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Critical Peer Mentor Groups: Amplifying Support During Student Teaching, Cindy H. Linzell

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This hermeneutic phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of student teachers who use Critical Peer Mentor (CPM) groups as an additional layer of support during their student teaching experience. In traditional models for teacher induction, student teachers apprentice in the classroom of an experienced, cooperating teacher. In this mentor/mentee relationship, there is an inherent power hierarchy. By utilizing CPM groups in addition to this traditional model, the student teachers had a peer relationship through which to also learn. The findings indicate that by utilizing a CPM group, the student teachers received and provided holistic support for each other during this …