Date of Award
1-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
College/School
College for Education and Engaged Learning
Department/Program
Teacher Education and Teacher Development
Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair
Douglas Larkin
Committee Member
Emily Klein
Committee Member
Reva Jaffe-Walter
Abstract
This dissertation examined the mentor-novice teacher relationship in the post-2020 middle school setting in New Jersey to better understand the reciprocal learning that occurs between the mentor and novice teacher. The study addressed the relationship with a focus on learning for both the mentor and the novice teacher through the lens of mentoring. This study employed a qualitative research methodology of intrinsic single-case study and narrative inquiry. The data sources included individual and pair interviews and recorded conversations between the pair as well as instructional and curricular resources as artifacts generated by the pair. To answer the research questions, the data were analyzed using open coding and constant comparative method. The findings uncovered the role of the individual participants in the mentoring and induction experience. Both teachers recognized the challenges faced resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The two teachers faced these challenges using their shared experiences and approaches, those around the mentoring relationship to support the induction process, the alignment of their schedules, the way they used their time together, the curricular work they produced together, and how they each approached their work and the relationship. The findings inform possible implications for middle school mentor novice pairs, which include: the physical closeness in the building of the pair’s working relationship, the organization of the spaces used by the teachers, teaching the same grade level and subject, having the same free periods in the schedule, and the reciprocal learning through the co-construction of work.
File Format
Recommended Citation
Gaynor, Catherine R., "Reciprocal Learning in the Mentor-Novice Teacher Relationship in Middle School" (2025). Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects. 1489.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/etd/1489
