A personalised approach to mentor learning

As emphasised on NASBTT’s Teacher Educator and Mentoring Zone (TEMZ), one of the best parts of mentoring an early career teacher is that you are developing yourself as much as you are developing your mentee (NASBTT, 2022). There are plenty of sources from which you can gain new knowledge about mentoring, including those listed within the TEMZ pages, but it can be difficult to recognise and access some opportunities for professional learning that could be useful (White, Mackintosh & Dickerson, 2022). In this short article, opportunities that have evolved in an Initial Teacher Education Partnership in England to support mentor learning are highlighted and the case is made for a personalised needs-led approach to mentor development. This article is a summary of the open-access article ‘A personalised needs-led approach to developing mentors of student teachers’ (White, Mackintosh & Dickerson, 2022).