Abstract:
Mentor teachers working with Drake University student teachers during
the Fall 1998 and Spring 1999 semesters were surveyed regarding beliefs about
their mentoring role in working with student teachers. Survey data, collected
from forced-choice and open-ended items, included mentor teachers' valuing of
forms of training and support provided by Drake University, preferences for
mentoring behaviors, challenges in working with student teachers, and utilization
of resources for their mentoring role. Spring 1999 mentor teachers were invited
to participate in a listserv discussion focusing on principles of Cognitive
Coaching. The impact of the listserv discussion forum on the beliefs and
mentoring practices of subscribing mentor teachers is also reported. Descriptive
statistics were employed to analyze survey results. Recommendations for
mentor teacher training and support based on survey findings are provided.
