STORIES OF ENGLISH TEACHER MENTOR RETENTION By Julie Bell A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education—Doctor of Philosophy 2017 ABSTRACT STORIES OF ENGLISH TEACHER MENTOR RETENTION By Julie Bell There is ever-growing concern in the education community over increasing teacher attrition rates. Many have argued mentoring is one answer to that concern, at both the pre-service teacher and induction levels. However, researchers have given little attention to a key component of mentoring: retaining the mentors themselves. Compensation may be a key factor in mentor retention; unfortunately, similar to teacher compensation, mentor compensation (e.g., monetary pay, professional development, university tuition waivers) has decreased, even as the duties of being a mentor have increased. Due to the crucial role mentors play in teacher retention, mentor turnover may be as detrimental to pre-service and beginning teachers as teacher turnover is to PK-12 students, indicating the importance of increasing research on mentor retention. In this dissertation, I explore experiences of pre-service teacher mentor retention from the perspective of two high school English mentor teachers and their student-teaching interns. Using narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000) as both methodology and form, I tell the story of these mentors’ early experiences with mentoring, experiences with mentoring interns at the time of the study, and potential future experiences with mentoring. Based on interviews with the mentors and their current interns, professional development with the mentors, and observing the mentors and interns working together, I determined these mentors’ personal expectations for mentoring. Some of these expectations include a desire to: learn from mentoring, feel less isolated in teaching, and mentor their interns through professional crises, among others. I also relate the mentors’ reasons for continuing to mentor and the ways they have felt supported in their own words. Ultimately, I argue that mentors enter the mentoring relationship with expectations, and if their expectations are not met over time, they will not continue mentoring. Copyright by JULIE BELL 2017 In memory of Patricia (Johnson) Maxey—my mom, my first teacher, and mentor to so many. and For Shawn Bell—my sounding board and my love, now and forever. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I want to thank the mentors and interns who participated in this dissertation study. You were incredibly gracious to share not only your time, but also your stories with me. I learned so much from you, and I hope others will, as well. I would also like to thank the other teachers who have touched my life in countless ways over the years—as educators, mentors, colleagues, friends, and family members. You have inspired me to be a better student, teacher, mentor, and teacher educator. I am so grateful for my dissertation committee: Dr. Randi Stanulis (chair), Dr. Janine Certo, Dr. Kyle Greenwalt, and Dr. Jennifer VanDerHeide. Randi, thank you for being my advisor in many senses of the word. Thanks also for being genuinely excited about my work and inducting me into the field of mentoring in education. Kyle, thank you for introducing me to phenomenology and narrative inquiry, and helping me believe they are legitimate and important ways of doing research. Janine, it has been a pleasure to learn from you since the very beginning of my program. I always leave your office feeling better than when I entered it. Jen, thank you for recognizing me as an English educator and contributing much to my growth as a scholar at the end of my program. All of you have been phenomenal mentors and role models for what it means to be a thoughtful, authentic academic. I must also recognize two English educators who were instrumental to my initial understandings of the field: Dr. Samantha Caughlan and Dr. Mary Juzwik. Thank you for your feedback and guidance early in my program. My fellow doctoral students at MSU have been wonderful colleagues and friends. The 2012-2013 CITE cohort made the transition from classroom teacher to full-time graduate student more bearable, and I would be remiss if I did not specifically acknowledge my writing group, vi Marliese Peltier and Bernadette Castillo. Thank you for providing me feedback to help me improve my writing and for your unconditional support since our very first year. I also wish to thank a few of my colleagues who graduated before me: Dr. Christine Dawson, Dr. Kati Macaluso, and Dr. Michael Macaluso. Christine and Kati, reading your dissertations helped me find a path when I thought I was losing my way. Your writing is truly inspiring. Mike, thank you for your mentorship in the first couple of years of my program; it was an honor to follow in your footsteps in teaching, field instructing, and committee work. Completing this degree would not have been possible without the support of my family. My grandma, Dorita Johnson, was nearly as excited about my acceptance to MSU as I was and never fails to let me know how proud she is of me. My parents, Jeff and Pat Maxey, instilled the importance of education in me at a very early age and taught me to always finish what I start. My sister, Alicia Garrelts, has been there for me with phone calls (and has been understanding when I have not been able to have our weekly chat). My in-laws, Steve and Sandy Bell, have been supportive of all my endeavors for a very long time, and pursuing a Ph.D. was no exception. Finally, my husband, Shawn Bell, has been a better partner than I ever could have imagined and has helped me keep everything in perspective by reminding me more than once, “The sky is not falling.” Thank you, all, for your love and support. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES xi LIST OF FIGURES xii CHAPTER 1 UNCOVERING STORIES OF MENTOR RETENTION Setting the Stage Mentor Teacher or MT Intern Field Instructor Lead Teaching Situating the Study: Review of the Literature and Theoretical Perspectives Mentoring Pre-Service Teacher Mentoring Selection, Preparation, and Support of Pre-Service Teacher Mentors Educative mentoring Professional development Lack of Support for Pre-Service Teacher Mentors Mentor Retention Teacher Retention Chapter Overview 1 1 3 4 4 4 4 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 12 14 18 CHAPTER 2 NARRATIVE INQUIRY AS THEORY AND METHOD Arriving at Narrative Inquiry Theoretical Underpinnings of Narrative Inquiry Metaphors and Narrative Inquiry Researcher’s Role and Potential Ethical Issues Methods Recruitment of Participants Data Collected Survey Professional development Interviews Observations Data Analysis 20 20 20 22 24 25 26 27 29 29 29 31 35 36 CHAPTER 3 BECOMING A MENTOR: EARLY EXPERIENCES WITH MENTORING Allen Biancardi, Harrison High School Mentors’ First Interns are “Guinea Pigs” Metaphor for Mentoring 40 40 40 42 44 viii Dawn Pike, Lincoln High School Mentoring “Holds You More Accountable” Metaphor for Mentoring Expectations for Mentoring Desire to Learn from Mentoring Desire to Feel Less Isolated in Teaching Desire to Advance Professionally Desire to Make an Impact beyond their Secondary Classrooms Desire to Remain Connected to the University Desire to Help Interns through Professional Crises Desire to Experience a Spontaneous Emotional Response 45 47 49 50 51 53 54 56 56 57 58 CHAPTER 4 BEING A MENTOR: CURRENT EXPERIENCES WITH MENTORING Andrea Williams, Harrison High School An Optimistic Beginning “The Worst Day of My Internship” “I Wanted His Approval” Andrea’s Metaphor for Allen’s Mentoring Jason Shepard, Lincoln High School “It Felt Like Colleagues Collaborating” “Don’t Use 1st Hour Prep as a Crutch” Jason’s Metaphor for Dawn’s Mentoring Grieving Process and Crisis Expectations Realized through Mentoring Expectations Not Realized through Mentoring 61 61 61 62 64 65 69 70 70 72 74 75 78 80 CHAPTER 5 STAYING A MENTOR: FUTURE EXPERIENCES WITH MENTORING Allen: Being Exposed to New Ideas and Part of a Community Dawn: Collegiality, Reduced Isolation, Benefiting Students What Mentors Need to Continue Mentoring Ways Allen has been Supported as a Mentor Ways Dawn has been Supported as a Mentor Reading between the Lines: Continued Support for Mentor Retention Desire to Learn from Mentoring Desire to Feel Less Isolated in Teaching and Remain Connected to the University Desire to Advance Professionally Desire to Help Interns through Professional Crises Additional Expectations 85 85 85 88 92 92 94 96 96 97 99 99 100 CHAPTER 6 DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS Reflecting on Expectations for Mentoring: Discussion and Implications Both Mentors’ Expectations Allen’s Expectations 102 102 104 104 105 ix Dawn’s Expectations Other Mentors’ Expectations Reflecting on Metaphors for Mentoring: Discussion and Implications Viewing Mentor Retention through the Lens of Teacher Retention Implications for Teacher Preparation Programs, Mentors, and Future Study Final Thoughts 106 108 109 111 115 118 APPENDICES APPENDIX A: Survey Questions for Mentoring Study APPENDIX B: English Mentor PD Agenda 120 121 123 REFERENCES 125 x LIST OF TABLES Table 1. English Mentor PD Sessions and Topics 31 Table 2. Mentor Interview Questions 34 Table 3. Intern Interview Questions 35 Table 4. Data Collected 36 xi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Visual Representation of Clandinin and Connelly’s (2000) Three-Dimensional Narrative Inquiry Space 38 xii CHAPTER 1 UNCOVERING STORIES OF MENTOR RETENTION Reflecting on the mentors I was assigned at pre-service, student teaching, and induction levels, I realize all but one of them had one thing in common: They had been teaching for ten or more years by the time they mentored me. Most of them, especially those at the pre-service level, mentored many teacher candidates and teachers before me, and I imagine they continued to mentor many after me. I wonder—did anyone ever ask them why? Why they became mentors, and why they continued to mentor? To my knowledge, most of them were minimally financially compensated, if at all; and they were minimally supported with professional development from the university or the district. While some mentors may use their mentees as an extra set of hands, or leave their mentees to “sink or swim” (i.e., fail or succeed) on their own (Butler & Cuenca, 2012), I never felt that way. I remember engaging with small groups of students, teaching whole-class minilessons, and getting feedback from my mentors prior to student teaching. The district where I student taught was small and rural. The high school was on block scheduling, meaning there were five, 75-minute class periods each day. During my semester-long student teaching, my mentor Sharon1 continued to teach the senior honors English course, while I took over teaching a junior remedial English course and two sophomore English courses. Sharon had already been teaching for at least 20 years, so she had a wealth of ideas, but she was also open to the curriculum evolving. The latter was evidenced by the texts she planned for me to teach: the young adult novel Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli alongside Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and the 1 All names of people and places, except the university-based teacher educators, are pseudonyms. 1 young adult novel Holes by Louis Sachar alongside The Diary of Anne Frank (the play), among others. Two particular experiences stand out in my memory to suggest that Sharon may have been interested in learning from me. She had an office connected to the classroom, and after school one day, she saw me grading essays while periodically typing things into the computer. “What are you doing?” Sharon asked. “Checking for plagiarism,” I replied. (This was before the days of online programs that easily run comparisons for teachers now.) “Could you show me how to do that?” “Sure!” I excitedly responded. While this seems like a relatively mundane request, momentarily feeling like the expert while Sharon positioned herself as a learner gave me the impression I contributed something to the partnership. I wrote about a similar experience teaching a grammar lesson in my weekly reflective journal entry for my student-teaching seminar class at the college: I also did a grammar lesson about run-on sentences that went surprisingly well. I “stole” the lesson from a colleague in my Humanities pedagogy class: each student was given a word, phrase, or punctuation mark from a long sentence in Holes. I put numbers on the back of each piece of the sentence, and then I called out numbers to have the students make correctly punctuated sentences….It was also a bit of a confidence booster for me, because I could tell that Sharon, my CT [cooperating teacher], was impressed with the lesson. She asked me questions about it after class; it seems like something she might try in the future. (J. Maxey, personal communication, September 21, 2003) 2 Sharon may or may not have subsequently taught a lesson like this. However, her response suggested to me then, and continues to suggest, that she was open to learning from me. Furthermore, learning from her mentee(s) may have been part of the reason Sharon had previously mentored and continued to mentor student teachers. These and other similar recollections, along with reading and conducting research in the field of mentoring in education and teacher education, led me to begin thinking about mentors’ expectations and mentor retention. In the chapters that follow, I explore the following question: What experiences influence English teachers to continue mentoring pre-service teachers? I pursued this question through a narrative inquiry with two high school English mentor teachers and their student-teaching interns as participants. Ultimately, I argue that mentors enter the mentoring relationship with expectations, and if their expectations are not met over time, they will not continue mentoring. Pre-service teacher mentor attrition is potentially detrimental to preservice teachers, districts and universities, and the mentors themselves in ways that are similar to the harm teacher attrition may cause students, districts, and teachers themselves. Conversely, pre-service mentor teacher retention is potentially beneficial for the aforementioned stakeholders in ways that are similar to the benefits of teacher retention. Consequently, my goal is to suggest some experiences mentors may seek, and experiences districts and teacher preparation programs may provide, in order to retain pre-service teacher mentors. Setting the Stage Since all university-based teacher preparation programs use slightly different terminology for similar terms, following are a few brief definitions of the jargon key to this study. 3 Mentor Teacher or MT This person is sometimes also referred to as a cooperating teacher, or CT. The mentors in this study were full-time, high school English teachers who engaged in both observing and evaluating interns. Intern This person is sometimes also referred to as a student teacher or teacher candidate. The interns in this study had completed their bachelor’s degrees (four years) and were engaged in year-long internships (a fifth year), or student-teaching experiences. Field Instructor This person is sometimes also referred to as an instructional coach or clinical instructor. Based at the university, field instructors are responsible for observing and evaluating interns, as well as representing the voice of the university in the triad including the mentor and intern. Lead Teaching This is a ten-week time period during second semester of interns’ year-long internships during which they are responsible for taking the lead for planning, teaching the majority of their mentors’ classes, and grading. Situating the Study: Review of the Literature and Theoretical Perspectives Clandinin and Connelly (2000) posited that narrative inquirers should “begin with experience as expressed in lived and told stories,” because beginning with theory is a “formalist” way of thinking (p. 40). Glesne (2011) contended, “Typically, qualitative research is not explicitly driven by theory, but it is situated within theoretical perspectives” (p. 37). For this study, I adopted Glesne’s position. Existing research about mentoring, educative mentoring, and professional development informed my work with my participants. Additionally, while I did not 4 set out to prove or disprove theories, one theoretical perspective that informed my work was research on teacher retention. An understanding of the teacher retention literature highly influenced my data analysis, as I thought through ways it paralleled my participants’ stories of mentor retention. Finally, theories about how stories reveal lived experiences also influenced my data analysis, as described in more detail in the next chapter. Mentoring As I have written elsewhere, mentoring has a long, storied history dating all the way back to Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey (Bell, 2015; 2016). The practice of mentoring is a mainstay in various fields, including business and nursing; however, mentoring in education is the focus of this study, and, subsequently, the focus of this literature review. Many teachers can recall being mentored, similar to the way I did in the introduction to this chapter, but why is mentoring in education so critical? Studies have shown that induction-level mentoring, or mentoring during the beginning years of teaching, works to develop high-quality teachers and reduce teacher attrition (e.g., Bullough, 2012; DeWert, Babinski, & Jones, 2003; Feiman-Nemser, 2001; Stanulis, Brondyk, Little, & Wibbens, 2014; Wang, Odell, & Schwille, 2008). In studies on mentoring, high-quality teachers tend to be defined as those who meet particular teaching standards (Wang et al., 2008), teachers whose students perform well on standardized tests (Bullough, 2012), or teachers who are able to enact high-leverage practices (Stanulis & Brondyk, 2013; Stanulis et al., 2014). For mentoring to lead to such high-quality teaching, districts must carefully select and support mentors because high-quality teachers do not always make educative mentors (Schwille, 2008), as described in more detail in the next section. Unfortunately, existing research suggests mentors are not always carefully selected, and they receive little support (e.g., financial compensation, release time, professional development) for their role (Bullough, 2012). 5 Pre-Service Teacher Mentoring The research cited in the previous paragraph was conducted at the induction level, but it is foundational to understanding why and for what experiences pre-service teachers (PSTs) are ultimately being prepared. Many of the same aims and potential problems also exist for university teacher preparation programs and PST mentors. Consequently, I now turn to the literature on mentoring in PST education, which is connected most closely to my research question. Student teaching, or the internship experience, is one of the most influential experiences PSTs have during their teacher preparation programs (e.g., Bower-Phipps, Klecka, & Sature, 2016; Bradbury & Koballa, 2008; Butler & Cuenca, 2012; Clarke, Triggs, & Nielsen, 2014; Ganser, 2002; Izadinia, 2015; Leatham & Peterson, 2010). Within the internship experience, the mentor is one of the most important people the intern encounters (Clarke et al., 2014). As Ronfeldt and Reininger (2012) stated, “Many have suggested that cooperating teachers, more than other figures, have the strongest influence on pre-service teacher attitudes and learning during student teaching” (p. 1093). Mentor teachers’ influence is due in large part to the sheer amount of time they spend with their interns, and also due to the types of experiences mentors and interns share during their time together. One reason interns look forward to their student teaching is because they think it will be their opportunity to not only observe a “real” teacher, but also to practice being a “real” teacher themselves (Clarke et al., 2014). Early in their teacher preparation programs, interns often get frustrated by the amount of theory they encounter. They wonder when they will get to try what they are learning, even though many scholars assert it is impossible to separate theory and practice (e.g., Dewey, 1904/1965; Lampert, 2010). Mentors can be the link between theory and 6 practice for interns, when interns see what their mentors do and hear why they do it (Ambrosetti, Knight, & Dekkers, 2014; Butler & Cuenca, 2012; Clarke et al., 2014; McDonough, 2014; Zanting, Verloop, & Vermunt, 2001). However, establishing that link is sometimes easier said than done for mentors who are not used to pulling back the metaphorical curtain and talking through the pedagogical choices they make. To link theory and practice, McDonough (2014) suggested university teacher preparation programs need to work on “building understandings among pre-service and supervising teachers that learning to teach is more than a pattern of replication. It is a critically reflective process in which experiences and theory combine to generate deeper knowledge of practice” (p. 219). Timperley (2001) also argued that internships must be “more than an opportunity for student teachers to practice those things taught by the university,” and advocated for mentors and interns having challenging conversations in order to make internships “professionally as well as technically demanding” (pp. 121-122). In order to build these understandings and lead challenging conversations, mentors need to be just as thoughtfully selected, prepared, and supported by the university as PSTs. Selection, Preparation, and Support of Pre-Service Teacher Mentors Unfortunately, just as at the induction level, mentor selection and preparation for PST mentors is not always as carefully carried out as suggested (Bradbury & Koballa, 2008; Ganser, 2002; Hall, Draper, Smith, & Bullough, 2008; Izadinia, 2015; Koerner, 1992; Parker-Katz & Bay, 2008; van Ginkel, Verloop, Denessen, 2016). Sometimes, teachers volunteer to be mentors, either not knowing how challenging it can be, or thinking they just want extra help in the classroom. Other times, mentors are selected out of convenience, because there are many interns in one building, or because they are known to be “good teachers.” However, Bower-Phipps and colleagues (2016) cautioned, “Mentoring programs must not assume that effective teachers will 7 automatically be effective mentors; rather effective mentoring strategies must be taught (FeimanNemser & Carver 2012)” (p. 289). Though not extensively explored, one possible antidote to the problem of haphazard PST mentor selection is to have mentors articulate their motivations for mentoring (McDonough, 2014; van Ginkel et al., 2016). Another idea is to have both mentors and interns state their expectations for mentoring (Bradbury & Koballa, 2008; He & Levin, 2008; Izadinia, 2015; Leatham & Peterson, 2010; Parker-Katz & Bay, 2008). If both parties are clear about their expectations for the relationship and what they want the outcomes to be, teacher preparation programs may make better matches between mentors and interns (He & Levin, 2008). Better matches do not automatically signal the absence of tension or difficult conversations; however, better matches may allow easier negotiation of challenging situations. Even after careful mentor selection, PST mentors need preparation and support specific to their role. Ideally, such support will come from university teacher preparation programs (Birmingham, Pineda, & Greenwalt, 2013; Fives, Mills, & Dacey, 2016; Hall et al., 2008; Hoffman et al., 2015, Leatham & Peterson, 2010; McDonough, 2014; Parker-Katz & Bay, 2008; Timperley, 2001). Teacher preparation program support for mentors may take a variety of forms, including preparing mentors to be educative and providing them professional development. Educative mentoring. In Experience and Education, Dewey (1938/2007) argued that teachers should craft educative, or growth-producing, experiences for their students. Through her work with mentor teachers, Feiman-Nemser (2001, 1998) applied Dewey’s concept of educative experiences to introduce the notion of educative mentoring. Bradbury (2010) helped to refine Feiman-Nemser’s ideas by drawing comparisons between traditional mentoring and educative mentoring. As Bradbury (2010) explained, “Unlike more traditional mentoring relationships that focus on survival, educative mentoring is based on a broader conception that prioritizes 8 reflection and continued growth” (p. 1050). To help pre-service and beginning teachers experience continued growth and “thrive, not just survive,” educative mentors will assist their mentees in setting meaningful but achievable goals (Stanulis & Bell, 2017, p. 65). Many mentors do not receive professional development about what it looks like to be an educative mentor, and there are not many examples in the literature (Stanulis et al., 2017; Trevethan, 2017). Instead, they resort to mentoring the way they were mentored, similar to Lortie’s (1975) concept of apprenticeship of observation for teachers. Returning to the original source, educative experiences have several components (Dewey, 1938/2007). First, educative experiences must have continuity, meaning they should build on each other. Next, they should be interactive. Students need opportunities to engage with the curriculum, with other learners, and with their teacher (or person with more experience). Educative experiences should be unique, meaning they must be adapted to individuals. Such experiences should also be social processes, because “experience does not occur in a vacuum” (p. 15). Lastly, educative experiences should be organized rather than haphazard. As Feiman-Nemser (1998, 2001), Bradbury (2010), and Stanulis and Bell (2017) explained, all of these qualities may be applied to mentoring experiences for novices. According to Feiman-Nemser (2001), “Educative mentoring rests on an explicit vision of good teaching and an understanding of teacher learning” (p. 18). Specifically, mentors and mentees need to share a common focus in order to achieve a vision of good teaching, and determining such a focus will likely start with identifying a specific area in which the novice teacher could improve (Stanulis & Bell, 2017). This may happen through mentors questioning their mentees to try to better understand the mentees’ decision making. While beginning teachers tend to focus on day-to-day issues, like classroom management, the area for improvement should be connected to student 9 learning. Still, Bradbury (2010) and Stanulis and Bell (2017) argued, beginning teachers need to feel like they have a voice. Consequently, mentors need to determine how to address their mentees’ concerns, like classroom management, while keeping a common focus in mind. In helping novices improve, mentors need to remember that “teaching is a complex process where there is rarely one ‘right’ answer” (Bradbury, 2010, p. 1052). Finally, educative mentors provide a “living example” for their mentees (Feiman-Nemser, 2001, p. 25). From this litany of responsibilities, it becomes possible to see why mentors need support in order to be educative. I believe that Feiman-Nemser’s (1998, 2001), Bradbury’s (2010), and Stanulis and Bell’s (2017) conceptions of educative mentoring may not only apply to mentees, but also mentors. In other words, just as mentees grow more with educative mentors, mentors themselves are more likely to experience growth if they are educative (Bell, 2016). Thus, I was interested in the stories of the two mentors in my study to possibly determine if the mentors are educative, since teacher preparation programs likely want to focus on supporting and retaining educative mentors, rather than traditional mentors. Professional development. I describe the methodology I used in this study, including my data sources, in the next chapter. At this point, though, it is important to note that professional development (PD) for secondary English teacher mentors was one component of this study. Consequently, research literature about PD influenced how I thought about the design and outcomes of the PD in my study. In the last ten years, one of the most significant contributions to the literature on PD was Desimone’s (2009) study in which she argued that PD should be built around a core conceptual framework. Specifically, she theorized that effective PD has five “characteristics… that are critical to increasing teacher knowledge and skills and improving their practice, and which hold 10 promise for increasing student achievement”: (a) content focus, (b) active learning, (c) coherence, (d) duration, and (e) collective participation (p. 183). For PD to have any impact on students, there must be an element of teachers learning new methods for teaching their content. As with students, adult learners respond better to active learning than passive learning, or “sit and get.” If what teachers learn in PD is radically different from their own deeply-rooted beliefs, their district’s expectations, or their state’s policies, they will be less likely to implement their learning. Connected to such coherence is collective participation—having a support system in the same school increases the likelihood of implementation. Finally, one-day PD is not as likely to bring about change as PD offered across time. In the previous section on educative mentoring, I wrote about Dewey’s (1938/2007) theory of educative experiences. Replacing the words educative experiences with professional development helps explain how Dewey’s (1938/2007) theory may apply to this study. In other words, professional development should: have continuity, be interactive, be adapted to individuals, be a social process, and be organized. Remarkably, Dewey’s (1938/2007) theory of educative experiences is also quite similar to Desimone’s (2009) critical characteristics for PD. The three aspects of the theories that parallel each other most closely are Desimone’s (2009) active learning, duration, and collective participation and Dewey’s (1938/2007) interactive, continuity, and social process. Ultimately, these similarities should not be surprising, as both scholars were theorizing about the best opportunities for people (youth and adults alike) to learn and grow. Lack of Support for Pre-Service Teacher Mentors Unfortunately, not all PST mentors are encouraged to be educative or are well-supported by the university. In fact, in Koerner’s (1992) study, the mentors received the opposite of support: 11 All of the [mentor] teachers thought the university would provide a clear and explicit outline of their job, and all were disappointed because the university not only failed to meet that expectation but often turned out to be a source of conflicting or unclear directives and unstated, unspecific goals. (p. 51) This situation is more common than most teacher educators and mentor teachers would hope (e.g., Bradbury & Koballa, 2008; Butler & Cuenca, 2012; Hoffman et al., 2015). Not only is the lack of communication and agreement on outcomes frustrating for mentors, but it can also be detrimental to PSTs’ learning, as they have to make decisions about whose voice carries the most weight with them. Mentors receiving little support is problematic, because, as previously stated, mentors are extremely influential on pre-service teachers (Behrstock-Sherratt, Basset, Olson, & Jacques, 2014). Research is beginning to show a through-line from teacher preparation through the induction (or beginning) years of teaching, suggesting that mentoring at both levels is critical for beginning teacher retention (Behrstock-Sherratt et al., 2014; DeAngelis, Wall, & Che, 2013). I am extending that research, arguing that mentoring is also critical for retaining teachers as both teachers and mentors. In fact, the main aim of this study is to expand the knowledge base on preservice teacher mentoring, specifically focusing on the component of mentor retention, because there are few stories of mentors who are educative (Stanulis et al., 2017; Trevethan, 2017) and even fewer stories about why mentors continuously return. Mentors are not often asked why they mentor, much less why they continue to mentor. Mentor Retention As Bullough (2012) and Hobson and colleagues (2009) noted, most existing research in the field of mentoring focuses on the benefits of mentoring to mentees rather than mentors. 