Elise Zander
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Research Mentor(s): Matthew Ronfeldt, Associate Professor
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Educational Studies, School of Education
Presentation Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021
Session: Session 4 (2pm-2:50pm)
Breakout Room: Room 4
Presenter: 1
Abstract
Educator preparation programs train aspiring primary and secondary school teachers by pairing them with advising instructors to receive mentorship through observation, co-teaching, and independent student instruction. Until recently, little attention was given to the impact of effective mentorship from advising instructors. This study examines the impact of instructionally effective mentorship on aspiring teachers by categorizing over 4000 entries of written feedback, provided by the Tennessee Department of Education, that mentor teachers have given to training teachers. These feedback entries are coded into any applicable number of the 16 different categories of instructional improvement, including areas of both instructional content and quality of instruction. The area of study specific to the UROP project focuses on the role of feedback in student assessment. Results are expected to demonstrate that student teachers receiving feedback about their skills in student assessment feel more confident in assessing student learning following their completion of the educator preparation program. This study is part of a growing body of research on student teacher preparation reform. By determining specific areas of instructional feedback to be effective or ineffective, this research will contribute potential policy changes in educator preparation programs.
Authors: Elise Zander, Emanuele Bardelli, Matthew Truwit, Matthew Ronfeldt
Research Method: Survey Research
