Patterns of Engagement and Professional Growth in an Online Mentoring and Induction Program for Beginning Science and Math Teachers

Authors: Irene Grimberg, Elisabeth Swanson, Larry Bice, DeAnna McAleer, Peggy Taylor, Anthony Villar

Contents

    Project & Authors

1. Context of the Work

2. Claims Examined

3. Design, Data & Analysis

4. Results

5. Conclusions

2. Claims Examined

1. Mentor and mentee teachers engage in the online dialogues in different ways with mentees more likely to participate behind the scenes, mainly reading; and mentors more likely to engage more visibly, reading and posting. 


2. Active reflection, sometimes leading to changes in classroom practice, may occur with either mode of participation, i.e. mainly reading or reading and posting.


3.  Mentor and mentee teachers select different discussion topics (e.g. content-focused, pedagogy- or school culture-focused) and types (e.g. structured or open).


4. Teachers' patterns of engagement in online dialogue change sequentially.


5. Improvement in the level of engagement in online dialogue, and the "quality" of the dialogue with respect to learning goals, can be influenced through program interventions.


6. Faculty patterns of engagement are affected by their interaction with teacher participants.