The group was originally set up by Richard Smith in August 2019 in association with an open Facebook group (which all are also welcome to join), to support dissemination of the book Mentoring Teachers to Research Their Classrooms (2000, British Council). Since then, the network’s activities have expanded, with support from an ESRC/University of Warwick grant in 2020–2022 and a further grant in 2024–2027 (see History). First named ‘MenTRnet’ in February 2024, the network – with a 15-person strong committee – nowadays supports organization of:
(1) a free 5-week series of workshops on mentoring teacher-research within the annual TESOL CALL-IS ‘Electronic Village Online’ (EVO);
(2) monthly support group meetings monthly support group meetings for those involved in mentoring teachers to research their teaching;
(3) annual organization of a Teachers Research! Online conference for teachers to showcase their work, as well as an associated online event for their mentors to reflect on and share research about mentoring experiences.
During 2024–25, MenTRnet is also organizing:
(4) an International Festival of Mentoring Teacher-Research, with a series of webinars by members.