12 Through their review of literature on mentoring beginning teachers, Hobson et al. (2009) asserted there is a lack of evidence for “whether [or not] participation in beginning teacher mentoring enhances mentor retention in the teaching profession” (p. 213, emphasis added). Three years later, Bullough (2012) claimed the issue of mentor retention, among others, “remained virtually untouched” by researchers (p. 69). These assertions were connected to retaining mentors as teachers, but I have not found any evidence in the literature about retaining mentors as mentors. The studies that come the closest to addressing the issue of PST mentor retention focus on mentor compensation, instead. After completing a content analysis on a survey of nearly 100 PST mentors for the College of William and Mary, Korinek (1989) found the PST mentors were most interested in professional development as compensation, followed closely by monetary compensation. Ultimately, Korinek (1989) suggested “creative alternatives for training and compensation” might be the best route to prepare and support mentors, as teacher preparation programs felt pressed for time and money (p. 51). The creative alternatives included things like “alternative training formats (e.g., formal groups vs. self-study with informal discussion)” and “a menu of rewards within the available level of compensation” (Korinek, 1989, p. 50). Unfortunately, nearly 25 years later, mentor compensation had only worsened. In the 2012-2013 school year, Fives, Mills, and Dacey (2016) renewed interest in the topic of PST mentor compensation. They compared the compensation of present day to the mentor compensation from 1957-1958 based on VanWinkle’s (1959) study, also including references to Korinek’s (1989) study. First, Fives and colleagues (2016) recognized the multiple roles school-based mentors fill: “mentoring, supervision, and modeling expertise for extended periods of time, in addition to fulfilling their existing teaching obligations” (p. 105, emphasis in 13 the original). Next, they quoted Zeichner (2002) in acknowledging how little mentors receive in return: “‘very meager compensation in relation to the work that they do’ (p. 60)” (p. 105). Fives et al. (2016) then summarized VanWinkle’s (1959) and Korinek’s (1989) studies, noting they found the following themes: “monetary compensation, professional learning opportunities, CT role-focused resources, engaging CTs in the college/university community, and professional recognition” (p. 106). To determine present-day compensation, Fives and colleagues offered surveys to the original 20 teacher education programs surveyed in VanWinkle’s (1959) study, out of which 18 responded. It is important to point out that, unlike Korinek’s (1989) study, the mentors themselves were not surveyed by VanWinkle (1959) or Fives et al. (2016). In general, Fives and colleagues’ (2016) findings and conclusion were rather dismal: “Although compensation and benefits for serving as a CT has remained stagnant or decreased, the expectations for CTs and the professional risks they take are increasing” (p. 115). They suggested more research on school-based mentor compensation is needed, along with attention from teacher education programs, including dialogue with the mentors themselves, to identify “new and innovative approaches” to compensation and benefits for mentors (p. 115). Undeniably, compensation could play a major role in mentor retention, and mentoring remains a nearly ubiquitous component of university-based teacher preparation programs. Additionally, mentor turnover could have negative impacts on student-teaching interns, teacher education programs, and mentors themselves, making mentor retention an issue ripe for study. Teacher Retention Since research literature on mentor retention is virtually non-existent, I turned to the literature on teacher retention and attrition instead to get a better understanding of the experiences teachers have leading to their retention or attrition. My goal was to see if I could find 14 any parallels between the experiences and support generally serving to retain teachers and the experiences serving to retain the mentors in my study. While researchers have reported numerous influences on teacher retention and attrition, I am sharing only the influences most salient to the present study. Perhaps not surprisingly, I discovered that mentoring during induction is one of the most important factors in teacher retention (Callahan, 2016; DeAngelis et al., 2013; Drago-Severson, 2007; Hallam, Chou, Hite, & Hite, 2012; Ingersoll & Strong, 2011; Kelley, 2004; Odell & Ferraro, 1992; Raue & Gray, 2015; Scherff, 2008). The quality of the mentoring teachers receive during induction matters and influences what beginning teachers take away from the experience of being mentored (Bradbury, 2010; Callahan, 2016; DeAngelis et al., 2013; Feiman-Nemser, 2001; Glazerman et al., 2010; Kelley, 2004; Scherff, 2008; Stanulis & Bell, 2017; Stanulis et al., 2017; Stanulis & Floden, 2009). Some mentees highly value the emotional support they receive (Odell & Ferraro, 1992), while other mentees look to change their teaching practice or increase student achievement (Ingersoll & Strong, 2011; Stanulis & Floden, 2009). In addition to the quality of mentoring received, having a mentor in the same building is also more likely to lead to retention than just having a mentor or coach in the district (Hallam et al., 2012). While some might argue that the aforementioned mentoring is during induction and not connected to pre-service teachers, it is important to note that pre-service teacher preparation may also indicate retention in the profession (Chapman, 1983; DeAngelis et al., 2013; Ingersoll, Merrill, & May, 2012; 2014). A key component of such preparation is mentoring (BehrstockSherratt et al., 2014; Drago-Severson, 2007). At the induction level, the proximity of the mentor is a concern (Hallam et al., 2012), and mentors who are fully or partially released from their teaching duties tend to make more of an impact on retention (Kelley, 2004). However, proximity 15 and release time are generally built in at the pre-service level, with mentors and interns sharing classrooms and students. Additionally, some researchers have found that teachers’ personal characteristics reduce or lead to attrition (Bobek, 2002; Borman & Dowling, 2008; Chapman, 1983; Dunn, 2015; Hancock & Scherff, 2010). For example, Bobek (2002) argued that resilience, or “the ability to adjust to varied situations and increase one’s competence in the face of adverse conditions” could indicate career longevity (p. 202). Similarly, Jones (2016) noted, “Long-term urban teachers may be adept at overlooking difficult and sometimes chaotic circumstances to sustain themselves in the occupation” (p. 1). Dunn (2015), on the other hand, studied urban teachers’ morale connected to their decisions to leave the profession and found that “moral objections to current educational policies and practices” highly influenced teachers’ decisions to leave (p. 90). Hancock and Scherff (2010) explored attrition risk specifically for secondary English teachers and suggested that minority teachers (or teachers of color) were less likely to leave the profession than nonminorities. They also found that as years of teaching experience go up, teachers’ attrition risk goes down; and apathy (perhaps an opposing characteristic to resilience) increases teachers’ attrition risk (Hancock & Scherff, 2010). Regardless of mentoring, preparation, and individual characteristics, teachers’ professional and social integration (Chapman, 1983) may also serve as retention mechanisms. Teachers want to receive support (Hancock & Scherff, 2010; Johnson, 2006) and feel like part of a professional community (Clandinin, Downey, & Huber, 2009; Scherff, 2008). Professional communities may include being part of a cohort of new teachers who undergo induction together (Cuddapah & Clayton, 2011; Kelley, 2004), spaces to collaborate (Johnson, 2006), or “relational 16 spaces” (Clandinin et al., 2009, p. 152). Ultimately, such communities help to reduce teachers’ feelings of isolation (Bell, 2016; Koerner, 1992; Scherff, 2008), which also increases retention. Beyond mentoring and feeling like part of a community, the professional contexts teachers encounter are also an important factor in their retention. Low salary is often a consideration for teachers leaving the profession (Dunn, 2015; Gonzalez, Brown, & Slate, 2008; Hahs-Vaughn & Scherff, 2008). Additionally, poor working conditions (e.g., physical facilities, organizational structures, policies, student demographics, curriculum) weigh heavily in teachers’ decisions to leave (Dunn, 2015; Gonzalez et al., 2008; Johnson, 2006). In addition to salary concerns, the teachers in Dunn’s (2015) study were frustrated with “top-down policies, lack of control over their career, and moral disagreement with policies” (p. 91). All of the attrition risks Dunn (2015) cited are highly interconnected and begin to blur the professional (i.e., policies) and the personal (i.e., lack of control and moral disagreement). Clandinin and colleagues (2015) further argued that considering professional and personal characteristics separately fosters a false dichotomy, as the two always operate in tandem to influence teacher retention and attrition. Most researchers would likely agree with Clandinin and colleagues’ (2015) position, as do I, that a combination of factors ultimately lead to teachers’ retention or attrition. At the same time, parsing out various potential influences and considering their broad categories is important, because each teacher would likely determine particular factors are more important than others in their retention. Similarly, in the chapters to come, I suggest each mentor participating in my study ascribes more value to some expectations they have for mentoring than others, and their retention is likely dependent on the expectations they have deemed most valuable. 17 Chapter Overview The research on mentoring and theoretical perspectives on teacher retention outlined in the previous sections influenced my decision to explore mentor retention by telling the stories of two long-time English teacher mentors. First, in Chapter 2, I shed light on my choice of narrative inquiry, informed by other methodologies, as both method and writing style. Next, Chapters 3, 4, and 5 focus on becoming, being, and staying a mentor. In Chapter 3, I introduce the mentors who participated in my study, along with describing the high schools where they teach, since their schools are the main setting of their work as teachers and mentors. The mentors’ voices then take center stage as they tell me about their early experiences with mentoring pre-service teaching interns. Analysis of the mentors’ re-tellings of their initial experiences led me to uncover what I suggest are their expectations for mentoring. Being a Mentor, Chapter 4, is about the mentors’ experiences with their interns and the professional development at the time of the study. As in the previous chapter, I introduce the interns, and then I tell the stories of the mentors’ and interns’ year together, using their words as much as possible. One pair focused on a particular incident that took place during the year, while the other pair shared their journey across time. Next, I zoom in on one of the expectations for mentoring that was central to two of the professional development sessions, as well as the mentors’ work with their interns: supporting their interns through professional crises. I close the chapter with analysis of which expectations for mentoring were and were not met with these particular interns. Chapter 5 highlights the mentors’ reasons for continuing to mentor, as well as the kinds of support they need to retain them as mentors. In this chapter, I begin by presenting what the mentors said to me about their needs for retention, and then I shift to reading between the lines 18 about additional types of support they may need. Finally, I close the study with Chapter 6, a discussion of why the mentors’ expectations for mentoring and their retention matter. Ultimately, I suggest implications for mentors and teacher preparation programs about where to go from here to provide additional support and potentially increase mentor retention. 19 CHAPTER 2 NARRATIVE INQUIRY AS THEORY AND METHOD In the previous chapter, I provided a broad introduction to this study, through which I am pursuing the following overarching question: What experiences influence English teachers to continue mentoring pre-service teachers? I also aimed to answer two questions in the previous chapter: Why study pre-service teacher mentoring, and why study mentor retention? In this chapter, I describe the methodology I used by answering the question: Why narrative? My initial response to that question is the same as Clandinin and Connelly’s (2000): “In our work, the answer to the question, Why narrative? is, Because experience” (p. 50). The rest of this chapter serves to provide nuance to my initial response. Arriving at Narrative Inquiry For as long as I can remember, I have loved stories. As a child, my mom read to me as part of my bedtime routine—first picture books, then chapter books. When I was able to decode the words, I read to her instead. Eventually, I read to myself before bed, while my mom read to my sister. I read my first chapter book in second grade: Charlotte’s Web. As a pre-teen, I loved the Baby-Sitters’ Club series; as a teenager, mysteries were my favorite, and I devoured R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series along with several novels by Mary Higgins Clark. Summers were spent participating in the reading program at the local public library, and I generally enjoyed reading the novels we were assigned in school. As a junior in high school, I read William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, which I selected because I looked up to my teacher as a role model, and Faulkner was his favorite author. The novel was challenging, and I had several conversations with my teacher, trying to sort out what each narrator contributed to the plot. Still, Faulkner’s rambling prose was captivating; he was a consummate storyteller. That experience began my 20 affinity for American literature, an affair I continued through college, as I took as many American literature courses (including theatre) as I could. While most of the stories were set years before I was born and in places I had never visited, the characters and their lives touched me and resonated with me in lasting ways. When I was young and people asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I almost always told them, “A teacher,” with very few exceptions. Being a teacher was a career choice that was mostly inspired by my mom, who taught middle school science and vocal music; however, as with many teachers I know, being an English teacher was a choice fueled by my love of stories. Thanks to my graduate school coursework, I realized I could continue reading and telling stories as research. I was mesmerized by Heath’s (1983) pivotal work Ways with Words: Language, Life, and Work in Communities and Classrooms, and I found myself comparing my family’s and my own life to the lives of the people in Brandt’s (2001) Literacy in American Lives. Dyson (2013) helped me feel like I was sitting in an elementary-school classroom through ReWRITING the Basics: Literacy Learning in Children’s Cultures, while I had the opportunity to peer in on a teacher writing group through Dawson’s (2017) The Teacher-Writer: Creating Writing Groups for Personal and Professional Growth. Some people might debate how to label the methodologies used by these researchers (e.g., ethnography, case study, narrative inquiry), but I knew I wanted my voice to sound similar to theirs. Van Manen’s (1990) Researching Lived Experience and Clandinin and Connelly’s (2000) Narrative Inquiry were my gateways into understanding how to thoughtfully plan, carry out, and present research on people’s experiences in such a way that might resonate with others. 21 Theoretical Underpinnings of Narrative Inquiry As stated in the introduction to this chapter, Clandinin and Connelly (2000), two of the most recognizable researchers associated with narrative inquiry, look to narrative inquiry to connect to human experience. According to Creswell (2005), “Narrative researchers focus on understanding individual history or past experiences and how they contribute to present and future experiences” (p. 479). These brief explanations of the methodology fit well with my main research question: What experiences do teachers have that influence them to continue mentoring pre-service teaching interns? Clandinin and Connelly (2000) traced the origins of their version of the methodology to a number of social science researchers, including Dewey. They suggested that narrative inquiry is grounded in three aspects of Dewey’s theory of educative experiences: interaction, continuity, and situation. Clandinin and Connelly equated each aspect with the following: personal and social; past, present, and future; and place, respectively. Taken together, “this set of terms creates a metaphorical three-dimensional narrative inquiry space” (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000, p. 50, italics in the original). The connection to Dewey’s (1938) educative experiences further solidified my use of narrative inquiry as the methodology for this study, given the information about educative mentoring and professional development I noted in the previous chapter. Narrative inquiry typically does not include more than a few participants. Since the purpose of narrative research is to relate individuals’ experiences to shed some light on a particular topic, depth is more important than breadth. As Bruner (1987) stated, “One view of the world cannot confirm another, though, in Clifford Geertz’s evocative phrase, it can ‘thicken’ it” (p. 24). Furthermore, narrative inquiry and stories serve to highlight [mentor] teachers’ voices (Carter, 1993). When I first began researching mentoring, I found mentors were often surprised 22 when I asked about them as individuals, as opposed to asking about their mentees. In writing about the place of story in studying teaching, Carter (1993) claimed, The issue is one of discourse and power, that is, the extent to which the languages of researchers not only deny teachers the right to speak for and about teaching but also form part of a larger network of power that functions for the remote control of teaching practice by policymakers and administrators. (p. 8) Using narrative inquiry as a “mode of study” (Schaafsma and Vinz, 2011, p. 24) privileges the mentors’ voices as much as possible in telling their own stories. Some researchers question the rigor of qualitative research in general, particularly studies with few participants. However, general principles of sound research (e.g., using multiple sources of data, having others read and respond to findings) help lend rigor to any study (Merriam, 1995). Additionally, Connelly and Clandinin (1990) cautioned, “Like other qualitative methods, narrative relies on criteria other than validity, reliability, and generalizability. It is important not to squeeze the language of narrative criteria into a language created for other forms of research” (p. 7). Instead, Clandinin and Connelly (2000) advocated for wakefulness in narrative inquiry, or constant awareness, “through ongoing reflection,” of all aspects of the research (e.g., context, participants, data, analysis) and the ways the study may be perceived and critiqued by various audiences (p. 184). Furthermore, Clandinin and Connelly (2000) argued it is the responsibility of narrative inquirers to provide the criteria by which their studies should be judged. Being wakeful suggests an awareness of theory—not imposing a theory on the data, but being aware of theories arising from the data (Brock, 2011) and aware of existing theories with which the data is “in conversation” (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000, p. 136). Brock (2011) provided 23 a helpful quote from Fecho (2003) to illustrate the former: “‘We all posit tentative understandings of the world, test them in various ways, and use those understandings to refine our philosophy-in-process’ (p. 43)” (p. 42). I aimed to remain wakeful in my study by continuously considering the ways readers might respond to the mentors’ narratives and the ways in which the mentors’ narratives are in conversation with theories of teacher retention. Carter (1993) agreed with Clandinin and Connelly’s (2000) position that a traditional conception of generalizability is not appropriate for narrative inquiry, but Carter also argued engaging in narrative inquiry does not “preclude the careful framing of patterns with respect to certain themes” (p. 10). Thus, I aim to expose patterns connected to mentors’ experiences of retention in ways that are informative for other school- and university-based teacher educators. If I am able to expose such patterns through the mentors’ narratives in ways that resonate with others, while simultaneously remaining in conversation with theories of teacher retention, then my inquiry will be successful based on the criteria I have set forth. Metaphors and Narrative Inquiry Lakoff and Johnson (1980) argued that people think, speak, and act in metaphor constantly, often without realizing it. Clandinin and Connelly (2000) cited Lakoff and Johnson’s work, suggesting that narrative researchers often use metaphors as lenses through which to see their work and to influence the form their narratives take. For example, in a previous study, I wrote about mentoring as a journey (Bell, 2015). Ganser (1998) took up Lakoff and Johnson’s work in a somewhat different way, by surveying induction-level teacher mentors to “provide metaphors, analogies, or similes to describe the experience of being a mentor” (p. 114). Similar to Ganser (1998), I asked the mentors in my study to provide me with metaphors for their mentoring. Additionally, I asked their interns to provide me with metaphors they thought 24 represented their mentors. I was interested in the mentors’ responses independent of their interns, and I was also curious to see how, if at all, the mentors’ responses aligned with their interns’ responses. The metaphors became part of my data analysis, and I argue they are connected to the mentors’ expectations for mentoring, which are subsequently connected to mentor retention. Researcher’s Role and Potential Ethical Issues When conducting qualitative research, researchers have a responsibility to state their positionality in relation to their participants and the topics they are researching (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000; Creswell, 2005; Glesne, 2011; Riessman, 1993). As outlined in the previous chapter, I had the experience of being mentored as both a pre-service and early-career teacher. While I was a secondary teacher, I did not mentor any pre-service teachers; however, I underwent mentor training through my regional office of education to become a mentor for my district. Subsequently, I mentored one teacher who was new to the district, though she had previous years of teaching experience at another school. I believe I grew as a teacher through my experiences of being mentored, receiving mentor training, and mentoring another teacher. Overall, I found my experiences with mentoring to be positive ones that ultimately sparked my interest in studying mentoring. Now, as a pre-service teacher educator, I see the influence mentors have on their mentees. Feiman-Nemser and Buchmann (1985) wrote about several “pitfalls” for pre-service teachers and interns, most of which involved [unintended] clashes between the university and schools, placing the pre-service teachers in the middle. Some mentors might knowingly avoid crafting educative experiences for their mentees and perpetuate a divide between the university and secondary classrooms. However, based on previous conversations with a number of mentor teachers, I believe most mentors have the best interests of both their pre-service teachers and 25 students in mind. Unfortunately, as mentioned in the previous chapter, mentors do not always receive the support they need in balancing these interests. Consequently, they fall into the trap of mentoring the way they were mentored, similar to Lortie's (1975) concept of apprenticeship of observation for teachers. One way I hoped to support mentors in overcoming Feiman-Nemser and Buchmann’s pitfalls and think about how to craft educative experiences for both their students and interns simultaneously was by offering the secondary English mentors professional development (PD). I describe this PD in more detail in the next section. I have seen a shift in mentors’ practices firsthand through working with mentors as part of Dr. Randi Stanulis’s Launch into Teaching (LIT) partnership with the Michigan Association of Public School Academies (MAPSA). Though I was only on the LIT team for one year, I had the opportunity to deliver professional development to mentors, as well as engage in coaching them one-on-one via phone conversations. Some mentors had a difficult time enacting what they learned, while others were able to impact change across their schools (Brondyk & Stanulis, 2014; Stanulis & Brondyk, 2013). The mentors receiving support from the LIT partnership were mentoring early-career teachers rather than interns. They were also required to attend PD and receive coaching, unlike the mentors in this study who self-selected into the PD. Still, the way I think about working with mentors has been shaped by my participation on the LIT team. Methods Methods sections of research studies tend to exist for two main reasons: transparency and replicability. As previously noted, Clandinin and Connelly (2000) cautioned against thinking about narrative inquiry with traditional measures of research rigor. This study could never be exactly replicated, which means it would be impossible to speak to its validity or reliability. However, I argue that transparency of the data collection and analysis process is very important 26 in qualitative research, including narrative inquiry, so that consumers of the research may judge the quality of the study for themselves. Recruitment of Participants Working with the course coordinator of the secondary English interns (Dr. Jennifer VanDerHeide, Assistant Professor of English Education), we invited all of Michigan State University’s (MSU’s) secondary English mentor teachers to participate in planning, presenting, and attending professional development (PD) for English mentor teachers. In April 2015, two mentor teachers (Angela and Allen) volunteered to help plan the PD. Another mentor teacher (Dawn) volunteered to help with planning in August 2015. Dr. VanDerHeide and another course instructor distributed a brief survey at the Opening Day kick-off meeting in August 2015 (for mentors and interns) to gauge interest about how often and where mentors would like to see PD sessions held. We used the responses on the survey while meeting with the mentors who had volunteered to help plan the PD. Dr. VanDerHeide and I met with Dawn and Allen separately in September 2015 to get more specific ideas about what they hoped to get out of the PD. Angela was unable to be there, so Dr. VanDerHeide spoke with her shortly thereafter. All three mentors expressed interest in learning more about mentoring and English-specific content, in addition to gaining a better understanding of their interns’ required course assignments. They also said they would prefer people from the university leading the PD sessions, rather than leading the sessions themselves. Dr. VanDerHeide and I held the first PD in November 2015, and we invited all of the English mentors (37 teachers) via e-mail. We informed the mentors of our plan to record meetings, for both the purpose of informing future meetings and as part of two possible research studies. The two mentors who attended the first meeting were Angela and Dawn, the same 27 mentors who had spoken with us about planning the PD. Other mentors expressed interest but provided various reasons they were unavailable that day. We asked the mentors in attendance to sign consent forms on which they indicated their willingness to do the following: (1) allow us to use their survey data, (2) allow us to audio record the monthly PD meetings, and (3) participate in audio-recorded interviews and video-recorded interactions with their mentees as part of my dissertation study. The survey, PD, and interviews are described in more detail in the next section. I planned to engage in homogeneous sampling, or inviting participants “based on membership in a subgroup that has defining characteristics” (Creswell, 2005, p. 206). The subgroup I needed to participate was teachers who had repeatedly served as mentors of MSU interns. While both Dawn and Angela are part of that subgroup, only Dawn indicated she would be willing to participate in my dissertation study. Consequently, I contacted Allen again to gauge his willingness to participate in my study, since he had expressed interest in planning the PD. He agreed and noted he had accidentally overlooked the reminders for the first PD and planned to attend the second meeting. Not only have Dawn and Allen mentored repeatedly, but they have also shown a particular interest in mentoring and teaching by consistently choosing to take part in various PD opportunities offered by the university. Since MSU continues to invite these two teachers to mentor, I also anticipated they were educative mentors. I also obtained consent from Allen’s and Dawn’s interns (Andrea and Jason) to participate, for a total of four participants. The interns played a less active role in my study, although their participation was critical in gaining a holistic picture of these mentors. I describe the data I collected from my participants in more detail in the next section. 