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Teachers' Induction Needs: A Report of Ongoing Research on New Teachers

Clive Beck – cbeck@oise.utoronto.ca Clare Kosnik – ckosnik@oise.utoronto.ca Julian Kitchen - jkitchen@brocku.ca Judy Caulfield - jcaulfield@oise.utoronto.ca Rosanne Brown - rosanneandjoel@yahoo.ca Kathy Broad - kbroad@oise.utoronto.ca Kirsten Tenenbaum - jcem@sympatico.ca Ann McClure - anemac@sympatico.ca Helen MacDonald - hel.mac@sympatico.ca

November 2006

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General Observations and Findings

beginning teachers were doing well we were impressed with their commitment and the quality of their programs some aspects of the preservice program worked very well

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General Observations and Findings … what was taught in preservice was not always

learned by the student teachers grades taught during practice teaching were

important some teachers participated in excellent induction

programs but access and quality were uneven some school districts went through dramatic shifts in

their induction offerings which undermined the induction program

choice of mentor was critical

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General Observations and Findings … schools with a school-wide initiative seemed to be

more supportive of beginning teachers observing other teachers was a great form of PD some beginning teachers intend to leave teaching

eventually significant changes between years 1 and 2 were

noted for some teachers teachers who used a textbook for literacy (as an

anchor) seemed to have less anxiety about teaching

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General Observations and Findings … some beginning teachers were assigned extremely

challenging classes some teachers had a clear vision of teaching and

learning insufficient attention to what the pupils were

learning content knowledge was an issue for some teachers beginning teachers often cannot recall specific

aspects of the preservice program (e.g. assignments). “It is a blur!”

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Program Planning Problems

Long-range plans due early in the fall Developing a comprehensive plan for the year:

sequence, emphases, routines, and integration A wide range of ability levels in the class Too many or too few materials available Pressure to teach all the expectations listed in the

MOE documents Lack of awareness that it is OK to be different

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Program Planning – Teachers’ Voices

“In September, trying to prepare a year-long plan, I felt totally lost.”

“The language program I took last year was awesome...[but] I know too much and it paralyzes me.... Knowing what a perfect program would look like and not being able to put it into action was frustrating: not being able to...do all those things at the level at which all the different students need it.”

"No, I'm not going to do it. I understand that I'm new, but I'm not doing that worksheet or teach it that way. I'm going to do it my own way."

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Assessment Problems

Implementing standardized assessments (e.g. DRA or CASI)

Inadequate understanding of the nature and purpose of assessment

Use of informal assessment (and figuring out when it is appropriate)

Managing marking and assessment Writing report cards

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Assessment – Teachers’ Voices

“Although assessment was a heavy focus in the literacy program, the instructors would tell us about a tool but not show us how to use it, or when to use it, or what kind of information it's giving you, or how it's effective.”

“Marking language assignments [has been a problem]. I think we did quite well [in preservice] in terms of learning rubrics and things.... But I'm stuck with piles and piles of creative writing that I asked the kids to generate and I just have no idea how to find time to mark them. So I think I could have had more instruction on that."

“Government exemplars are well above what the students can do.”

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Classroom Organization and Community Building Problems

Guided reading – what is it? Figuring out when group-work is beneficial and

when to use individual or whole class approaches Managing group-work: keeping everyone on task Problems of ability grouping Lack of an effective approach to classroom

management Difficulties in building a class community

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Classroom Organization and Community Building – Teachers’ Voices

"I don't yet feel confident with guided reading.... You hear a lot and read a lot about guided reading, [but] it's different when you actually sit down to develop a program that works for your class, because there are so many ways to do it."

“In the preservice program they didn't want to be prescribing... But I would have liked someone to say, This worked for me; here is one thing you can do, or a variety of things. There are many more out there but you can start with these and then see what works for you."

“One of the biggest issues I have in my class is behaviour...[and] guided reading in theory I love...you have your little reading group and everyone else is working in their literacy centres. Well, in my class that doesn't work...because kids were screaming, I had kids rolling on the floor... “

“I can't say how I'm going to approach anything until I get to know the kids. And I think this is really important, both as a person and as a teacher: if you know the child then you'll understand what makes them tick... And that helps, whether it's with classroom management or picking books for the kids or just trying to find the big hook that's going to draw the child in.”

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Program Planning Discussion Questions What is it realistic to expect beginning teachers to be able to do regarding

program planning? Can program planning be taught during preservice? How much flexibility should beginning teachers have regarding program

planning? Why does program planning tend to be difficult for beginning teachers? What are good resources for program planning? How should long-range plans be handled for beginning teachers? What should be the priorities in the preservice program for teaching about

program planning? During the induction program? Other questions or topics that you think are relevant …

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Assessment Discussion Questions What is it realistic to expect beginning teachers to be able to do regarding

assessment? Why does assessing pupils tend to be so difficult for beginning teachers? Should helping beginning teachers with assessment be done in their local

school or in a school-district induction program? What resources should beginning teachers use for assessing pupils? Should all student teachers be trained to use specific assessment tools

(e.g. DRA)? What should be the priorities in preservice program regarding

assessment? During the induction program? Can student teachers learn assessment theory and practice when they are

working in someone else’s class (during practice teaching)? Other questions or topics that you think are relevant …

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Classroom Organization and Community Building Discussion Questions What is it realistic to expect beginning teachers to be able to do regarding

classroom organization? Why does classroom organization tend to be difficult for beginning teachers? What are some good resources to help beginning teachers organize their

classrooms? How much emphasis should there be on community building during preservice?

(should there be a focus on building the preservice cohorts into communities?) Are there principles of classroom organization and community building that all

teachers should follow? How can new teachers be helped with classroom management? How much should

they adhere to CR management strategies used by most teachers in the school? Should beginning teachers be given smaller classes with fewer “difficult” pupils? What are some useful strategies to help beginning teachers learn to work

productively with the parent community? Other questions or topics that you think are relevant …

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