A hybrid approach

benefits beginning
teachers

R&D

Formal and informal mentoring

can complement one another
and expand support for
beginning teachers.

R&D appears in each issue of Kappan with

the assistance of the Deans Alliance, which
is composed of the deans of the education
schools/colleges at the following universities:
George Washington University, Harvard University,
Michigan State University, Northwestern University,
Stanford University, Teachers College Columbia
University, University of California, Berkeley,
University of California, Los Angeles, University
of Colorado, University of Michigan, University of
Pennsylvania, and University of Wisconsin.

By Eric D. Hochberg, Laura M. Desimone,

Andrew C. Porter, Morgan S. Polikoff,
Robert Schwartz, and L. Joy Johnson
With the first year of a teachers career often described in terms
like trial by fire and sink or swim, it is no wonder that a teachers
first year now generally includes some form of induction experience.
The foundation of teacher induction is typically formal mentoring,
where the school, district, or state assigns a mentor to a new teacher
(Smith & Ingersoll, 2004). As mentoring has been linked to improved
teaching, teacher retention, and student achievement, ensuring strong
formal mentoring to support beginning teachers is essential (Ingersoll
& Strong, 2011).
Efforts to improve formal mentoring have involved identifying aspects of mentors and mentoring that seem to matter most. For instance, having a mentor who has experience with the same subject
area, grade level, and school community what is commonly referred
to as mentor-mentee match (Hobson et al., 2009) is a boon for a
beginning teacher because mentors who share common ground with
beginning teachers should be able to address teachers needs more
effectively. Research on teachers professional development suggests
prioritizing formal mentoring activities that are grounded in teachers instruction and instructional content. Another frequent recom-

ERIC D. HOCHBERg is senior researcher, TERC, Cambridge, Mass. LAURA M. DESIMONE and ANDREW C. PORTER
are professors of education, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, Philadelphia, Pa. MORgAN S.
POLIKOFF is an assistant professor, University of Southern California Rossier School of Education, Los Angeles, Calif.
ROBERT SCHWARTZ is a research assistant, Frontier 21 Educational Solutions, Bala Cynwyd, Pa. L. JOY JOHNSON is a
doctoral student and graduate student research assistant, University of Michigan School of Education, Ann Arbor, Mich.

70 Kappan

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mendation is engaging teachers in more active forms

of learning, such as planning lessons and analyzing
student work with their mentors, in contrast to more
passive forms of learning, such as sharing materials
(Desimone et al., 2002; Garet et al., 2001).
But teachers also seek and receive support, advice,
and guidance from others who arent specifically assigned to take teachers under their wing. These informal mentors are distinct from formal mentors
because teachers choose them for themselves. Any
efforts to strengthen formal mentoring or new
teacher supports more generally would benefit
from a clearer understanding of who informal mentors are, how teachers engage with them, and the
functions they serve for teachers who are just beginning their careers. For instance, do teachers choose
informal mentors to compensate for qualities, characteristics, or perspectives they find lacking in their

formal mentor, although 32 teachers had more than

one. (In some locations, teacher induction policies
require the assignment of multiple mentors.) Fiftyone teachers had at least one informal mentor, but
teachers identified as many as six. In all cases, teachers determined if their mentors were formally assigned or informal.
What we learned

Formal and informal mentors look similar on paper. Previous research suggests that for mentors to
be effective, they should have a number of important
characteristics. These include having expertise in the
mentees content area, being familiar with the school
and its students, being located in the same school as
the new teacher, and having time to meet with the
mentee teacher during the school day. We found that
formal and informal mentors were similar in both

Formal and informal mentors tend to complement, rather than compensate

for, one another.
formally assigned mentors? Are informal mentors
more often serving the role of the shoulder to cry
on providing support that is more social-emotional in nature and formal mentors more often
supporting the development of instruction? Answers
to questions like these are vital for improving support
systems for beginning teachers.
What we studied

We examined survey and interview data from 57

middle school mathematics teachers in 11 eastern
U.S. school districts that varied in size, geography,
and racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic composition
of students. These teachers, who began their careers
in 2007 through 2009, were participants in a fiveyear, longitudinal study of beginning teachers induction, mentoring, and professional development,
supported by the National Science Foundation. Data
allowing for comparisons of characteristics and quality of formal and informal mentors, and frequency
and duration of formal and informal mentoring interactions, come from surveys administered to teachers in December and again in May of their first school
year. Teachers also participated in extensive, structured one-on-one interviews at their school sites in
October or November and again in May or June of
the same school year. We used transcripts of these
interviews to learn more about the challenges facing
teachers in their first year and the kinds of assistance
they received from formal and informal mentors, as
well as to identify factors that may have led to differences between teachers formal and informal mentoring. The 57 teachers we studied had at least one

