Mentoring student teachers for theory and practice integration: Deeper learning through levels of understanding

In early childhood Initial Teacher Education (ITE), there is a defined professional body of knowledge and research that student teachers are expected to engage with to inform their understanding of pedagogy and the influence they can have on children's learning and development. Whilst practicing in early childhood centres, with the support of their associate teachers, students can be further scaffolded with developing key skills and dispositions including reflection, self -directed study and making connections from theory to practice. Therefore, associate teacher support and professional development is crucial. This article will briefly explore ways that associate teachers can support students by gaining insight into levels of understanding in learning (Hamer & van Rossum, 2020) and its application to student teachers. Our goal is to help associate teachers and mentors develop intentional mentoring skills in enabling theory -practice integration for student teachers.