Building Partnerships for success: a model for working with teacher trainers, mentors and trainees

Abstract

The paper describes the quality of learning that occurred between school based mentors, primary teacher trainees and their tutors in a Higher Education institution (HEI) in England. The programme upon which this research is based is an innovative way of working and is presented here as a unique delivery approach to Professional Development. The programme consisted of a series of taught sessions specifically designed to enhance trainees’ confidence in teaching primary languages. Running concurrently with the taught sessions were workshops where mentors were engaged in developing the skills required to observe and give constructive feedback on primary language lessons. Although this programme was the vehicle to deliver continuing professional development (CPD), the impact upon ways of developing working with trainees and mentors and the implications on learning for the wider initial teacher education (ITE) community are far reaching. The development of the key principles of this model of learning is a highly efficient and effective way of developing partnership. The generic nature of these principles makes them transferable and applicable to other areas of working with mentors and teacher trainees in all sectors. Partnership is defined here as the relationship that exists between the provider and mentors in schools.

Keywords: Partnership; learning; mentors; teacher trainees; professional development; initial teacher education; primary languages.