28 Data Collected In order to achieve triangulation in a qualitative sense (Creswell, 2005; Merriam, 1995), I used several different methods of data collection: surveys, recording of PD sessions, interviews of mentors and mentees, and recording of interactions between mentors and mentees. Survey. Dr. VanDerHeide and I worked together to craft the survey (Appendix A), which is divided into three main sections: demographic or background information, frequency of engaging in various mentoring practices, and short answer questions pertaining to professional development and mentors’ current interns. We distributed the survey to all secondary English mentors via e-mail in early October 2015, and 12 out of 37 (32%) participated. We sent the survey to all of the English mentors again in January 2016, anticipating that some of them would participate a second time, giving us more information about the types of activities in which they were engaging with their interns during a different part of the year. Only 8 mentors participated in January (22%), and 5 out of the 8 had previously participated. Both of the mentors taking part in my study completed the survey; Dawn completed the survey in both October and January, while Allen completed the January iteration. Their responses to the survey provided me with helpful demographic information; however, the other data I collected played a more significant role in considering my research question. Professional development. After surveying all of the English mentors who attended Opening Day and consulting Angela, Allen, and Dawn, Dr. VanDerHeide and I determined that PD should be held once a month at a location near the university. The majority of the mentors who showed interest in the PD teach nearby. We held the meetings off-campus, at a café with food, Wi-Fi, and a designated meeting space available. We thought holding the PD off-campus would be more pedagogically neutral than holding the PD at the university. Attempting to remain 29 somewhat pedagogically neutral was important to us, because we wanted the mentors to know we valued their contributions to the PD. Mentors were paired with interns in approximately April or May 2015, and school started in the beginning of September 2015. Dr. VanDerHeide and I had hoped to hold the first PD session in October 2015; however, interns are not allowed to substitute teach for their mentors until after they have passed their mid-term evaluations. In order to encourage as much participation as possible from the mentors, we moved the initial English mentor PD session to November 2015. It is important to note that all secondary MSU mentors are also invited to monthly meetings held at a nearby school system’s district office. Dr. VanDerHeide and I believed the English mentor PD sessions fulfilled a different niche than the previously established meetings. While university personnel also attend the all-mentor meetings, two secondary teachers are in charge of developing the agendas and running the meetings. We were not opposed to that structure, but after surveying and consulting the English mentors, we found they wanted something different than the all-mentor PD. We scheduled the English mentor PD to meet on different days, and even different weeks, than the all-mentor PD so mentors could feel free to attend both meetings if they chose. Dr. VanDerHeide and I audio recorded each PD session. For my dissertation study, I transcribed only the sessions or parts of each session most salient to my research question, a process I explain in more detail in my section about data analysis. After talking to Angela, Allen, and Dawn, we set the following basic structure for each two-hour long session: 40 minutes to teach and discuss mentoring practices, 40 minutes to share and discuss university assignments and English-specific content, 30 minutes for problems of practice, and 10 minutes to close. I planned the portion on mentoring, Dr. VanDerHeide planned 30 the university and content portion, and the mentors contributed any questions or concerns they had during the problems of practice portion. During the initial meeting, we left time for introductions, signing consent forms, and establishing norms for the group (see Appendix B for the agenda). While we welcomed mentor teachers presenting, too, none of them ever took us up on that offer. Please see Table 1 for a list of the English mentor PD sessions and topics. Table 1. English Mentor PD Sessions and Topics Session Number, Month 1, November 2, December 3, February 4, March University Assignments Dialogic Instruction (DI); Videotaping Adapting Lesson Plans; Implementing DI Lesson Study with Videotaping and Revision Evaluations and Job Applications Educative Mentoring Educative vs. Traditional Mentoring; Co-Teaching Introduce Attentive and Targeted Mentoring (ATM) Goal-Setting Based on Evaluations Mentoring Practices and Tools Interviews. Interviews are one of the most straight-forward methods of gathering people’s experiences or stories (Creswell, 2005; Glesne, 2011). To return to my earlier point about the role of theory in narrative inquiry, Seidman (2006) suggested it may be impossible for researchers to be theory-free when entering a study, and some knowledge of the literature is generally helpful for interviews. Seidman (2006) wrote, “It is important to conduct the interviews with that context [history of, and literature on, the topic] in mind, while being genuinely open to what the participants are saying” (p. 38). When narrative researchers interview participants, the interviews are often unstructured, or open-ended. This means the interviewer generally begins with only one question, and the interview has a somewhat conversational tone (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000; Creswell, 2005; Glesne, 2011; Seidman, 2006). Conducting openended interviews is one way to guard against being biased by knowledge of previous theory and 31 research. Unstructured interviews also help to privilege the voices of those being interviewed, as they will likely feel less pressure to give a particular answer. Narrative researchers are often vague about the structure and number of interviews they conduct with each participant. For example, I have read the following descriptions of interviews in narrative research: tape-recorded conversations over a two-year period (Olson & Craig, 2001); 30 minutes of participants telling their life stories, followed by 30 minutes of questions from the researcher (Bruner, 1987); eight interviews personally were conducted (Craig, 2013); interviewed the teacher on two occasions during the five weeks (McCarthey, 1994). In contrast, Clandinin and Huber (2005) provided more information about their interviews: Conversations ranged from one to three hours and participants were seen from two to four times each. We met in our homes, in offices, and in school spaces…. Working within the [three dimensional narrative inquiry] space allowed us to travel back to early childhood and school experiences, slip forward to teacher education experiences, and slide forward to present day experiences. We traveled inward to feelings and responses and outward to remembered events. We moved from home places to school places throughout our lives. (p. 47) To be clear, I am not critiquing any of the above descriptions; I am merely stating an observation I made as I was considering how to conduct the interviews for my study. Clandinin and Connelly (2000) warned that structured interviews may seem “nonrelational” and often give researchers a false sense of objectivity about their work (p. 94). However, being new to the methodology of narrative inquiry, I thought it was important for me to enter my interviews with slightly more structure than may be typical of narrative interviews. 32 After reading several texts on narrative inquiry methodology and a number of exemplar studies, I determined Seidman's (2006) recommendation of a three-interview series was appropriate for this study. Seidman (2006) advised that the first interview should focus on the participant’s life history in connection to the topic at hand; the second interview should focus on a present experience with the topic; and the third interview should focus on reflection or meaning-making related to the present experience, which may lead to discussing the participant’s future in connection to the topic. He suggested that each interview should last for approximately 90 minutes, and the interviews should be spaced apart by approximately three days to a week. Seidman (2006) further suggested, “As long as a structure is maintained that allows participants to reconstruct and reflect upon their experience within the context of their lives, alterations to the three-interview structure and the duration and spacing of interviews can certainly be explored” (pp. 21-22). Finally, he stated that there are two basic types of unstructured questions: those that ask a participant to “reconstruct…[part] of an experience,” and those that “focus more on the subjective experience” (Seidman, 2006, p. 85). Within each interview, the researcher generally starts with a main question of either type and asks follow-up questions as needed. Seidman (2006) recommended this approach for phenomenological interviews, but with each interview focused on a temporal quality (i.e., past, present, or future) I saw a sound match with the principles of narrative inquiry. I scheduled three 45- to 60-minute interviews with each mentor. I held the first interview with each mentor in December, the second interview in late January and early February (after the intern had been lead teaching for a bit), and the third interview in late March (before spring break, at the end of lead teaching). While these interviews were spaced apart more than Seidman (2006) suggested, I attempted to follow the rhythm of the 33 intern’s year. By scheduling the second interview after the intern had begun lead teaching, I was able to ask the mentors about their experiences with their current interns. All of the interviews were held at the mentors’ respective schools, as this was the location most convenient for them. I audio-recorded and transcribed all of the interviews, a process I describe in more detail in the data analysis section. The questions I anticipated asking during each interview are outlined in Table 2. Table 2. Mentor Interview Questions Interview Number 1 (History) 2 (Present) 3 (Reflection) Main Interview Question or Prompt Reconstruct the events that led to you becoming a mentor. Tell me about a recent experience that affirmed your decision to continue mentoring. You have been a mentor for a number of years. What keeps you interested or continuing to return to mentoring? [Connect to previous interview and experience.] Other Potential Questions or Prompts What was [individual event] like for you? Describe a day of working with an intern that stands out in your memory. Explain why you do or do not plan to continue mentoring in the future. How have you been supported in your role as a mentor? How, if at all, is [that support] influencing your decision to continue mentoring? If you had to select a metaphor for your mentoring, what would it be? To find out more about how the mentors participating in my study enact their mentoring role, I also interviewed their interns (i.e., mentees) at the time of the study. I interviewed each intern only once for 60 minutes, though I continued to follow Seidman’s (2006) three-interview process in that I asked questions about the past, present, and future of working with their mentors. My interviews with the interns provided an opportunity for what Schaafsma and Vinz (2011) referred to as “tandem tellings,” or two people narrating the same event (p. 12). I interviewed Andrea, Allen’s intern, in late March, near the end of her lead teaching, at her 34 school. I interviewed Jason, Dawn’s intern, in April, after he had finished lead teaching, on the university campus. Like the mentor interviews, I audio- recorded and transcribed each interview. The intern interview questions are outlined in Table 3. Table 3. Intern Interview Questions Interview Part 1 (History) 2 (Present) 3 (Reflection) Main Question or Prompt Other Potential Questions or Prompts Tell me about when you first found out who your mentor would be this year. Describe the first meeting you had with your mentor. What was [individual event] like for you? Tell me about a time you think Describe a day working with your you learned something from mentor that stands out in your memory. your mentor. How do you know (what evidence do you have) that you learned? Describe an experience to If you had to select a metaphor for illustrate the reason you think [name of teacher]’s mentoring style, this teacher is a mentor. what would it be? Observations. To see mentoring in action, I audio-recorded each pair three times during their typical planning time, as well as taking field notes each time and photographs of the mentors’ classrooms once (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000). I visited Dawn and Jason during their first hour planning period, directly before I interviewed Dawn. Allen and Andrea typically planned after school, so I observed them on different days than I interviewed Allen. Similar to the PD sessions, I transcribed portions of the audio recordings that were most relevant to the mentors’ narratives. My observations were especially helpful in writing about the setting of each mentor’s classroom. See Table 4 for a summary of all the data collected during this study. 35 Table 4. Data Collected Data Source Survey (Closed and OpenEnded Questions) Audio-Recorded Interviews Number, Length 1, 26 questions Audio-Recorded Interviews 1 each, ~60 minutes each Audio-Recorded Observations of Planning Time Audio-Recorded Professional Development Sessions 3 each, ~30-60 minutes each 3 each, ~60 minutes each 4 total, ~2 hours each Participant(s) Dawn Pike (mentor) Allen Biancardi (mentor) Dawn Pike (mentor) Allen Biancardi (mentor) Jason Shepard (intern) Andrea Williams (intern) Dawn and Jason Allen and Andrea Dawn Pike (mentor) Allen Biancardi (mentor) Facilitators and additional mentors Data Analysis Ultimately, the goal of narrative data analysis is that “the analyst creates a metastory about what happened by telling what the interview narratives signify, editing and reshaping what was told, and turning it into a hybrid story, a ‘false document’ (Behar, 1993)” (Riessman, 1993, p. 13). This process involves deliberate decision making on the part of the researcher. Riessman (1993) and Clandinin and Connelly (2000) acknowledged that it is difficult to break down people’s stories in this way. At the same time, Riessman (1993) wrote, “No matter how talented the original storyteller was, a life story told in conversation certainly does not come ready-made as…a dissertation” (p. 14). Consequently, data analysis for narrative inquiry must begin the way most data analysis begins: with transcription. The act of transcribing is data analysis, and it is never neutral, because the researcher determines what to transcribe and how to transcribe it. As Green, Franquiz, and Dixon (1997) argued, “A transcript is an analytic tool constructed for a particular purpose embedded in a program of research” (p. 173). In fact, I used transcripts as tools in at least two ways. First, I transcribed a portion of each mentor’s first interview prior to interviewing them for the second 36 time. My aim was to look for places I needed clarification, to be able to ask follow-up questions. I read portions of Dawn’s first interview transcript to her during our second interview, while also showing her a version I had printed. With Allen, I simply read him quotes from the partial transcript of his first interview. I also used transcripts more traditionally, as a way of crafting the mentors’ narratives, which I describe in more detail in the next paragraph. I collected several hours of audio-recorded interviews, PD sessions, and observations; survey data for both mentor participants; and field notes for the PD sessions and observations. I began by transcribing all of the mentors’ interviews, since I anticipated they would best help me consider my research question. Utilizing a method common in discourse analysis, I created turntaking transcripts, indicating the length of all pauses, the emphasis of particular words, and the volume and rate of speed of each speaker (Juzwik & Ives, 2010). I then engaged in what Creswell (2005) called “restorying,” or “retell[ing] the story in [my] own words…. to provide order and sequence to it” (p. 480). At this point, I thought somewhat simply as I restoried the transcripts in terms of Freytag’s plot triangle: exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution. I used the mentors’ and my own words to create “meganarratives” (Olson & Craig, 2009), or “metastories” (Riessman, 1993, p. 13)—overarching stories of mentoring for each of the mentors. To provide nuance to the meganarratives, I returned to Clandinin and Connelly’s (2000) recommendation to “position field texts within the three-dimensional narrative inquiry space” (p. 131). Again, the three-dimensional narrative inquiry space is based on three elements of Dewey’s (1938/2007) concept of educative experiences: interaction, continuity, and situation (see Figure 1). This meant locating the personal and social; past, present, and future; and place in each transcript. 37 Figure 1. Visual Representation of Clandinin and Connelly’s (2000) Three-Dimensional Narrative Inquiry Space Continuity Situation Interaction Clandinin and Connelly (2000) also suggested looking for conflicts, “gaps or silences… continuities and discontinuities” (p. 131). Attending to the gaps and discontinuities in the mentors’ stories prompted me to transcribe the interns’ interviews in their entirety, following the same process as described for creating the mentors’ transcripts. Additionally, I listened to each PD session, and I transcribed the portions most relevant to each mentor’s meganarrative, again creating turn-taking transcripts. Connected to the interaction plane of Clandinin and Connelly’s (2000) three-dimensional narrative inquiry space, Schaafsma & Vinz (2011) advised, “Narrate in ways that capture how the personal and social are not binaries but are permeable membranes— each influencing and becoming part of the other” (p. 64). Pulling together the transcripts of the mentors’ interviews, the interns’ interviews, and the PD sessions allowed me to see the influence of each on the mentors’ meganarratives. As much as possible, I have used the mentors’ and interns’ own words to propel their stories forward. The text I share here is somewhat of an “‘ideal text’ version of the narrative (Gee, 1991)” (qtd. in Juzwik & Ives, 2010, p. 43), meaning I have removed the transcript markings typical in discourse analysis. However, I left some of the small utterances (e.g., um, uh, like) to paint a realistic picture of each of the participants. I have also chosen to present the transcripts in a dialogue format, as did Clandinin and Connelly (2000), in order to further signify the narrative form. 38 The mentors’ meganarratives, or overarching stories, about mentoring appear in Chapters 3, 4, and 5. Continuity—the past, present, and future—is represented both across and within the chapters: Chapter 3 focuses on the mentors’ past experiences, Chapter 4 focuses on their present experiences, and Chapter 5 focuses on their future experiences. Temporality also occurs within each chapter, with references to past, present, and future events. The situation, or place, shifts depending on the type of interaction taking place (i.e., interview, observation, or PD session). As previously mentioned, the personal and social are woven throughout each chapter, as the mentors tell their own stories and interact with their interns, each other, and me. To conclude, Clandinin and Connelly (2000) argued that not only should narratives dwell within the three-dimensional narrative inquiry space, but narratives should also be “contextualize[ed]. . . socially and theoretically” (p. 135). They further explained this contextualization occurs by entering a “conversation” in a particular field or around a particular topic and by “positioning the work relative to other streams of thought” (p. 136). With this study, I am entering a conversation in teacher education about pre-service teacher mentoring, and I am positioning this work alongside the teacher retention literature, since mentor retention literature is non-existent. In other words, the beginning of each chapter is a presentation of my findings in narrative form, while the end of each chapter is my analysis of the mentors’ narratives in relation to their expectations and the teacher retention literature. My goal in entering this conversation and positioning my study in this way is to both gain and offer a better understanding of the experiences that have served to retain these particular mentors. 39 CHAPTER 3 BECOMING A MENTOR: EARLY EXPERIENCES WITH MENTORING In my previous interviews with mentors, the question, “Why did you become a mentor?” has often led to responses about how they want to give back to the profession. While I respect their responses, and understand how giving back could be a motivating factor, I have generally found that mentors benefit and grow (Bell, 2015; 2016) in other ways they do not always immediately recognize. This time, the open-ended prompt, “Describe the events that led to you mentoring interns,” led to both mentors speaking about the experiences they had with their first interns. Similar to teachers’ initial years in the profession, early experiences with mentoring may set the tone for subsequent experiences and help mentors determine if they want to continue in their role. This chapter includes descriptions of Allen’s and Dawn’s first experiences with mentoring, metaphors they identified for their mentoring, and what those metaphors and experiences reveal about their expectations for mentoring. I begin by describing Allen and Dawn, the high schools where they teach, and their classrooms. Next, in an effort to avoid portraying Allen and Dawn as “stick figures,” (Carter, 1993, p. 9), I share portions of my first interviews with them to provide detail about their first times as mentors in their own words. In closing, I identify Allen’s and Dawn’s expectations for mentoring, along with evidence of such expectations. Allen Biancardi, Harrison High School Allen Biancardi has been teaching for 11 years, six years at Harrison High School. Harrison High School is in a mid-size, suburban district located in close proximity to a large research university in the Midwest. Allen currently teaches English, but he previously taught 40 math at an alternative high school in the area. He holds two master’s degrees. One is in curriculum and instruction from another large university nearby. The other is in educational administration from the university most of his interns have attended. An important part of Allen’s identity as a teacher is a focus on improving his teaching to increase student learning. This focus on improvement is evidenced by his desire to constantly reflect on and revise his practice, in addition to his active participation in online educational communities. Harrison High School is a one-story building, and Allen’s classroom is located near a side exit door. Allen is simultaneously laid back and highly structured, and his classroom subtly reflects that dichotomy. He rarely turns on all of the overhead fluorescent lights in his room, preferring instead to use floor lamps for ambient lighting. Four bungee chairs line the wall underneath a whiteboard that is opposite the doorway to the classroom. A small bookshelf and low coffee table separate two of the chairs from the other two. Several cushions are stacked in a corner of the room for students to use for sitting on the floor during independent work or reading time. There is a cabinet (presumably for storing books) that is approximately three feet tall and runs nearly the entire length of the wall with the doorway. A coffee maker sits on the countertop. The bulletin boards and tack strips around the room are often lined with large pieces of butcher paper covered with student thinking about a text they were reading at the time. Evidence of Allen’s structured side includes desks arranged in six groups (pods, as he calls them) of five or six. He uses the SMART Board at the front of the room almost daily to display learning targets and the day’s agenda, a practice his interns also adopt. Allen received a grant to order several Chromebooks for his classroom, which are housed in a charging station to the left of the SMART Board. Two desktop computers (one for him and one for his intern) sit side-by-side on carts in the corner of the room to the right of the SMART board. The computers 41 face the wall, with a window overlooking the tennis courts to their right; there are no teacher desks in the room. Mentors’ First Interns are “Guinea Pigs” We sat at the group of student desks nearest the teacher computers, Allen with his coffee cup in hand, as he told me about his early years in teaching and first experience mentoring an intern. Allen said, “A lot of times you just make some bad decisions the first time around, honestly. Those kids are just gonna have sort of an okay experience, and they're gonna be the guinea pigs, and you hopefully do a better job next time.” I replied, “I think back on my first year of teaching, and I don't think I did those kids harm, but I think with kids farther down the line, I did better.” “Mmhm,” Allen agreed. Even though Allen and I were discussing teaching, later in our conversation I reflected that the same may be true for teacher education and mentoring: the first interns are “guinea pigs.” Allen illustrated this by telling me a story about his first intern, Christa: I gave her some feedback that she took as being pretty harsh at one point. Like she had created a big lesson, or unit plan, and I kind of like poked some holes in it. And I remember thinking that I may have gone overboard, in terms of expressing that to her, or not couching that in positive things, as well. He then added more quietly, “She didn't feel good about the way that I had expressed that. Just by her silence, she seemed kind of shocked a little bit.” Allen recalled this incident happening during October or November, likely during Christa’s first guided lead teaching experience. At this time, she would have been responsible for planning, teaching, and assessing two class periods a day. “Did you feel like it took a little bit to, 42 to move on from that moment?” I asked. “I mean, a little bit of time, or did you feel like you were able to move on kind of quickly?” “I don't think it was like her best experience or a great memory for her, necessarily. So, in that sense, that may have been a contributing factor to our never really having a super collegial, you know, warm kind of relationship.” He continued, “I, I went to the graduation thing, and usually that's tears, and smiles, and all that sort of stuff. And I felt like it wasn't; it wasn't one of those things.” The “graduation thing” Allen described is Intern Convocation, generally attended by the student teaching interns, their family and friends, course instructors, and field instructors. It is similar to a graduation in that it is a ceremony to celebrate the interns successfully completing their internship. Convocation also represents the end of the official partnership between mentors and interns. Many of the pairs continue to keep in touch, but this was not the case for Allen and Christa. Even though Allen did not have the best relationship with his first intern, mentoring continued to be important to him. One reason he continued to mentor is because he is open to learning from interns, and Allen believes learning takes place through reflection. He told me, “What I've really begun to understand is the reflective practices are what make you a good teacher, regardless of how well you did with this or that.” When I asked him to tell me more about how he reflects and works with interns on reflection, he said, “We have to make time for those types of practices…. I think dialogue is the best [way to reflect] — is even better sometimes than journaling. Just putting yourself out there, learning walks, and, you know, making those boundaries between teachers more permeable is really all you need.” In other words, he likes to talk to his interns about teaching: his own practices, their practices, and ways they may both revise their practices. 