The Article

In this article, Sharon Feiman-Nemser, professor in the Department of Teacher Education, describes how one exemplary experienced teacher defines and enacts his role with beginning teachers.

Discussion

Feiman-Nemser points that we know relatively little about what thoughtful mentor teachers do, how they think about their work, and what novices learn from their interactions with them. On the basis of 10 hours of interview data and 20 hours of observational data, Feiman-Nemser illustrates in the article specific principles and strategies that shape teacher Pete Frazer’s mentoring practice. Frazer, a 30-year veteran of teaching, was released from classroom teaching for two years to work full-time as a support teacher in an induction/internship program jointly sponsored by a university and a local school district. Assigned to help 14 beginning elementary teachers, he spent most of his time visiting their classrooms and talking with them about their teaching. She first deals with Frazer’s thoughts about teaching and learning to teach and his ideas about the role of support teachers. She notes that Frazer identified two elements in what it means to be a support teacher: (a) helping novices find ways to express who they are in their work, and (b) helping novices develop a practice that is responsive to the community and reflects what we know about children and learning. By incorporating the two elements, Frazer tried to avoid the two dangers in working with novices: imposing his own style and giving the impression that in teaching anything goes. He described himself as “cothinker” with the teachers in helping “them to see new perspectives, new ways to solve the problems they have.” By adopting that perspective, Frazer balanced his desire to share what he knows about good teaching with his concern with helping novices figure out what works for them. Feiman-Nemser then describes some of the ways Frazer enacts his role as a mentor teacher. For instance, Frazer sometimes issued beginning teachers an invitation to share what was on their minds by asking open-ended questions. Often, he asked probing questions to learn what novices meant by the things they said and to help them clarify their ideas. He also offered specific feedback about individual accomplishments rather than general praise for doing a good job. In addition, Frazer kept his eye on students and their learning. He also used “demonstration teaching” in which novice teachers would watch him teach a lesson. In doing so, he would stop during the lesson and explain to a teacher what he was doing and why. By using the demonstrations, he hoped to given teachers “a living example of one person’s ways of teaching.” Feiman-Nemser concludes that the profile of Frazer “provides a vision of the possible in mentoring rather than a view of the probable. It shows how educative mentoring promotes beginning teacher development by cultivating a disposition of inquiry, focusing attention on student thinking and understanding, and fostering disciplined talk about problems of practice.”

What It Means To You

Using mentor teachers to help novices is a growing movement. Currently, 28 states now require districts to offer induction programs. But we know relatively little about what thoughtful mentor teachers do, how they think about their work, and what novices learn from their interactions. How do mentor teachers in your district work with novices? What principles and strategies shape their mentoring practice?

For More Information

Feiman-Nemser, S. (2001). Helping novice learners to teach: Lessons from an exemplary support teacher. Journal of Teacher Education, 52(1), 17-30.

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