Reflective Mentoring Research Articles

From Cancer Microenvironment to Myofibroblasts

One of the important mechanisms in cancer cell metastasis is the cellular function of a specific cell type called myofibroblast cells. Myofibroblast cells are unique cell types that play an important role in the cancer cell microenvironment. As a step toward integrating the latest peer-reviewed cancer research findings into a general biology remote learning setting, we developed an innovative guest speaker talk to engage first-year undergraduates to develop a prediction on tumor microenvironment. In our article, we describe integrated remote approaches using Jamboard and reflective mentoring to validate and reflect on undergraduate team responses within an inclusive and equitable framework. These teaching and mentoring strategies provide a framework for senior undergraduates to be transformative role model scholars that inspire the next generation of Latinx and Native American undergraduates in important topics related to health and environment and the process of science for general biology undergraduates.

Critically reflective mentoring within team-based leadership: ‘having conversations that matter’

ABSTRACT Team-based leadership is increasingly recognized as valid for raising workplace quality. Developing effective teams of leaders, though, is barely understood, scantly researched and not simple or straightforward. Mentoring has been recognized as valuable within teams and with the support of critical reflection can assist in augmenting team-based leadership. This paper presents findings from an action research project in an early childhood center that was nested within a larger practitioner research project. Using action research, practitioner researchers investigated the conceptual interrelationships between team-based leadership, team-based mentoring, and critical reflection. Sociocultural theory underpinned the interactive and collaborative project. A framework for mentoring and critical reflection was developed and implemented to support critical mentoring for team-based leadership. Findings indicated that complex and abstract concepts can be combined to strengthen team-based leadership through mentoring and critical reflection. We argue this was made possible through action research. Our purpose in disseminating this research is to give glimpses into complex and iterative action research processes; to show that clarifying and integrating key concepts enabled the full potential and impact of the work to be realized; and to contribute to the knowledge by showing that action research is a powerful approach for addressing quality issues.

ノルウェーの教師教育における反省的メンタリング ―「行為と省察モデル」が直面する問題―

ノルウェーの教師教育における反省的メンタリング ―「行為と省察モデル」が直面する問題―

The use of audio diaries to support reflective mentoring practice in Hungarian teacher training

PurposeThe aim of this study is to explore how mentors' and mentees' self-concepts and related reflective practices in mentored teacher training are supported by using audio diaries within the framework of Dialogical Self Theory (Hermans, 2001), and how it could be used in the wider context of teacher training.Design/methodology/approachThis study explores a specific qualitative methodology, the use of audio diary in self-reflective activities, in the context of teacher training in Hungary. When analysing the data, we used the thematic analysis approach to employ a relatively high level of interpretation.FindingsMulti-level meta-position reflections have emerged from the data that were comparable at a given point in time. We found five different I-positions (Hermans, 2001) that suggest that mentors and mentees perceived of these as shared themes of the emerging incidents in mentoring. However, those aspects of the mentoring process on which mentors and mentees reflected only vaguely or have not reflected mutually in their audio diaries involved a certain level of mis-positioning and further tension.Practical implicationsAudio diaries are beneficial for personal and professional development. The tools and the methodology around them could be leveraged to broaden mentor–mentee dyads, which may lead to including university-based teacher educators and researchers from the field.Originality/valueThe value of this study arises from the process of recording audio diary logs as a direct representation of thoughts during the mentorship process.

Mentor Perspectives on Mentoring New School Leaders

The purpose of this study was to understand the perspectives of recently retired principals who were mentors to new school leaders in a high-need urban school district. Mentors reflected on the mentoring needs and challenges faced by new school leaders while also reflecting on their own careers as school principals. This study was informed by the literature on mentoring as well as the reflective practice literature. We used focus groups as the primary method of collecting data. Data analysis followed the process of open coding and independently identifying relevant data followed by constant comparison to narrow down the list of codes. The findings point to the need for mentoring new school leaders and to focus on promoting confidence and a growth mind-set in principals. Additionally, the findings point to reflective mentoring as a possible mentor model to benefit and support mentor self-learning as well as supporting principals.

