Conference Agenda

International, as well as Danish, research, show that many newly qualified teachers is in risk of leaving the profession within the first 5 years of practice (Christensen, 2019; Ingersoll & Strong, 2011). This is a problem, as the lack of teachers has a huge impact on the quality of teaching in schools. It may also be a problem for the newly qualified teacher if they resign as a result of having lost faith in their own abilities. It is paramount that this problem is addressed on many levels, including research.

To assign the newly qualified teacher a mentor, could be a way to support them. But since mentoring is often a poorly defined practice, there are many different and arbitrary ways of doing mentoring, and there tends to be a general understanding, that if you are a good teacher you are also a good mentor (Frederiksen et al., 2017; Olsen et al., 2020). This results in mentoring of variable quality, often with sole focus on socialization and teaching tips, and with the risk of conservatism and judgementoring (European Commission, 2010; A. Hobson & Malderez, 2013). Both international and Danish research finds, that when the mentor is properly trained and their role is well described, the quality of the mentoring increases (Frederiksen et al., 2017; A. J. Hobson et al., 2009; Howe, 2006; Lejonberg & Føinum, 2018; Wang et al., 2008). Still, there is little research on training programs for mentors for newly qualified teachers (Aspfors & Fransson, 2015; Frederiksen & Halse, 2022).

Good quality mentoring should provide opportunities for the newly qualified teachers’ professional development through systematic reflection of their challenges in practice and develop new ways of action (Helleve, 2017). It is central to focus on the newly qualified teachers own understanding of what kind of a teacher they are aiming for, and support their ability to qualify their own professional judgement (Grimen & Molander, 2008; Smith & Ulvik, 2018). But still, there are few countries that offer systematic mentor education programs (Aspfors & Fransson, 2015).

In Denmark there is no formal education program focusing on mentoring newly qualified teachers. The only mentor program there is within teacher education and schools is a mentoring program for mentoring student teachers, and this is not a highly sought program. As such, there are few formally educated mentors at all in the Danish schools (Frederiksen & Bonde, 2020).

This small pilot study takes offset in the argument that mentors for newly qualified teachers needs training to be able to mentor with professional development in mind. The study seeks to show how the mentors understand their mentor role and their mentoring before and after attending a mentor education course. The findings on mentor’s understanding of their role and responsibilities are relevant when developing mentor courses, both in a Danish and international context, especially since there is a general lack of research on this topic.

When practice teachers set out to teach in the primary school as a part of their educational training, they are confronted with collaborating schools that manage and perform the practicum period very differently. The schools have different approaches as to how their obligations regarding being an educational arena for practice teachers are met. The fact that teacher education takes place in multiple arenas with multiple cultures, can challenge the sense of educational coherence (Elstad, 2010; Hart, 2020; Valencia et al., 2009 in Ulvik, Eide, Helleve og Kvam, 2021). This variation and the fact that mentoring in many cases is taken care of by individual mentors (mentors are primary school in-service teachers, who undertake the responsibility of mentoring the pre-service teachers during practicum) may have an effect on the degree to which the pre-service teachers profit from the practicum (Hvalby & Thortveit, 2022). Other studies have shown that holistic and structured approaches are important factors when it comes to professional development in mentoring pre-service teachers during their practicum (Nesje, K. & Lejonberg, 2022).

The responsibility for educating new teachers is divided between the teacher education and the primary schools. Both institutions have the professional development of the pre-service teachers as a primary responsibility. During practicum the obligation of the schools is creating and facilitating a link between theory and practice. In a Danish context, the importance of connecting theory and practice is stated in a regulation from the Danish Ministry of Education, underpinning that the pre-service teacher must acquire theoretically founded practical skills in preparing, generating, performing and evaluating their lesson plans during their practicum (Bekendtgørelse om uddannelsen til professionsbachelor som lærer i folkeskolen, 2015).

This study aims to gain insights into the approaches to practicum of primary school management and thereby enable a specific understanding of:

• the distribution of responsibility at between the informants
• the specific tasks regarding the practicum
• the process of recruiting qualified coordinators and mentors
• the view on relations between theory and practice
• the view on mentoring skills
• how these factors may (or may not) affect the quality of the practicum.

In a Danish context, a study like this has not previously been undertaken.

The research question is as follows:
How does the school management and the coordinator of the practicum period interpret the obligation of being an educational arena for pre-service teachers?

I expect that the analysis will lead to an increased understanding of the opportunities in a strengthened collaboration between primary schools and teacher education. In 2020, The Danish center for social science research published a large literary review concerning teacher education in an international perspective. One of the finds stresses the need for a longer and better practicum period that is closely integrated with the activities of the teacher education (Foged, Nøhr & Slottved, 2020). The intent of creating a stronger link between the two parts is a main element of a recent political agreement concerning a new Danish teacher education. This agreement emphasizes strengthening the partnership and collaboration between the teacher education, the municipalities and the school principals (Ministry of higher Education and Science, 2022). A Norwegian study (Heggen and Thorsen, 2015) also points to the importance of school engagement in mentoring tasks. They ask to see a more legible culture and a commitment towards being a “practicum school” as an integrated and legitimizing part of the schools’ professional and developmental profile.

Although teachers reported participating in professional development experiences, most reported them to be unsatisfactory (Wei et al., 2009). While teachers tend to be dissatisfied with their professional development experiences, there is numerous research indicating criteria for effective teacher development. These features include teacher empowerment via self-improvement, advocating reflective practice, extending learning experiences, and participation in hands-on learning (Butler et al., 2004). There are also other models designed to enhance the professional learning model, such as those inspired by collaborative learning - team teaching learning.

The socio-constructivist theory of learning can conceptually outline the foundations of team teaching. This viewpoint holds that learners actively generate knowledge and that social interactions with others contribute to the development process (Loyens et al., 2007). Teachers learn in team teaching by participating in and engaging in a shared activity. They negotiate to mean and benefit from each other's knowledge and abilities by exchanging ideas, presenting alternative viewpoints, and accepting guidance. Therefore, they accomplish more than if they worked independently (Gardiner, 2010). Furthermore, during a team teaching activity, instructors function in what Vygotsky refers to as each other's zone of proximal growth. Teachers can achieve greater levels of performance by interacting with their peers or getting peer assistance (Walsh & Elmslie, 2005). What they do with assistance first, they will be able to accomplish alone later (Gardiner & Robinson, 2010).

Smith et al. (2020) reported that a range of professional learning objectives can be met through team teaching. This can help teachers learn and apply co-teaching practises, cooperate in a Professional Learning Community, jointly teach content-based material, teach across the curriculum, conduct a Lesson Study, and so on. Team teaching can also be applied to support teachers in integrating new curriculum, accomplishing school or district goals, becoming acquainted with new testing rules, or enriching work with Special Education or English Language Learner teachers. Also, team teaching could be employed as an onboarding approach for new instructors while engaging experienced teachers. Team teaching draws on various other excellent, largely improved professional development approaches, such as Lesson Study, learning laboratories, co-teaching, and contextual professional development. Professional cooperation and meaningful learning experiences are at the heart of reform teacher professional learning.

Despite team teaching is not an old concept and was promoted in the late 1950s and 1960s (Joyce, 2004), solo teaching persists as a method of instruction in schools today. It has only been employed in the special education domain (Bacharach et al., 2010). The aim of this review is to offer an overview of research on the subject of team teaching. This review is centred on the research question of different team-teaching models in the literature.