An Online Mentoring Practicum in Physical and Health Education teacher preparation: Preliminary findings and future directions

An important aspect of any professional education is the opportunity for students to engage in meaningful practical experiences. In pre-service teacher education, this vital practicum component has undergone challenges in recent years due to increasing student numbers (due to the increasing demand for new teachers) and limited resources in university and school sectors. As a result, new innovations to enhance the practical component of this professional degree have been sought. This paper highlights preliminary 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 the statistical data, online discussions and interviews with participants provides an indication of the nature of the interactions, perceived value of the intervention, and informs the potential for further development and application of the intervention.