical framework) and the "curriculum-as-lived" (student/faculty voice) of the HOPE Mentoring Experience. Data collection includes; summary questionnaires, video, and document analysis. The analysis of data (ongoing) has evolved throughout the work of the Project and includes categorization with emergent themes being identified. Results: To date, "learning" has contributed to the natural evolution of the Project with student/faculty feedback providing the impetus for continual renewal of the Project. Themes including personal/professional development, teacher identity formation, technical expertise, classroom management, planning and evaluation are some of the themes that have emerged. It is the intent of the presenters to share an overview of the HOPE Mentoring Experience followed by some of the themes. This will be followed by a brief interactive discussion surrounding the place and role of mentoring in preservice teacher education and inservice teacher education.


Keyword(s): college level issues, curriculum development, professional preparation

Back to the 2004 AAHPERD National Convention and Exposition