This page contains articles, research, tools, and other items that may support you in making a case for focusing on early career induction and mentoring. Check back often for updates.
New Teachers Need Experienced Mentors
This article from Chalkbeat, begins:
Six years ago, when I was starting my first year in the classroom, I called my dad crying. “None of the kids grew on the test,” I sobbed. “I’m terrible at my job.” Almost all my fourth graders’ reading scores had stayed the same or declined after taking their first monthly assessment. “I’m sure it’s not that bad, Mad,” my dad answered, trying to comfort me.
During that first year, my mentor teacher was my teammate, and although she helped me through that pivotal time, she was not given the tools or resources to be a true mentor. She was a sounding board for my ideas, an empathetic ear, and showed me how to do things like book field trips or request a guest teacher. However, because she was never trained to be a mentor and taught different subjects than I did, we didn’t have routine meetings to focus on my professional goals. The leadership team at my school observed me twice and only gave feedback on my instruction once. It was not enough for me to grow authentically as a teacher.
As a result, I felt like a failure every time I had to ask for help during my first year. For a while, I kept up the charade of being OK. I stayed up late each night planning, I mimicked what other teachers did when discussing their student data, and I continued to use Google as my curriculum enrichment companion....
The bottom line: Mentors of new teachers need to be high quality. They need to be carefully selected, receive strong training, and be appropriately compensated for their work.
Six years ago, when I was starting my first year in the classroom, I called my dad crying. “None of the kids grew on the test,” I sobbed. “I’m terrible at my job.” Almost all my fourth graders’ reading scores had stayed the same or declined after taking their first monthly assessment. “I’m sure it’s not that bad, Mad,” my dad answered, trying to comfort me.
During that first year, my mentor teacher was my teammate, and although she helped me through that pivotal time, she was not given the tools or resources to be a true mentor. She was a sounding board for my ideas, an empathetic ear, and showed me how to do things like book field trips or request a guest teacher. However, because she was never trained to be a mentor and taught different subjects than I did, we didn’t have routine meetings to focus on my professional goals. The leadership team at my school observed me twice and only gave feedback on my instruction once. It was not enough for me to grow authentically as a teacher.
As a result, I felt like a failure every time I had to ask for help during my first year. For a while, I kept up the charade of being OK. I stayed up late each night planning, I mimicked what other teachers did when discussing their student data, and I continued to use Google as my curriculum enrichment companion....
The bottom line: Mentors of new teachers need to be high quality. They need to be carefully selected, receive strong training, and be appropriately compensated for their work.
Hosting a Resident Improves Student Outcomes, Especially When The Mentor Teacher Is A Highly Skilled Mentor
In a recent report GlassFrog Report, researchers explored the impact of hosting a resident teacher on teacher evaluation data and on student outcomes. The findings show that hosting a resident did not have a negative outcome on teacher evaluation results and had a positive outcome on student achievement especially when the mentor (host teacher) is highly trained and can act like a field-based teacher educator for the resident.
The bottom line: These findings provide additional evidence that when mentors are highly trained, the results are positive not only for the novice teacher, but also for the mentor and the students in their care. Now is the time to invest in the development of preservice cooperating teachers, mentors in residency programs, and university-based supervisors. Partnering with Teacher Development Network can help your organization create a plan and a system to make this happen.
The bottom line: These findings provide additional evidence that when mentors are highly trained, the results are positive not only for the novice teacher, but also for the mentor and the students in their care. Now is the time to invest in the development of preservice cooperating teachers, mentors in residency programs, and university-based supervisors. Partnering with Teacher Development Network can help your organization create a plan and a system to make this happen.
A Decade of Decline at America’s Teacher Preparation Programs: New Numbers Show Enrollment of Aspiring Educators Has Fallen By More Than a Third Since 2010
The latest article in The 74’s ongoing ‘Big Picture’ series, begins this way:
"Since 2010 the nation’s teacher preparation programs have seen their enrollment drop by more than a third even as more students are pursuing bachelor’s degrees. At the same time, graduates of these programs declined by almost 30 percent.
The dwindling popularity of teaching as a profession means that 340,000 fewer students entered teacher preparation programs in the 2016-17 academic year, the most recent year for which data is available, than in 2008-09.
And though the nation struggles to diversify its teacher corps in the face of an increasingly more racially mixed student body, the share of black and Hispanic teacher candidates has declined by a quarter in the past decade.
A new report from the Center for American Progress seeks to explain where the drop-offs are occurring to tell a more precise tale of this national phenomenon."
Click HERE to read more.
The bottom line: With fewer candidates enrolling in teacher preparation, educators and legislators need to focus increasingly on improving the quality of training and support for those who do choose education as their profession. This includes providing high quality field experiences as well as robust induction and mentoring programs for new hires. Partnering with Teacher Development Network can help your organization ensure your inservice and preservice systems are optimized to ensure candidates and new hires have the best chance for success.
"Since 2010 the nation’s teacher preparation programs have seen their enrollment drop by more than a third even as more students are pursuing bachelor’s degrees. At the same time, graduates of these programs declined by almost 30 percent.
The dwindling popularity of teaching as a profession means that 340,000 fewer students entered teacher preparation programs in the 2016-17 academic year, the most recent year for which data is available, than in 2008-09.
And though the nation struggles to diversify its teacher corps in the face of an increasingly more racially mixed student body, the share of black and Hispanic teacher candidates has declined by a quarter in the past decade.
A new report from the Center for American Progress seeks to explain where the drop-offs are occurring to tell a more precise tale of this national phenomenon."
Click HERE to read more.
The bottom line: With fewer candidates enrolling in teacher preparation, educators and legislators need to focus increasingly on improving the quality of training and support for those who do choose education as their profession. This includes providing high quality field experiences as well as robust induction and mentoring programs for new hires. Partnering with Teacher Development Network can help your organization ensure your inservice and preservice systems are optimized to ensure candidates and new hires have the best chance for success.
High-quality mentoring pays off for early career teachers & their students
According to an analysis by Brookings, student teachers who have highly effective mentors during their pre-service are as effective as third-year teachers when they enter the profession. Further, they estimate that, when students have access to highly effective teachers, they can each earn an additional $70,000 during their lifetimes.
Currently, school districts, schools of education, and policymakers are under investing in the student teaching experience and, therefore, are not taking advantage of the significant impact a high-quality mentor can have on a student teacher and his/her future students. The Brookings analysis goes on to add that districts and policymakers should encourage more of their best teachers to become mentors by offering at least $3,500 for the extra work--a figure they arrived at by concluding that the average third-year teacher makes $3,500 more than the average first-year teacher. This is a far cry from the average mentor pay which ranges from $0- $500 per semester for taking on this critical role.
The bottom line: Analyses such as these make a strong case for partnering with Teacher Development Network to ensure all student teachers and early career teachers have access to the kind of mentoring they and their students deserve.
Currently, school districts, schools of education, and policymakers are under investing in the student teaching experience and, therefore, are not taking advantage of the significant impact a high-quality mentor can have on a student teacher and his/her future students. The Brookings analysis goes on to add that districts and policymakers should encourage more of their best teachers to become mentors by offering at least $3,500 for the extra work--a figure they arrived at by concluding that the average third-year teacher makes $3,500 more than the average first-year teacher. This is a far cry from the average mentor pay which ranges from $0- $500 per semester for taking on this critical role.
The bottom line: Analyses such as these make a strong case for partnering with Teacher Development Network to ensure all student teachers and early career teachers have access to the kind of mentoring they and their students deserve.