Benefits for Pre-Service Teachers

Many participants have claimed that the Math Forum live mentoring is the most rewarding experience they have had as Pre-Service K-8 teachers.

• Mentors learn a variety of ways to solve problems, represent their thinking, and display their work.
• Mentors  learn to analyze the thinking of students and to identify their strengths and difficulties.
• Mentors learn how to provide clear and appropriate feedback to students to move them forward in their thinking and communication. They can apply this skill to many areas in their careers as teachers.
• Mentors develop realistic expectations of students through interacting with real work from real students.
• Mentors learn that it is not necessary to know what to do right away. As they develop their problem solving skills, they learn which techniques have a higher success rate in certain situations.
• The university faculty in the program provide a safety net as mentors hone their communication skills with real students.