Mentorship service provided to special education teachers (A action research)

The effectiveness of mentorship services, provided in special education classrooms for special education apprentices, in terms of teachers and students was investigated in this study. First, classroom settings were defined and the current performans levels were determined for five domain areas: math, reading and writing, life skills, community living and communication. The behavioral objectives, determined for each of these areas were accomplished. Then behavior support plans were developed for the behavior problems of students in the classroom. Preperation of educational programs, intervention, selection of the method, settings and arrangements, implementation of behavior support plans and selection of materials were the steps that were organized according to the meetings, held by the mentor of this study. Action research was the research design of this study. Intervention process was evaluated both during and after intervention by the mentor, Assisstant Professor Dr. Arzu Kış, via the data, video recordings, audio recordings, evaluation forms and check lists. This study was carried out at a special education classroom in a Elementary School in Karadeniz Ereğli. According to the findings of this research it was discovered that the mentorship system improved the special education apprentices in the areas of classroom management, activity planning, selection and intervention of the educational methods, behavior management and parental training. It was also proven that the behavioral objectives, selected individually for each student, were accomplished. Besides, it was determined that special education apprentices need more assistance, guidance and training on diagnosis of students, generating functional programs, interacting teachers and administrators, providing technology and materials in their first years. Keywords: Special Education Teachers, Mentorship, Novice Teacher, Professional Development.