Becoming a Mentor Leader in a Professional Community

University faculty throughout the country, have been criticized in the popular media and state legislature for failing to prepare teachers for the complexities they will face in public school classrooms; yet, the John H. Lounsbury School of Education has long been recognized by those knowledgeable in the field as preparing high-quality teachers. In recent years, a field-based cohort program has been developed as an effective teacher-training model, with a faculty "Mentor Leader" assigned to each student cohort group. As this program has evolved, those involved with the model have worked to define and understand the elements critical to their own success and the success of the program. Becoming a Mentor Leader in a Professional Community details the work done by this group of university faculty as a part of their professional development. Guided by theory and written in first person, the authors outline the intricacies and responsibilities of acting as Mentor Leaders and the interactions among the teachers and learners in a readable format. Drawing on the work of Shoen (reflective practice), Noddings (philosophy and teaching), Vygotsky (social constructivism), Dewey (democratic education), and others, the many facets of becoming a Mentor Leader are explored. This book is structured around five elements most important to becoming a Mentor Leader: professional community/agency/empowerment; building strong affiliative relationships; integrating theory and practice; promoting integration of learning through inquiry; and learning to foster and provoke uncertainty, ambiguity, and change. For policymakers and any educator interested in professional development.