A successful new teacher induction model should increase new teacher effectiveness and retention, reduce district recruiting costs, expand teacher leadership opportunities, and, ultimately, increase student achievement (Keep, Morgan, & Williams, 2018). Historically, most new teacher induction programs involve a weeks worth of “front loading” of generic information related to district policies and procedures followed by several mandatory school meetings prior to the first day for students. Handouts and related materials are often filed in a three-ring binder and placed on a shelf. Additionally, to meet state requirements, first year teachers are assigned a mentor and must attend monthly meetings. Our new teacher induction model begins by organizing
In 1969, Donald H. Meichenbaum, Kenneth S. Bowers, and Robert R. Ross replicated a study of the remarkable Expectancy Effect study from Robert Rosenthal. Rosenthal had conducted numerous studies with a hypothesis of confirming that one person’s expectations affect another’s behavior, which is also referred as the self-fulfilling prophecy. This hypothesis was also used by Meichenbaum, Bowers, and Ross in their experiment. Under the Behavioral Analysis of Teacher Expectancy Effect study, 14 adolescent female offenders were examined over a period of a month. Six were chosen to be identified as “late bloomers” to their four teachers. During the study, the late bloomers improved significantly higher on objective exams, but not in subjective. However, their behavior in class improved as well. The observations of the teacher-pupil interactions during the 2 week expectancy period revealed that the instructions affected significantly and increased on the positive interactions among the late bloomers. The study conducted by Meichenbaum, Bowers, and Ross has several differences than Rosenthal’s study. Firstly, they created a different study with only 14 female adolescent offenders that were institutionalized in a training school. Secondly, the training school had limited time of two weeks under expectancy effect. Therefore they were graded based on objective test, subjective tests, and measures in their behavior instead of IQ change. Thirdly, the teachers had known the students prior to the study and had created their own expectancies of the girls’ intellectual capabilities. The study may have several differences, but the general aspects of examining the behavior of teacher expectancy and the effect of the academic performance on the adolesc...
Past attempts at solutions were Teachers for America, Experimental Certification of Ethnic Colleagues for Elementary Schools, provisional certification, and emergency certification. Teachers for America is a very easy, "six week crash course in teacher survival skills taught primarily by teachers from their troubled placement sites."(Roth, 220) These teachers are said to bring "enthusiasm and intellect" to the classroom. In inner city and urban school systems, where most of the student body is poor and in the greatest need of good teachers, the TFA teachers are installed. While TFA is a good idea and puts teachers in classrooms, some say that the children who are being used as guinea pigs for this experimental teacher training are suffering. However, after receiving praise from some major cities, its training program was approved in 1995 and it "received $2 million from AmeriCorps, President Clinton’s national service initiative."(Mosle, 3) Experimental Certification of Ethnic Colleagues for Elementary Schools (E3) was an effort to "increase the representation of males and people of color on teaching staffs of elementary schools,"(Shade, 261) in response to teacher shortages. This solution was implemented for three years and was very successful. Provisional certification is given to a person who has been certified in another state and has passed the Praxis II, "but who needs one or two courses Maryland requires for teachers.
I visited Mrs. Cable’s kindergarten classroom at Conewago elementary school one afternoon and observed a math lesson. Mrs. Cable had an attention-grabbing lesson and did many great things in the thirty minutes I observed her. I have my own personal preferences, just like every teacher, and I do have a few things I would do differently. There are also many ways this observation can be related to the material discussed in First Year Seminar.
During Teach For America's first year of operation, the organization received applications from 2,500 candidates and chose 500 of them to become teachers for the program who began their two-year teaching commitment in low-income communities all across the cou...
Wong, H. K., and Wong R. T. (1998). The first days of school: how to be on effective teacher.
On average, minorities attend schools that have less-experienced, lower-paid teachers who are less likely to be certified, poor graduation records, and high poverty rates. Many studies suggest that racial diversity is the key to...
I sat with her every other day for the first four months of the past school year, and gave her specific expectations and examples to ensure extreme clarity. This teacher became one of our most requested staff members this year, due to her successful implementation and the step-by-step planning of the newly adopted Common Core State Standards. She truly respected the time that I took to work along her side, even though I hadn’t taught Language Arts or History at the Middle School level. The wealth of instructional strategies that I provided, alongside her content knowledge served her Steadiness Personality and Behavior style that is motivated by cooperation and sincere appreciation.
