Helping Beginning Teachers Succeed: Five Strategies for Induction

May 24th, 2010 By: Mary C. Clement in Articles, Teachers' Corner

The first few years of teaching are challenging, even for the best new hires. All new teachers struggle, but a strong teacher induction program provides support to new hires and helps to ease their transition into the profession. Induction is like a big umbrella that shelters the new teachers from the storm of the demands of teaching. Induction can increase teacher satisfaction, retention, and also increase student achievement. Five strategies for new teacher induction are discussed here.

The orientation of new hires begins as soon as contracts are signed, as keeping new employees informed about the upcoming school year helps to lower their stress. Make sure that new teachers are invited to orientation, and that the initial orientation includes something festive — a breakfast or luncheon that is both social and welcoming. New teacher orientation generally takes two to three days, but not all of that time should be spent in whole-group seminars. Once all of the announcements and “nuts and bolts” issues are covered, time should be allowed for new teachers to meet with mentors and to work in their rooms.

Everything that the new teachers need to know can never be covered in orientation, so ongoing support seminars are the second step of an induction program. Consider a curriculum for these support seminars that includes hot topics needed by new teachers. A list of topics might include parent communication, classroom management, instructional strategies, teaching with standards, differentiated instruction, and stress management for the teacher. The timing of the seminars is critical. The parent communication seminar should occur just before new teachers meet and conference with parents, and the others should be timed appropriately. Stress management works great for late March. Seminars should take place with release time when possible, instead of requiring teachers to give up more time after teaching. The seminars may be taught by veteran teachers or by second and third year teachers, as these teachers do have much to share. A key to successful ongoing seminars is allowing time for teachers to discuss issues of interest to them, to laugh about their experiences, and to celebrate their successes.

A mentoring program can provide tremendous support to new teachers. To make mentoring work, mentors must be trained in their roles and responsibilities, and must have time to work with the new teachers and to observe in their classrooms. Introducing new teachers to mentors in orientation, and then allowing the new teachers to talk about their work with mentors in ongoing seminars provides a network to support the mentoring.

Mentors need a blueprint for their work. They appreciate a calendar with topics and suggested activities. The calendar of topics may mirror the topics of the ongoing seminars. Asking new teachers about timely topics starts a productive discussion with the mentor. Have clear district guidelines for the responsibilities of mentors, and whether or not they play any evaluative role in the re-hiring of the new teacher. A good mentor is a role model, a confidante, a guide for finding materials, a second pair of eyes in the classroom, and a collegial sounding board for the new teacher. A strong mentor knows when to congratulate, when to gently nudge, and when to be a coach.

In planning induction programs for new teachers, it is important to remember that the needs of new teachers vary widely. It would be a waste of time to have a half-day seminar on lesson planning for all new teachers, if almost all of them had just finished a year-long student teaching experience where they wrote plans on a weekly basis. The use of small group study groups, or book studies, helps to individualize the professional development of new teachers. Consider small group work for new teachers of one grade level, or for all who teach one subject at many levels. The group can read a book to jump-start their discussions, or a veteran teacher can lead the group to share their experiences. Small group work, and book studies, can replace attendance at the large group ongoing seminars for some new teachers. Knowing the needs of teachers is a key in planning for induction. Get new teacher input on topics, best times to meet, and on the mentoring process throughout the year. It wastes time and resources to learn at the end of the year that the majority of attendees didn’t want, or need, some of the planned offerings. Using input from second and third year teachers can be very helpful, as well.

New teachers want to feel that they are not isolated in their classrooms. Offering social networks can be very beneficial. These networks may certainly be online, as electronic networking is the way that new teachers have been communicating with others since about middle school. Since a district does not want its teachers’ issues published publicly, perhaps a local chat room can be established and moderated within the district, and only accessible by the new teachers. Moodle and other online delivery systems may make announcements and the content of ongoing seminars easy to share. The possibilities are endless, but care should be taken to prevent public accessibility to confidential issues, questions, or concerns. Whether a discussion takes place in a seminar room or online, no new teacher wants his/her questions and problems known by all. Mentors and all who support new teachers need confidentiality training.

Beginning teachers also need to develop professional networks. All teachers need to belong to a content-specific organization and one that is devoted to all teachers, such as Kappa Delta Pi or Phi Delta Kappa. Introducing new teachers to these associations at the state, regional, and national levels will help the teachers find support throughout their careers.

An effective induction program should not conclude at the end of the teacher’s first year. Induction programs should be available for the second and third year of a teacher’s professional development. Yes, the content and the delivery of the induction may change, but all beginning teachers can benefit from effective, ongoing programs designed with their needs in mind.

Mary C. Clement is a professor of teacher education at Berry College, northwest of Atlanta, Ga., where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in curriculum, teaching methods, instructional management, and supervision of instruction. She is the author of six books, including Building the Best Faculty, So You Want to be Teacher?, First Time in the High School Classroom, and The Definitive Guide to Getting a Teaching Job.

Tags: induction, new teacher, professional learning community, staff development