Mentoring Teams as a Model of Supporting Distance Teaching

Abstract

In this chapter, the author describes how the Croatian Ministry of Science and Education organized support for the education system during the COVID-19 pandemic building upon education reform and using the mentoring teams as the main resource for learning content creation and teachers support network. One of the most significant activities during educational reform was the establishment of virtual classrooms whose main characteristics were continuous professional development support in the online environment for learning, communication and collaboration, quick access to the new and relevant information, and establishment of the learning community of practice. The hybrid model of continuous professional development combined with mentoring teams who were already experts in remote work and online collaboration and communication contributed to the swift and effective establishment of distance learning. This chapter provides information from the teacher perspective giving ideas and examples that can be used in future professional development and collaborative teamwork.