43 Another reason Allen continued to mentor after his first experience is he did not think he could have taught “without her,” because she provided him “extra time and energy…to do extra things that I know it’s a very small number of people who do.” To Allen, “extra things” include “getting the whole unit planned [and] up on an electronic platform,” “providing students with online videos…and anytime, anywhere learning,” and “standards-based grading and learning.” He thinks of his classroom as “a laboratory” where he can “try new things,” and without an intern, he would not be able to revise his practice and teach “at a high level.” Metaphor for Mentoring About halfway through our last interview, I asked Allen, “If you had to select a metaphor for your mentoring, what would it be?” He sought clarification, “For my style of it?” “Yeah,” I replied. He thought for a few seconds, then said, “I mean, I think the one that comes to mind is a two-way street.” He went on to explain, I think a lot of times, some of the people who [mentor], it's like, “I am the dispenser of information,” and, and I don't think that that's the right attitude for mentorship. I think the right attitude for mentorship is that, um, we both need to grow, and that the best thing to adopt on the way—you know, as an intern—is an attitude of reflection, and continuous improvement, and dialogue, and, you know those types of concepts are what's gonna continue to have you grow. Allen said the way he shows interns he is open to growth is by sometimes asking them to provide him “some warm and cool feedback,” and then he does “the same” after they have observed each other teach. Essentially, this is a quick way for the pair to highlight both strengths (warm 44 feedback) and weaknesses (cool feedback) in each other’s practice and initiate a conversation about revising their practice. Given Allen’s recollection of working with his first intern, I do not believe he has always thought about his mentoring style as a two-way street. As he mentioned, one of the main reasons he wanted to be a mentor initially was to “have extra time and energy” for himself. Now, though, Allen sees that for both he and his mentee to get something out of the relationship, they have to engage in “reflective practices” and “dialogue,” which are illustrative of a two-way street. Dawn Pike, Lincoln High School I affixed my stick-on visitor’s nametag to my shirt as I ascended the stairs to Dawn’s classroom at Lincoln High School. LHS has had a long-standing relationship with the nearby research-intensive university, functioning as a Professional Development School (PDS) for the university from the mid-1980s through the late 1990s. A large, suburban high school, Lincoln continues to host multiple intern and pre-service teachers every year, as well as welcoming graduate student and faculty researchers. Around the same time LHS became a PDS, the district began implementing a late-start time for secondary students each Wednesday to give teachers and researchers the opportunity to participate in professional development and work together. For approximately the last 15 years, the professional development time has shifted to teachers taking part in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). These PLCs cross content areas, and some of them span multiple years. Dawn Pike has been a member of the tightly-knit LHS faculty for 17 years out of her 18year career teaching high school English. During that time, she has mentored 10 intern teachers, all from the same university where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She has also been the English department chair for many years. Unlike Allen, Dawn has a strong relationship 45 with her colleagues, especially those in her department. An important part of Dawn’s identity as a teacher is her desire to have an impact beyond her classroom, or to be an educator in a very broad sense of the word. This part of her teacher identity is evidenced by Dawn seeking opportunities for leadership in her building, attending outside professional development, and even teaching a course at the university. When I arrived at the classroom, Dawn brightly greeted me from her computer at the teacher’s desk across from the doorway. Jason, her intern, crossed to the front of the room to write something on the board. “Nice to see you again,” I said. “You, too,” he replied. It had been a year since Jason was a student in my English methods course at the university. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out he had decided to return to complete his internship, and even happier when I discovered Dawn was his mentor. The three of us had the luxury of building on previously established relationships, somewhat mitigating my intrusion as an outsider. I mentally noted that Dawn’s classroom looked nearly the same as I remembered from three years ago when I field instructed a previous intern of hers. The only noticeable difference is that the intern’s desk moved from the northwest corner to the northeast corner of the room, but it is still at an angle facing somewhat toward the center and front of the room. Otherwise, the student desks are still arranged in groups of four, all facing toward the center of the room in a U shape. A moveable partition separating Dawn’s classroom from the history classroom next door is covered in student-illustrated quotes from Whitman and Thoreau. Dawn’s overhead fluorescent lights are always on, except if she is showing clips from a movie. The countertop along the east wall has three stools tucked underneath it, and the bookshelves along the west wall are filled with a classroom library. The computer cart and teacher desk are arranged in an L- 46 shape, sectioning the teacher’s area off from the rest of the classroom. Cabinets above and below the countertop in the teacher’s area hold classroom sets of novels and other supplies. Upcoming and recently-used handouts are on a long table adjacent to the teacher’s desk. After the second hour students were settled into their writing task, Dawn asked, “Did you want to go somewhere we can chat?” “Yes,” I replied, and we left Dawn’s intern to take over as we went to a conference room in another hallway upstairs. Mentoring “Holds You More Accountable” Dawn’s first experience mentoring an intern was much more positive than Allen’s. She referred to Becca as “very strong,” with “motivation, dedication, and good instincts.” Dawn told me, “I guess probably the most important part for me was letting her kind of have her own space.” Dawn illustrated this by telling me about how her first intern advocated for altering the curriculum: She chose to teach Lord of the Flies, which was something we hadn't typically taught in 10th grade, and it was back when the curriculum wasn't quite so set, and I'm like, “Yeah, if you want to do that, you go for it.” So she created her unit for Lord of the Flies, and there were definitely some struggles with it, but, um, the kids really ran with it, you know? Given that Dawn came to mentoring with a desire to learn, she likely always gives her interns space. Dawn also appreciated the ways she benefitted from mentoring her first intern. She recalled, 47 It was nice. Like to be able to process things and just really to kind of talk through everything together, and, um, I remember I was working on my master's work at the time, and I remember writing, um, a paper about the process of having to be transparent, you know, and having to think about, you know, why I do what I do, and how refreshing it is that you are not just kind of like on your own in this process. . . . It almost holds you more accountable, in a sense, which I really liked. In this instance, Dawn spoke simultaneously about being “transparent” for the intern, but also reflecting on her own practice (“having to think about . . . why I do what I do”). Unlike Allen and Christa, Dawn and Becca “just really clicked,” and they “still keep in touch,” over ten years later. Having an overwhelmingly positive experience with her first intern was likely the primary reason Dawn continued to mentor; however, there were other contributing factors, as well. As previously mentioned, Dawn liked having another teacher in the room and publicly reflecting on her own practice. She also had quite a bit of support from others during her first years of mentoring; she spoke about the English Educators Network, a regular gathering of English mentors and university course instructors during which they discussed their mentoring. Dawn also noted the strong partnership between the university and Lincoln High School. As previously mentioned, LHS was once a Professional Development School (PDS) associated with the university. While Lincoln is no longer a PDS, many interns continue to be placed there across subject areas, providing a built-in network of mentors who frequently consult each other with questions and concerns. 48 Metaphor for Mentoring As with Allen, I asked Dawn to provide me with a metaphor for her mentoring toward the end of our final interview. “That’s interesting,” Dawn initially responded. After thinking for a bit longer, she said, “Oh, that’s a hard one.” Several seconds went by before she spoke again. She returned to her aforementioned first experience with mentoring while she was in grad school and the paper she wrote about being transparent, which she thought of as “being kind of like this window. . . But I don’t know if that’s necessarily how—I perceive it anymore. Although, I mean, I feel like that's a lot of it, is that mentoring is about just making visible what is invisible. . . . Shining a light on all of these decisions that you make on a daily basis that typically you don't ever talk about.” It is important to note that Dawn said her window metaphor and “making visible what is invisible” is “a lot of [mentoring].” This signals that even though Dawn has since developed an additional metaphor for her mentoring, she still recognizes the significance of the minutiae of mentoring and talking through “all of these decisions that you make on a daily basis.” Dawn then explained a more current metaphor she has developed for mentoring, one that is much broader: Susan [another English mentor] and I were just talking about this last week— that, um, there's an element of parenting involved? She was talking about how she, um, she has young kids, and she was feeling kind of, like, territorial about her desk, you know, and like, “Why don't I ever get to sit at my desk?” But, when she goes home, she never has any alone time there, either. There's this element of, like, the issues that come up with parenting, and then the issues of mentoring I think are sometimes very, very similar? It's not so much like a teacher; it's more like a parenting situation. 49 She went on to provide more details about why she selected the parent-child metaphor rather than the teacher-student metaphor: There's that element of, like, you're taking care of that person, too. Like, you’re protective of your intern, um, so it’s almost more like a parent-child relationship in that sense. Like you've got to nurture this person, you know, because they're going to be going out into the world and affecting everything. Dawn’s addition of the parent-child metaphor seems to have coincided with other changes in her life and mentoring. Specifically, when she first became a mentor and wrote her graduate school paper about being transparent, Dawn was not yet married or a parent. As she stepped into those roles in her personal life, she was also able to see how they applied to her mentoring. As previously mentioned, Dawn’s first experiences with mentoring interns were overwhelmingly positive, and she referred to mentoring those interns as “easy.” However, through the passage of time and encountering more challenging interns, Dawn began to see that while transparency is still important, mentoring is quite complex, much like a parent-child relationship. Expectations for Mentoring Similar to first-year teachers entering teaching with a vision (Hammerness, 2006), both Allen and Dawn entered their first experiences mentoring with expectations for what they wanted to get out of the partnership. They may or may not have articulated these expectations to anyone, including themselves. However, when I began our first interview by saying, “Describe the events that led to you mentoring interns,” they both illuminated some of their own expectations through their responses. Allen and Dawn wanted to learn from mentoring, to feel less isolated in their teaching, to advance professionally, to make an impact beyond the classroom, to remain connected to the university, to help interns through professional crises, and 50 to experience a spontaneous emotional response. At this point, I will introduce each expectation and return to the expectations in more detail in the forthcoming chapters. Desire to Learn from Mentoring When Allen and I talked about his first experiences with mentoring, he noted interns often need to work on particular aspects of teaching, like classroom management, that tend to come somewhat naturally to more experienced teachers. At the same time, he told me, “Whenever I bring something like that up, I realize that I’m not the expert in that area either, you know, and that I have kind of rowdy classrooms sometimes.” He went on to say that interns “have a lot of ideals about what a classroom should look like that maybe have faded for a more jaded kind of person who's been teaching for a while, . . . and you want to do well for them, you don't want to like have a bad example.” Consequently, in Allen’s quest to avoid “a bad example,” he is open to the ideas interns have about seemingly mundane or rudimentary aspects of teaching, such as classroom management. Allen also had an idea about how mentors should enter the mentoring relationship: “That would revolutionize. . . the whole mentor-mentee relationship, if you said, ‘I'm entering into this mentor relationship, you know with the understanding that I'm gonna be learning, you know, almost as much as they are.’” Without realizing it, Allen identified a long-held belief of scholars of mentoring: For the partnership to be successful, mentors must be open to learning and communicate that openness to their mentees (Bradbury, 2010; Feiman-Nemser, 2001; Stanulis & Brondyk, 2013). Mentors who communicate they are “the guru on the mountaintop,” as Allen has seen some mentors do, not only will not learn from their mentees, but they may also damage their relationship with their mentees. It sounds as though Allen’s relationship with his first intern Christa was damaged as he adopted the guru on the mountaintop persona while critiquing her 51 lesson plan; her lukewarm response to Allen’s presence at convocation is one indication of that damage. While I am not able to speak specifically to what Christa learned from Allen, a damaged relationship with a mentor could lessen the possibility for mentees’ growth, as people generally struggle to learn from others they cannot trust. Furthermore, Allen’s desire to learn from mentoring connects to the metaphor he offered for his mentoring of a two-way street. As Certo (2005) asserted, “Many interactions between mentor and protégé involve a two-way street, with both parties learning and taking from each other” (p. 4). For this metaphor to work, though, both the mentor and mentee must view their relationship and the mentor’s style in this way. If either person views the mentoring relationship in a more traditional, hierarchical fashion (e.g., the mentor is the teacher, and the mentee is the pupil), the metaphor collapses (Bell, 2016). Returning once again to Allen’s first intern Christa, he may have unwittingly communicated that he was not open to learning from her through the way he critiqued her unit plan. Since this was his first intern, Allen was likely still developing his mentoring persona and determining the best way to provide feedback to interns. In his own words, he has “begun to understand [that] the reflective practices are what make you a good teacher” (emphasis added). This statement leads me to believe Allen’s desire to learn from his interns as a two-way street has grown across time, though I am unsure if his ability to communicate this expectation to his interns has increased. Dawn realized mentoring forced her “to be transparent, you know, and having to think about why I do what I do….It almost holds you more accountable, in a sense.” What Dawn described in her initial metaphor for mentoring seems akin to Allen’s idea of reflection. As Dewey (1933) argued, “reflective thinking must be an educational aim,” because “it makes possible action with a conscious aim,” and “it makes possible systematic preparations and 52 inventions” (pp. 212-213). I would add that learning necessitates reflection: thinking about what went well, what did not go well, and what to revise for next time. Merely mentoring by meeting periodically to talk—without true reflection that results in “action with a conscious aim,” as Dewey (1933) said— is not educative (Bradbury, 2010; Dewey, 1938; Feiman-Nemser, 2001). In other words, neither the mentor nor the mentee will learn anything. However, reflection that leads to Dewey’s (1933) “systematic preparations,” or targeting a particular goal incrementally (Stanulis & Bell, 2017), increases the likelihood that both mentors and mentees may learn something about their teaching or mentoring. Desire to Feel Less Isolated in Teaching We were talking about Allen’s first intern when he said, “I think that teaching is becoming something that really does require there to be more than one person.” When Allen did not elaborate on his own, I asked, “Could you say a little bit more about that?” He chuckled, then responded, “I just think that it's becoming so multi-faceted…. So much work, you know, especially being an English teacher…They don't acknowledge that anymore, they don't look at us as any different than any other teacher, and we really are….So that's one part of it is just the work load, but I think also, it's bad not to have someone watching you. And I think that's something that I've really appreciated, is to have dialogue. Even though we don't necessarily talk every single day about what happened, um, to have someone be watching you from that perspective of learning about teaching, and have that be a dialogue, as opposed to, you know, being on your own. In your own room. And not really having a chance to talk to any sort of colleague.” 53 I asked Allen if he felt isolated as both a math and English teacher, and he immediately said yes. He did not receive induction-level mentoring as a beginning teacher, so, as he said, “I just kind of floundered on my own.” While Allen’s statement was not about being a pre-service teacher or intern, what he described is also unfortunately common for interns. When mentors do not receive support and did not have good mentoring themselves, they sometimes resort to the “sink or swim” method of mentoring—leaving the classroom to let the intern figure things out on their own (Butler & Cuenca, 2012). In fact, during our first interview Dawn told me, “There was talk about a mentor at another school who would basically leave the intern on their own and, like, go in the back room and write their master's thesis.” She also spoke about another mentor who would leave to go to a local coffee shop “versus mentors who were, like, giving feedback, and who were co-planning, and that kind of thing.” If leaving them on their own is not a method teachers would find acceptable to use with their secondary students, it should not be acceptable for interns, who are students of teaching. Otherwise, as Allen said, it may lead to interns “floundering.” Dawn also wants to feel less isolated in her teaching. During our first interview, when I asked her about why she became a mentor, she said, “I missed having somebody to talk to in the classroom. I feel like it’s so helpful to have that chance to have some back and forth talking through our thinking.” Desire to Advance Professionally Both Allen and Dawn had aspirations to advance professionally, but neither of them wanted to become administrators. As Allen said, “I’ve always kind of felt a little bit in teaching that there’s no ladder, you know. There's no intermediate steps. It’s like you're a teacher, and then you’re, like, an administrator.” He continued, “I’m more interested in teaching than I am 54 making that transition into being an instructional leader, which a lot of times I think ends up being a big management aspect, which I'm not super great at. I’d rather be more a teacher of teachers, and if that leads to administration or curriculum director or whatever that's fine, but I’m more interested in that.” Similarly, Dawn told me, “It was something I always kind of knew; like once I had established myself as a teacher, I knew that I wanted to be a mentor. I just felt like that was something that was part of the profession, or the idea of being a professional.” She went on to say she “feel[s] like [teaching is] a richer experience, you know, like having interns.” Dawn also mentioned “building leadership” opportunities that she has time to do because of having an intern, especially during lead teaching, or the time during second semester when the intern takes over the majority of the responsibility for teaching. As she told me, Like last year, I helped out with, um, planning for how we were gonna administer the [state standardized test], you know, and just stuff like that, you know. That I could kind of have the freedom to do some building leadership stuff that I might not otherwise have time for. Dawn continued, “It’s good for the intern if I’m not there all the time, but…I can help out with the school still, too.” Again, it is important to note the difference between “sink or swim” mentors and educative mentors, like Dawn. The former would leave the classroom all day just to give themselves a break and claim it was in the name of the intern learning. The latter, on the other hand, realize the benefit of interns trying things on their own, likely only leaving for a period at a time, and quickly checking in about how everything went prior to the next class. Furthermore, educative mentors use the time out of the classroom to advance professionally, 55 whether that means attending professional development or serving in a building leadership role, like Dawn described. Desire to Make an Impact beyond their Secondary Classrooms Teachers often teach for a nebulous future benefit for their students. While most teachers hope they will have an impact on students’ lives beyond the classroom, it is rare for them to know with absolute certainty. Consequently, teachers are often resigned to preparing students for the next grade, or even just a standardized test. What they learn about how their students have fared is limited to a data report, talking to their teachers from subsequent grade levels, or— sparingly—keeping in touch with parents or the students themselves. In some ways, mentoring is the same; as Dawn said during our first interview, “There are years when you feel more productive as a mentor than other years.” However, as Dawn also told me, “I want to teach on more than one level. Like, I feel like this is a way to kind of, um, prepare...Like kind of helping the future. I can touch more people by being a mentor than just by being a teacher.” Additionally, Dawn has kept in touch with many of her interns after they have completed the program. In some cases, Dawn has been able to expand her professional network by remaining in contact with those who have taken teaching positions. Desire to Remain Connected to the University Mentoring for the university where he completed one of his master’s degrees keeps Allen connected to the university, which he feels helps refresh his teaching. As he told me, “Being part of that dialogue, I mean I don't consider myself to be an expert, either. I like being a part of [the university], because I feel like it's a constant influx of good ideas, and I think that's really good for my practice.” In our third interview, Allen built on this idea: “I like being around the people who are thinking in those terms. . . That’s why I’ve said on my résumé that I want to be near a 56 university town, and, you know, [this university’s] just about the best for that.” The “people thinking in those terms” Allen referred to are educators “who are trying to come up with new ways of doing things.” Even though Dawn did not directly state that she wanted to continue a connection with her alma mater, it is clear that she thinks being a graduate of the university contributes positively to her mentoring. During our first interview, she said, “There was a lot of, like, reciprocity, I guess between the university [and LHS], so it was just kind of a natural thing, like you get to that point, and you're like, ‘Okay, yeah, I think I'd like an intern now.’” Furthermore, Dawn felt like “having been through the program so recently was a benefit, you know. I could bring that as a mentor.” She paused, then continued, “Kind of almost from an intern perspective, you know? . . . I'm like, ‘Oh yeah, I remember that. I remember doing that when we had to do that assignment or that kind of thing,’ so that was useful.” While Dawn may initially have mentored interns because she felt like she was giving back to the university in some way, she has now mentored ten interns from the same university. Her continuity indicates that she must get something positive for herself out of the relationship, as well. Desire to Help Interns through Professional Crises Both Allen and Dawn expected their interns to have a crisis at some point during their internships. The mentors felt like these crises were important teachable moments; chances for them to have critical, potentially difficult, conversations with the interns. As Allen stated during an English mentor professional development session, he did not want this crisis to be “a catastrophic thing,” a point with which Dawn would agree. Moreover, neither of them wanted their interns to experience personal crises; instead, they wanted their interns to experience difficulty with something in their teaching, something the mentors could help them solve. 