Mentoring teachers to research their practice
This is the website for MenTRnet – an international network / community of practice of mentors of teacher-research in the field of English language teaching for speakers of other languages.
We are an active international community of over 250 mentors dedicated to supporting English language teachers to research their practice. Whether you’re actively engaged in mentoring teacher-research or simply curious about the process, MenTRnet offers a collaborative space for sharing insights, resources, and good practice. We run regular events, including an annual conference, and an online support group. Anyone involved or just interested in mentoring teachers to research their classrooms can, with no fee, join this community of practice by clicking on the button top right here. Alternatively, to just receive news of our public activities, you can join our Facebook group.
Latest Updates
A Personal Reflection on the Mentoring Teacher-Research Workshop Series, 2025
For Canan Köse, the 'Mentoring teacher-research workshop series 2025' was a transformative experience. Read her reflection here.
Teachers Research! Online 2025: Empowering Educators Through Inquiry
In an ever-evolving world of education, the importance of reflection and research-informed teaching has never been more urgent. This post explains why this year's Teachers Research! conference is so important.
From Myths to Revelations: My Journey with Action Research and Mentoring
While navigating my journey from a teacher to a researcher, and from a researcher to a research mentor, I uncovered some profound personal insights.
Challenges in Mentoring Teacher-Research
What challenges do mentors face when mentoring teacher-research? Read Ana García Stone's account of an International Festival Event on the challenges of mentoring teacher-research.
Teachers Research! Online 2025 conference (Final Festival Event)
On March 29–30, 2025, IATEFL ReSIG and MenTRnet hosted the Teachers Research! Online 2025 conference, now in its 11th edition (the 4th one online).…
Exploratory Action Research in Thailand (EAR-Th)
The EAR-Th project (Exploratory Action Research in Thailand) aimed to address the underdevelopment of classroom research skills among Thai teachers; a crucial area that often remains neglected.
What We Do
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) two free 5-week series of workshops per year – on mentoring teacher-research in April–May, and a series introducing teachers to exploratory action research in September–October;
(2) monthly support group meetings for those involved in mentoring teachers to research their teaching;
(3) an annual 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 also organized:
(4) an International Festival of Mentoring Teacher-Research, with a series of monthly webinars by members and other invited speakers.
