The mentoring session provided the teachers with discourse space where they could find respite from their constant day-to-day activity and derive meaning from their work. This learning space was associated with a time frame, a place and mediating tools. These tools provided the mentoring process with a stage upon which metacognitive learning interactions could be mediated.
One aspect of the learning process that contributed to the enhancement of reflective thinking through the mentor-teacher discourse relates to the concept of 'wait time' (Rowe, 1987). This concept, borrowed from constructivist teaching methods, refers to the importance of giving the learner thinking time in order to phrase an answer to a question. It was originally used in teacher-pupil dialogue and was found useful in the teacher-mentor context. The following example shows how a mentoring session enabled the teacher to 'stop and think' about his/hers actions. This resource helped
both teacher and mentor capture the teaching/learning experience. I have chosen to highlight how the mentor’s questions led one teacher to reconstruct her experience.
The time that was allocated made it possible for the teacher to ponder, think and reconstruct facts. It was approximately two months after a relatively less intensive mentoring process. Here are the first words the teacher said when asked: "What was the role of the rubric in your work?"
Danna: I think that the rubric…well…I put less effort into the rubric and [actually] did build it, but did not give it to the pupils. Well [pondering]…yes, I [actually] did give one, about the paragraph, but…
well… [ponders again and phrases] I think it focuses you, ah…makes order in your head… (February 3, 2004, emphasis added)
This teacher was less involved than her coordinator in planning and implementing the different skills, apparently due to the limited number of mentoring sessions in which she participated. Her initial statement that "I put less effort into…" seems to reflect her relative lack of involvement (due to timetable difficulties in arranging a common meeting time for all staff members at the school). Nevertheless, she was involved in three private mentoring sessions during the first months of the second cycle, as well as in implementation activities in class. While forming her answer to my question – putting words in order and composing the sentences – she reconstructed the experience and ordered her thoughts, eventually achieving a reflective outlook. This is an example of the manner by which the discourse provided the teachers with an opportunity to 'catch' the learning experience and draw meaning from it before the bell for the next lesson rang. Without this opportunity, Danna's experience would join other forgotten ones, which would be lost to conscious recall.
This thinking space was identified by the teachers as an essential framework that would be available for them to receive support:
Sigal: We all know too well those very exciting in-service training sessions at the end of which we decide to take action, to bring about a change. But we also know that at the moment we encounter some difficulty, we immediately abandon the idea. But when you Tiki, are here in the school as mentor (not necessarily in person), it is different.
(October 28, 2003)
Most teachers' awareness of the importance of reflection in learning/teaching/assessing processes increased with this once-a-week discourse framework. This is in contrast with the initial stages of the research, when reflection was not valued:
"When you begin asking questions I begin to understand what my pupils sometimes tell me when we talk: 'stop digging'. (June 2003)
Following an assembly workshop, partially devoted to the subject of developing reflective thinking, most teachers still phrased their answers laconically:
"I will use the taught skills."
Or, in relating to an open-ended questionnaire:
I enjoyed doing…'the comparison table and thinking map.' Something aroused objection in me: "filming".
(Teachers' written reflections, April 10, 2004)
Most of the teachers ignored the reflective experience. One reaction, which did refer at length to the reflective aspect of the learning process, showed an attitude that considered it suitable for weak pupils and not an integral tool for learning, teaching and assessing processes:
In fact, I may take it upon myself to try and cope with reflection in those classes with learning problems.
Reflective discourse was called by most of them 'talking', or 'just talks', and was regarded as a waste of time. They put great value on 'doing', performing activities.
Sigal, whose involvement and enthusiasm in the learning process was high, expressed this difficulty well. Below, she shares her attitude to the documentation and assessment processes of her pupils' progress:
We are not good at writing what's happening. We are good at doing [her tone proudly stresses the acting]…I hate it when I need to write [documentation/reflective diaries]. I fully enjoy the lessons with my
pupils in class…I love working but all this writing gets on my nerves.
(February 24, 2004)
In contrast, Moshe (the Head-teacher), who usually demonstrated commitment to performance and focused on achieving 'products', expressed awareness in a concluding interview of the importance of developing the teachers' reflective abilities. After going over the teachers' written reflections, he said:
I think that what you did at the end of the meeting was meaningful…
the reflection. I checked, [and only] twenty five percent are capable of coping with feedback [sounds disappointed]. Most of them do not hand in a page; they write a word and skip ahead. They did not receive tools, and therefore the tool you provided is necessary…for the teachers to internalize and pass on to the pupils. This is a tool to be used more, or, they will not be able to derive conclusions about the process and personal conclusions.(February 24, 2004)
Despite these difficulties, progress in these thinking patterns was identified among teachers who experienced more mentoring sessions. This will be presented below, as it was integrated into the various features of the discourse.