INNOVATIONSINHIGHEREDUCATION
Mentor Teacher Interview Assignment
At the close of each semester, all of the students in our field-based courses say they wished they had jumped into their work with children earlier in the semester rather than waiting for permission. This fear of stepping on a mentor teacher’ s toes is common among preservice educators and can inhibit them from taking the lead in their assigned classrooms( Barry 2024).
We drafted a Mentor Teacher Interview that teacher educators can craft in partnership with mentor teachers. Through the interview, teacher candidates learn about expectations, special rules or policies, and how they should engage with children.( See“ Sample Mentor Teacher Interview Questions” on page 79.) Mentor teachers learn about candidates’ strengths, goals, and how they best respond to feedback, giving mentors a clearer picture of how they can support mentees( Gold 1985; Murray-Harvey et al. 2000; Horgan et al. 2018; Barry 2024). Perhaps most importantly, this assignment helps establish the preservice teacher’ s agency and presence in their placement site, which can be seen in the following vignette.
Olivia, a preservice teacher, takes the first day of her field placement to settle into Ms. Monica’ s Head Start classroom. As her mentor teacher, Ms. Monica has arranged to be interviewed as part of Olivia’ s course. They talk while Ms. Monica is setting up her classroom that day. with families outside of school hours. What’ s the best way to get in touch with you? Olivia: I’ m the same. Email for most everything, but please text if there’ s an emergency. Ms. Monica: Have you worked with preschoolers before? Olivia: Actually, I’ ve never worked with children this young before. I’ m nervous! Ms. Monica: Don’ t worry. That’ s why you’ re here! I’ ve had student teachers in the past who had worked with preschoolers before, and they still had challenges. Thank you for telling me. This gives me ideas of what I can do to help you throughout your field placement.
Later in the interview, Ms. Monica encourages Olivia to“ jump right in” working with the children and to not feel flustered if Ms. Monica redirects Olivia. Ms. Monica recounts how she used to get redirected by her mentor teacher and that it made her a better, more prepared teacher.
We have observed many benefits of this assignment, like the conversation between Olivia and Ms. Monica. Candidates have told us they felt more comfortable asking about expectations and boundaries because they were part of a class assignment. Mentor teachers have reported enjoying being interviewed and that it helped them get to know the unique needs and experiences of their mentees.
Olivia: What’ s the best way to get in touch with you? Ms. Monica: You’ re welcome to text with anything that’ s time-sensitive, but feel free to email me for anything that isn’ t urgent. My response time might be on the slower side— I have to pick up my kids from school, and I’ m also in contact
The interview also surfaces how mentors and mentees see and experience the world, including beliefs and biases that influence how they plan, teach, and assess young children. This relates directly to the DAP core consideration of context, which states that all individuals are rooted in unique cultural and social contexts( NAEYC 2020a). Mentor teachers need to reflect on and may have to overcome their own biases to
78 Young Children
Summer 2026