Patterns of Engagement and Professional Growth in an Online Mentoring and Induction Program for Beginning Science and Math Teachers
e-Mentoring for Student Success is an online mentoring and induction program for beginning science and mathematics teachers developed by the National Science Teachers Association, the Science/Math Resource Center at Montana State University, and the New Teacher Center at UC Santa Cruz. Now in it's seventh year, the program has served more than 1200 beginning middle and high school teachers and their mentors in 16 states, and has almost completed the transition from an externally funded program to a self-supporting one. Throughout it's history, the program has benefited from findings provided by a team of researchers. In addition to findings from the comprehensive evaluation conducted by Horizon Research, Inc., the project has produced three doctoral dissertations, one master's capstone project, and a series of other formal research studies necessary to inform the initial design, modification and eventual scaling up of eMSS from two states during the pilot phase to 16 states at full capacity.
eMSS employs a professional learning community approach, and many of the mentor teachers, teacher leaders, and higher education faculty of science, math, and education who joined eMSS in 2002 have remained with the project since, helping to shape it. The eMSS framework for professional learning communities is based on a situated cognition perspective (Greeno 1998), that led us to design online conversation places and activities to further participants' construction of knowledge through sustained communication within a community. The research literature on professional learning communities and communities of practice emphasizes that learning is enhanced in such communities when members are bound by common interests and goals (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Driscoll, 2000). Consequently in eMSS we attempted to provide scientists, teacher leaders, mentors and mentees joining the project with a clear vision for mentoring and induction of beginning teachers during online training and , and to adapt the vision based on lessons learned by the group. Research literature on professional learning communities among educators also emphasizes the importance of a collective focus on student learning, trust and respect, deprivatized practice, shared leadership and joint efforts to generate new knowledge of practice (Newmann & Wehlage,1995; Louis, Marks, & Kruse,1996; Hord, 1997; Dufour, & Eakins, 1998; McLaughlin, Talbert, 2001). These components were intentionally integrated into eMSS experiences for mentors, staff and mentees, including the initial online training, open discussion areas facilitated by staff, and the structured curriculum. In designing these program elements to support formation of a professional learning community, we also drew upon the online learning research and theory-building by Garrison, Anderson & Archer (2000, 2001), who developed the Community of Inquiry Model, and Swan (2002) whose work addresses the kinds of interactions needed to create community online. Additional insights regarding online program designs that foster a community that effectively supports the learning process were gained from the work of Kanuka and Anderson (1998), Ludwig-Hardman (2003), and Hara, Bonk & Angeli (2000).
The eMSS curriculum includes inquiries on science and math content and pedagogy topics that last up to six weeks, and shorter term dilemma discussions each focusing on a single pedagogical or school culture issue. In addition, discipline-specific content area discussions allow participants to discuss topics posted by the resident scientists, mathematicians and teacher leaders or to introduce their own topics. Our place is where each mentor hosts private conversations with a small group of up to four beginning teachers he or she has been assigned. A teacher leader facilitates each inquiry or dilemma; content area discussions are led by faculty/teacher leader pairs; and mentors are present to guide the conversations in our place. A discussion group can include just a handful of members as in our place, 15-20 pre-registered members in an inquiry, or "in theory, at least" all the participants in the program in a dilemma or content area discussion. The discussions vary in degree of structure ranging from relatively structured inquiries that follow a curriculum, to dilemmas that follow a prompt and participation protocol, to the more open, wide-ranging discussions in content areas and our places.
Because e-MSS is an online program participants' interaction is asynchronous, meaning that participants can and do logon at any time, and text-based, that is, there is an emphasis on learning through reading and posting dialogue. In this study we provide an overview of the ways different participants engage in whole-group discussions. By uncovering these patterns we seek to evaluate the impact of e-MSS on participants' professional growth and development, and better adapt the design of the program to participants' ways of interaction.