57 I suggest that this expectation is highly connected to Dawn’s metaphor for mentoring of a parent-child relationship. First, Ganser (1998) found that most mentors provided metaphors connected to “interpersonal relationships,” specifically the parent-child relationship (p. 115). I have also written elsewhere about the ways in which van Manen’s (1990) concept of in loco parentis, or stand-in parents, in teaching may also be applied to mentoring (Bell, 2015; 2016). Next, just as parents want their children to be successful, mentors want their mentees to be successful. At the same time, parents know their children will encounter hardships, and many parents would rather have this happen while their children are still in their care, rather than after they have moved out on their own. Similarly, mentors know their interns will struggle in their teaching at some point, and they would like to support them through their struggles. Finally, as outlined in Chapter 1, some researchers believe resilience—surviving, or even growing, in the face of adversity, such as a crisis—may be a factor in teacher retention (Bobek, 2002). While the idea of crisis appears to be new to mentoring, there is some precedent for the concept in education. As Houwer (2011) argued, “How we respond to the choice crisis offers can be understood as a theory of pedagogy: regardless of how we choose, crisis has made us agents” (p. 110). Having agency means having choice, and Houwer (2011) argued the choice people have in crisis is whether to be a subject (i.e., someone who acts) or an object (i.e., someone who follows). Perhaps, maybe even instinctively, Dawn and Allen wanted their interns to develop resilience, and they knew having a crisis could be one way to do that—an idea I will continue to explore in the chapters to come. Desire to Experience a Spontaneous Emotional Response The expectation of experiencing a spontaneous emotional response is much less concrete than the other expectations these mentors hold for mentoring. Some people might refer to this as 58 a “goosebump moment”—when an external stimulus causes the hairs on a person’s arms or the back of their neck to stand on end, sometimes accompanied by other reactions. Many stimuli, positive or negative, could create such an intangible, emotional response: eating a particular food, seeing a loved one, hearing about a tragedy on the news; the list is endless. Spontaneous emotional responses could also be positive or negative. Such responses generally have a few things in common. First, they are organic, meaning the response cannot be manufactured; such a response just occurs. Next, the individual cannot control the type of response (e.g., laughing, crying, goosebumps). These responses are fleeting and pre-reflective—the moment someone recognizes the response, it ceases to be pre-reflective. Finally, spontaneous emotional responses are unique: experiencing the same stimulus again may prompt a similar response, but it could never be exactly the same. In mentoring, spontaneous emotional responses may be prompted by a variety of stimuli. In a different study, one mentor told me she felt especially connected to a particular intern. One example of their connection the mentor shared with me was that when a certain student made a smart-aleck remark, she quickly made eye contact with the intern across the room (Bell 2015). The remark was the stimulus, and the look was their spontaneous emotional response. In a previous section, Allen described his mentoring relationship with his first intern as somewhat strained. One of the ways he said he recognized this was through her reaction to his attendance at convocation: “I went to the graduation thing, and usually that's tears, and smiles, and all that sort of stuff. And I felt like it wasn't; it wasn't one of those things.” In other words, other mentors and interns were having spontaneous emotional responses (i.e., “tears and smiles”), possibly prompted by pride, feeling successful, and other positive stimuli. Unfortunately, that was not the 59 case for Allen and this particular intern; however, this mentoring experience likely met some of his other expectations, as he continued to mentor in subsequent years. The first experience of doing anything is usually riddled with fits and starts; narrative suggests there will be conflict, so why would mentoring be any different? To borrow from Houwer’s (2011) ideas about crisis and Bobek’s (2002) ideas about resilience, the question then becomes: How will we respond to those fits and starts when we try something new? We often enter new experiences with expectations. When conflict arises, and those expectations are not met, will we be resilient and choose to act as leaders, or will we be unable to adapt and choose to act as followers? Will we seek out the experience again, in an attempt to have our expectations met, or will we leave the experience behind, hoping not to encounter it again? Even though they had very different initial experiences with mentoring, both Dawn and Allen were resilient, persisting with mentoring interns through the time of this study, which is where their stories continue in the next chapter. 60 CHAPTER 4 BEING A MENTOR: CURRENT EXPERIENCES WITH MENTORING Both Allen and Dawn have been teachers and mentors of interns for a number of years. While each intern is slightly different, and their teaching assignments change sometimes, there are commonalities across years. In this chapter, I focus on Allen’s and Dawn’s experiences with their interns at the time of this study. Focusing on the mentors’ current experiences allows me to illustrate how their expectations for mentoring may or may not be met from year to year. First, I describe Allen’s intern, Andrea. Then, I construct a narrative of Andrea’s yearlong internship with Allen. I do the same for Dawn, by first describing her intern, Jason, and then narrating their story. Next, I explore the elements of grieving and crisis as they overlapped across the mentors and interns. Finally, I analyze to what extent Allen’s and Dawn’s expectations for mentoring were realized with their current interns. Andrea Williams, Harrison High School Andrea, Allen’s current intern, has a bright smile and cheerful personality. While she is typical of interns from this university in some ways (White female, first career), she is atypical in others. Andrea is married, and her husband completed his teaching internship the year before her through the same university. Watching her husband complete the internship helped Andrea think about how she wanted her year to proceed. While the internship takes place during teacher candidates’ fifth years, Andrea took an additional year, so she is slightly older than her colleagues. She also had two mentor teachers, as it was important to Andrea to have the opportunity to intern in her minor area, which is French. Consequently, she began the year in Allen’s classroom full-time, but by the end of October, she was only in Allen’s classroom for two periods a day. 61 An Optimistic Beginning Allen and Andrea’s relationship began similarly to that of Allen’s relationships with his previous interns. Andrea visited his classroom at the end of the school year prior to beginning her internship. She observed his intern at the time teaching, and Andrea and Allen talked about the coming year. Andrea left their initial meeting looking forward to the year to come: After meeting him, I was like, this is so perfect. I was really, really happy, because he's just very, like, open to change? Like, he loves revision, like, he's constantly revising all the time. Like, everything he does, um, he's just in a constant state of editing and revising, and I liked that a lot. During our first interview in December, Allen told me he looks for his interns to "have at least one strength, something that they've got some expertise in that they can help me with.” During our second interview in February, I asked him what he thought Andrea’s strength was. He replied, “Helping people writing. [She] has the writing center experience, and so that means that she's really strong at that coaching, you know, coaching of people and their writing.” Interestingly, Andrea had chosen words commonly associated with writing (e.g., editing and revising) to describe what she was most looking forward to about working with Allen, and he identified writing as an area of strength for her. When I asked Andrea to tell me about a time she thought she learned from Al and to provide evidence that she had learned, she recalled Allen initiating the practice of “I notice…, and I wonder…” at the beginning of the year. Similar to the warm and cool feedback described by Allen in the preceding chapter, “I notice” is a sentence stem to identify a particular practice or action, while “I wonder” is a sentence stem to offer suggestions for revising that practice. As previously mentioned, Allen not only provides this feedback to his interns, but he also requests 62 that they provide him feedback using the same language. Allen spoke about this practice at our second professional development (PD) session for English mentors, and he also noted that he shared this practice with other mentors at the university’s Opening Day Institute in August. During our PD, Allen said, That notice-wonder thing is a really good thing. And one of the things that takes some of the charge out of it is, especially in the early going, to have them observe you. You know, just as much as I observe them, and usually that's pretty complimentary, but I actually say I want to have a warm and a cool for every time. I want you to tell me something that I did well; I want you to tell me something that I could improve on. And just to know that that's a dialogue that's gonna go both ways…I think almost all these things I can improve in, um, even if I'm pretty good at 'em. I think that can take the charge out of the conversation a little bit, because it can get very personal. Andrea appreciated “I notice, and I wonder,” because it provided both of them with “immediate feedback” and ways to “troubleshoot” issues. One particularly effective exchange she described to me was about her need to keep personal and professional conversations with students separate: What did he use— (to herself, trying to recall). Oh, like roping off. That's what he said. Like, roping off the personal conversations that I was having with students from, like, the teaching time? Because as they'd come in, [I’d say], “Oh, yeah, have you applied to that school now? Oh, did you get that scholarship?” Because that's just what I do, and then it would be really hard to get them on task….So he just talked about, like, making it clear when…I'm teaching, basically. And that was really helpful for me to be able to mentally— it was almost more for myself even, than for them. 63 Allen had also identified this as an area Andrea needed to improve, which he spoke about during our second PD. He was concerned about Andrea’s “work ethic” and “using personality to, like, carry the entire day.” One of the other mentors asked for an example, and Allen described how Andrea had mispronounced some of the vocabulary words, leading to him suggesting she needed to prepare more. Again, this was balanced with Allen identifying a strength (Andrea’s “expertise” from working at the Writing Center). Ultimately, “I notice, and I wonder” is good for providing quick feedback in a non-confrontational way; however, it cannot take the place of having potentially difficult conversations about work ethic, for example, as Allen mentioned. “The Worst Day of My Internship” While Allen and Andrea had relatively positive things to say about one another, and their relationship got off to a good start, their relationship was not without tension. As previously mentioned, Andrea spent half the day in Al’s classroom and the other half of her day teaching French with a different mentor. According to Andrea, she was “adamant” about getting into the French classroom; even though Al saw it as something that would be a good opportunity, he did not find it absolutely necessary like Andrea. Consequently, Al told her, “I taught math, and I taught English, and it worked either way.” At that point, Andrea decided to enlist the assistance of her field instructor to ensure her concurrent French placement. Since her field instructor was new, he tried to explain that she was not required to be in both classrooms. She ultimately told him, “[If] I’m certified on my résumé, I have to do this…I have to teach French….I just really want this, like, I believe that this would be best for me.” In talking to me, Andrea described this as “the worst day of [her] internship”: trying to convince Al and her field instructor that she needed an extended experience in a French classroom. 64 Allen never told me he thought it was a bad idea for Andrea to have two mentor teachers, but he acknowledged the other mentor had a style (both mentoring and teaching) different from his own. He mentioned he did not “get a chance to talk to Ann [Andrea’s other mentor] that much,” and he found it “more helpful to talk to people who don’t know the person in question.” Al went on to say, “I think Ann is, like, really on board with Andrea….I think actually I’m pretty much on board, but— I don’t know.” Al told me this during our third interview in March, and it highlights a source of friction in his mentoring relationship with Andrea. Due to Andrea’s schedule with two mentors, she no longer had a planning period or lunch with Al during the school day, and they met after school one day a week to discuss upcoming lessons. “I Wanted His Approval” Two particular incidents illustrate why Al may not have been fully “on board” with Andrea. Toward the beginning of second semester of their year-long internship, interns participate in a 10-week period of lead teaching. (Lead teaching usually takes place from approximately the end of January through March, up to spring break.) During lead teaching, interns are expected to take the lead in planning and teaching all but two of their mentors’ courses. As Allen told me, “I think what I've kind of settled on is I'd like to see at least one unit made substantially one's own. And I kind of leave that one open for lead teach, that they can majorly revise.” He held the same expectation for Andrea, and he tried to encourage this even prior to lead teaching, as he told us during the second English mentor PD in December: Actually, one of the things I gave her was the unit that we [my last intern and I] had planned, and it's true that there probably doesn't need to be that many changes made, but I was kinda a little bit disappointed when it came back and there were not that many changes made, or there weren't any real suggestions, or taking ownership of it. And so, I 65 guess that's one of the things that I want to try to prompt a little bit. Look ahead at those units that are coming up that are going to be the bulk of your, um, lead teach, and make sure that you can really be, you know, involved in those, and uh, take ownership of them, and make them your own. And find some places for some original planning, too. Allen also realized that he could have been clearer in his directions to Andrea: I have to be a little bit more explicit and just say, "I want you to look at this unit; I want you to change three things about it that are going to make it more your own.”…She could very well have that impression that I'm not really asking her— I mean, I did ask her, but I didn't really say it in a way, like, you could come back and not have made that many changes, you know? And so, that was an option, and she went with that option. Even though things had not gone as Allen hoped during this opportunity, he remained persistent and brainstormed how a similar situation might go better in the future. The second incident illustrating some tension in their relationship occurred when Allen gave Andrea another opportunity to plan a unit at the beginning of her lead teaching, which she described to me during our interview. She said, “I think come lead teach— I mean, I think it's his way of saying he trusts me?” She chuckled slightly, then continued, “But you know, I mean, he just, like, let me go.” “Yep,” I replied, thinking, That sounds similar to how Allen described it. “And I took over at the end of the first semester for a couple weeks, uh, the last two weeks, which are just final review days, and like real chill, and then I started the second semester with a unit that I had made, like, entirely?” “Okay,” I said, encouraging her to go on. 66 “Um, and he just never asked to see it. He never asked, like, if it was even done, and I kept waiting. Like after school, I'd wait, and he'd be like, ‘Alright, well, I'm gonna head home.’ I'd be like, ‘Okay. That's fine.’ And that was really bad; I should've just said, like, ‘So I'm workin' on the unit, wanna see it?’” I signaled my understanding by responding, “Right, right.” “But I never really did, 'cause it was also like he was grading a ton for AP [advanced placement] at the end of the semester, and he was just really stressed, and I was just really, like, bashful,” Andrea said quietly. “And so I just didn't really say anything, but the weekend before I started my unit, I was so anxious the entire weekend. It was terrible, and that's when I went to the girl who first told me about Al being quirky? I went to her, and I was like, ‘I'm so scared. No one has said this unit is okay.’” She went on, “I actually did show it to [my course instructor], and she liked it. And I was like, ‘Okay, but Al hasn't said it's good, 'cause he hasn't even looked at it.’ And I was just so nervous, because I— I wanted his approval. And he just wasn't even looking. Which is fine, it's better than him disliking everything I do, but I was just scared, 'cause I thought, what if I teach on Monday, and he's like, ‘Hey, let's talk about today.’” Both of us laughed. “You know, that's what I was really afraid of. Every day I'm like, is he gonna say something about what I did? But he never really does.” I do not believe Allen realized Andrea was waiting for him to give her feedback. He may have felt like he was aware of what was happening in the classroom, even though Andrea was unsure what he was thinking. When I interviewed Allen for the second time in the middle of February, he sounded relatively positive about the direction Andrea’s unit was taking: 67 For her part, [Andrea] has really held up her end of the bargain of, um, planning it out and really being clear about what’s gonna happen at, you know at each stage, and having to kind of fit her way of doing things into my way of doing things. So it’s been great. Later in the interview, when I asked Al to identify a conversation the two of them had in the past couple of weeks he “thought was really important,” he returned to their conversation about planning. He said, I think the conversation that I talked about before, where, um, we got into this question of … so here's the anchor text, and, I mean, we pretty much have to do those, but what do you want to talk about, and she had a chance to look at what Emily [my last intern] had done. I think a lot of times you have to kind of push [Andrea] a little bit, too. You know, I said, “I need this to be you. You can't use Emily anymore," and so we had that conversation, and then there was a moment where I think a light bulb went off for her, and I don't know exactly how that exchange happened, but, either she picked up on something, or I picked up on something that this would be more of an expression for her. And like when that happened, I think she was inspired, and then, like, the unit just came together really quickly. And was a personal expression for her. Unfortunately, Al had lost some of that positivity when I interviewed him for a third time just over a month after the second interview. I asked, “I was just wondering … if you could update me on your reflection on lead teaching and how you think that went, from your perspective?” “I think it went well.” After a slight pause, Al went on, “I think she felt invested in the unit, um, because she had developed a lot of aspects of it. I mean, it kind of struck me, I guess, in retrospect that a lot of the things—” The bell rang, and then he resumed, “A lot of the things had 68 stayed the same, so in some ways it didn't take on a real passionate character, you know, the unit. I think that some of it was just delivery of some of the former stuff that had been there. So, I don't know.” He paused again, then continued, “I think that— I can't remember exactly when we had our conversation about where I related that pivotal conversation, but I think I kinda had a sense that it would be more personalized, you know, that … she would really get in there and develop it. I think that she did a very competent job, you know, keeping things going, um, but I feel like, in retrospect, um, I opened the door a little bit there, um, and I don't think she fully ended up walking through.” After another pause, he finished, “So, I mean, disaster did not result, or anything like that, but, you know, it just—I didn't think that, um, it really took on a character that she was highly, highly, committed to.” I interpret this second incident as a severe miscommunication between Al and Andrea. This event would have taken place near the end of January. I interviewed Allen in the middle of February, and I interviewed both Allen and Andrea (separately) toward the end of March. Two things are clear to me: (1) This experience was formative for Andrea, as she was still thinking about it months later, and (2) This experience must have been just as important to Al, since he was thinking about how to approach her about unit planning back in December. Andrea’s Metaphor for Allen’s Mentoring As I described in the previous chapter, I asked both mentors to provide me with metaphors for their mentoring styles, essentially just naming the metaphors they already embodied with their mentoring. Curious if their interns would provide similar or different metaphors for their mentors, I asked each intern the same question, “If you had to select a metaphor for [Allen’s / Dawn’s] mentoring style, what would the metaphor be?” 69 Andrea initially said, “I’m gonna come up with one later, and I’m gonna be like, this is actually what I should’ve said, because I’m sure I won’t come up with something now.” She then told the story of Allen not providing feedback on her unit the way she hoped. Eventually Andrea said, “His mentoring style, like at the beginning, I think was pretty involved, and then he just kind of like (chooom) peaces out. I don't know if that's like a mama bird thing? Maybe that's a metaphor? Don't they, like, kick you out or something, of the nest? Or you like leave the nest or something?” While I will provide more analysis regarding Andrea’s metaphor in the coming chapters, it is interesting to note that her metaphor of a mama bird is somewhat different than Allen’s metaphor of a two-way street. Jason Shepard, Lincoln High School Jason, Dawn’s current intern, appears calm and collected. Like Andrea, Jason is somewhat atypical as an intern. He is approximately five years older than most of his colleagues. After high school, he pursued an out-of-state acting career before returning to get his bachelor’s degree in English education. He returned to acting for another year before completing his fifthyear internship. Also similar to Andrea, Jason is in a committed relationship with a woman who is a teacher in a nearby district, and Jason’s dad is a teacher, allowing him firsthand glimpses of the profession. Jason’s internship experience was more typical than Andrea’s in that he spent all of his time with Dawn, rather than having two mentor teachers. “It Felt Like Colleagues Collaborating” Dawn and Jason’s relationship began similarly to Allen and Andrea’s, though Jason revealed that he was initially frustrated at being placed so far away from where he lived at the time. However, he went through with visiting Dawn’s class at the end of the year prior to the internship, which convinced him to work with her. As Jason said, 70 I remember, like, being really at ease after that meeting, and thinking, like, I'll deal with the commute…. Even observing and watching the way that she kind of handled the classroom, I was like, this is, like, literally everything that I would do…. I remember it being a HUGE sigh of relief, in terms of, okay, the logistics about distance and affordability and everything is kind of out the window, 'cause this is who I want to work with. Period. He shared that memory with me when I interviewed him toward the end of the year, and Jason’s positivity about working with Dawn carried through all the way to that point. Also like Allen and Andrea, Dawn and Jason both identified the same practice as the one they found most educative for Jason: co-planning. When I asked Jason to tell me about a moment he learned something from Dawn and to provide evidence, he described how they revised an SAT writing unit he had designed. After giving the students an assessment, Jason realized they were not at the level he had anticipated, and he was worried about having to completely throw out all of his planning. Instead, Dawn helped him “interpret the evidence” to determine “what they are missing,” and then “build ‘em up to speed on this element that they’re lacking.” Jason told me, “It was a, a really, like, eye-opening experience to kind of see that…it didn't need to be, um, thrown away, it just needed to be, like, adjusted…and we took some of the things that I had incorporated and kind of weaved them into what they needed more.” Jason recalled this experience happening during his first lead teaching period, which would have been at the end of October or beginning of November. Dawn remembered an instance of co-planning from around the same time period, though the one she selected was slightly different. She described how Jason had taught the first half of a 71 unit on the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, and she taught the second half, leading to them “co-planning the end assessment.” Dawn continued, We were using what had already happened with the literary analysis papers in English 10 as the basis for talking about what our 11th graders are going to be doing, and I felt really good about the way that we set up that particular assignment for the students, and the fact that he had a lot of input in it, that I had input in it…It was very much a joint effort…. It felt like colleagues collaborating as opposed to feeling like I'm needing to, like, "Well, (said skeptically) I don't know about that," you know…That was a really exciting situation, um, where I'm like, okay, yeah, this is good. Based on my observations of their planning and the stories both Dawn and Jason told me, they seemed to have been in sync with the way they approached planning together. However, Dawn shared she had a slight concern about one aspect of Jason’s teaching: his independent, short-term planning. “Don’t Use 1st Hour Prep as a Crutch” During our second interview at the end of January, I asked Dawn to identify an important conversation she recently had with Jason. She thought a bit before she responded: We have first hour planning? And so we do tend to do a lot of planning in the morning, right before things happen, which makes me very nervous for that to be a pattern for him. And so, um, . .we talked about how this is the time of year when the copiers tend to break, and, "I think you need to make sure you have all the copies made before you leave. Don't leave it for Monday." Um, and sure enough, Monday the copier was broken. 72 Dawn then reflected on the conversation, laughing slightly while saying the following: “Um, so part of me thought, like, maybe I should just let him have that happen, but then again, you know, I don't want him to start the semester off with, like, a horrible, you know, like no copies.” “Right,” I responded. “But I feel like that's a kind of an important thing for him to kind of think about moving forward, is like, you probably aren't gonna have 1st hour prep in future years.” I laughed, as I mentally recalled my own prep periods. Dawn continued, Like, you're gonna really need to make sure that this is done the day before, your copies made before you leave, because we tend to, like, wait until the very last minute? Um, which is fine, when there's two of us, and . . . it's nice because it's responsive, you know, like, we can talk about what happened yesterday, and then where do we think [the students] need to go, and so there's a lot of stuff that we can do kind of on the fly that's really beneficial; however, some of that might need to happen at the end of the day, the day before, you know. She summarized, “So I was just talking about that, like don’t use first hour prep as a crutch here” (emphasis added). When I observed Dawn and Jason during their first hour planning period earlier that morning, I caught a glimpse of what Dawn was telling me. I noticed that Jason was building, not merely editing, a PowerPoint presentation he planned to use the next hour. Dawn also noticed what he was doing, but she did not address it, at least while I was there. “What do you think that YOU got out of that conversation?” I asked. Dawn responded, “I think, uh, for me, I was relieved that things were gonna be done ahead of time.” She continued, more slowly, “He has very few issues as an intern. Like, there's not a lot of problems that I'm noticing. And so, um, having conversations about, like, some of the 73 few things, every so often, are really crucial.” Dawn recognized that on a spectrum of problems that interns may have, this issue was not cause for grave concern. At the same time, she wanted to help Jason think ahead to when she would not be there as his mentor, which is congruent with Dawn’s mentoring metaphor of parents who want to prepare their children for a time when the children are on their own. Jason’s Metaphor for Dawn’s Mentoring Like I did with Andrea and Allen, I asked Jason to provide me with a metaphor for Dawn’s mentoring. He puzzled over the question for quite a while, talking a bit to himself, before responding, “You know what, I think this is great—and I, I mean, people talk about this all the time, but I think it was very much like watching a, like, toddler learn to ride a bike.” He then described early field placement experiences as riding a bike with training wheels, while the training wheels come off during the student teaching internship. Jason elaborated, “I think it's like walking alongside. There's actually a great commercial on TV that articulates it perfectly, and it's this little kid that says, ‘Don't let go until I tell you, okay?’ And then she [his mom], like, lets go, but he doesn't know that she's let go, and he's doing it, and I think that's probably the perfect way to put it….At some point [Dawn] let go, and I didn't know that she let go, and I was like, ‘Wait, I'm doing this. I'm actually doing this.’ But that, at any moment, if I were to start to waver that she could be there to be like, ‘Okay, I gotcha. Like, you're fine.’” I continue to expound upon Jason’s and Dawn’s metaphors in the rest of this chapter and the coming chapters, but for now it is important to note that Jason’s metaphor of learning to ride a bike was essentially a more nuanced version of Dawn’s parent-child metaphor. 74 Grieving Process and Crisis At our first English mentor PD at the beginning of November, Dawn mentioned, “There’s also that process throughout the year…that grieving process they really go through, like, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m’—especially as English interns—‘I’m never gonna have a life again, because I’m grading papers all the time.’” The rest of the group responded with laughter. Dawn admitted that Jason had not gone through that “grieving process” yet. She wondered, “Do I need to. . . push him over the edge? 'Cause I don't want him to hit that point in February, because it's almost too late to help correct,” she finished with a chuckle. It is important to note that Dawn was pregnant at the time of this study and planning to go on maternity leave in late March or early April, with Jason taking over as her long-term sub. Her impending maternity leave was why she was especially concerned about Jason not having a crisis until February. When I interviewed Dawn for the first time in December, approximately six weeks after the initial PD, she brought up the idea of a “grieving process” again, though this time she did not seem as concerned that Jason had not encountered this feeling: “I think Jason comes in with that knowledge from his dad being a teacher. . . . Like he comes in knowing the profession, you know, and what it involves, and that. So I think that's been,” she paused slightly, “helpful. . . . A post-BA intern like that, there's less of that grieving process for the life you once knew as a student at [the university] versus now, like a teaching professional who has, you know, 20 million papers to grade.” Dawn was back to waiting for that grieving process again when I interviewed her for the second time at the end of January. This time, she added the word crisis to her description: I think, um, he still needs to reach maybe a crisis about grading papers? Like, I think I'm waiting for that point, and. . . I need him to reach meltdown point with the essays and 75 everything, um, and kind of go through that grieving process for the life that he once knew, and then move on from it. According to Dawn, Jason encountering some type of crisis and working through it would be part of what she would define as “success” during the internship. In other words, she wanted Jason “to be independent” and “function. . . without as much support,” but Dawn also thought it was important for her to be there to help him through a crisis. When I asked Dawn how she had mentored previous interns through such crises, she replied, “I think a lot of it is just empathy and . . . continuous support that we have for each other within the department.” Ironically, one week later, during our third English mentor PD, Allen also mentioned his intern had recently had a crisis, and he was waiting for her to have another one: I think one of the more effective things that happened was, um, when she came in kind of late one time, and we had to really, like, bungle through like a day, and it was a good crisis to allow us to have a conversation that was just like natural. . . . I just think that I'm gonna wait for another one of those opportunities. Hopefully not a catastrophic thing, but something where we're both on the same page that that didn't work. (emphasis added) I experienced a spontaneous emotional response (goosebumps) as I made eye contact with Dawn across the table, and we chuckled a bit. “Sounds very sim—“ Dawn hesitated in the middle of the word similar. At the same time, I said, “I know, that’s what I was thinking.” Not only did both mentors want their interns to go through a crisis, but they were also both concerned about their interns’ planning capabilities, especially short-term planning. As Dawn described her frustration with Jason waiting until their first hour planning period to get prepared, she told the group, “We have first hour planning this year, and I’m wondering if that is, um, damaging my intern in some ways.” 76 “A crutch sort of?” Allen asked “Yes,” Dawn replied, as she gave another example of how Jason seemed slightly unprepared. Again there was overlap between the two mentors, as Allen used the word crutch, just as Dawn had during her interview, to describe Jason taking advantage of first hour planning rather than using the time to its full capacity. Approximately a month later, during our next English mentor PD, the other facilitator and I wondered if the interns still needed a crisis, or if Dawn and Allen had mentored their interns through their challenges with planning. “We've had trouble getting it going, because we had a snow day on the day that we had planned to work together. . . . So we had kind of an abbreviated session, but I think it should be good,” Allen said. He also mentioned that Andrea would not be lead teaching for much longer, limiting the amount of time he might implement some of the ideas we had brainstormed. Dawn had encountered a similar problem with a snow day. She told us, “I thought. . . I can model for him, you know, like, I've got all my stuff for English 11 ready. . . and then we had the snow day, and I ended up having to redo the calendar during first hour the day before.” At that point, Dawn and the rest of the group began laughing. “So I was like, ‘Oh, this is so not happening,’” Dawn continued, as the laughter died down. “And meanwhile, he hadn't done his calendar, and he's like, ‘Well, we'll just do the same thing.’ And I'm like, oh, . . .this is not the lesson that I wanted to work on here.” Both mentors essentially indicated they could move beyond these experiences, though they may not encounter the teachable moments they wanted again, due to the limited time left in the interns’ lead teaching. When I interviewed Dawn for a third time three weeks later, as Jason was finishing lead teaching, I asked again if he had encountered a crisis. “I don’t think so,” Dawn said. 77 “Why do you think that he didn't hit that point? You were kind of alluding to maybe he won't in the ways that we often see them?” I asked. “If he does, it's not gonna be a public thing, you know. I think that's part of it, too. Like that he may have his own little personal crisis at home,” she replied. “Yeah, yes,” I said. Dawn continued, “I mean, whatever it takes in terms of getting through that, like if that's how he wants to handle it, then I think that's totally fine, you know? I think it'll still happen, or is happening, and just, we're not seeing it.” Expectations Realized through Mentoring As previously mentioned, Allen expects to learn something from mentoring interns. He illustrated this through his comments at the PD about using “I notice…” and “I wonder…”: “I want you to tell me something that I did well; I want you to tell me something that I could improve on. And just to know that that's a dialogue that's gonna go both ways.” This statement is also illustrative of Allen’s metaphor for his mentoring of a two-way street (i.e., “a dialogue that’s gonna go both ways”). Andrea was quite receptive to the “I notice” practice, which she immediately identified as a time she had learned something from Al. Another way Allen has tried to have interns help him realize his expectation to learn through mentoring is by encouraging “them to develop a whole unit plan…that is gonna really have their own personality.” He does this not only for his own edification, but also, as he said, “to play to their strengths.” However, this has not always gone smoothly. Allen’s first intern did not take his feedback well, which could have been a consequence of how he phrased his feedback. It may also have been because she put a lot of time and energy into creating her plan, and she did not think it warranted Allen’s critique. Allen did not eliminate this practice from his 78 mentoring; though, once again, requiring his current intern Andrea to develop a unit plan did not go as he had hoped. However, he suggested he learned other things from his current intern, not connected to the curriculum. For example, at the third English mentor PD, he told the group, “But there's so many good things about her personality, too. . . like being able to relate way better than I can with my students, and so there's definitely something for me to learn, too.” The setbacks Allen encountered with his previous interns and current intern have neither deterred him from continuing to require his interns to develop a unit plan, nor from mentoring all together. His willingness to continue could mean he feels like he always learns something, even if it is not what he expected; he is having enough of his other expectations realized; or he is hopeful his expectations will be realized by future interns. With Jason, Dawn realized at least two of her expectations for mentoring: her desire to learn from mentoring and her desire to feel less isolated. Jason and Dawn shared a classroom all day. I got the sense Jason even stayed in the room during the planning hour he had to himself. When I observed them during their shared planning period, there was an ease about the way they interacted with one another. They shared details about students, e-mails from administration, and upcoming units. Dawn also learned from Jason, both through co-planning and through discussing their Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). As Dawn told me during our second interview, “He has a PLC that he's part of that is a separate formative assessment group. I have my own PLC that's a formative assessment group, and so then usually on Wednesdays we'll talk about [each other’s] PLCs.” Dawn’s description of PLCs at Lincoln stands in stark contrast to Allen creating his own learning communities online. There were layers of learning for Dawn, as she 79 learned not only from her own PLC, but also from exchanging information with Jason about his PLC. Expectations Not Realized through Mentoring Allen wants to feel less isolated in his teaching through mentoring, as he made clear by noting that all classrooms should have two teachers. Unfortunately, Allen’s expectation of reducing isolation was not met by Andrea. In what she viewed as a necessary and positive part of her internship, Andrea advocated for having a split placement in both English and French. However, this meant she was with Allen only two hours of the day for three-quarters of her internship, and they did not share a common planning or lunch time. Having a limited amount of time together may have led to tension in their relationship, prompting Allen to feel like he was unsure how to best provide Andrea feedback and that she was not fully invested in the English portion of her internship. I was struck by Dawn’s and Allen’s choice of the word crisis to describe a moment to prompt learning. I generally think of a crisis as something terribly serious, like a plane crash or natural disaster. However, Dawn’s and Allen’s use of the word was close to its original meaning. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the word crisis comes from a Greek word meaning to decide. The third definition of crisis is “a vitally important or decisive stage in the progress of anything; a turning-point.” Considering this definition, I understand why mentors would expect interns to experience a crisis during their lead teaching, which is a “decisive stage” in their internship, and their lives as a whole. If mentors approach lead teaching in an educative way, their goal is usually to relinquish control of the majority of the decision making to their interns while still offering them support. This is an opportunity for interns not only to explore the type of teacher they want to be, but also to determine if they are actually going to pursue 80 teaching as a career. Mentors who successfully guide their interns through such an intense time would likely feel a sense of pride or accomplishment—meeting an expectation that may also serve to retain them as mentors. Moreover, having a crisis might also explain why an intern would experience a grieving process, as Dawn said. The first definition of grief is “hardship, suffering;” however, the seventh definition seems most appropriate for the internship: Mental pain, distress, or sorrow. In modern use in a more limited sense: deep or violent sorrow, caused by loss or trouble; a keen or bitter feeling of regret for something lost, remorse for something done, or sorrow for mishap to oneself or others. (OED) As Dawn put it, interns experience “that grieving process for the life [they] once knew as a student at [the university] versus now, like a teaching professional who has, you know, 20 million papers to grade.” Interns would probably experience such grief the most during lead teaching, when they are responsible for planning, teaching, and grading more than at any other point in the internship. They may have “remorse for something done” when they realize their days of being full-time college students are over as they transition into full-time careers. Ultimately, neither intern ever experienced a professional crisis in the way(s) Dawn and Allen expected. I interviewed Jason after Dawn went on maternity leave, when Jason became her long-term sub. Jason told me, Now it's like, if a lesson flops, it flops, and I learn from that, whereas before she did the damage control to try to make sure that that didn't ever happen. That it never flopped, and I felt super supported, and it's probably why, when everybody from the College of Ed was throwing up red flags about being concerned about me taking over, that I was like, are you kidding? I've been fine, like, I've been doing great all year, and I don't really feel 81 like I've had a terrible lesson, or one of those, like, crying moments in my car, like man, this was a really bad day, but I think a lot of that was because she was there to kind of, ease me—cradle me into it. In this way, Dawn inadvertently prevented Jason from having a crisis while she was there, which Jason recognized. Unlike Jason, Andrea seems to have experienced a crisis, just not the one Allen thought she had. She said to me, “We don't have those, like, organic conversations, and I always feel like we're rushed together. Whenever we're in the same room, it's like, someone's got something to do.” As I mentioned previously, this was especially troubling to Andrea when she planned a unit for which Allen did not provide her feedback. To review, Andrea told me, I was just so nervous, because I wanted his approval. And he just wasn't even looking. Which is fine, it's better than him disliking everything I do, but I was just scared, 'cause I thought, what if I teach on Monday, and he's like, ‘Hey, let's talk about today.’ You know, that's what I was like really afraid of. Every day I'm like, is he gonna say something about what I did? But he never really does. Even though Allen thought Andrea had a crisis when she came in underprepared one day, he did not identify the crisis she actually had (i.e., wanting his approval on a unit plan) and, thus, did not guide her through it. Returning to both Chapters 1 and 3, another reason Dawn and Allen may have wanted their interns to experience a crisis was to help them develop resilience, which could be a factor in the interns’ retention as teachers (Bobek, 2002; Houwer, 2011). As Houwer (2011) argued, “I suggest that learning from and through crisis cultivates resilience and social fitness, both of which are stated aims of schooling” (p. 111). Ironically, though, Houwer (2011) also shared 82 Patton’s (2008) research, through which Patton found that after a crisis, “Students recounted being encouraged not to reflect but to ‘return to normal’ as quickly as possible” (p. 110). In other words, even though schools want students to develop resilience, they want students to do so without dwelling on or really experiencing crisis. Since these mentors are also teachers, it is possible they unknowingly protected their interns from experiencing crises, which would align with Houwer’s (2011) assertion about the ways schools often attempt to “mitigate” crises (p. 110). Unfortunately, as Houwer (2011) concluded, “Crises offer great teaching material! However, if we fail to respond to crises, we fail to learn; our world stays the same, making objects of us” (p. 115). I would not go so far as to say that neither the mentors nor their interns learned from these particular mentoring experiences because the interns did not experience or respond to crises as subjects rather than objects. Instead, I suggest that Jason may have missed a learning opportunity because he didn’t have a crisis under Dawn’s mentorship, but his internship was still a valuable learning experience for him overall. Furthermore, Jason hinted he may have experienced a few mini-crises after Dawn went on maternity leave: “Now it's like, if a lesson flops, it flops, and I learn from that.” At first, Andrea appears to have been an object in her crisis; however, upon reflection, she determined she could have taken agency as a subject, which suggests she may respond to such crises differently in the future. If one of the main goals of the mentors wanting their interns to experience a crisis is to help the interns develop resilience, that may have happened regardless of how the mentors perceived the situation. Conversely, if the mentors mainly expected their interns to experience crises in order to feel a sense of accomplishment about mentoring them through these challenges, that did not happen with these interns. 83 Although neither mentor had all of their expectations for mentoring realized with these particular interns, both mentors indicated they would continue mentoring. Thus, as I asserted in Chapter 1, mentor retention is not reliant upon mentors having all of their expectations met with every intern, just as teacher retention is not reliant upon satisfying all of the conditions that generally lead to retention (Clandinin et al., 2015). Additionally, similar to teacher retention, mentor support is an important factor in mentor retention—a factor I consider in the next chapter. 84 CHAPTER 5 STAYING A MENTOR: FUTURE EXPERIENCES WITH MENTORING At the end of the school year, pre-service teacher mentors often must decide if they plan to mentor again the following year. Allen and Dawn were no exception. By the time of our final interview at the end of March, Allen already knew who his intern would be for the next year, and they had set up times for the intern to visit Allen’s classroom. Dawn, on the other hand, knew she would be on maternity leave during first semester, so she did not plan to have an intern the following year. During my final interview with both mentors, we spent some time talking about their future plans for mentoring. In this chapter, I will first present Allen’s and Dawn’s reasons for continuing to mentor in their own words. Next, I will address the mentors’ stated needs for support to continue mentoring. I will close the chapter by reading between the lines about the types of support the mentors may need that they did not directly state. Allen: Being Exposed to New Ideas and Part of a Community My last interview with Allen had a somewhat melancholy tone compared to our previous interviews. As he said, “I’m kind of low right now; I think in March and February generally, I am.” I noticed he paused longer between responses, and while he still spent more time talking than I did, I had to insert more questions to prompt him to talk. It was the end of March, and everyone— teachers and students— was ready for spring break. After taking a bit of time to recap our previous interview and follow-up on Andrea’s progress as she completed lead teaching, I asked Al to shift gears a little bit and think “holistically”: “You've been a mentor for several years now, so I'm wondering, what is it that keeps you interested, um, or continuing to return to mentoring?” 85 Allen immediately responded, “I think it's just, uh, being held to a high expectation is one aspect, um, you know having people who are at least being exposed to, um, ideas that push the envelope a little bit. Although, you know, I think, in some cases, it's, it's not pushing the envelope, but they're at least being exposed to things that are going to push me a little bit.” He paused briefly before continuing, “And I, I like having a continual influx of that, um, I like having people in my classroom, and you know, we don't have any sort of system in place. We don't have any mentorship in place.” With his last comment, Al was referring to Harrison High School’s lack of a mentoring and induction program for new teachers, and the school’s lack of professional learning communities or opportunities to observe and learn from colleagues. As Al noted, “I've looked at MSU as being more of my community almost than, you know, my colleagues here.” He sees the university as a community for his professional learning, because many of HHS’s staff meetings are about logistical items (i.e., “to give announcements and talk about test scores”) rather than developing professional knowledge. Al went on, “And so I see MSU, and, you know, some of- some of the groups that I, um, kind of hang out with and follow on Twitter and other places as being a community that I've built myself, and that I've put together.” “Can you tell me about some of the characteristics of those communities?” I prompted. “Like, how would you describe this community that you say you've built for yourself?” “Well, I think they're always thinking, and discussing, and coming up with something to, um, bring to the classroom,” he answered. “And, usually questioning the validity of what we do in schools. Common practices that we do in school.” Allen did not expound on what those “common practices” might be, though he did say, “So many times I've realized something that I'm doing that has disenfranchised a whole group of people. And, I would rather find out about 86 that sooner than later, you know, so I think being around those people helped me to have those realizations sooner.” In spending several months with Allen, I was aware he had begun using standards-based assessment the previous year, which places more emphasis on formative than summative assessments, and relies more on narrative feedback than traditional letter grades. He also briefly mentioned an interest in “maker spaces,” and I know he was engaging with his online community about both topics. However, this community also extended into his work as a mentor, as he taught his interns about standards-based grading, and talked with his incoming intern about the possibility of creating a maker space in his classroom the following year. Consequently, even though he did not consider his full-time colleagues part of his community, he was still part of an in-person community with his interns, a community that was generally open to trying new practices. At the end of the interview, I wanted to give Allen a chance to add anything he felt had been left out. “Anything else that you want to say to me about mentoring, um, about, like, the experience of being a mentor?” Initially, he said, “Not that I can think of,” but after a few seconds, he provided an extended response, first focusing on the interns: I don't know. I mean, I think it's [mentoring has] been a really positive experience, and, and I definitely want to keep going with it. I think it's been really good for me and for, um, hopefully for the interns. I mean, most of 'em I think look back somewhat fondly on some things and got, you know, at least got some things that they wouldn't have gotten otherwise, so, um, I've enjoyed it. He continued by explaining how mentoring has impacted him: “I feel like it's—it does make me feel like I'm a part of the profession, you know, more that aspect of it, which, I think really does 87 require there to be, um, you know mentorship and apprenticeship and those kind of concepts, that really makes it a profession.” Again, Allen’s response referred back to his ideas about continuing to mentor to be held accountable and be part of a community. We chatted for a bit longer about teaching English before a student came in for assistance, bringing our interview to a close. Dawn: Collegiality, Reduced Isolation, Benefiting Students Similar to my last interview with Allen, Dawn and I spent the first portion of our final interview catching up about the end of Jason’s lead teaching. Dawn’s tone was unlike Allen’s in that she was quite upbeat approaching spring break and her maternity leave. I got the sense she was confident she was leaving her classroom in good hands; if Dawn’s mentoring relationship with Jason had not been so positive, her demeanor might have been different. While Dawn still spoke for longer stretches than I did, our final interview was like a conversation between colleagues, with several overlapping exchanges. About twenty minutes into our last interview, I asked Dawn the same question I asked Allen: “You've mentored for a long time,” both of us laughed good-naturedly, “and I'm wondering, like, what keeps you interested or continuing to return to mentoring?” “I think the,” Dawn paused slightly, “the collegiality of it, like, not being alone in the classroom? Has so many benefits, you know, being able to talk over different things, and learn different things, and keep up to date with, you know, what are the buzz words in education,” she chuckled. “Just even, like, the different technologies, and, and so forth. I think it's really cool to be able to, um, experience that.” She went on to explain another positive aspect of continuing to mentor: “And I think it's beneficial—having two people. I mean, there's the other benefit for me, you know, having two people in the classroom is good for the kids—that we can address more kids that way and meet their needs more, if there's more than just me.” 88 After a brief pause, I resumed, “So that, that last thing that you said about that it meets the needs of the kids, that's something that I've always said, too. Um, but I would love to hear if you have any specific examples. Like of when you've really noticed that working.” Dawn immediately provided the following story: Well, um, like for example, in our third hour, we have a student who is an English language learner and, um, has a learning disability and physical disability. So, like, he's, he's got all sorts of issues, but really, really, really wants to be "normal." But his issues with writing, um, like having our timed writing, because his hands are disfigured, and, um, he also has issues with reading comprehension because of being, of second languagelearning English. And so, he has been somebody who, having Jason there, and his desk is right by Jason's, and so he will just ask [Jason], you know, anytime he needs to do something. Or if he needs help with something, he can ask [Jason] in a way that is, um, more subtle? You know, and he feels more like he's mainstream that way. They worked out a system, so that rather than doing—writing down the quotes for their quiz corrections, um, 'cause kids can find quotes to make up points on the quizzes—rather than writing it down, he'll go through and underline the quote in the book with a pencil and a sticky note. So he'll just, like, talk it through with Jason, um, to earn back points, and that's worked out really well. Dawn continued by providing another general way having an intern and mentor in the classroom is beneficial. “So I think that's a really good example, but there's also, you know— Anytime we're writing, it's been so beneficial to have two of us, you know, in the library, or in the classroom, or wherever, because those are the days when you feel like you're pulled in twenty million directions?” 