Mentorship in technology-rich, 21st-century classrooms

A mentorship program was established to support early career teachers in a technology-rich K-6 school. This program included scaffolding for inexperienced teachers in school cultures, pedagogically appropriate technology use, and classroom management. The program assisted early career teachers to thrive at the beginning of their career and to address perceived weaknesses in teacher education programs. As a result of this research, several early career teachers received mentorship support and successfully began their teaching careers. Additionally, many pre-service teachers were able to make decisions about their school careers through engagement in a practical and realistic teacher-training program. In theory, this research informs the literature regarding the realities of 21st-century classroom experiences and demonstrates the importance of having experienced educators provide training to the next generation of teachers. In practice, this research provides an example of how university teacher education can better prepare pre-service teachers to be successful in their future classrooms.