Factors That Influence Mentor and Teacher Interactions During Technology Integration Collaborative Apprenticeships

Source: Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, Volume 16, Issue 1, 2008, pp. 35-61

This study examined factors that influence teachers’ technology integration during Collaborative Apprenticeships designed to provide onsite, ongoing, and just-in-time peer mentoring to create technology-enhanced materials. Results indicate that teachers who were successful in designing technology-enhanced lessons tended to interact differently from their peers.

Rapidly developing teachers assumed greater ownership in their learning and interacted more frequently to obtain support and advance their development. Further, when their primary motivation was to improve student learning, successful teachers were more likely to overcome obstacles.
Peer mentoring also influenced both the interactions among peers and quality of teacher growth in the community. Generally, mentors resisted interactions perceived as potentially jeopardizing collegial and interpersonal relationships, even when peers failed to demonstrate growth.