Supporting mentor teacher learning and reflection through audio recordings in professional development

ABSTRACT Mentor teachers of student teachers play an important role in novice teacher development, yet rarely receive training or support. This study investigates five mentor teachers during the 2021–2022 school year as they participated in monthly mentor professional development meetings. It asks the question ‘How can recordings of mentor/mentee conversations be used within mentor professional development to support the development of educative mentors?’ This qualitative analysis used interviews and video recordings of meetings to understand the mentor teacher experiences. It finds that audio clips in mentor meetings worked to support mentor teachers’ learning as mentors and teachers and worked to deprivatize the work of mentoring. Findings from this study can help inform mentor professional development facilitation and can help inform decisions regarding how to prepare and support mentor teachers.