Abstract

In today’s educational environment, schools across the nation are facing pressure to raise student performance results. Teachers play a tremendous role in the academic advancement of students and new teachers and must quickly adjust to the challenges and demands of their teaching career. School districts can offer new teachers the needed supports and guidance by way of establishing effective new teacher mentoring programs.

This qualitative study is an appreciative inquiry that investigates the positive components of a new teacher mentoring program in an elementary school district in a Midwestern state of the United States. Participants in the new teacher mentoring program provide the preponderance of data as the study focuses on their thoughts and viewpoints regarding their mentoring activities, and how those activities impacted their professional growth. Reflection plays an essential role in the mentoring process in this program. Therefore, the perspectives shared by the new teachers are framed by the theory of reflective learning.