1.4. Mediated reflexive practice
The reflexive practice in the initial training of teachers implies that there is a mediation process by a person from the expert teaching team who accompanies and guides the students as they begin in the teaching profession. In this process, other mediating agents are also involved, such as other teaching staff, with whom the students interact and share experiences at the educational institution; the families, and the students themselves.
Esteve (2011) defines the figure of the mediator teacher as the person who constructively accompanies the reflexive process. This is based on the experiences of the trainee teachers as learners; who understand training as the construction of knowledge, rather than simple transmission. The mediating agents encourage collaborative work, contrast with other more complex approaches to help the development of the novice teacher, and to help them become autonomous through reflective practice. In this sense, the person in the teaching team who is an expert and mediator adopts different roles, according to which: guides and orients, energizes, acts as an expert and acts as a model and example. However, it is necessary for the trainee teacher to become a critical agent who acts freely and independently within the educational environment.
In the Practicum, both the mentor at educational institution and the university’s teaching staff act as experts mediators in the students’ reflective practice.