Experiential Learning

Empowering Teacher Candidates with Mentor Teachers: Strategies and Success Stories

With rising teacher attrition, inconsistent classroom support, and growing demands on new educators, effective, sustainable mentor teacher programs are more urgent than ever. Mentors—the most impactful factor in a teacher candidate’s professional development—often report feeling unprepared for their roles.

Join Audra Parker, PhD, and Kristien Zenkov, PhD, to learn strategies for designing and managing a mentor teacher program that supports your candidates and hear directly from colleagues currently facilitating successful programs.

On-demand

8 a.m. PT | 11 a.m. ET | 4 p.m. GMT

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Webinar speakers

Audra Parker, PhD

Professor, Director of the School of Education and Academic Program Coordinator in Elementary Education

Audra Parker, PhD is a professor at George Mason University where she also serves as Director of the School of Education and Academic Program Coordinator in Elementary Education. In addition to teaching courses in elementary general methods and management, she also serves as a university facilitator supporting teacher candidates at Garfield Elementary in Fairfax County. Dr. Parker’s areas of research include elementary teacher preparation, school university partnerships, and mentoring practices.

Kamina Fitzgerald, Ed.D.

Director of University School Partnerships and Clinical Practice
School of Education
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke

Dr. Kamina Fitzgerald is the Director of University School Partnerships and Clinical Practice at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke - School of Education. She is an experienced educator that started in the North Carolina Public School System. Throughout her career, she has served in various roles including District Academic Coach, Beginning Teacher Mentor, School Administrator, Instructional and Technology Facilitator, Business Finance Technology Teacher, Varsity Cheer Coach, and District Career Development Coordinator. Dr. Fitzgerald is deeply committed to empowering teachers to enhance their instructional practices and increase student success, with a particular focus on fostering professional growth and improving educational outcomes.

In this webinar, you’ll learn:

Research-backed insight into what makes a mentor teacher program succeed, from a multi-year study

Strategies for engaging school-based teacher educators as collaborators in designing, implementing, and facilitating a mentoring program

Firsthand perspective from school- and university-based educators actively managing successful mentor teacher programs

Plus, hear from Experiential Learning Cloud customer, Dr. Kamina Fitzgerald, Director of University School Partnerships and Clinical Practice in School of Education at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP), who will share an overview of UNCP's field experience program and discuss past and future mentor teacher programs.

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