Borders to cross: Identifying sources of tension in mentor–intern relationships

We used border crossing as a theoretical framework to explore the tensions that developed between two mentor–intern pairs during the course of a yearlong internship in high schools in the United States. Interviews with mentors and interns, and observations of planning sessions, teaching episodes, and follow-up conferences indicated that differing conceptions of mentoring, expectations related to communication, and beliefs about teaching formed the primary borders that the pairs had to navigate. Findings from the study suggest that the university must take a greater role in fostering communication between mentors and interns, and in providing on-going support to mentors engaged in teacher education.     

Relationship between teacher intentions and their classroom use of Superscience

Using the conceptual model of reasoned action, one would expect that what teachers do with instructional materials would be influenced by their internal beliefs and their external constraints. In this two-year study with elementary teachers, using a supplemental science instructional resource,Superscience, it was found that teachers' internal beliefs about what will benefit their students are linked to the external constraints of their students' interests and the expected curriculum. Even if the teachers believed that the content of the resource would be helpful, they were not likely to use it if they believed it did not fit the expected curriculum.     

Conceptions of Science Teacher Mentoring and Mentoring Practice in an Alternative Certification Program

Conceptions of mentoring held by six mentors and six beginning science teachers in an alternative certification program were explored qualitatively by means of case studies and phenomenography. Interviews with the six mentors and six beginning teachers produced 379 statements that were grouped into six conceptual categories. The categories of apprenticeship, personal support, and colearning revealed the variation in how mentors and beginning teachers conceptualized school-based mentoring. The conceptions functioned as referents for their mentoring practice. Mentoring as apprenticeship was the dominant conception among both the beginning teachers and mentors. The findings of this study imply that conceptions of mentoring held by mentors and beginning science teachers should be considered when organizing the school-based component of alternative certification programs.