Training Teachers’ Perspectives of the Effectiveness of the “Academy-Class” Training Model on Trainees’ Professional Development

This study attempts to examine the effect of the new “Academy-Class” teacher training model on trainees’ professional development according to the training teachers’ perspectives. The participants were 60 training teachers who trained student teachers from the Arab sector from different departments (English, mathematics, science, and Arabic) who were in their third year of studies in the College of Sakhnin for Teacher Education in northern Israel. The training teachers who were chosen to participate in the “Academy-Class” program were from different teaching training schools. The research question was: What is the effect of the new “Academy-Class” model on the trainees’ professional development from the training teachers’ perspectives? In order to answer the research question, the researchers developed research tools involving a questionnaire and interviews to achieve the study purpose. A group of teacher education experts from the College validated these tools. The researchers also measured reliability of the tools after testing them on a pilot group. The participants filled out the questionnaire and were interviewed before and after participating in the program. The study findings show an improvement in the attitudes of training teachers from the beginning of the program to its end in all aspects: reflective mentoring; approaches in teaching and learning; and the integration of preservice teachers into the education system and co-teaching.

Teacher mentoring and the reflective practitioner approach

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to focus on reflective mentoring practices. Teacher mentors are widely known to be an important catalyst for reflection. Through dialogue and professional conversations, teacher mentors can help their mentees to improve their teaching performance by facilitating their discussion of the praxis from different perspectives.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative mixed methods study is based on three separate studies from the Republic of Ireland, Malta and Norway involving: mentors of undergraduate student-teachers (U-M, n: 37); mentors of newly qualified teachers (NQT-M, n: 4); student-teachers (ST, n: 16); NQT, n: 8; and university tutors (UT, n: 8). In each study, mentors were provided with varying degrees of education on facilitating critical reflection for mentees. This study sought to draw out what reflective practices were being employed in mentoring across European contexts and what perceived impact they had. A cross-case analysis of data across the three countries was conducted using coding and constant comparison. Triangulation of data was employed across not only cases, but also across multiple methods data sets and across participant types.FindingsAll three studies reveal that mentoring approaches aiming to promote critical reflection have to be based on a developmental approach towards mentoring. They also have to challenge traditional hierarchical relationships and involve a commitment to collaborative, inquiry-oriented approaches towards mentoring.Research limitations/implicationsBy bringing different studies of reflection in mentoring practices together, it is possible to gain new knowledge on mentoring in teacher education. However, being a cross-country, cross-context and cross-cultural approach in itself contains certain restrictions.Originality/valueThe authors of this paper propose that professional forms of inquiry depend on the type of relationship and collaboration forged between the teacher mentor and mentee. A cross-case analysis approach provided evidence of reflective practice, which is common across three European countries and offers a snapshot of trends.

Online Dissertation Chairs’ Perceptions on the Role of Reflective Mentoring Practices and Changing Student Cross-Cultural and Generational Worldviews

Online doctoral students from different cross-cultural generations may disconnect when dissertation chairs fail to understand how students’ worldviews impact doctoral students during the dissertati...

