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Danielson (1999) reported that mentoring has been recognized as “a critical element of a
comprehensive approach to teacher development” (para.1). Mentoring is seen as a cost effective
way to increase skill, enhance recruitment and retention, and increase job satisfaction (Kerka,
1994). The professional literature heartily supports the use of mentoring (Anderson & Shannon,
1998; Boyer & Gillespie, 2000; Bronwell & Smith, 1992; Ganzer, et al., 1998; Griffin, 1985;
Odell & Ferraro, 1992; White & Mason, 2001, Cochran-Smith, 2012). It includes critical
elements of mentoring programs for program to consider (Blank & Sindelar, 1992; Danielson,
2002; Darling-Hammond, 1998; Feiman-Nemser, 2003; Hope, 1999). Hargreaves and Fullan
(2000); Rowley (1999), Marable and Raimondi (2007b), define qualities of an effective mentor
to further delineate critical elements of successful mentoring programs. Billingsly, Carlson and
Klein (2004) provide descriptions of working conditions and induction supports for early career
teachers to ensure adequate support while Brindley, Fleeger, and Graves (2000); Whitaker
(2001) discuss perceived quality programs to offer ways to define experiences and critical
support structures.
Recently, Cochran-Smith (2012) emphasized the need to create a variety of supports to
better ensure that teachers stay in the profession. She describes the importance of the mentor-
intern match, the need for professional learning communities, and the critical elements of
perceived “safety” to ask questions, admit uncertainties, and embrace continued learning. These
findings resonate with those of a similar study (Marable & Raimondi, 2007a) and intersect with
initiatives of the US Department of Education Office of Special Education’s 325T Grant
(H325T110018). The Justice for Underserved Students: Teacher preparations in Inclusive
Classroom Environments (The JUSTICE Project) goals and objectives for years three and four
(2014-2015) emphasize teacher induction programming, along with professional development.
Literature has suggested embedding sustained, professional learning in PLCs is most effective in
meeting students' needs (DuFour, 2014). Cochran-Smith and Lytle (2009) emphasized the need
for PLCs immersed in teacher inquiry to ask questions, admit uncertainties, and embrace
continued learning as relevant elements in a mentoring program.
During the 2013-2014 academic year, the JUSTICE Project funded a professional
development (PD) series on co-teaching. The conceptual framework for the PD series included
recommendations from the grant’s advisory council as well as a review of literature. The series
foundation included four key components that inspired the conception of a mentoring model.
Inquiry as stance, PLCs, evidence based practice (EBP) and data-based decision making served
as the basis for the series and also provided a comprehensive approach to mentoring teachers.
Inquiry as stance (Cochran-Smith, 2012) empowers teachers to systematically review
their practice judiciously, examine possible teaching and intervention strategies, and analyze the
results using data. Topics relevant to co-teaching served as the vantage point as teachers
considered the inquiry process. That is, they were challenged to look critically at their teaching
and use data to investigate interventions that would improve outcomes for children. Each
session introduced the most current co-teaching strategies and techniques grounded in research.
Teachers were required to consider new information as they analyzed their own practice. Project
Directors worked with teachers at the beginning and end of each session to introduce the inquiry
process in a sequenced developmental approach. These included identifying and formalizing a
problem statement, summarizing the setting and subjects, choosing an instructional or behavioral
intervention to use within the co-teaching model, identifying roles, and describing what will be