Michele+Cacciottolo

Mentoring New Teachers ELAD 680-03 Michele Cacciottolo Fall 2008

This is a wiki dedicated to the problems that new teachers may find when, after being hired just out of college, they discover that they are often clueless about what to do, from where to start, to whom to talk. This wiki will provide some reading references (articles with a brief summary of the content, books, and websites) about the above mentioned subject and the related matter of Mentoring. The final goal is to connect this wiki with a project for a new Mentoring New Teachers Program.

 SUGGESTED READINGS AND RESOURCES:

ARTICLES  1. Moore Johnson S., Kardos S. M., //, “ // Bridging the Generation Gap”, //Educational Leadership//, May 2005, vol. 62, number 8.  In this article the two authors focus on the differences between older experienced teachers, especially the ones who are close to retirement age, and the new young teachers who are going to, or are already replacing them. For an administrator the challenge is to harmonize these two groups that often require a different kind of attention. 2. Shank M., Common Space, Common Time”, //Educational Leadership//, May 2005, vol. 62, number 8.  This article highlights how important it is for new teachers to start working in an environment where collegiality is a daily occurrence. In a high school in rural Maine teachers have common planning time, common activities, and common places to work. Everything in this school is organized so that teachers enjoy working together. And, instead of being intimidating to a new young teacher, this environment has actually a welcoming atmosphere where it’s easier to fit in. 3. Salvo J., Kibble L, Furay M, Sierra E., “ Surviving Day One. . . and Beyond”, //Educational Leadership//, May 2005, vol. 62, number 8. The focus of this article is the narrative of four different educators, all new in their assignments: a middle school teacher, an elementary teacher, a summer school teacher, and an assistant principal. They share their experiences and their stories on how they survived the first years at their jobs. 4. McCann T. Johannessen L. Ricca B., “ Responding to New Teachers' Concerns”, //Educational Leadership//, May 2005, vol. 62, number 8. This article is focused on the concerns of six high school English teachers in their first years of teaching. In several interviews conducted during the year, these teachers underline nine major concerns they have (such as, among the others, workload, grading, dealing with parents and administrators). The authors respond to their concerns providing some suggestions regarding a better mentoring program and a different way to assign them work. 5. Maggie Burdette M. Schertzer K.,  " Cultivating Leaders from Within” , //Educational Leadership//, May 2005, vol. 62, number 8.    This article is somehow connected with what I experience at my school where several new teachers come from within, that is, they are former students. The article however advocates the importance for school districts, especially in areas where there are not too many qualified administrators, to start looking for principals and vice-principals amongst their own ranks.  6. Useem E. Neild R. C.,   " Supporting New Teachers in the City”, //Educational Leadership//, May 2005, vol. 62, number 8. According to a study conducted in 2002, in Philadelphia schools too many teachers, more than 50% of them actually, were not working there anymore after three years on the job. The solution the district administrators found, the article says, was in looking for, and hiring, experienced teachers who would act as “teachers’ coaches” for the new teachers. The authors show that this idea was successful in retaining a much bigger number of beginning teachers.  7. Pounder D., Crow G., "Sustaining the Pipeline of School Administrators”, //Educational Leadership//, May 2005, vol. 62, number 8. This article focuses, like article number 5 above, on the importance of growing personnel from within. In this case, however, the object of the study is potential administrators. In bigger districts it can be a good idea to motivate teachers that show an ability to be leaders to start thinking to a career as an administrator (in the district). The article also advocates the importance of giving more power and autonomy to vice-principals, something that many principals are not always willing to do.  8. Rubalcava M., " <span style="mso-bookmark: Let_Kids_Come_First"> Let Kids Come First”, //Educational Leadership//, May 2005, vol. 62, number  8. This article shows how a reason why many teachers leave the profession can be traced to their expectations not being met, especially the expectation (and objective) to connect with their students in a way that can positively and effectively change their students’ lives. 9. Barnett B., “No Shortcuts to Preparing Good Teachers”, // Educational Leadership //, May 2001, vol. 58, number 8. The focus here is on the real preparation and readiness to teach in teachers who come to the profession through the alternate route. The author demystifies four myths about the alternate route teachers being better than the ones that follow the traditional college way. 10. Holloway J. H., “ The Benefits of Mentoring”, //Educational Leadership//, May 2001, vol. 58, number 8. This article provides data from many different studies showing how beneficial, to both the mentors and the new teachers, this relationship can be. The benefits are not only related to efficiency on the job, but also on a psychological level. But, in order to be effective, mentors too need training. And the author lists few very good programs that focus on this training, especially the CFASST in California, and Pathwise under the supervision of Educational Testing Service. 11. <span style="mso-bookmark: Keeping_New_Teachers_in_Mind"> Moore Johnson S., Kardos S. M., “ <span style="mso-bookmark: Keeping_New_Teachers_in_Mind">  <span style="mso-bookmark: Keeping_New_Teachers_in_Mind">Keeping New Teachers in Mind”, //Educational Leadership//, March 2002, vol. 59, number 6. <span style="mso-bookmark: Keeping_New_Teachers_in_Mind"> A study on new teachers in Massachusetts shows that the vast majority of them revealed that they did not encounter that kind of training, induction, or programs they expected to find. The study shows also that the most satisfied amongst these teachers were the ones who worked regularly in mutual collaboration with experienced teachers. 12. Holloway J., “Mentoring for Diversity”, //Educational Leadership//, March 2002, vol. 59, number 6. The article shows how important mentoring is for many teachers who state that being mentored by another teacher improved their instruction. According to the article, in just two years (1998 to 2000) there was an increase from 19 to 22% of teachers who said they had been mentored. But mentoring is important for another aspect too: to recruit and retain minority teachers. The number of minority students has been growing consistently, but the number of minority teachers has not. The author suggests focusing on four factors that can help recruit and retain these teachers: individualization, independent study, support, and mentoring. BOOKS:

<span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Crow, G., & Matthews, J. (1998). //Finding one's way: How mentoring can lead to dynamic leadership//. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Lipton, L., Wellman, B., & Humbard, C. (2003). //Mentoring matters: A practical guide to learning-focused relationships// (2nd ed.). Sherman, CT: Mira Via. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Villani, S. (2002). //Mentoring programs for new teachers//. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Ingersoll R. & Kralik J. M., (2004). //The impact of mentoring on teacher retention" What the research says.// Denver Co. Education Commission of the States. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">WEBSITES: <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">http://teachersnetwork.org/ntol/ <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">(New Teachers Online website) <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">http://www.nea.org/teachershortage/betterbeginnings.html <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">(Helping New Teachers Survive and Thrive. Suggestions from NEA) <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">http://www.newteachercenter.org/ <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">http://www.mentors.net/ <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">(The Mentoring Leadership & Resource Network. A lot of articles on the subject.) <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">