교육실습에서 중등 예비과학교사들의 수업계획과 실제수업의 불일치 분석

본 연구의 목적은 예비과학교사들의 수업설계와 실제수업의 불일치내용을 분석하고 그 발생 원인을 고찰하는 것이다. 이를 위해서 2015년 4월부터 5월까지 실시된 교육실습에 예비과학교사 20명이 참여하였고, 예비과학교사들이 작성한 수업지도안과 수업을 분석하여 불일치한 내용을 추출하고, 면담을 실시하였다. 주요 연구 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 도입 단계에서는 '주의집중 및 동기유발' 영역에서 가장 많은 불일치 사례가 발견되었으며, 예비과학교사들은 동기유발 요소를 다른 형태로 수정한 경우가 많았다. 둘째, 전개 단계에서는 가장 많은 불일치 사례가 발견되었는데, 특히 '학습내용제시' 활동에서 학습내용을 추가적으로 제시하여 수업을 하는 경우가 많았다. 셋째, 마무리단계에서는 시간의 부족으로 '학습내용요약' 활동이 누락된 사례가 많았다. 넷째, 예비과학교사들의 수업계획과 실제수업의 불일치 발생원인은 내부요인과 외부요인이 비슷하였으며, 외부요인으로는 지도교사의 피드백과 학생반응에 의한 변화가 가장 많이 발생하였다. 추가적으로 예비과학교사의 수업전문성 신장과 관련하여 반성적 멘토링 프로그램, 지도교사의 중요성, 시간 관리의 중요성 등과 관련된 시사점을 논의하였다. The purpose of this study is to analyze the mismatch between instructional design and teaching practice of pre-service science teachers and to investigate the cause of these mismatches. Twenty pre-service science teachers took part in teaching practicum for four weeks from Apr. 2015 to May 2015 and we analyzed their lesson plans and videos of these lessons. After that, we interviewed the pre-service science teachers in order to know the cause of these mismatches and additional informations. The main findings are as follows. First, in the introductory stage, we found more mismatch in the "attention and motivation stimulation" area than any other area. Many pre-service science teachers corrected their 'motivation practice' in different forms. Second, we found out that the most mismatch occurred in the evolving stage. Many pre-service science teachers added learning contents in "learning content presentation" area. Third, in the closing stage, many pre-service science teachers omitted the "leaning content summary" area in the lack of time. Fourth, the number of mismatches by internal factors is similar of by external factors. The mismatches by external factors were mainly by feedback of guidance teacher and change by students' response. In addition, we discussed the implications related to reflective mentoring program, importance of guidance teacher, importance of time management etc.

Exploring The Collegial Relationship Between Mentors And Their Mentees

Devolution of power to get things done with other people depends on the collegial relationships that are fostered in the organisation as its source of energy. Even the success of a mentoring programme to develop the human resource development needs of an organization, such as schools, hinges on the collegial relationship between the mentors and their mentees. Dialogue is an essential component of this reflective mentoring learning process. Dialogue empowers mentees, such as student teachers, to build their teaching skills with the invaluable input of their mentor teachers in schools. Participation in collegial teams can expand such novice teachers levels of expertise by providing a source of intellectual provocation and innovative ideas. The quantitative research method was used for the purpose of this study. The research design compared the perceptions of student teachers about the Postgraduate Cetificate in Education (PGCE) with those of their school mentors regarding the classroom practice and the performance of the students in terms of the latters WIL skills. The findings in this study indicate strongly that there is a significant correlation between the teachers perceptions of the PGCE and those of their student teachers. This study confirms that effective communication in mentoring strengthens the collegial relationship which, in turn, contributes to an enhanced performance and the professional development of the mentees. Additional research needs to be conducted to determine the type of emotional support training that mentors receive and the impact that training has had on the mentor and the mentoring relationship.

An impact study of the national Hungarian mentoring project in English language training

Two surveys of mentors and mentoring coordinators in Hungarian educational sectors gathered data for the British Council sponsored Hungarian Mentor Project. The results of the research show that mentoring has affected teaching practice throughout the whole country. Project benefits include raising participants' awareness of mentoring, increasing their professional confidence and changing their attitude to working with trainees. Despite the achievements and the general satisfaction with a new model of mentoring questionnaire, respondents raised key concerns and highlighted issues which should be solved at different levels of Hungarian education/teacher training. Although mentors' attitudes towards the new model is mainly positive, ongoing training is necessary to disseminate the theories of reflective mentoring in the education system and strengthen the theoretical side of mentors' training. Participants of the project had a strong concern with the financial, institutional and organisational problems inherent in the present system of education, which, indeed, make it difficult for the proposed model to take firm roots in Hungary. Official recognition of mentor training and mentor trainer training are of key importance to ensure sustainability.