Transcript Commission: Mentoring and Induction Progress and Dissemination of Commission Association of Teacher Educators Sandra J.

Commission: Mentoring and Induction
Progress and Dissemination of Commission
Association of Teacher Educators
Sandra J. Odell, Professor (Commission
Chair)
University of Nevada Las Vegas
Virginia Resta, Assoc. Prof. & Asst. Dean
Texas State University - San Marcos
Richard Lange
National-Louis University
Sharon Schwille, Teacher Prep. Prog. Coor.
Michigan State University
Renee Tipton Clift, Professor
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Elizabeth A. Wilkins, Assoc. Prof.
Northern Illinois University
Katharine Cummings, Associate Dean
Western Michigan University
Michael Strong, Director of Research
New Teacher Center,, UC Santa Cruz
Pearl Mack, Retired Teacher
Chicago Illinois
Jian Wang, Associate Professor
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Ed Pultorak, ATE President
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
Teacher Induction
Teacher Induction Policies at National and
State Levels
Ed Pultorak Ph.D. and Richard E. Lange
Past, Present, and Future Research on Teacher
Induction: An Anthology for Researchers, Policy
Makers and Practitioners.
Editors Jian Wang, Sandra J. Odell and Renee Clift
Introduction
•
Some of the most successful educational reforms of the early 1980s were new teacher
mentoring and induction programs
•
The major policy initiative for their emergence occurred at the state level
•
In 1984, eight states reported the operation of new teacher programs.
•
In 2008, 25 states require and finance mentoring for all beginning teachers and 20 of
those states have some form of mentoring program standards for selecting, training,
and/or matching mentors to novice teachers
•
There are great disparities between the states in regards to the type of programs
available and the amount of funding.
•
This chapter does not provide analysis of emerging data; rather, the purpose is to paint a
picture of the diversity of support programs by providing a cross section of five states
for examination.
California
• California is one of the leaders in promotion and
legislation of new teacher programs since 1983.
• The state provided increased funding in 1992 to provide
for extensive mentor training.
• The success of this program is because it encourages
collaboration among local school districts, county offices
of education, colleges, and universities to organize and
deliver professional development for beginning teachers.
Kentucky
•
In 1984, Kentucky created its first new teacher induction program. The
program was then mandated and funded in 1985 as the Kentucky Beginning.
•
New teachers and out-of-state teachers who had less than two years of
experience were required to enter into a one year internship program.
•
The quality of Kentucky's induction programs can be reflected based on its
2008 standards for new teachers. Three key standards are:
 The teacher reflects on and evaluates teaching and learning
 The teacher evaluates teaching and implements professional development
 The teacher provides leadership within school/community/profession
New Jersey
•
The beginnings of new teacher induction and mentoring programs in New
Jersey started in 1985.
•
Provisional teachers were required to pay $900 for mentor support.
•
In 1992, a new policy was approved that required all New Jersey beginning
teachers to participate in an induction program provided by their hiring school
districts.
•
Since 2004 mentoring plans are developed by the local Professional
Development Committee and reviewed and approved by the local board of
education and the county superintendent.
•
Mentors must take part in a comprehensive mentor training program based on
the professional teacher standards.
Iowa
•
Iowa Mentoring and Induction Program began as part of the Iowa Teacher
Quality legislation enacted in 2001.
•
Iowa pays $1,300 for each first or second year teacher. $1,000 of those funds
are paid to the mentor and the remaining dollars can be used by the district or
to pay for related program costs.
•
New teachers must demonstrate their ability to enhance academic performance
and support for implementation of the school district's student achievement
goals.
•
New teachers must use a variety of methods to monitor student learning and
engage in professional growth.
Texas
•
In 1991, the Texas Induction Year Program for Beginning Teachers (TIYPBT)
was mandated.
•
The seven goals including retention, socialization, improved instruction,
and K-16 collaboration.
•
The state has developed a state-wide network of Centers for Professional
Development and Technology.
•
By 1997, several centers were fully functional and included 43 universities, 15
service centers, and 113 school districts (Sweeney, 1998).
•
In 2007, the state provided $13 million to support such programs through
grants .
Implications and Summary
•
Mentoring of new teachers and the various new teacher induction programs
have wide and varied implications for the practitioner, researcher, and policy
maker.
•
The quality and quantity of administrative support provided for new teachers
varies drastically between states.
•
Because of the diversity among state programs, research into program
effectiveness is just beginning to appear. Just how effective new teacher
induction programs have been is open to debate.
•
The call for more large scale quality research investigations similar to those
completed in 2007 by Villar and Strong regarding the impact of support
programs for beginning teachers on student learning, and cost effectiveness of
such programs (Fletcher, Strong & Villar, 2008) is apparent.
Implications and Summary
•One suggestion offered is to ask for greater cooperation between
states that have policies regarding support programs for new
teachers, encouraging non-mandating states to begin to explore
what standards, goals, and model programs they need to establish
to insure that new teachers are highly qualified to work with our
nation's children.
•Prospective new teachers who are searching for their first position
need to seriously consider the type of induction program available
to them. Candidates must be aware that their beginning years are
most important to their continuing success as educators.
Teacher Induction
Thank you