Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 生命科學研究所 === 96 === This research applied multiple qualitative techniques to explore the effects of a school-based mentoring program. Three science mentors, three student teachers of the third grade, and the principal in a small urban school in Taipei and two professors of teacher education institutes were invited to participate. Classroom observations, meeting records, and interviews about teaching vignettes were collected and analyzed to generate the program’s impacts on student teachers, mentors, and the mentoring school. STAM-Sci was used to describe the participant teachers’ teaching performance. The mentors’ guidance strategies in the meeting records were coded before doing further qualitative analysis. Mentors’ responses to teaching vignettes were analyzed by category-content of narrative analysis. The results revealed that the program facilitates student teachers in: (1)learning to use children’s language to present teaching materials, (2)learning to use motivation strategies, (3)learning to carry on inquiry teaching approaches, (4)understanding science content knowledge, (5)using positive feedbacks to manage classroom learning environment, (6)learning to use questioning skills and focus on core science content, (7)adjusting to lively and rhythmic teaching steps, (8)carrying on and learning from co-teaching, and (9)gaining opportunities to teach independently, and encourages mentors to: (1)practice coaching, (2)increase interaction with student teachers and enhance quality of classroom management, (3)exchange experiences with other mentors more frequently, (4)reflect upon teaching performances, (5)establish co-teaching patterns, (6)build positive emotional support to student teachers, (7)learn from peer teachers’ teaching practice, and (8)promote interaction with homeroom teachers. This program was effective in: (1)establishing teacher learning community, and facilitating teacher interaction toward reflecting on teaching, (2)bringing in administrative and research resources, and leading to extended teaching vision, (3)raising issues in teacher professional development, and clarifying new turning points of school-university cooperation, and (4)bringing together manpower in teaching, administration, and research to brainstorm about ways to enact professional development schools.
Based on the findings, five conclusions are generated. First, the school-based mentoring program helps student teacher to seek for appropriate teaching models from science mentors, strengthens their competences in disciplinary knowledge, instructional skills and classroom management, and obtains more science teaching and reflection opportunities. Second, the program helps mentors in establishing linkage between mentors and science educators, obtaining opportunities to learn current issues, to accept critique, and to co-teach and support each others. Third, the program assists in promoting quality teaching and competences of teachers in training interns, and moving the school toward authentication of professional development school. Fourth, the program could be suitably for small elementary schools in practicing whole school professional development and exemplifying authentication of professional development school and professional mentors. Fifth, the program has positive effects on all participant teachers, but lacking linkage with homeroom teachers is recognized as an inevitable manpower factor.
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