In-service and Pre-service Teachers’ Experiences of Mixed Peer Mentoring Groups
Author(s):
Anne Martin (submitting) Hannu Heikkinen (presenting) Ulla Kiviniemi Päivi Tynjälä
Conference:
ECER 2017
Network:
01. Continuing Professional Development: Learning for Individuals, Leaders, and Organisations
Format:
Paper

Session Information

01 SES 06 A, Models of Collaborative Practice

Paper Session

Time:
2017-08-23
15:30-17:00
Room:
K3.17
Chair:
Hannu L. T. Heikkinen

Contribution

This study examines from teachers’ perspective the experiences of mixed peer-mentoring groups of in-service and pre-service teachers. The research project started in 2014 along with a Comenius Multilateral Project PAEDEIA (2013–16), funded by the European Commission. The PAEDEIA project aimed to develop new practices for integrating teacher studies and working life and enhancing collaboration between schools and teacher education.

 

In Finland, collaborative learning between student teachers and experienced teachers was organised in the form of Paedeia Café (PC). This practice is an application of peer-group-mentoring (PGM). The PGM model has originally been developed in Finland to support the professional learning of teachers in their early career. In this case, the PGM groups were offered not only for new teachers but also for student teachers. The objective of the PGM groups is to promote participants’ professional development and well-being (Heikkinen, Tynjala & Kiviniemi, 2011; Korhonen, Heikkinen & Kiviniemi, 2015). The model differs from the traditional model of mentoring which is based on the idea of transferring knowledge from more experienced worker (mentor) to a beginner (mentee). In contrast, peer-group mentoring relies on knowledge sharing between equal partners (Heikkinen, Jokinen & Tynjala, 2012; Geeraerts et. al 2014). PC peer-group-mentoring collects student teachers and experienced teachers around the same table according to the PGM principles.

 

The PC activity consisted of two parts:  mentoring sessions in groups and school projects The peer mentoring groups met from five to seven times during the academic year.  The school projects were designed and put in practice by pairs consisting of a student and a teacher at the school where the teacher was working in. The added value for teacher education development was that the school projects offered a possibility to apply elements of informal leaning in education and brought new input from working life into the traditional teacher education.

 

Earlier in this research project, the experiences of student participants have been studied.  Four different ways of experiencing the PC meetings were identified: (1) PC as a coffee break, (2) PC as peer-support, (3) PC as identity construction and (4) PC as a way of participating in a professional community (Korhonen, Heikkinen, Kiviniemi & Tynjala, 2017). The aim of the present study is to examine the experiences of Paedeia Café groups from the perspective of the teachers.The data was collected in 2015–2016 by interviews (N=8) and was analysed qualitatively by thematic analysis. Eight themes were identified describing the experiences of the teachers: 1) Expectations of systematic procedures, 2) Relaxation and unwinding, 3) Sense of community, 4) Memories of early career, 5) Practical benefits, 6) Professional reflection, 7) Empowerment and 8) Adopting a role of teacher educator.

 

Teachers’ experiences of Paedeia Café suggest that peer-group-mentoring in mixed groups is a useful tool for  promoting professional development and well-being of student teachers and experienced teachers. It offers teachers an opportunity to test and develop their professional thinking and broaden their professional community. The meetings deepen teachers’ professional knowledgeas a collaborative form of continuing education and elevate their feelings of self-confidence.

 

Theoretically, the study brings new insight into research on teacher development by emphasising cross-generational development models. The findings may be used in designing pre- and in-service teacher development programs.

Method

This study is a preparatory case study for a larger data collection. In total twelve in-service teachers participated in mentoring groups. Eight of the teachers took part in semi-structured interviews. The interviews covered the following themes: motivation, meaning given to mentoring, topics and themes, linking theory and practice, communication and interaction and learning. The research data consists of eight transcribed thematic interviews of teachers (N=8), altogether 88 pages of text. The data was analysed through qualitative thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke 2006).

Expected Outcomes

Findings of the study: The following themes were identified: Expectations of systematic procedures were closely related to the practical role of the mentor taking care of the practicalities like reserving the meeting place, serving coffee and snacks and gently acting as a bond between participants. Relaxation and unwinding were related with socializing and chatting with homologous people. The meetings provided time and place for sharing highlights or inflaming incidents of the schoolwork. Sense of community connects links with the affinity of the group. The teachersformed an intimate group with close professional relationships between members. Memories of early career came out when the teachers were reflecting their personal history. Conversations raised memories of teachers’ pre-service education and early career, such as older colleagues, who helped them somehow in their early career. They also warmly recognised the idealistic clang in the speech of the younger participants. The meetings produced practical benefits like promoting welfare by giving a way to relax. Also concrete, practical tips and joint teaching experiences during the school projects were acknowledged as valuable. Professional reflection was characterised as practicing active listening and reflective thinking. The participants were sorting their priorities and seeing options, the discussions gave new “food” for ones’ thoughts and channelled reflections. The diverse view-points were welcomed to challenge habitual routines by revealing rigid patterns of thinking. The satisfaction strongly connected with empowerment. During the sessions the teachers understood how much they actually know at this point of the career, which gave reliance on one’s professional competence. At certain moments the teachers were adopting a role of teacher educator which manifested like giving good advice to the students and guiding them. The teachers presumed that the limited experience of the novice teachers formed the main difficulty to connect theory and practice together efficiently.

References

Braun, V. & Clarke, V. 2006. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3 (2). pp. 77-101. From: http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/11735 Geeraerts, K., Tynjala, P., Markkanen, I., Pennanen, M., Heikkinen, H. & Gijbels, D. (2014). Peer-Group Mentoring as a Tool for Teacher Development. European Journal of Teacher Education, 38 (3), 358–377. Heikkinen, H., Jokinen, H. & Tynjälä, P. 2012. Teacher education and development as lifelong and life wide learning. In H. Heikkinen, H. Jokinen & P. Tynjala(Eds.). Peer-Group Mentoring for Teacher Development (pp. 3-30). London and New York: Routledge. Korhonen, H., Heikkinen, H. L. T., Kiviniemi, U., & Tynjala, P. (2017). Student teachers' experiences of participating in mixed peer mentoring groups of in-service and pre-service teachers in Finland. Teaching and Teacher Education, 61, 153-163. Heikkinen, H., Tynjala, P. & Kiviniemi, U. (2011). Integrative pedagogy in practicum. Meeting the second-order paradox in teacher education. In M.Mattsson, T.V. Eilertsen and D. Rorrison (eds.) 2011. A Practicum Turn in Teacher Education. (pp 91-112). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Korhonen, H., Heikkinen, H. L. T., & Kiviniemi, U. (2015). Peer-group mentoring in Finland. In H. L. T. Heikkinen, L. Swachten, & H. Akyol (Eds.), Bridge over troubled water: new perspectives on teacher induction (pp. 122-146). Ankara: Pegem Akademi.

Author Information

Anne Martin (submitting)
University of Jyväskylä
Department of Teacher Education
Jyväskylä
Hannu Heikkinen (presenting)
University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Ulla Kiviniemi
University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Päivi Tynjälä
University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Update Modus of this Database

The current conference programme can be browsed in the conference management system (conftool) and, closer to the conference, in the conference app.
This database will be updated with the conference data after ECER. 

Search the ECER Programme

  • Search for keywords and phrases in "Text Search"
  • Restrict in which part of the abstracts to search in "Where to search"
  • Search for authors and in the respective field.
  • For planning your conference attendance, please use the conference app, which will be issued some weeks before the conference and the conference agenda provided in conftool.
  • If you are a session chair, best look up your chairing duties in the conference system (Conftool) or the app.