Nevada Institute on Educator Preparation, Retention and Research (NIEPRR)
Co-creating mentor-mentee relationships to support the development of inservice and preservice STEM teachers
Project abstract:
Preservice teachers engage in clinical experiences under the mentorship of in-service teachers. These experiences give preservice teachers opportunities to observe and apply the theories being learned in their coursework in classroom settings with learners. Among the obstacles with these clinical experiences is that mentor teachers are sometimes lacking in their knowledge and application of theories being practiced by the preservice teachers and how to best provide mentorship supports. This convergent mixed-method study engaged four undergraduate student researchers in following the learning of preservice teachers and their mentor teachers during a semester of the course “Project-Based Learning” to explore how the course and clinical experiences support the development of the preservice teacher and how professional learning and mentoring experience support the development of the in-service mentor teacher. Findings resulting from the study indicates increases in knowledge and applications of PBI for preservice teachers and mentor teachers and increases in confidence from the in-service teachers to serve as mentors in supporting preservice teachers.
College of Education and Human Development Teaching Lab
Project abstract:
The College of Education and Human Development Teaching Lab is a space designed to engage faculty, education majors and the College of Education and Human Development stakeholders in utilizing multimodal and technology-rich practices that integrate 21st century classroom technologies to advance teaching and learning, research, and service. The design principles will not only accommodate the needs of today’s classrooms but will be adaptive for the classrooms of tomorrow by fostering a space that is multimodal and technology-rich to support multiple purposes and pedagogies.
