Exploration Factors Affecting Maintenance of the Effect of Mentoring for Beginning Science Teachers

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that affect the maintenance of the effect of mentoring for beginning science teachers. Mentee teachers for this study were ten mentee teachers who took part in the collaborative mentoring from 2014 to 2018. For this study, the videos of the first and fifth classes submitted during the mentoring program, mentors and mentees' journals, the videos of the classes recorded in 2019, questionnaires about reflection on the mentoring program, and interview materials were collected and analyzed. The result of this study is as follows. First, the reflective thinking was sustained after the mentoring program, and this played a crucial role in maintaining the effects of the mentoring. The group that showed the improvement of RTOP score had reflective thinking and made reflective practice on their teaching. Most participants in the group created the classes of constructivism based on self-reflection on their classes. However, no positive changes in the classes occurred to mentee teachers who couldn't have reflective thinking Second, reflective practices during the mentoring program exerted a strong influence on the teaching method of mentee teachers. The group of the improvement in RTOP score strived to apply student-centered model of instruction to their classes. It was showed that most mentee teachers in the group kept applying the student-centered model to their classes after the mentoring was completed. These results indicate reflective thinking and reflective practice are crucial factors to the effect of the mentoring and its maintenance.