Points of view

Good mentoring means guiding student teachers in forming their own points of view regarding all aspects of teaching as a profession. There is nothing wrong in sharing your point of view of teaching and what it means to you in terms of personal and professional rewards. A worthy mentor teacher will encourage student teachers to believe that, no matter what, they can be real agents of change.

To avoid simply coaching student teachers to mimic you and your practices, you need to encourage a balanced understanding of what it means to teach.

  • Encourage your student teachers to consider other pedagogical points of view, especially those they have encountered within the university setting.
  • Allow them to experiment with new ideas.
  • Discuss your strategies, theories and practices for teaching particular lessons.
  • Encourage the student teacher to ‘play devil’s advocate’ and consider points of view very different to their own or yours.
  • Debate other people’s perspectives on teaching (eg, learner, colleague, parent, principal, department, media, etc)

NEXT PAGE / PREVIOUS PAGE / BACK TO START OF THIS MODULE