Mentoring with research-based tools—A holistic approach

Abstract

ABSTRACT Mentoring aimed at professional development of preservice teachers (PTs) in teacher education is a complex practice. The use of tools has potential to enhance mentoring practices; however, research on using tools in mentoring is often focused on applying a single tool. This qualitative study analyses two dyads of mentor and PT’s structured and holistic mentoring with tools. The tools were developed to elicit PTs’ diverse needs in practicum; the three tool-packages build on a a) simulator-based tool, b) response-based tool, and c) video-based tool. Further, the theory of practice architecture (TPA) provided a frame to understand mentoring practices with the holistic use of tools as interplay among cultural – discursive, material – economic, and social – political arrangements. The findings indicate that tools prefigure participants’ talk as well as how they act and relate to each other and the tools. This paper presents new insight on how tools can enhance quality in mentoring.