ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the nature of the weekly debrief meetings–or mentoring conversations–that occur in most Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes. It is a common feature for ITE programmes to have weekly meetings between mentor and trainee scheduled during the school placements. The name for this meeting varies from ‘mentoring sessions’ to ‘mentor-protege-conferences’. Beginning teachers will need to gain experience of the department’s approach to summative and formative assessment, and to understand the role and importance of assessment in informing their planning and teaching and in enhancing pupils’ learning. S. Turner and M. Braine’s research in how to address well-being and emotional resilience in student teachers suggests that developing ‘resilience relies on trainee teachers knowing and believing in themselves and how to respond to their inward, daily emotions. Once beginning teachers have a fair grasp of the structure of individual lessons, it is helpful to move them towards medium- or long-term planning.
