Introduction 

The quality of teacher education is an essential determinator of raising teachers with vital skills and knowledge needed to deliver effective education for students. Therefore, how teachers learn to teach and how teacher education is designed in this context has become an important issue. Teacher learning is a dynamic and lifelong learning process (Schwille et al., 2007). The first step of teacher education is preservice teacher education. The theoretical component of preservice teacher education emphasizes the delivery of subject matter, pedagogical, and professional knowledge via courses at universities. The practical component of preservice teacher education is the teaching practicum internship, and it serves as a bridge between theory and practice (Azkiyah & Mukminin, 2017) because preservice teachers need to experience practices that will reinforce their theoretical knowledge (Nguyen, 2020). 

During the teaching practicum process, preservice teachers are expected to develop their pedagogical content knowledge in areas such as learning, teaching, and understanding students' thinking. To improve such skills, preservice teachers need guidance and support. Mentor Teachers (MTs) are responsible for supporting preservice teachers’ professional development at practicum schools (The Council of Higher Education & The World Bank, 1998). The learning environments, tasks, and guidance of MTs are among the most effective factors in preservice teachers' learning to teach (Jita & Munje, 2021). In this context, MTs’ motivation, conception, knowledge, and equipment about mentoring practices become essential. While teacher competence and knowledge studies in the literature reveal that area-specific expertise is the main factor affecting classroom teaching (Greany et al., 2018), it is crucial to examine MTs' practices in the teaching of a particular discipline beyond the studies on general mentoring characteristics. MTs might need further and properly instructed professional development to enhance their mentoring practices in specific areas such as science and mathematics (Jarvis et al., 2001).

Since “Mentoring is not an innate skill that every teacher automatically possesses” (Yılmaz & Bıkmaz, 2021, p.540), conducting professional development programs for improving MTs’ area-specialized mentoring practices is essential. In literature, teacher professional development programs are generally designed to examine their effects on teachers’ content knowledge, teaching practices (e.g., Desimone et al., 2002), and skills (e.g., Mukan et al., 2019). However, there are limited studies that aim to develop MTs’ practices in specific areas such as mathematics and science. (Yılmaz & Bıkmaz, 2021). Therefore, the current study aims to understand the area-specialized mentoring experiences of physics MTs during the mentor-teacher online professional development program. The research question of the study is as follows: 

• How do physics MTs experience the mentor-teacher professional development program based on the MAST (Mentoring for Area Specialized Teaching) Model?

Theoretical Framework 

In this study, the model of Mentoring for Area Specialized Teaching (MAST), developed by Aslan-Tutak et al. (2023) regarding effective mentoring in area-specialized teaching in Turkiye, was used as a theoretical framework. The model developed based on the data came from three stakeholders of the mentoring process: mentor teachers, preservice teachers, and teacher educators. There are three dimensions of the MAST Model, Triad Collaboration, General Pedagogy, and Area-Specialized Teaching, The MAST model offers a thorough portrayal of “what” and “how” effective mentoring by incorporating mentoring practices in science and mathematics teacher education that guide preservice teachers in their journey of learning to teach.

Methodology This study aims to understand the area-specialized mentoring experiences of physics mentor teachers during the mentor teacher online professional development program; therefore, a case study design was preferred to reveal the bounded experiences of physics mentor teachers participating in the online professional development program. In the current study, the professional development program that MTs participated in bounded the case because it provided a unique context for examining physics mentor teachers’ experiences. The mentor-teacher professional development program was developed based on the MAST model by the research team and aimed to improve physics MTs’ area-specific mentoring practices. The content of the mentor-teacher professional development program, which covers the first two dimensions of the MAST Model, was implemented face-to-face in each city by the coordinator researcher. The program covers the third dimension of the MAST Model and was implemented via Zoom with physics mentor teachers in the 2023-2024 fall semester, lasting 60-75 minutes each week for eight sessions. Each online session was delivered by two area-specialist researchers and included physics mentoring cases to be discussed. There were constant reflection and discussion parts to encourage participants to learn within the community of practice. The participants in the professional development program were six male and two female MTs, ages 36 to 56, with two to 20 years of mentoring experience. Participants were attending from three different cities (Ankara, Istanbul, Trabzon) and they worked in both public and private high schools. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews in two periods via an online platform: pre-interviews and post-interviews. Questions in the pre-interview aimed to reveal MTs’ prior experiences and practices with preservice teachers. The post-interview aims to understand the MTs’ reflections and experiences during and after the professional development program. After each data collection period, video records were transcribed verbatim, and open codes were generated. Then each open code was matched with codes and themes of the MAST Model using the constant comparative analysis method. During the data analysis process, each researcher conducted the analysis individually and then discussed their codes and themes until they agreed.

According to the aim of the study, data were analyzed regarding three dimensions of the MAST Model: Triad Collaboration, General Pedagogy, and Area-Specialized Teaching. When the percentages of pre- and post-interviews were compared, pre-interviews showed MTs focusing more on Triad Collaboration (49%) than General Pedagogy (30%) and Area-Specialized Teaching (21%). In post-interviews, Triad Collaboration (45.1%) remained the most mentioned, while General Pedagogy (16.6%) decreased. The interesting result was the increase in Area-Specialized Teaching (38.4%). As a further explanation, the percentages of themes under each dimension will be presented. Regarding the pre-interviews, Practicum Requirements (21.7%), Expectations from PST (21.7%), and Role of Mentor and Mentoring Perspective (56.5%) themes under the Triad Collaboration dimension were referred by MTs. In the post-interviews, Practicum Requirements (16.7%), Expectations from PST (25.1%), Role of Mentor and Mentoring Perspective (44.7%), University Internship Process (3.6%), and Mentor Characteristics and Selection (10.2%) themes were mentioned by MTs. Regarding the pre-interviews, Teaching Profession (14.3%), Students’ Characteristics (28.6%), Pedagogy of Teaching (42.7%), and Classroom Management (14.3%) themes of General Pedagogy dimension were stated. In post-interviews, MTs referred to the themes: Teaching Profession (5.9%), Students’ Characteristics (16.8%), Pedagogy of Teaching (27.7%), Assessment (21.8%), and Classroom Management (28.7%). In pre-interviews, MTs primarily mentioned Mentor-Mentee Interactions (60%), followed by Mentoring Practices about Teaching (30%) and Content Knowledge (10%) themes of the Area-Specialized Teaching dimension. In post-interviews, Mentor-Mentee Interactions remained the highest (51.7%), while Content Knowledge (6.4%) and Mentoring Practices (26.1%) decreased. New themes like Curriculum Knowledge (3.8%), Instructional Materials and Technology (6%), and Student Ideas (6%) were also mentioned by the MTs. The pre-and post-interviews with physics MTs following the mentor-teacher online professional development program revealed some significant changes. While Triad Collaboration remained the most emphasized dimension, the percentage of Area-Specialized Teaching increased, especially new themes were revealed.

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