What Mentors Learn About Teaching
When an experienced teacher mentors a new one, does the veteran’s teaching life change?

This article tracked numerous teachers who were in a mentoring program of ne, first year teachers. The veteran teachers ranged in experience from 5 to 30 years of teaching. The mentor program was a pullout program that allowed the veteran teacher to mentor 3-5 teachers for 2-3 years. The mentors also attended weekly seminars and workshops and met several times a week with the other mentors to have collaborative discussions of how to be successful mentors to the teachers.
The findings of this study showed 3 main areas of growth for the mentors.
1. The mentors gained a broader perspective.
a. There was a “new awareness” between administrators and teachers.
b. The mentors were able to understand firsthand how everyone had to interact causing them to see the big picture of how things worked within the system.
2. The mentors gained a deeper understanding of professional development.
a. The mentors were able to teach each other what they had learned while teaching their new teachers.
b. “Continued meaningful interactions with colleagues can significantly alter an experienced teacher’s perspective (Hanson, 2010, p79).
c. Because the mentors met on a weekly basis, the collaborative learning was effective.
3. The mentors developed teacher leadership.
a. After being in the program, the teachers gained confidence in themselves that they had something to offer others.
b. As a result of this newfound confidence, the mentors were more willing to be leaders and teach in the next professional development meeting, the mentors were more willing to become the other teachers’ advocates to the administration.
Being mentors to others was a beneficial experience for both the mentor and the new teacher. Hanson (2010) found that the experienced teachers were strongly influenced by their work guiding new teachers and working in a professional learning community. By establishing such pathways, schools can encourage great teachers to use their potential to improve teaching and learning.

Hanson, S. (2010). What mentors learn about teaching. Educational Leadership, 67(8), 76-80.