Mentoring in the Information Age: A Study of Telementor Functions Between Preservice Teachers and Middle School Students
Abstract
This study examines the functions of telementors in an email interchange between university preservice teachers and middle school students. The participants were 24 preservice secondary English teachers, enrolled in a teaching reading course at a large university in the mountain west and 29 seventh grade students from a rural middle school. The preservice teachers were engaged in a semester-long exchange as "email buddies'' for the purpose of mentoring the middle grade students in reading and writing activities. Data was triangulated from the telementoring email correspondence, journal entries, and intemiews. The functions of telementors were compared to those of traditional mentors, discovering two new functions of telementors, "Fostering a Trusting Environment" and "Developing a Reciprocal Relationship." These findings underscore the emotional nature of mentoring relationships. In order for the mentoring relationship to develop, telementors must first create a trusting environment through the medium of online cominunication.
Reference
Van Valkenburgh, N., & Grierson, S. T. (2000). Mentoring in the Information Age: A Study of Telementor Functions Between Preservice Teachers and Middle School Students. Yearbook of the College Reading Association, 22, 271 - 284.
Journal
Yearbook of the College Reading Association
Analysis
Is this article part of a larger project or series of studies?
no
Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?
no
Research Approach
- Ethnographic
- Qualitiative
Geographic Setting
Institutional Context
Certification Level
Programatic Focus
Research Location Context
Preservice Participants
Preservice Sample Size
24
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
- email correspondence
- Interviews
- journal entries
Data Analysis Tools
- Inductive coding
- Modified Analytic Induction method
- Open coding
Researcher Positionality
Research Questions
(a) Do telementors function in the same manner as traditional
mentors when mentoring a protege? p.274
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes
and (b) if there are differences,
how do these differences help to re-define mentoring? p. 274
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes