Teacher Mentoring

Web/Video Summary Assignment

The purpose of this web/video summary assignment is to broaden the understanding of the use of mentors in the school system. The videos and articles detail first-year teaching experiences and how to be a successful mentor.

The first article I read, Teacher Mentoring: A Critical Review (6), discusses the need for more research on mentoring programs in order for them to have greater success. The article acknowledges that first year teachers are often paired-up with a veteran teacher for growth and mentoring. However, not all veteran teachers have experience in being a supportive mentor. So although mentoring is seen as having a positive outcome, there can be negatives and more challenges to the mentee and/or mentor

The article defined a cultural broker as “a mentor teacher who has decided it is her job […and] her duty to illuminate practices to those who are outsiders.” This mentor teacher used her experience growing up near the school to unmask the school’s culture that the student teachers couldn’t see. She sees their current living environment to students’ inability to follow directions and has an inclusive approach for everyone in her classroom community. Student teachers began asking looking at students as individuals, rather than a mass group. The university supervisor summarized that the cultural broker allowed the student teachers to better understand the urban school environment and motivated some to apply to official work there (Lane, P.,

The top three qualities in the article are: challenge, listen, and respect. Challenging a mentee allows for him to grow and develop as an educator. Listening allows for the mentor to learn about the mentee and provide the right type of support. When there is mutual respect between the mentor and mentee, both feel acknowledged and that they are making a positive difference. These three characteristics are crucial for a beneficial mentoring process (Long, K.,