FOR RELEASE: Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Elementary School Mentors Prepare for University Interns
Marcia Imbeau, above right, associate professor of special education at the University of Arkansas, talks with mentor teachers Wednesday, Aug. 8, in Old Main about their responsibilities in guiding university student interns in the Master of Arts in Teaching program who will be teaching with them at local elementary schools this fall.
Mentor teachers, below, have a few minutes to talk between training sessions in the Graduate Education Building on the University of Arkansas campus.
A panel of three Holcomb Elementary School teachers answered questions and gave advice Aug. 8 to fellow Fayetteville and Springdale teachers who will serve as mentors for University of Arkansas graduate students this school year.
The childhood education program in the College of Education and Health Professions played host to about 100 mentor teachers for sessions on providing guidance and evaluation of students in the Master of Arts in Teaching program. These students rotate through three placements in the elementary schools to earn the master's degree during the yearlong program after they've earned a bachelor's degree.
Root Elementary School in Fayetteville and Harp Elementary School in Springdale were added this year to the group of elementary schools – T.G. Smith, George and Walker in Springdale and Holcomb in Fayetteville – that use student interns.
Susan Riggs, field experience coordinator, said the MAT program is in its 12th year. The mentor teachers are vital to the program's success, she said.
"These teachers are not on contract, although those in the Fayetteville district can use the training as part of flex days for professional development," Riggs said. "The teachers' willingness to come spend the day with us shows a great deal of commitment. They make this program work and ensure our graduates are ready for the classroom."
The morning began with a welcome from Mike Daugherty, head of the department of curriculum and instruction, and information from Janet Penner-Williams, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction, about a new electronic portfolio system students and the mentor teachers will use. LaVonne Kirkpatrick, assistant professor of elementary education, talked about general issues such as providing feedback to the intern and working with the university liaison.
The teachers then divided into two groups: the first-time mentors, which included those from Root and Harp as well as some from other schools who had not been mentors before, and the veteran mentor teachers.
Holcomb teachers Mary Briggs, Helen Eaton and Karen Stowe-Rains addressed the teachers at Root and Harp who will be mentor teachers for the first time this year. They emphasized the importance of serving as role models for the interns in everything from dress to grammar. It can be tiring but the teachers should maintain that professionalism at all times, they said.
They asked the mentor teachers to dedicate space in their classrooms for the interns' use and to treat them as full-fledged teachers.
"It's a time for you to bond," Eaton said. "They're scared to death, and they need to know you've got their back. You'll be better teachers because someone is watching you."
The MAT students spend four days in the elementary schools and one day in class on the Fayetteville campus each week.
Faculty members Marcia Imbeau, Linda Eilers, Denise Mounts and Donna Owen led discussion among the veteran mentor teachers, covering such topics as confidentiality, the mentor's role in the student's action research project and options if difficulties arise in the placement.
Imbeau asked the mentor teachers to involve the interns in as many aspects of the classroom as possible, including parent-teacher conferences.
"You may want to do some role playing with your intern before the conference," she suggested.
Some former interns spoke after lunch in the Graduate Education Building auditorium foyer about what assistance and techniques they found most helpful from their mentors. They discussed how valuable it was that they were made to feel welcome by their mentor teacher and they appreciated that the mentor was very clear about what was expected of the intern.
The teachers closed the training with a discussion of the mentor's role in supporting the intern with university assignments, strategies that mentor teachers could use in working with their intern, a brief overview of cognitive coaching and issues related to building a relationship with their intern.
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Contact:
Heidi Stambuck, director of communications
College of Education and Health Professions
(479) 575-3138, stambuck@uark.edu