Becoming a beginning teacher: an online mentoring experience for pre-service physical and health educators

A key feature of any professional education is opportunity for students to engage in meaningful practical learning experiences. In pre-service teacher education, the practicum is a central component. However, due to increasing student numbers and limited resources in university and school sectors, the practicum has undergone challenges in recent years. As a result, innovations to enhance the practical component of this professional degree have been sought. This paper highlights the findings of one aspect of a larger study that used asynchronous Web-based communication tools to facilitate mentoring and peer support through the practice teaching experience. Analysis of qualitative data including interviews with participants and aspects of online discussion logs provide information as to the nature of the intervention as it contributed to the professional preparation for a group of final year physical and health education pre-service teachers who acted as mentors within the program.