Abstract:

Departments of mathematics of the pedagogical faculties of University of Ostrava and Charles University have a long-time cooperation in the area of the professional preparation of teachers for the first level of the primary schools. Strengthening of the practical aspects of this preparation is an actual trend at both faculties. The further aim has a form of an improvement of a connectivity of its theoretical and practical parts. For the qualitative modification of the concept of the professional preparation, the knowledge of the current needs and opinions of their key actors are considered as necessary. Where these actors are students and their head teachers are from a practice. The adaptation for the changing requirements on education based on the corresponding changing approach in the teaching professions and the changing requirements on the professional foundation of the innovative, creative, reflective, empathic and autonomy teacher are an object of our effort.

In this paper, the knowledge from a part of the cooperative research focused on the head teacher of the professional practice are presented. This type of the categorization of the teacher will be further denoted as a teacher-mentor. The half-structured interviews were conducted with cooperating teachers-mentors and with the further colleagues, which we could address to the supervising of students in the future. The following aspects were corresponded with our subject of interest: experiences with the supervising of students, their motivation for a work with students and an expectation from the supervising of them, their view on aims of the professional practice, possibilities of the professional development of them and of students (the future teachers), their requirements on the cooperation with a faculty teacher and a preparation of the supervising of students. In their answers in the denoted research, similarities of phenomenons were identified. These results could represent groups of the similar statements.

The established theory for an analysis of answers was applied using its techniques. Each answer of each teacher-mentor was divided into the particular parts (units of ideas), that are corresponding with the focused phenomenon. These parts were classified to the overview table for purposes of monitoring of an occurrence of each phenomenon and its frequency in answers of teachers-mentors. Incentives (impulses, motivations) were analyzed in favor of an improving of the teacher ‘s approach to the education of mathematics and in favor of the supervising of students in their professional practice. The final comparison of results achieved in the research at both universities can separate phenomenons as depended on the concrete university environment and as phenomenons with similarities. These results can be suitable in favor of modifications of the conception for the professional preparation. These conclusions may have a wide utilization, because they can be used for answers to the general questions focused on the education of teachers.

Keywords:

Math Teacher, Mentor, Method of Established Theory, Professional Practice.