Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction: Second Language Teacher Education
- Section 1 The Landscapes of Second Language Teacher Education
- Chapter 1 The Scope of Second Language Teacher Education
- Chapter 2 Trends in Second Language Teacher Education
- Chapter 3 Critical Language Teacher Education
- Chapter 4 Social and Cultural Perspectives
- Section 2 Professionalism and The Language Teaching Profession
- Chapter 5 Second Language Teacher Professionalism
- Chapter 6 Certification and Professional Qualifications
- Chapter 7 Standards and Second Language Teacher Education
- Chapter 8 Assessment in Second Language Teacher Education
- Chapter 9 Teacher Preparation and Nonnative English-Speaking Educators
- Chapter 10 “Trainer Development”: Professional Development for Language Teacher Educators
- Section 3 Pedagogical Knowledge in Second Language Teacher Education
- Chapter 11 The Curriculum of Second Language Teacher Education
- Chapter 12 Knowledge About Language
- Chapter 13 SLA and Teacher Education
- Chapter 14 Acquiring Knowledge of Discourse Conventions in Teacher Education
- Section 4 Identity, Cognition, and Experience in Teacher Learning
- Chapter 15 Personal Practical Knowledge in L2 Teacher Education
- Chapter 16 Language Teacher Cognition
- Chapter 17 Teacher Identity
- Chapter 18 The Novice Teacher Experience
- Chapter 19 Teaching Expertise: Approaches, Perspectives, and Characterizations
- Section 5 Contexts for Second Language Teacher Education
- Chapter 20 Teaching and Learning in the Course Room
- Chapter 21 School-Based Experience
- Chapter 22 Language Teacher Education by Distance
- Chapter 23 Technology and Second Language Teacher Education
- Section 6 Second Language Teacher Education Through Collaboration
- Chapter 24 Collaborative Teacher Development
- Chapter 25 The Practicum
- Chapter 26 Mentoring
- Chapter 27 Language Teacher Supervision
- Section 7 Second Language Teacher Development Through Research and Practice
- Chapter 28 Second Language Classroom Research
- Chapter 29 Action Research in Second Language Teacher Education
- Chapter 30 Reflective Practice
- Author Index
- Subject Index
- Acknowledgments
Chapter 26 - Mentoring
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 February 2023
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction: Second Language Teacher Education
- Section 1 The Landscapes of Second Language Teacher Education
- Chapter 1 The Scope of Second Language Teacher Education
- Chapter 2 Trends in Second Language Teacher Education
- Chapter 3 Critical Language Teacher Education
- Chapter 4 Social and Cultural Perspectives
- Section 2 Professionalism and The Language Teaching Profession
- Chapter 5 Second Language Teacher Professionalism
- Chapter 6 Certification and Professional Qualifications
- Chapter 7 Standards and Second Language Teacher Education
- Chapter 8 Assessment in Second Language Teacher Education
- Chapter 9 Teacher Preparation and Nonnative English-Speaking Educators
- Chapter 10 “Trainer Development”: Professional Development for Language Teacher Educators
- Section 3 Pedagogical Knowledge in Second Language Teacher Education
- Chapter 11 The Curriculum of Second Language Teacher Education
- Chapter 12 Knowledge About Language
- Chapter 13 SLA and Teacher Education
- Chapter 14 Acquiring Knowledge of Discourse Conventions in Teacher Education
- Section 4 Identity, Cognition, and Experience in Teacher Learning
- Chapter 15 Personal Practical Knowledge in L2 Teacher Education
- Chapter 16 Language Teacher Cognition
- Chapter 17 Teacher Identity
- Chapter 18 The Novice Teacher Experience
- Chapter 19 Teaching Expertise: Approaches, Perspectives, and Characterizations
- Section 5 Contexts for Second Language Teacher Education
- Chapter 20 Teaching and Learning in the Course Room
- Chapter 21 School-Based Experience
- Chapter 22 Language Teacher Education by Distance
- Chapter 23 Technology and Second Language Teacher Education
- Section 6 Second Language Teacher Education Through Collaboration
- Chapter 24 Collaborative Teacher Development
- Chapter 25 The Practicum
- Chapter 26 Mentoring
- Chapter 27 Language Teacher Supervision
- Section 7 Second Language Teacher Development Through Research and Practice
- Chapter 28 Second Language Classroom Research
- Chapter 29 Action Research in Second Language Teacher Education
- Chapter 30 Reflective Practice
- Author Index
- Subject Index
- Acknowledgments
Summary
INTRODUCTION
This chapter begins by considering similarities and differences among mentors, supervisors and others who help teachers learn and develop. Drawing on the work of many in the field, conditions needed for mentoring to be effective are discussed. Finally, a view of what mentoring is, what mentors are, and what they do is presented.
SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS
TERMINOLOGICAL CONFUSIONS
One school has a teacher called a “mentor” who is responsible for students from university based initial teacher-preparation programs during their placements in the school. Another school has a teacher called a “supervisor” who has a similar job description. In two further schools, two people both have the title “mentor” and are charged with “looking after” trainees on school placement and yet engage in very different day-to-day practices in their workplaces and in relation to their mentees. One education system has “professional mentors,” “subject mentors,” and an “ITT” (Initial Teacher Training) coordinator involved with the learning of a student-teacher in a school; in another system there is a single “mentor,” or “supervisor.” There is a certain amount of terminological confusion in the field.
Many (e.g., Bailey 2006) note this terminological confusion. It seems to result in part from different historical views of the process of teacher learning and the roles of others in supporting that process. The role-title “supervisor” in teacher education, it could be argued, is a leftover from a view of teacher learning as a straightforward process of practicing to “do it right.” The role of the supervisor was to assess through observation whether it was “done right” or not, passing on his or her assessment and giving the trainee advice on what to improve and how to do better next time. However, much of what makes for good teaching is not observable, and views of teacher learning have shifted to include constructivist (e.g., Richardson 1997), socio-cultural (e.g., Lave and Wenger 1991) and cognitive skill theory (e.g., Tomlinson 1995) perspectives. In addition to developing classroom skills, student language teachers need to be helped to participate in a professional community, become willing to investigate themselves and their teaching, become better at noticing (Mason 2002) – a crucial underpinning skill for investigations as well as responsive teaching – and develop complex, insightful and “robust reasoning” (Johnson 1999).
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- Cambridge Guide to Second Language Teacher Education , pp. 259 - 268Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009
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