NECC 2008 Research Paper presentation

1. Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, M.Ed. ( [email_address] ) Christopher R. Gareis, Ed.D. (crgare@wm.edu) The College of William & Mary Williamsburg, Virginia What Are They Talking About? Using Content Analysis Methodology to Evaluate Conversations Among Novice & Mentor Teachers in an Online Community

2. 1-to-1 Group http://endapt.wm.edu/modules/emissary-admin/info.php?template=home_page.html Info on demand

6. Novice Mentor Mentor Novice Mentor Threaded Discussion in a Virtual Room

7. Purpose of Study With whom, why, and about what do novice and experienced teachers “talk” in an online mentoring community?

13. Year 2 Year 1 Mean Median Mode SD Mentors 28.00 22 28 22.44 Novices 11.65 2 0 17.39

14. Year 2 Year 1

15. Year 2 Year 1 Number of Posts per Month 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 September October November December January February March April May June

16. Frequency & Direction of Posts Specific Mentor Specific Novice Broadcast Mentor Specific Novice Specific Mentor Broadcast Novice

17. Year 2 Year 1

18. Year 2 Year 1

19. Mentor and Novice Functions (6) (5) (4) (3) (2) (1) Reflection / Professional Growth Professional Growth Explicit Issue / Problem Prompting Reflection Seeking Information / Specific Question Seeking Clarification / Direct Questioning Sharing Experience, No Problem Modeling Guided Advice Guided Advice Acknowledgement / Thanks Support / Confirmation Novice Mentor

20. Mentor Function Categories (1) Support/Confirmation -- The mentor makes a supportive statement and/or confirms the actions of a novice teacher or another mentor: “You’re doing great…”, “Don’t doubt yourself…”, "You're really growing as a professional...", "That was a good decision..." (2) Guided Advice -- The mentor provides specific direction, instruction, or advice to the novice teacher or another mentor: “You may want to try…”, “I suggest using…” (3) Modeling -- The mentor describes his or her own experience or thinking but does not give direct advice, answers, or interpretations of a given situation: “The way I’ve handled that situation is to…”, "Once I...", "I remember...", "In my classroom..." (4) Seeking Clarification/Direct Questioning -- The mentor poses a direct question or makes a statement inviting explanation or clarification: “How are you currently grading homework?”, “Have you discussed this with your principal?”, "Tell me more about..." (5) Prompting Reflection -- The mentor prompts or otherwise creates an opportunity for a novice to think about, share, and evaluate his or her own thinking: "What do you think your actions resulted in?", "How might your students have taken what you said to them?", "What do you think the parent was thinking during the conference?" (6) Professional Growth -- The mentor makes an explicit statement about his or her own professional growth, new understanding, or change in practice resulting from online forum: “I’m starting to see…”, “I feel more confident…”, “I used to think…but now...”

21. Novice Function Categories (1) Acknowledgement/Thanks -- The novice acknowledges his or her understanding someone else's ideas, or indicates acceptance of new ideas, or expresses thanks for someone else's thought: “I see what you’re saying…”, "That's good advice...” (2) Guided Advice -- The novice provides specific direction, instruction, or advice to another novice teacher or mentor: “You may want to try…”, “I suggest using…” (3) Sharing Experience, No Problem -- The novice describes an experience, but there is no indication that the experience is problematic: "Today was great! I had my class doing...", "I had my first parent conference yesterday and it went really well." , "In our school use..." (4) Specific Question/Seeking Specific Information -- The novice teacher poses a question or invites others to provide him or her specific information: “How do you use manipulatives in middle school math?”, "What reading series do you use?", "What should I expect during my first observation?", "I need to know more about...", "Anything you can tell me is appreciated..." (5) Explicit Issue/Problem -- The novice specifically describes a situation that he or she is confronting or has confronted in his or her practice, but does not pose a question or specifically seek a response: “I’m having trouble with…”, “In my school…”, "Yesterday was awful. I had a student..." (6) Reflection/Professional Growth -- The novice teacher makes an explicit statement about his or her own professional growth, new understanding, or change in practice, either resulting from the online forum or not: “I’m starting to see…”, “I feel more confident…”, “I used to think…but now...”

22. Year 2 Year 1 Percentages exceed 100 because a single post may have multiple functions.

23. Percentages exceed 100 because a single post may have multiple functions. Year 2 Year 1

25. Year 1 Year 2