Several of the major reform initiatives of the 1980s and early 1990s argued that improving education requires improving teacher quality and, accordingly, teacher education. Numerous changes in teacher recruitment, preparation, and certification were proposed. (For a detailed list, see Hartley, Mantle-Bromley, and Cobb 1996.) In response to the calls for reform, general teacher education programs raised admission standards/exit requirements; revised curricula to reflect multiculturalism and new K-12 standards; paid more attention to pedagogy, teaching practice, and relevance; included clinical experiences in public schools and other learning environments; and proposed new model standards/principles for licensing beginning teachers (Lynch 1997).
To improve education in the United States, the core objectives in federal education legislation address the improvement of teacher education and quality, for example, Higher Education Opportunity Act (Cohen-vogel, 2005). Teacher preparation program is one of the policy instruments to deliver the goals. Unlike traditional preparation program and alternative teacher preparation programs, Urban Teacher Residency (UTR) is an innovative preparation program improving teacher quality in which a mentor will be assigned to work with the novice teacher for a year. UTRs are distinctive than other programs mainly in three aspects as follows: recruitment, preparation, and ongoing induction. First established in 2002, UTRs have gained its popularity and grown to 13 network programs by 2013 with $143 million federal fund support (Boston Teacher Residency Project Narrative, 2010).
Quality training and instruction is a critical factor for educators, more specifically those who belong to minority ethnic groups. As the PK-12 population continues to increase in the number of minority students, education programs of Historically Black Colleges and Universities have become a focal point of education reform. In “Historically Black Colleges and Universities in Teacher Education Reform”, Mary E. Dilworth inadvertently poses the question what have Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s) done to improve the presence and retention of minority teachers in the classroom. According to Dilworth, minority students are inclined to prosper under the guidance of someone who has similar racial or ethical backgrounds (as cited in Goldhaber and Hansen, 2010). The increase of minority students in PK-12 classrooms validates the need for a greater number of minority educators. At roughly sixteen percent, a significant decrease from the twenty six percent years ago, the presence of minority educators in the classroom is considerably low. Although education programs of HBCU’s have thrived and introduced minority educators to the classroom, efforts and goals of these institutions have failed to prepare educators for a successful occupancy in the classroom.
For the lead teacher interview assignment, I had the opportunity to sit down with and interview my son’s EC teacher from last year, Mrs. Hamm. Since my son started at the school last year, Mrs. Hamm has helped him in so many different ways. Mrs. Hamm has been teaching for over 20 years from her home state of Pennsylvania and more currently at Mount Energy Elementary School in Creedmoor, NC. Mrs. Hamm has been teaching at Mount Energy Elementary School in Creedmoor, NC for the last 12 years and recently awarded “Teacher of the Year”. Mrs. Hamm, up until this school year, was the main EC teacher for all grades Kindergarten through fifth grade at Mount Energy Elementary School. As of the present school year, the school district made the determination that she was over the acceptable number of students. As a result, they decided to hire an additional EC teacher and assistant to teach grades 3-5th and Mrs. Hamm would teach grades K-2. Mrs. Hamm was the teacher of 18 students until this decision was made, now with grades K-2, she has 9 students in her class.
As the time approached, my attitude toward student-teaching was one of confidence and in some ways overconfidence. I believed that I was equipped with all of the tools necessary to be a superior teacher. Little did I know what truly goes on behind the scenes of a teacher. Between grading papers, attending meetings, and preparing lessons, I would often feel overwhelmed. Still, student teaching would prove to be much more valuable than I anticipated. It would teach me to appreciate the wisdom of mentors and experienced teachers, value or being organized and prepared, and lastly the resilience of students.
What is a teacher? A teacher is someone who students rely on for further knowledge and comprehension. Often, a teacher is viewed as a role model towards their students. In many times, teachers can help guide students into a better future. Characteristics like preparation, compassion, having and showing respect to students can make a teacher more effective.
What is the role of the teacher, and what steps will you take to ensure that you are fulfilling this role?
In recent years, the cliché image of a teacher has come under attach. Research has shown that teachers often work in an isolated setting in which they are considered experts in their specific area; however they often lack the support and equipment needed to do their jobs effectively. As a result, to the inadequate working environment new teachers often leave the profession within the first five years. These conditions often exist because the educational system fails to prepare our teachers with the proper tools and experience needed to do their job well (U.S. Department of Education, 2010).