Co-operating Teachers, School Placement and the Implications for Quality

Mentor teacher impact on student teacher development

“…Much of the mentoring comes through the mentors' actions, verbal cues and in some instances written feedback. According to Roofe and Cook (2017), research shows that student teachers benefit from mentor teachers who demonstrate effective classroom management and planning skills, knowledge of content, and show compassion towards students. These dispositions reflect the reality of being a teacher and provides an insider view for the pre-service teacher of how teachers deal with classroom management, address parent concerns, navigate school politics, and meet the needs of a range of student abilities within their classrooms.…”

“…This lack of consistent and relevant training can leave both mentors and student teachers on their own to figure out the clinical experience. Roofe and Cook (2017), found that student teachers benefit from mentor teachers who are strong classroom managers, effective lesson planners, know their content area, and can be compassionate educators. If these qualities are not communicated as important through professional development and consistent communication, mentors will not understand the expectations and it will be more difficult for student teachers to acquire the skills and qualities to ultimately become effective teachers.…”

“…Mentors serve as both models of the teaching practice as well as provide emotional support during the clinical experience (Roofe & Cook, 2017;Bird & Hudson, 2015). The importance of these dual roles was uncovered during the action steps of cycle 2.…”