89 “Yes,” I interjected, recalling just how difficult it was to provide individual attention to each student during independent writing. “Yeah,” Dawn rejoined, “and even with, um, with Jason and I [sic.], plus Tracy our librarian, when we're all in the library together, like, I'm just always exhausted by the end of the hour. So I think that's definitely beneficial, because otherwise, there are kids you just wouldn't get to, you know. The kids who maybe just need that extra little bit of coaching and can do a great job, but they kind of fall below the radar if you have all these fires that desperately need to get put out. You can get to more of the not-an-immediate fires, but, yeah.” “Right, right,” I quickly agreed. “The fire that you find out was burning the whole time afterward.” “Exactly. Afterwards, when you're grading the paper. Yes. Or the paper that just isn't getting written, and you never notice, because you're too busy. At least there's one of us who can be like, ‘Okay, well, what do you need help with?’” “Again, I feel like this is really affirming to me to hear,” I said, as both of us chuckled. “That was always something that I would feel, too, you know, like writing is so important, but to really do it well it takes a lot of time, and, like you said, it's exhausting.” Dawn concurred, “It's hands-on. Yeah.” After a couple of seconds, she continued, “It's interesting, because, I think as teacher evaluations have come to rely more on kids' performance, and student growth, like, initially there's this concern. Like, oh, I can't have an intern now, 'cause, you know, if you turn them [the secondary students] over to an intern, you know, you never know what's gonna happen. But, then again,” she countered, “there's so many other benefits to having both of you in the classroom, and the benefit of, at least, for my classroom, benefit of having two people definitely outweighs anything that would be—” She stopped 90 herself, then went on, “You know, yes, it's an intern delivering the content during this time, but at the same time, it's not— There's still two of us in there, you know? You can still help kids more this way. So, yeah, definitely worth it.” Since Dawn was still going to be on maternity leave first semester of the following year, I said, “I know that next year, you're not—” “Right,” Dawn laughed. “But do you plan to come back to mentoring—” “The following year?” Dawn interrupted. “Yeah, oh, yeah.” “The following year?” I echoed. “Definitely,” she said emphatically. “Okay, so, tell me more about, um, like what helps you make that decision.” “Whether or not to have an intern for that year?” Dawn asked for clarification. “Yeah, yeah,” I responded. “Um, I think part of it is, like, my availability. Like, am I, um, able to be present for an intern, like to be really, you know, there to be supportive of them? And so, definitely for the year after next, I would say that would be a good time.” Dawn then continued, a bit more haltingly, Um, and I think, too— I kind of— that's my one— The one thing about coming back next year I think is gonna be a little bit hard is, like, I remember coming back after Chris [my second child] was born, and Clarissa [my intern] was such a— 'cause I had an intern because I came back in the fall, and it was such a good— Like, she was the one who actually really got me fired up about teaching again? 'Cause I didn't want to come back, you know; I wasn't ready to come back, and so I think it's gonna be hard coming back in 91 the middle of the year, and stepping into that. Feeling like, yeah, I'm not ready to be back at work, without that person to kind of make me, like, see the profession through fresh eyes, so. Yeah. So next year might be a little bleak. Both of us laughed at Dawn’s last statement. Although it may have seemed like hyperbole, Dawn was pregnant with her third child, so she had a good idea of what it would be like to return to work after being home with her children. This statement also revealed another side of Dawn’s character: She is human, and while she may be outwardly upbeat most of the time, she has challenges like anyone else. What Mentors Need to Continue Mentoring During the last interview with both mentors, I also asked them what types of support they have encountered over their time as mentors. I was curious to know if the support they perceived was a factor in retaining them. Ways Allen has been Supported as a Mentor Allen and I discussed how he has been supported after he mentioned how it is really important for him to “be near a university town,” so he can be around people “who are trying to come up with new ways of doing things” in education. I asked, broadly, “How would you say that you've been supported in your role as a mentor?” Allen barely paused before saying, “Well, I think the meetings that we've had have been good,” in reference to the English professional development we offered them. “Um, I've liked to have sort of some give and take [between the university and me]. I like, um, the opportunities to present and play kind of a larger role in the whole thing.” By “whole thing,” I believe Allen meant the university’s teacher preparation program, beyond just mentoring an intern each year. As previously mentioned, Allen presented at the teacher preparation program’s Opening Day, to 92 which all secondary mentors in close proximity to the university were invited. (The teacher preparation program held a separate Opening Day for mentors and interns in a location about 90 miles east of the university.) Allen frequently referenced his participation in this event, both during our interviews and PD sessions. Al went on, “I think another thing about education is that there's not much of a ladder, I mean, it's just like you either jump into administration, or, you know, you just kind of languish as a teacher for your entire career. And, and especially in a school that has NO,” he emphasized, “induction program, no mentorship program, no communities of learning, you know, PLCs, anything. Um, no department heads, I mean, though that's kind of an outdated one, but still, there's no progression. And I feel like, um, transitioning into some of these other communities— I mean, although they don't really have necessarily formalized roles, either, it feels like I'm making some sort of progress.” We sat in silence for several seconds before I affirmed that other mentors had told me they felt similarly about wanting to advance as teachers without becoming administrators. “It sounds like that’s a little bit what you’re saying,” I ventured. “Sure,” Al said. “Yeah, I mean, it’s kind of like a final stage of learning. I mean, it’s a very long— I mean it’s not probably a—” “It’s, like, continuing,” I suggested. “Yeah, continual learning, but once you've gotten up to a level where you have enough competence to do what you're doing on a daily basis, then, you know, I think it's time to start thinking about how you can share that with other people. And then you start getting into, I think, a lot deeper levels of learning.” Based on this interview and Al’s previous interviews, he has 93 clearly shared his learning about teaching with a multitude of others: his interns, other mentors, and other educators (PK-12 and post-secondary) in his online communities. Ways Dawn has been Supported as a Mentor After Dawn told me she was planning to return to mentoring after she came back from maternity leave, I asked, “How would you say that you've been supported in your role as a mentor— you can think about this year, you can think about previous years, but how would you say that you've been supported in your role?” First, Dawn identified an aspect that is a holdover from LHS’s days as a professional development school: “I think, um, it's nice because there are so many mentor teachers in our building. I mean, Lincoln is just mentor central.” I laughed in reply. “You know,” Dawn resumed, “that's always been really helpful to be able to, you know, like, go to Allison [another English mentor], or go to, um, other teachers who have had interns before, you know, and say like, ‘Okay, what's going on here? Like, how would you handle this situation?’ That's really helpful.” Next, Dawn mentioned the university’s role in supporting mentors. “I think that MSU does a good job with the, you know, at the beginning of the year with the mentor, um, training and that kind of thing. I think they do a good job of kind of setting it up for, um, success.” Through this statement, I believe Dawn was referring to Opening Day, as Allen mentioned. She continued, “I think the field instructors play a big role. I'm happy that the Educator Network is kind of coming— becoming—” “We're trying,” I inserted. Dawn recommenced, “is coming back. Yes, exactly, exactly. I think that's really helpful, though, because it, it's another, um, venue to talk about things and to grow. And I feel more 94 informed this year than, um, any other year since the Network went away, about what's going on in their MSU classes and how I can be supportive of that. So I think that's really useful.” She went on to identify another aspect I had not previously considered: the secondary students and their parents. “I guess part of it, too, is parental support. Like, the Lincoln parents are accepting of interns, and the kids are accepting of interns; they expect that they're gonna have an intern. I think, from a district point of view, that definitely helps. Because it would be hard to constantly feel like you're defending, um, your decision to have an intern in the class.” “I think that's so important,” I agreed. “What you were just saying about the district support, something that I hadn't really considered before. Because I've thought a lot about, like, um, you know, you need other people in the building, and that you could feel very isolated if you don't have other people in the building who are mentoring, and you don't have somebody else outside the building,” I said, thinking of Allen. “But the district— that's, yeah. I think that's huge.” “Yeah, yeah, and just, the parent approach to that, as well,” Dawn reinforced. “Have there been any times where you've—” I did not finish my thought, but Dawn knew what I was going to ask. “Oh, yeah, there have definitely been, you know, a few parents who've been like—” Dawn mouthed something inaudible, though she must have said something to indicate that a few parents are unhappy with interns teaching their children. She continued, audibly, “Or, um, one year, when Allison was on maternity leave, I took her honors sections, so that's where it really becomes kind of more of an issue. With the honors parents. [They will say,] ‘I didn't sign up to have my child be taught by an intern.’” 95 The support Dawn identified provided by others in her building, district, parents, and students was similar to the sense I had gotten in my (comparatively) limited interactions with people in the building. However, I had previously thought of these supports in terms of the interns fortunate enough to be placed at Lincoln High School, rather than considering how mentors were also supported in this culture. Reading between the Lines: Continued Support for Mentor Retention Some researchers suggest support is an important factor in teacher retention (Hancock & Scherff, 2010; Johnson, 2006); additionally, support as part of compensation is an expectation for some mentors (e.g., Fives et al., 2016). However, neither mentor in this study directly acknowledged support as a reason they continue mentoring, nor did I identify support as an expectation for either mentor. Most of Dawn’s and Allen’s expectations for mentoring could be fulfilled by the interns and the act of mentoring itself, rather than requiring outside support. At the same time, considering Dawn’s and Allen’s responses to my questions in our last interview, there is overlap between the reasons they gave for continuing to mentor and the support they have received. In order to take a closer look at this overlap, I determine how their reasons for continuing to mentor, and the supports they mentioned, coincide with the expectations I previously identified for each mentor. Desire to Learn from Mentoring When I asked Allen what keeps him returning to mentoring, his first response was about “being exposed to ideas that push the envelope.” He recognized the ideas that the interns bring to the classroom from the university might not “push the envelope” in largescale ways across education, but he did note how interns’ ideas “might push me a little bit.” As much as universitybased teacher educators and interns hope mentors will bring together theory and practice for the 96 interns (Ambrosetti, Knight, & Dekkers, 2014; Butler & Cuenca, 2012; McDonough, 2014), mentors like Allen appreciate a refresher on theory. Moreover, Allen’s comments about being exposed to new ideas as a main reason he continues to mentor connect once again to his metaphor for mentoring of a two-way street, as outlined in Chapter 3. Dawn’s thoughts about one reason she continues to mentor were similar to Allen’s: “being able to…keep up to date with…the buzzwords in education” and “the different technologies.” She did not elaborate in quite as much detail as Allen did, indicating this may not be one of the main reasons Dawn continues to mentor. Both mentors mentioned various professional development opportunities (e.g., Opening Day for interns and mentors, the English mentor PD) offered by the teacher preparation program as ways they have felt supported as mentors. As Dawn said, she thinks the teacher preparation program “set[s] up [the mentoring partnerships] for success,” and she felt “more informed this year,” due to the English mentor PD. Both mentors expect to learn from mentoring, and both acknowledged the role that support in the form of PD offered by the teacher preparation program plays in their desire to continue mentoring. Given this overlap, I suggest that university-based teacher educators should consider ways to exploit this form of support and make it more robust to help fulfill this expectation, an implication I describe in more detail in the next chapter. Desire to Feel Less Isolated in Teaching and Remain Connected to the University Being the only adult in a classroom full of young adults can be very isolating (Bell, 2016). Teachers often see their colleagues only occasionally (e.g., at lunch, monitoring the halls, staff meetings). Some schools and districts have mentoring and induction programs in place, which researchers have found is a factor in teacher retention (e.g., Callahan, 2016; DeAngelis, Wall, & Che, 2013; Drago-Severson, 2007; Hallam, Chou, Hite, & Hite, 2012; Ingersoll & 97 Strong, 2011). However, as Allen remarked about Harrison High School, “We don’t have any mentorship in place.” Consequently, one of the reasons he continues mentoring is to “have a continual influx of. . . people [interns] in [his] classroom” and to have university-based teacher educators and other PST mentors as his “community.” Based on Allen’s comments in this interview and across interviews, I speculate that if Allen was not a pre-service teacher mentor, feeling isolated might lead to his attrition from the teaching profession. For as little as Allen feels like his colleagues at HHS support his work as a teacher and mentor, Dawn feels the opposite. As she said, “Lincoln is just mentor central.” Mentoring PSTs gives Dawn the opportunity to interact with her colleagues differently than she might as only a classroom teacher. Similarly to Allen, though, Dawn also enjoys having interns in her classroom for “the collegiality.” In addition to Opening Day and the PD supporting mentors in their learning, such teacher preparation program-sponsored events also help reduce mentor teachers’ isolation, as these events have for both of these mentor teachers. Mentors from other schools and other districts get to know each other, as well as getting to know university-based teacher educators. Sometimes, as with Al, attendees and presenters even follow each other on social media. While the ultimate goal of PD is to support mentor teacher learning, PD may also support teachers in reducing their isolation. Furthermore, Opening Day and the PD are ways both mentors remain connected to the university, as well. When Allen identified teacher preparation program-sponsored events as a way he has been supported, he said, “I’ve liked to have sort of some give and take [between the university and me]. I like, um, the opportunities to present and play kind of a larger role in the whole thing.” Dawn also specifically identified the support from the university, as outlined in the previous section, signifying the support provided by the teacher preparation program helps to fulfill multiple expectations for these mentors. 98 Desire to Advance Professionally Similar to when Dawn first broached the idea of mentoring interns through crises, I was initially taken aback by Allen telling me, “I think another thing about education is that there's not much of a ladder, I mean, it's just like you either jump into administration, or, you know, you just kind of languish as a teacher for your entire career” (emphasis added). Though using the word languish may seem a bit extreme, Allen’s point about “there not being a ladder” is actually wellsupported in the literature on mentoring. For example, as Chapman (1983) argued, “Teachers believe they have little lateral mobility and less upward mobility than do people in other careers (Lowther & Chapman, 1981). This can lead to dissatisfaction and attrition from the profession” (p. 43). Allen likely feels as though his mentoring is a step up the metaphorical ladder, consequently fulfilling his expectation to advance professionally and contributing to his retention as both a mentor and a teacher. Desire to Help Interns through Professional Crises While neither mentor directly referenced helping interns through professional crises in this interview, Dawn’s story about returning from maternity leave provides a new angle from which to consider this expectation. As described in the previous chapters, one potential explanation for mentors wanting to help their interns through professional crises is to help their interns develop resilience. Again, resilience is a personal characteristic that could contribute to teacher retention (Bobek, 2002). After maternity leave with her second child, it was Dawn who may have been having a crisis: “I didn’t want to come back…I wasn’t ready to come back.” Then, it was Dawn’s intern “who actually really got me fired up about teaching again,” and might have helped Dawn redevelop some resilience. In addition, although Dawn told me this 99 story in connection to why she continues mentoring, interns like the one who eased her transition back to school may also function as support for Dawn as a mentor and teacher. Additional Expectations The mentors either did not address or sparingly addressed the two remaining expectations (i.e., desire to make an impact beyond the classroom and to experience a spontaneous emotional response). Allen and Dawn connected to the expectation to make an impact beyond the secondary classroom in different ways. As Allen said at the end of his interview, one of the reasons he continues to mentor is that he hopes the experience is “good” for the interns and that they get “some things that they wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.” For Dawn, the support she receives from parents and administrators helps her fulfill this expectation, since this support enables her to be a mentor with less trepidation than other mentors. I did not anticipate Allen or Dawn to mention they continue mentoring because they want to experience a spontaneous emotional response. While I have attempted to attach language to this abstract concept, Allen and Dawn may have called it something else. Moreover, it is not a concept I have seen in the mentoring or teacher retention literature. The concept’s absence in the literature may partially be because mentors do not often think in terms of their own emotions in a mentoring relationship. Instead, they think of their mentee’s emotional well-being. For example, there are references to mentees receiving emotional support from their mentors (e.g., Odell & Ferraro, 1992); however, emotional support is needed across time and can be offered by someone else, whereas a spontaneous emotional response is fleeting and carried out individually. Perhaps the most striking thing Dawn said in this interview is that one of the reasons she continues to mentor is because having an intern “is good for the kids—that we can address more kids that way and meet their needs more, if there’s more than just me.” She then provided both 100 specific and general examples to illustrate her point. Being able to better address students’ needs typically only happens if mentors and interns are truly co-planning and co-teaching. Dawn readily admitted that many teachers are reticent to mentor interns, due to concerns over “teacher evaluations [that] have come to rely more on kids’ performance and student growth.” For Dawn, the benefits of mentoring outweigh the aforementioned risks; however, mentors need thoughtful preparation and support in order to mentor interns in a way that ultimately benefits their students and assuages mentors’ concerns about evaluations. Due to teacher preparation programs’ dependence on school-based mentors, programs must take mentor preparation and support seriously if they are going to retain mentors. I conclude this study in the next chapter by discussing this and other significant implications. 101 CHAPTER 6 DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS “Allen, it’s nice to see you again!” Dawn brightly exclaimed, as she sat down at the table. “Likewise,” Allen replied, sipping his coffee. “How have you been the past few years?” Dawn queried. Allen took a deep breath and exhaled before responding: “Busy. My oldest is in college now, and I’m constantly thinking about what her experiences mean for my teaching, seeing what my AP students will encounter in a year, you know?” “Yeah,” Dawn answered. “My oldest is in middle school, and I see all the ways his teachers try to prepare him for high school, but I wonder if he will ever TRULY be ready. Kind of like the interns I’ve had over the years; I send them off to their first jobs, HOPING I have done all I can to set them up for success.” “Presenting at conferences, communicating with people through my blog, and talking to other mentors at PD sessions like this helps me take solace in the realization that no one has it all figured out. No matter how many years I’ve done this, no matter how much I think I know about teaching and mentoring, there is always more to learn.” “That’s so true,” Dawn said with a chuckle. “I can’t believe I’ve been mentoring interns off and on for over 15 years!” “Same here—it’s been just over 10 years for me. What do you think keeps you coming back? How do you stay motivated as a mentor?” Allen asked. “Hm, that’s a good question. You know, I keep in touch with a lot of them. Even if they teach in other districts, a few of them are like my colleagues. We swap stories about our 102 successes and challenges— In fact, I just got an e-mail from one of my former interns the other day, Jason, who was my intern five years ago.” “Oh, really? What’s he up to these days?” With a hint of disbelief in her voice, Dawn replied, “He’s still teaching! I was kind of surprised, since he was always trying to decide if he wanted to be an actor or teacher. He even moved to New York right before his internship to pursue an acting opportunity. It turns out he had also considered pursuing an alternate route to teaching, rather than completing the internship.” “Interesting,” Allen interjected. “Yes, I had no idea; he was generally a pretty strong intern. But what was most gratifying for me was to hear that Jason wouldn’t have done anything differently. He said he was writing to thank me for being his mentor; that if he had ‘taken the alternate route and dove headfirst into teaching,’ he probably would not still be teaching today.” “It sounds like you really had an impact on him.” Her eyes shining, Dawn smiled. “I think so. You asked what keeps me coming back to mentoring. There are a lot of things, but knowing I’ve had an impact on future teachers, an impact maybe even felt by their students, is the main reason.” *** To close this study, I return once again to my research question: What experiences influence English teachers to continue mentoring pre-service teachers? To draw some conclusions in relation to this question, I first revisit my participants’ expectations for mentoring, considering how these expectations may or may not be applicable to other mentors. Next, I reconnect the findings and analysis outlined in Chapters 3, 4, and 5 to the literature and 103 theoretical perspectives informing this study. I conclude with some thoughts about where to go next for teacher educators and mentors. Reflecting on Expectations for Mentoring: Discussion and Implications The vignette that opened this chapter is an imagined interaction between Allen and Dawn, meeting again for mentor PD, five years after the conclusion of this study. The purpose of the vignette is to briefly illustrate, once again, the expectations Allen and Dawn have for mentoring. As outlined in Chapter 3, they are motivated by the following expectations: to learn from mentoring, to feel less isolated in their teaching, to advance professionally, to make an impact beyond the classroom, to remain connected to the university, to help interns through professional crises, and to experience a spontaneous emotional response. Both Mentors’ Expectations Just the act of mentoring meets both mentors’ desire to feel less isolated in teaching. When difficulties arise with interns, as they often do, mentors may seek out other mentors to use as sounding boards and reduce their isolation. In real life and in the vignette, Allen and Dawn also met this expectation by attending PD for mentors. Additionally, both mentors’ attendance at the PD illustrates their desire to advance professionally. Again, not only do they see mentoring itself as a way to advance professionally, but they also look for opportunities to advance that are connected to their mentoring, like the PD. Moreover, Dawn collaborated with other mentors at her school to hold mock interviews for all the English interns in their building because the interns were unable to attend the university’s job fair. Allen and his intern Andrea simultaneously participated in another research study together (including other researchers from the university and me). Participating in the other study gave them the real-life opportunity to present at a national and local conference, which I also indicated in the vignette. Both Dawn and 104 Allen stay connected to the university by mentoring interns from the university, participating in research with graduate students and faculty, and attending university-sponsored PD. The remaining expectations (i.e., to learn from mentoring, to make an impact beyond their classroom, to mentor interns through professional crises, and to experience a spontaneous emotional response) are best illustrated on an individual basis. Allen’s Expectations As introduced in Chapter 3, Allen’s metaphor for mentoring is that of a two-way street, which connects most closely to his desire to learn from mentoring. In the opening vignette, Allen made two comments that were meant to highlight that expectation: “I’m constantly thinking about what [my daughter’s] experiences [at college] mean for my teaching, seeing what my AP students will encounter in a year, you know?” and, “No matter how many years I’ve done this, no matter how much I think I know about teaching and mentoring, there is always more to learn.” Allen reflects on his teaching on a daily basis via a variety of outlets: talking with his intern, tweeting and participating in Twitter chats with teachers from around the country, and writing blog posts, among others. He reflects on his mentoring by attending PD and talking to mentors from other districts. Some of these modes result in more learning for him as a teacher and mentor than others. For example, mentors often learn from their interns in two direct ways: through observing the interns teach and through conversations with them (e.g., co-planning, talking about a student, post-observation conference). These observations and conversations tend to impact mentors’ practice as teachers by influencing them to adopt particular assignments, materials, or teaching practices. In this case, Andrea does not seem to have influenced Allen in the aforementioned ways; however, I do believe Allen learned something about himself from working with her. One 105 specific instance of Allen learning about himself was prompted by Andrea introducing a MyersBriggs personality test to the students, which she had them complete both as themselves and while thinking like a particular character. Allen took the test, as well, and during both the second and third interviews he commented, “I’m an architect.” This realization propelled Allen to consider why some students might respond better to his lesson plans and personality than others. Connected to mentoring and his architect status, Allen told me, “I end up with a lot of [interns] who have totally different personalities, and it’s…always good to be stuck with someone who has a different personality, because it can make you grow a lot faster.” Based on his comments in other interviews, Allen likely will not incorporate the Myers-Briggs personality test activity for his students in the future, but he may continue to think about what his status as an architect means for his relationships with interns and students. Dawn’s Expectations While I invented the majority of the dialogue in the opening vignette, Jason did tell me toward the end of his interview: Perhaps, if I had a different mentor, then I would feel differently, but, especially being with Dawn, I feel like I needed this [internship experience]. I feel like if I would have taken the alternate route and just, like, dove headfirst into teaching, that I can honestly say, without a doubt, that I would not be teaching in, like, 2-5 years, 3-5 years. Even though at first glance Jason’s words speak more to affirming that Dawn is an educative mentor than to her retention as a mentor, I argue that his words also reveal something about the nature of their relationship that connects to experiences Dawn has had to retain her as a mentor. Dawn has a strong desire to make an impact beyond her secondary classroom. As noted in Chapter 3, she said, “I want to teach on more than one level…helping the future.” During our 106 first