Mentoring Student Teachers to Support Self‐Regulated Learning

• Published in: The Elementary school journal 2006-01, Vol.106 (3), p.237-254
• Main Authors: Perry, Nancy E., Phillips, Lynda, Hutchinson, Lynda
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Beginning Teachers; Canada; Classroom activities; Classroom observations; Dyadic relations; Educational Opportunities; Elementary School Students; Foreign Countries; Independent Study; Learning; Learning Processes; Mentoring programs; Mentors; Observation; Observational research; Practicums; Researchers; Student Teachers; Teacher Education Programs; Teacher Effectiveness; Teachers; Teaching Methods
• ISSN: 0013-5984; 1554-8279
• DOI: 10.1086/501485

We use the term “self‐regulated learning” (SRL) to describe independent, highly effective approaches to learning that are associated with success in and beyond school. Research has indicated that fostering SRL in elementary school children requires a level of instructional sophistication and student awareness that may be beyond the capabilities of beginning teachers. This article presents findings from the first 2 years in a 4‐year investigation of whether and how highly effective, high‐SRL teachers in a large, diverse, suburban Canadian school district can mentor student teachers to design tasks and develop practices that promote elementary school students’ SRL. Across Years 1 and 2, 37 student teachers were paired with 37 mentor teachers in grades K–5 in a cohort that emphasized SRL theory and practice. In general, student teachers remained with the same mentors throughout their yearlong teacher education program and were supported by faculty associates (teachers seconded by the university to supervise student teachers’ practice) and researchers who also had expertise in promoting SRL. Researchers observed mentor and student teachers teaching, videotaped professional seminars, and collected samples of student teachers’ reflections on teaching, lesson plans, and unit plans. The observational data, which are the focus of this article, indicated that many student teachers were capable of designing tasks and implementing practices associated with the promotion of SRL. In general, student teachers’ tasks and practices resembled those of their mentors, and the complexity of the tasks that mentors and student teachers designed was strongly predictive of opportunities for students to develop and engage in SRL.