Hello Colleagues, Educators, and Fellow Researchers,
This letter is an invitation to take part in a study that will benefit teacher educators and the higher-education learning community. We are a small research team at the University of Windsor, seeking to interview professionals who have experience designing, overseeing, facilitating, or researching peer mentorship amongst pre-service teacher candidates. This project has been cleared by the research ethics board at the University of Windsor. The literature on peer mentoring in pre-service teaching contexts reveals several potential benefits for mentees and mentors. Additional research will help to guide program coordinators and identify best practices for the implementation of such programs. Insights of professionals who have experience with current or previous peer-mentoring programs for teacher candidates are valuable in revealing common challenges and benefits, as well as tested solutions and strategies associated with peer-mentoring in pre-service teaching contexts. This project has been cleared by the University of Windsor Research Ethics Board.
A letter of information and consent is attached to this email for your consideration. If you agree to participate in this study, you will be asked to take part in one 30 - 60 minute virtual interview with a member of our research team at a convenient time for you between December, 2022 and December, 2023.
If you have any questions or concerns about the nature of this study, please submit your questions in an email to clayton.smith@uwindsor.ca. If you consent to participate in a survey and interview for this study, please indicate your consent in a written statement in a response to this email sent to this address.
Your participation in this study is entirely voluntary. You may choose with withdraw from the study or refuse to answer interview questions. I Information on confidentiality is provided in the attached letter of information.
We hope that you will choose to participate in this study, as your opinions are valuable and can contribute to knowledge on peer-mentoring for teacher development in undergraduate settings. This information will be useful to faculty, administrators, researchers, and pre-service educators. We appreciate your consideration of this exciting research opportunity and look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
The Professional Insights for the Successful Implementation Peer Mentoring Programs for Undergraduate Teacher Candidates Research Team
Clayton.Smith@uwindsor.ca