The Impact of Reflective Dialogue Between a Mentor and a New Teacher on the New Teacher’s Instructional Practices

In a quest to identify ways to support and enhance new teachers’ instructional practices, varied types of new teacher induction mentoring programs have been established. In this qualitative study of new teachers in a suburban public school district, this researcher identified the influence of mentors, trained in reflective dialogic conversation, on new teachers during their 1st year of new teacher induction. This researcher considered the impact on new teachers’ instructional practices by examining the reflective practices of both the mentor and the mentee. Instructional practices were observed through the lens of the 5 competencies of instruction as defined by the Danielson (2011) Framework for Teaching, Domain 3. Domain 3, Instruction, includes these competencies: (a) communicating with students, (b) using questioning and discussion techniques, (c) engaging students in learning, (d) using assessment in instruction, and (e) demonstrating flexibility and responsiveness. Four novice teachers and their mentors from the district agreed to participate in the study of the effect of an intensive mentoring program on new teachers’ instructional practices. A positive connection between the reflective practices of these dyads and a shift in the new teacher participants’ instructional practices were derived. Future considerations of study will include the effect of varied types of mentoring programs as they relate to new teachers’ instructional practices and student achievement