RUME 28
2026
Alexandria, Virginia
Building Bridges Through Mentoring: Graduate Student Instructors’ Pedagogical Development
Page: 1361
This study examines how peer mentoring influences novice graduate student instructors (GSIs) of precalculus in developing their teaching practices. We explore the motivations and participation of a group of five novice GSIs and their peer mentor to understand how mentoring interventions shape engagement and reflection. Survey feedback revealed that while novices valued community and shared experience, they did not always recognize teaching reflection and teaching-focused professional development as central goals of mentoring. In response, we implemented a more intentional, practice-oriented approach that emphasized collaborative lesson design and pedagogical discussion. Following this intervention, participants demonstrated greater engagement in lesson planning and deeper reflection during post-observation discussions. These findings suggest that explicitly framing mentoring as a space for collaborative instructional growth can strengthen novice GSIs’ professional development and teaching practices. The project also fostered the mentor's own growth as a facilitator and researcher. More broadly, this work illustrates how peer mentoring can serve as a theory-informed and sustainable model of professional development that bridges the worlds of mathematics and mathematics education.