Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-2020

Journal Title

The Nebraska Educator: A Student Led Journal

Volume

5

Issue

1

First Page

25

Last Page

56

Abstract

Lesson planning is considered an essential skill of teachers. As pre-service teachers first encounter the fundamental principles of planning for instruction, the complexity of planning to support the rigorous learning goals of content, curriculum, and individual student needs could be daunting. The mixed methods study explored how mentoring influenced early-program pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997) and progression through stages of concerns (Fuller, 1969) in relation to lesson planning. Participants, secondary early-program pre-service teachers enrolled in a Midwestern teacher preparation program, included a target group who received mentoring and a comparison group who did not. Using constant comparison techniques guided by the theoretical frameworks, researchers gathered and analyzed qualitative target group data from participant reflections and mentor conference memos. Researchers collected and analyzed quantitative data using Likert-type survey questions also linked to the frameworks of this study. Integrated findings from the qualitative and quantitative data revealed that when a mentor provided metacognitive modeling, addressed anxiety, recognized incremental victories, and offered focused feedback, pre-service teachers’ concerns were addressed and their efficacy increased related to lesson planning.

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