their location relative to the teacher and their availability. (Most teachers had a formal and an informal
mentor in the same school and with time to meet
during the school day.) However, formal mentors
were more likely to have math teaching experience,
which research indicates may be especially important
in supporting beginning math teachers.
Formal and informal mentors tend to complement, rather than compensate for, one another.
Teachers generally spent more time with informal
mentors than with formal ones, but formal and informal mentoring occurred around similar topics, and
the way time was distributed was roughly equivalent
across both formal and informal mentors. About half
of teachers mentoring addressed issues pertaining
directly to instructional content and activities like
analyzing students math work and planning and pacing instruction with the remainder divided among
topics like behavior management, administrative expectations, relationships with parents, and the provision of emotional support. In addition, teachers
impressions of the quality of their mentors, including
their knowledge of teaching and of mathematics and
their skill as a mentor, did not suggest that teachers
found formal mentors to be any more or less effective than informal ones. In actuality, teachers tended
to regard both formal and informal mentors and the
mentoring they provided quite positively, appreciating almost any support, regardless of its source.
Formal mentoring is more systematic, whereas
informal mentoring is more in the moment. One
major difference between formal and informal mentoring concerns the opportunity for teachers to be
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Formal
mentoring
is more
systematic,
whereas
informal
mentoring is
more in the
moment.

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observed by and receive feedback from a mentor

regarding their instruction. Teachers appreciated
feedback from mentors who observed them teaching they saw the feedback as more personal and
more detailed about what [they] do well, what [they]
can work on. Often, observation and feedback were
required components of formal programs, whereas
informal mentors rarely, if ever, observed their mentees. Observation and feedback is but one distinction

Beginning teachers appreciate and

benefit from support from informal and
formal mentors.
indicating that the functions of formal and informal
mentors can be a bit different, in ways that teachers appreciate. Teachers noted that formal mentors
tended to follow more structured and predictable
forms of interaction, with feedback sometimes centered around specific standards of practice, whereas
informal mentors support was less systematic. In
contrast to formal mentoring, teachers described informal mentors support as more in the moment,
as when beginning teachers sought assistance with
the logistics of a particular lesson, with problematic
student behaviors, or with understanding administrative requirements.
Hybrid mentoring

Above all, the research underscores that beginning

teachers appreciate and benefit from support from
both informal and formal mentors. Our work suggests several considerations for school leaders and
other mentoring and induction program facilitators
as they seek to improve support activities.
Focus on a hybrid mentoring approach. Teachers appreciate both formal and informal mentoring
that addresses their needs, and schools should aim
to embrace both approaches as part of a wraparound
system for inducting new teachers. Schools and districts can work to define more carefully the specific
roles of formal mentors and to train formal mentors
to assume these roles, while also building a culture
of support among teaching staff in which more experienced colleagues are available to help new teachers succeed. Opportunities for regular collaboration
may help break down barriers.
Designate a mentor coordinator. Having someone
monitor how teachers needs are and are not being
met through a combination of the teachers formal
mentoring as well as their more organic collegial
relationships and making introductions or suggesting particular activities to fill any gaps would
maximize the benefits of mentoring. This mentor
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K1505_May.indd 72

coordinator need not be a separate position; a principal, instructional coach, or teacher leader might
assume this role (Desimone et al., 2014).
Make formal mentoring about improving instruction. Formal mentors, particularly when trained
specifically for the role and recruited based on their
effectiveness as teachers, are apt to provide meaningful feedback on teachers instruction. However,
their ability to do so depends on having sufficient
time to observe teachers as they teach and to engage
with teachers about these observations. Focusing on
instruction does not necessarily mean that formal
mentors couldnt also be a shoulder to cry on
a common conceptualization of the mentors role;
however, making the provision of personal or emotional support the formal mentors primary objective
may interfere with efforts to improve teachers skills
and confidence related to their teaching.
Give teachers time to interact. Apart from time for
structured activities with formal mentors ideally
including an expectation of observation of and feedback on instruction teachers need time for personal interactions and collaboration with colleagues.
Successfully integrating formal and informal mentoring will depend on having structures in place to
provide common time for mentoring interactions to
occur during the school day. 
K
References
Desimone, L.M., Hochberg, E.D., Porter, A.C., Polikoff, M.S.,
Schwartz, R., & Johnson, L.J. (2014). Formal and informal
mentoring: Complementary, compensatory, or consistent?
Journal of Teacher Education, 65 (2), 88-110.
Desimone, L.M., Porter, A.C., Garet, M., Yoon, K., & Birman,
B. (2002). Effects of professional development on teachers
instruction: Results from a three-year study. Educational
Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 24 (2), 81-112.
Garet, M., Porter, A., Desimone, L., Birman, B., & Yoon, K.
(2001). What makes professional development effective?
Analysis of a national sample of teachers. American
Educational Research Journal, 38 (4), 915-945.
Hobson, A.J., Ashby, P., Malderez, A., & Tomlinson, P.D.
(2009). Mentoring beginning teachers: What we know and
what we dont. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25 (1), 207216.
Ingersoll, R.M. & Strong, M. (2011). The impact of induction
and mentoring programs for beginning teachers: A critical
review of the research. Review of Educational Research, 81
(2), 201-233.
Smith, T.M. & Ingersoll, R.M. (2004). What are the effects
of induction and mentoring on beginning teacher turnover?
American Educational Research Journal, 41 (3), 681-714.

May 2015

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