interview, Dawn told me she looks for “passion and excitement about teaching” in her interns. During our second interview, I asked her why that passion and excitement was important to her. She replied, “I think that’s what’s going to keep them from getting burnt out within the first five years, you know? I think that’s what’s gonna keep them in the profession.” She went on to comment about how she feels at the end of the internship when interns do not have that passion: “Well, we spent a year together, and that was nice, but…I’ve not contributed to the profession at all kind of situation. So I feel like there’s more of an impact with interns who…are in it for the long haul.” Dawn was not privy to Jason’s words, but I believe she saw that passion and excitement in him, as she frequently referred to him as a “strong intern” and was looking for ways to challenge him. Furthermore, making an impact beyond the secondary classroom is an expectation that cannot be fully met until interns have their own classrooms, but Jason’s comments, which came after Dawn was on maternity leave, suggest that he will remain in the profession. Since making an impact beyond her classroom is so important to Dawn, I used the vignette to indicate that she may have had a spontaneous emotional reaction to realizing she made an impact on Jason: “Her eyes shining, Dawn smiled.” I imagine this is the way Dawn would have reacted if Jason had shared his thoughts with her directly. Although both mentors expressed an interest in mentoring their interns through professional crises, Dawn seemed more concerned than Allen that her intern had not experienced a crisis. Since Dawn was preparing to go on maternity leave, I argue that was one of the reasons she was more concerned than Allen about her intern not having a crisis: She would not be present after spring break to mentor him through any difficulties. Furthermore, this expectation 107 was especially congruent with Dawn’s metaphor for mentoring as a parent-child relationship, to which I return in an upcoming section. Other Mentors’ Expectations I argue that mentors’ experiences serve to fulfill (or fall short of fulfilling) the expectations they have for mentoring. If mentors do not have enough of their expectations met through their experiences with interns over time, they will likely discontinue mentoring. However, other mentors may not have the same expectations as the mentors in this study. Moreover, just as Clandinin and colleagues (2015) found with teacher attrition, some expectations may be more important to particular mentors than others. For example, Allen’s desire to learn from mentoring was quite strong, and Dawn’s desire to mentor her intern through a professional crisis was most significant to her. Additionally, these expectations may change over time. Consequently, I recommend that teacher preparation programs advise mentors to articulate their expectations for the mentoring relationship the first time they are mentors and to review those expectations with each subsequent intern to see if any of their expectations have changed. This exercise has the potential to be instructive for many of the stakeholders involved with teacher education: mentors, interns, and teacher preparation programs (Bradbury & Koballa, 2008). Mentees should not be held responsible for meeting their mentors’ expectations for mentoring (e.g., no mentee should invent a crisis just for the mentor’s sake). At the same time, interns knowing what their mentor values may help them understand the way their mentor is approaching a situation. Having an understanding of mentors’ expectations may also help teacher preparation programs determine which mentors to retain. Specifically, if many of a mentor’s expectations seem inconsistent with being an educative mentor (Bradbury, 2010; Dewey, 1938; 108 Feiman-Nemser, 2001; Stanulis & Bell, 2017), the teacher preparation program may not want to partner with that particular mentor in the future. The key word in the previous sentence is many; some educative mentors have some expectations that are non-educative. For example, as stated in Chapter 3, one of the reasons Allen was grateful for his first intern was because she provided him “extra time and energy.” While this sounds like merely looking for an extra set of hands, Allen was ultimately an educative mentor, as his other expectations for mentoring were consistent with aiming for growth for both his intern and himself. Reflecting on Metaphors for Mentoring: Discussion and Implications While I arrived at the mentors’ expectations through data analysis rather than asking them to articulate their expectations themselves, I did ask the mentors and their interns for metaphors to best represent their mentoring. Neither person in both pairs was aware of the metaphor the other had selected. As described in Chapter 3, Allen identified the metaphor of a two-way street, and Dawn selected two metaphors: a transparent window (as a beginning mentor) and a parent-child relationship. Allen’s intern Andrea chose a very different metaphor for Allen: a mama bird, and Jason provided nuance to Dawn’s metaphor by describing a young child learning to ride a bike without training wheels, both of which were outlined in Chapter 4. The apparent match or mismatch between metaphors offered by mentors and interns again reveals something about the nature of their relationships and the ways in which mentors’ expectations for mentoring may or may not be met. For example, Allen’s metaphor of a two-way street suggests he would approach a crisis hoping both parties might learn from it (i.e., one of his expectations for mentoring); however, Andrea did not perceive his mentoring the same way. Instead, her metaphor of a mama bird suggests only the intern would learn from a crisis, since mama birds already have the knowledge and are merely passing it to their babies. Furthermore, 109 Andrea’s statement about mama birds “kick[ing] you out…of the nest” connects to Andrea’s crisis of Al not reviewing her unit plan and her perception Al just expected her to be prepared. This is similar to baby birds learning to fly—they receive some support from the mama bird, especially in the beginning, but there is an expectation they will learn to do it on their own. Jason, on the other hand, was very happy with the support Dawn provided him as he learned to ride a bike (i.e., teach) by himself. He said, I feel like a lot of interns have learned by falling, skinning their knees, and that kind of stuff, and I don't feel like I ever had that experience, but I don't feel like I'm less because of that. I don't necessarily feel like the whole, ‘I'm gonna sit back and watch you bomb this lesson to learn something,’ is productive, and I think Dawn did a great job at really never letting me fall. This metaphor reveals that Dawn and Jason viewed experiencing a crisis similarly (i.e., one of her expectations for mentoring). Both of them identified metaphors for Dawn’s mentoring style connected to parenting. While parents do not want to see their children suffer, they understand their children will eventually encounter crises in their lives, and they want to be able to support them through such difficulties. Even though Dawn did not have the opportunity to mentor Jason through a crisis the way she hoped, Jason did not find this detrimental to his learning. Similar to asking mentors to identify their expectations for mentoring, I suggest it is important for mentors to articulate metaphors for their mentoring. As Ganser (1998) noted, “At the very least, discussions about metaphors, similes, and analogies for mentoring provide a readily available and nonthreatening way to help teachers gain a better understanding about mentoring” (p. 117). Bullough (1991) also found metaphors were a useful way to encourage preservice teachers to articulate their desired teaching identities, which I extend to suggest interns 110 should identify metaphors for the way(s) they want to be mentored. Metaphors articulated by both mentors and interns could be a useful tool for teacher preparation programs in matching pairs. Of course, as with any analogy, there is a danger in oversimplifying the relationship, reading too much into the metaphor, or the metaphor not holding in particular situations (Bullough, 1991; Clandinin & Connelly, 2000). Still, this is just one tool and consideration of many in mentor selection and preparation—one tool that could be a factor in mentor retention, if mentors and interns are carefully matched (He & Levin, 2008). Viewing Mentor Retention through the Lens of Teacher Retention Given the dearth of literature on mentor retention, I turn again to the teacher retention and attrition literature to discuss the potential parallels between retaining teachers and retaining mentors. Research has shown that strong teacher preparation may lead to greater teacher retention (Chapman, 1983; DeAngelis et al., 2013; Ingersoll, Merrill, & May, 2012; 2014). By extension, I argue that strong mentor preparation may also lead to mentor retention. That is not to say all mentors should be retained, though. Just as teachers need solid preparation to be effective (Ingersoll, Merrill, & May, 2012; 2014), mentors need preparation to be educative and effective (Bower-Phipps et al., 2016; Bradbury, 2010; Feiman-Nemser, 2001; Stanulis & Bell, 2017; van Ginkel et al., 2016). An important part of being an educative mentor is being willing to learn from mentoring (Bell, 2016; Bradbury, 2010; Feiman-Nemser, 2001), as were Dawn and Allen, the mentors in this study. Other than Opening Day, these mentors did not receive any particular preparation prior to becoming mentors, so their expectation to learn from mentoring was entirely by happenstance. Rather than leaving such qualities and expectations to chance, they could be cultivated through thoughtful preparation and support for mentoring. 111 Dawn and Allen both told me they felt supported by the professional development (PD) tailored to being English teacher mentors that was part of this study. Receiving support and feeling like part of a community are both components of professional and social integration in the teacher retention literature (Chapman, 1983; Clandinin, Downey, & Huber, 2009; Hancock & Scherff, 2010; Johnson, 2006; Scherff, 2008), and they may contribute to mentor retention, as well. For the mentors in this study, not only were they supported in learning about educative mentoring through the PD, but they were also included in a professional community with other mentors. Mentoring PSTs and being part of this professional community helped fulfill Dawn’s and Allen’s expectation of reduced isolation, which is consistent with the PST mentoring literature (Bell, 2015; 2016; Koerner, 1992). Not all PD is transformative, but Dr. VanDerHeide (the faculty coordinator for English interns) and I did organize the English mentor PD taking Desimone’s (2009) characteristics of effective PD into account. Perhaps most noteworthy for this study was Desimone’s (2009) concept of coherence, or “the extent to which teacher learning is consistent with teachers’ knowledge and beliefs” (p. 184). To ascertain what the mentors believed was important to learn about teaching and mentoring through the PD, we surveyed all of the English mentors and invited them to participate in organizing the PD. We also left time for mentors to share their own problems of practice at each PD session, further gaining an understanding of their beliefs. Clearly, never having one’s knowledge or beliefs challenged does not lead to learning. At the same time, incoherence, or having constant personal objections and feeling a lack of control in connection to policies, is a possible predictor of teacher attrition (Dunn, 2015). Failing to give mentors a voice in their PD and consistently promoting ideas not cogent with their beliefs could also be a predictor of mentor attrition. 112 On the contrary, some personal beliefs and characteristics are associated with teacher retention (Bobek, 2002; Borman & Dowling, 2008; Chapman, 1983; Dunn, 2015; Hancock & Scherff, 2010). In particular, resilience and the ability to adapt to challenging circumstances may indicate teacher retention (Bobek, 2002; Jones, 2016). This could help explain why Dawn and Allen thought it was important to mentor their interns through professional crises. Both mentors have likely experienced professional crises of their own, given that they have over 10 years of teaching experience and over 5 years of mentoring experience. In addition to resilience in the face of a crisis, their years of experience may be another personal characteristic contributing to both mentors’ retention as teachers and mentors, since the more years of experience teachers accrue, the more likely they are to stay in teaching (Hancock & Scherff, 2010). One final personal characteristic possibly leading to teacher attrition is apathy (Hancock & Scherff, 2010). A lack of caring (e.g., for the intern, for the future of the profession, for the potential benefits) may also bring about mentor attrition. Dawn’s and Allen’s expectation to experience a spontaneous emotional response, on the other hand, suggests they are not apathetic and care about their interns. Specifically, Allen anticipated both he and his first intern having positive, spontaneous emotional responses at the intern convocation ceremony. When that did not happen, Allen seemed hurt. Had he been apathetic to that situation, Allen might have discontinued mentoring; however, his desire to have such a response in the future may have been one reason, albeit a tacit one, he decided to continue mentoring. For teachers, professional context plays a large role in their retention. Professional context includes things like salary, facilities, and working conditions (Dunn, 2015; Gonzalez, Brown, & Slate, 2008; Hahs-Vaughn & Scherff, 2008; Johnson, 2006). Teachers who are dissatisfied with aspects of their professional contexts will be more likely to leave teaching. For 113 PST mentor retention, a possible equivalent could be the various ways they are compensated, such as pay, positions at the university, and professional learning opportunities, among others (Fives, Mills, & Dacey, 2016; Korinek, 1989). The mentors in this study did not mention many expectations that could be classified as compensation, with the exception of wanting to remain connected to the university and a desire to advance professionally. Over the years, Dawn has been more and less connected to the university, as she has participated in research with faculty and graduate students, and even co-taught a university course for a short period of time. Allen expressed a strong aspiration to be able to present at conferences under the university’s name, and he was proud of the local presentations he made at the College of Education. For these mentors, merely mentoring interns from the university helps them remain connected; however, just mentoring (i.e., without doing research and presenting with faculty, teaching courses, receiving tuition waivers) may not completely fulfill their expectation over time. Eventually, the mentors feeling like they are not being compensated enough through their connection to the university could lead to their attrition. While neither mentor wanted to be a principal, they did want to move up the professional ladder (i.e., advance professionally) and receive recognition for their efforts, which is another form of compensation connected to professional context (Fives et al., 2016; Korinek, 1989). Being mentors gave them the opportunity to take part in building leadership roles (i.e., Dawn helped coordinate testing and mock interviews) and engage in self-initiated professional development (i.e., Allen spent time blogging and growing his online professional community). Interestingly, neither Dawn nor Allen seems to have been recognized by their administrators or colleagues for the work they do as PST mentors, even though they are teacher educators and play a crucial role in the teacher preparation program. As other researchers and I have found, at some 114 point this lack of recognition can become extremely frustrating (Bell, 2016; Bullough, 2005; 2012), ultimately making it a potential attrition risk. Finally, as Clandinin and colleagues (2015) asserted, most of the time, personal characteristics combined with professional conditions lessen teachers’ desire to remain in the profession. One example of the personal and professional intersecting in the teacher attrition literature is teachers feeling a lack of control over educational policies governing their work (Dunn, 2015). Such a lack of control combined with top-down policies could also be a factor in mentor attrition, if university-based teacher preparation programs do not consult the mentors about their expectations. Neither mentor in this study expressed grave concerns about the teacher preparation program policies, although Allen did briefly talk about the way interns are evaluated in tandem with his own beliefs about grading and student evaluation at one of the PD sessions. Still, both mentors expressed more of an expectation to connect the personal and professional through their desire to make an impact beyond their secondary classrooms via mentoring. As argued in Chapter 3, many teachers want to have a positive impact on their students, but it is rare for teachers to be aware of their impact beyond their students’ next grade level. For mentors, aspiring to make an impact is personal, and making that impact on the profession of teaching is professional. Furthermore, many mentors remain in direct contact with their former interns, increasing the possibility that mentors will recognize their impact for years to come, conceivably simultaneously increasing their chances for retention. Implications for Teacher Preparation Programs, Mentors, and Future Study As previously noted, teacher attrition is very costly for school districts in multiple ways: money, time, and continuity for students and staff, among others. Through this study, I argue that mentor attrition may be just as costly for teacher preparation programs, school districts, and the 115 mentors themselves. In order to be effective, PST mentors need extensive preparation and support from the university (Birmingham, Pineda, & Greenwalt, 2013; Fives, Mills, & Dacey, 2016; Hall et al., 2008; Hoffman et al., 2015, Leatham & Peterson, 2010; McDonough, 2014; Parker-Katz & Bay, 2008; Timperley, 2001), both of which require significant investments of time and money. When mentors and university-based teacher educators engage in preparation and support, they sacrifice time in other areas of their personal and professional lives. For example, if mentor PD is held during the school day, mentors are away from their classrooms and interns, while university-based teacher educators are away from researching and writing. If PD is held after the school day, both mentors and teacher educators are spending time away from their families and other personal obligations. Teacher educators may be monetarily compensated for leading PD; and school-based mentors may be compensated in the form of hiring substitutes, receiving tuition waivers, or receiving continuing education units. Even if mentors and teacher educators are not directly compensated for participating in PD, there are often additional monetary and facilities costs, such as reserving space for meetings, providing parking passes, or providing lunch or refreshments for participants. These costs (i.e., time and money) may help explain why supporting mentors is not always a high priority for teacher education programs, especially if mentors are not retained after programs have made such an investment. Ironically, though, high-quality preparation (Chapman, 1983; DeAngelis et al., 2013; Ingersoll, Merrill, & May, 2012; 2014) and support (Johnson, 2006; Hancock & Scherff, 2010) are key in teacher retention, and, as I suggest, in mentor retention. In other words, if teacher preparation programs, university-based teacher educators, and mentors make an investment in the type of preparation and support that leads to educative and effective mentoring of PSTs, all parties are likely to get important returns on their investment. 116 In a previous paragraph, I mentioned neither mentor in this study received recognition for mentoring interns; however, to be clear, they did receive integral support from administrators and parents, in addition to support from the university as outlined in the immediately preceding paragraph. I would classify recognition as compensation, or an extrinsic reward of some sort (e.g., Fives et al., 2016), while I would classify support as impacting intrinsic motivation. DragoSeverson (2007; 2016) has long advocated for principals as leaders of teacher learning in schools. Drago-Severson (2007) wrote, “For most…principals, the philosophy behind [encouraging] mentoring was to share leadership, strengthen relationships within their schools, help adults to manage change and diversity, and of course, support teacher learning” (p. 110). I agree with this philosophy and argue that in order for mentoring to make a difference for both mentors and pre-service teachers, they must have administrators who also support them and uphold this philosophy. Principals who do not [actively] support mentoring pose a threat to mentor retention, as mentors may feel they are fighting an uphill battle. For mentors, feeling supported could fulfill one or more of the expectations they have for mentoring, as the PD provided in this study did for Dawn and Allen. However, the only way to know for sure if mentors’ expectations for mentoring are being met is to ask them. Van Ginkel and colleagues (2016) argued, “Programs should take account of the motives that drive mentors in their decision to become mentors, and of ways in which they might provide working conditions for mentors that may match their motives” (p. 113). Mentors and interns are often given exit surveys upon interns completing their internship, usually inquiring about how wellprepared the interns are. Consequently, as suggested in a previous section, it would be easy enough to collect additional data about mentors’ expectations, both at the beginning and end of the internship. Clarity about the expectations held by all stakeholders (i.e., mentors, interns, 117 university-based teacher educators) may help to reduce unnecessary tension (Bradbury & Koballa, 2008), which could be a factor in mentor attrition. Following the teacher retention literature, it would be helpful to determine which mentors are being retained—are they educative? For example, about losing effective teachers, Jacob, Vidyarthi, and Carroll (2012) wrote, “The real retention crisis is fueled by unspoken consensus that schools are not obligated to be strategic about the teachers they keep” (p. 14). This led me to consider that university teacher preparation programs and school administrators “are not obligated to be strategic about the [mentors] they keep,” either. In large teacher preparation programs, the lack of being strategic about mentor retention tends to be due to the number of teachers needed to fulfill mentoring roles for all PSTs; while in small programs, it may be due to just a few university-based teacher educators overseeing all elementary and secondary PSTs. As with teacher retention, the need to be strategic in keeping only effective (i.e., educative) mentors is connected to the investment made on the part of all stakeholders in pre-service teacher education. Additionally, there remains little research on what educative mentoring of PSTs looks like (Koerner, 1992; Parker-Katz & Bay, 2008; Stanulis et al., 2017; Trevethan, 2017), similar to the apparent non-existence of research on PST mentor retention. Due to the connection between the topics of educative mentoring for PSTs and PST mentor retention, studying the two topics together could make significant contributions to the literature in the fields of mentoring and teacher education. Final Thoughts Teacher preparation programs demand a lot from their mentors. Koerner (1992) wrote, “As these teachers [in this study] pointed out, the experience [of mentoring] for them meant little time and support, few accommodations, criticism from student teachers, and more responsibility 118 and work” (p. 54). Now, twenty-five years later, I am not sure much has improved for PST mentors. In fact, some might argue conditions for teaching and mentoring have worsened with increased demands on teachers (e.g., more standardized testing, harsher evaluations, decreased salaries and benefits). Still, the teachers in my study keep returning to mentoring, as do many pre-service teacher mentors across the United States and around the world. I set out to discover stories of English teacher mentor retention; through Dawn and Allen, I found those stories and more. I found mentors similar to those in Fives and colleagues’ (2016) study, who “reported that they continue to engage in this role, not for direct compensation, but to ‘give back’ (Hastings, 2004) and to engage in personal PD as they learn new strategies and theory from their STs [student teachers] (Clarke et al., 2014; Simpson et al., 2007)” (p. 115). I found mentors who, I believe, care deeply about teaching, learning, and mentoring. I found mentors I would have liked to be my own as a pre-service teacher, and I found mentors I am so glad have mentored the pre-service teachers in the university classes I have taught. I will continue to seek out the stories of educative mentors and their retention in order to center the mentor teachers’ voices and shed light on an under-researched area of mentoring in education. 119 APPENDICES 120 Appendix A Survey Questions for Mentoring Study Name Preferred E-mail Address 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. How many years have you been teaching? List the higher education you’ve obtained (degree, program, school) Where do you teach, and what classes/grade levels do you teach? How many years have you been at this school? How many times have you mentored interns / student teachers from any college or university (including this year)? 6. How many times have you mentored interns / student teachers from MSU (including this year)? 7. How many times (if at all), have you mentored a pre-intern (or MSU Senior)? 8. How many times (if at all), have you mentored a teacher who is new to your district? For the following activities (questions 9-22), indicate how often you engage in them with your intern: Options: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Once a semester, Never 9. Debrief Lessons 10. Take notes during observations 11. Provide written feedback 12. Communicate in a journal 13. Communicate by e-mail or text 14. Discuss MSU assignments 15. Collaboratively analyze student work 16. View and discuss video of the intern’s teaching 17. Collaboratively plan lessons and units 18. Read and discuss professional articles or books 19. Model a strategy or lesson for your intern 20. Attend extra-curricular or community events with your intern (e.g., sports, concerts, plays) 21. Attend district- or school-sponsored professional development with your intern (e.g., PLCs, early release or late start) 22. Attend outside professional development with your intern (e.g., professional conference, guest speaker) 121 23. What professional development or support have you found most beneficial in your work with interns? (If this does not apply to you, please write N/A.) 24. What professional development or support have you found most beneficial in your understanding of dialogic teaching? (If this does not apply to you, please write N/A.) 25. What challenges have you experienced working with your current intern? 26. What successes have you experienced working with your current intern? May we use your survey data (without your name or e-mail attached) for a study on mentoring? ___ Yes, you may use my survey data for a study on mentoring. I understand that only the researchers will have access to my identity connected to my responses, and they will not reveal that information to any outside sources. ___ No, you may not use my survey data for a study on mentoring. 122 Appendix B English Mentor PD Agenda Allocation of Time - First Meeting 15 min. - Introduction (first meeting: introduce people, concept / study, set norms) Introductions - Name, school, how long mentoring Study - Sign consent - Purpose: Support mentors in their practice, be attentive to how it’s going for future meetings, program measurement Norms - Give space for everyone to speak - Respect people and places (coming from a place of care rather than critique) - Confidentiality outside of meetings - Maintain focus on the issues at hand / that are within our control 30 min. - English-Specific Content (MSU assignments, concepts) Dialogic Instruction - 5 min. clip - Analyze w/ tools from Juzwik et al. book - Look at questions - Dialogic tools - Types of learning talk Assignments - Logistics of videotaping 30 min. - Mentoring Practices - Educative vs. Traditional Mentoring Tables - Share their own experiences of enacting these practices - Set goals for using practices - Positioning interns as co-teachers 25 min. - Problems of Practice - Small groups based on experience (less experienced mentors with more experienced mentors) 10 min. - Closing Exit Ticket - finding out what people want for agenda for future meetings What would you like to see more? Less? Mentoring topics? Intern learning? Suggestions for other locations? Other? 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