How To Get Started Improving Your Efforts To Support And Assess Novice Teachers - ebookschoice.com

Many professions offer orientation and support experiences for professionals starting out in a field. Medical residents and law associates—even rookie baseball players—receive extended training, development, and mentoring (working alongside a seasoned expert) before taking on the responsibilities of a full professional. In contrast, novice teachers often are left to fend for themselves, with little or inadequate initiation into the profession.

 

However, an increasing number of school districts offer teacher induction programs to orient, support, assist, train, and assess teachers within their first three years of employment in public schools. Teacher induction is the process of socialization to the teaching profession, adjustment to the procedures and mores of a school site and school system, and development of effective instructional and classroom management skills. Participants in these programs are called inductees, a term which refers simultaneously to teachers who are new to the profession, and teachers with experience who are new to a district, grade level, or certification area.

 

Teacher induction programming can (and does) take many forms. Induction activities can range from a short orientation session, to mentoring programs, to staff development courses and workshops, to multiyear programs that continue to meet the changing needs of teachers as they develop. Many districts combine several activities to support new teachers.

 

Why are induction programs needed?

 

Influx of new hires

Due to escalating teacher retirements and rising student enrollments, the nation currently faces a shortage of qualified teachers. America will need to hire some two million K-12 teachers over the next decade. Although high-wealth suburban districts will always have a glut of applicants, low-wealth urban districts face a hiring demand of 900,000 teachers or more over the next decade.

 

High attrition rates

Just this year, America's urban school districts will need new teachers to fill some of the nation's most challenging classroom assignments. All too many of these new recruits face battlefield odds as to whether they will still be teaching five years from now. No matter how well they did in college, teacher preparation, or another career, teachers can be overwhelmed by their first years in the classroom. It has been estimated that 30% to 50% of beginning teachers leave in the first five years of teaching.

 

Reality shock

Central-city public schools are more likely to fill positions with “less than qualified” new teachers than are large or small towns. Even experienced teachers embarking on assignments in new cities or academic disciplines can be sorely tested, especially if they are unfamiliar with the urban environment. The so-called “reality shock” that can ensue often exacts a terrible toll on teacher morale, school district recruitment and, most important, student achievement.

 

Teacher quality

Increasingly, inductees are learning on the job. Thus, there is an urgent need for induction programs to augment the knowledge and skills of both novice teachers emerging from traditional teacher preparation programs, as well as the increasing numbers of inductees with little or no training. Many of today's induction programs are geared to remediating inductees' inadequate professional preparation.

 

Why do new teachers leave the profession?

The initial years of teaching have been well documented as a time of frustration, overwhelming experiences, and increasing doubts about the choice of profession. The common concerns of new teachers vary widely, from handling discipline problems, learning the curriculum, understanding district policy and paperwork, to connecting theory with practice.

 

The problem of new teacher attrition is particularly pronounced in urban schools. A new study revealed a vicious cycle that was both symptom and cause of deteriorating conditions in low-performing urban schools. Inferior working conditions, lack of professional respect, low morale, and a culture of high faculty turnover all contribute to high rates of attrition among first- second- and third-year teachers in urban districts.

 

What are some common barriers to new teacher success?

There are many barriers to inductee success, some reflecting characteristics of the inductee, some pertaining to the school or community. Some of these barriers include:

 

- Inadequate preparation in classroom management

- Difficulty organizing time/work schedule

- Inadequate preparation in instructional methods

- Unfamiliarity with the curriculum

- Insufficient preparation for dealing with cultural diversity

- Difficulty fitting in with the school culture

- Language barriers

- Isolation in the classroom

- Large class size

- Cumbersome school or district bureaucracy

- Low salary/inadequate compensation

- Lack of respect or recognition as a teacher

 

What can teacher induction programs accomplish?

Effective induction programs hold promise to:

 

- Extend the preparation period of novice teachers through their crucial first few years on the job so they continue to develop as proficient, knowledgeable, and successful teachers

- Improve the climate for teaching and learning, and build community between new and veteran teachers

 

How widespread are induction programs in the U.S.?

The good news is that induction programs are prevalent across the nation, particularly in the nation's larger towns and cities. However, these programs vary widely in their complexity, intensity, and quality.

 

Even though 58% of new public-school teachers are participating in some type of formal induction program during their first year of teaching (63% in urban schools), the scope and quality of support can range from effective, comprehensive, multiyear, developmental programs, to casual, one-shot, brief (and often inadequate) orientation sessions.

 

Unfortunately, even when district administrators have had the desire to strengthen induction programs in their schools, in many cases lack of financial resources has prevented resource-strapped school administrators from implementing their vision of induction. And, induction services are not reaching all who need them.

 

Are induction programs a new development?

Most induction programs in operation today were established prior to 1999. State mandates (often without state funding) typically spurred program creation. The 2000s were an especially fertile period for induction programs, due to heightened concern about rising teacher attrition and renewed interest in increasing teacher quality. Unfortunately, many programs have had to cut back services since then, due to lack of funding. The researchers found that one in three induction programs had reluctantly cut back services because of insufficient resources. However, the current shortage of qualified teachers is causing a resurgence of interest in supporting beginning teachers.

 

Are districts benefiting from their induction programs?

Sadly, there is a paucity of formal evaluation among both state-and district-level teacher induction programs. Outcome data that do exist, strongly suggest that good induction programs result in gains in teacher retention and teacher quality.

 

How does good teacher induction benefit children?

 

- It provides grounded, standards-based support for beginning teachers to continue to become better teachers.

- It keeps highly qualified and highly committed teachers in the profession.

- It provides opportunities for experienced teachers to become better teachers

 

Can induction programs benefit teacher recruitment?

Induction programs are beneficial as a recruitment tool. When prospective teachers ask whether they will have support and assistance during the first year of teaching, recruiters with bona fide induction programs can answer in the affirmative.

 

What does the future hold for induction programs?

As states and school districts begin to focus more intensively on issues of teacher quality, the challenges of new teacher orientation, adjustment, effectiveness, accountability, and attrition are coming more and more to the fore.

 

Increasingly, the federal government, states, and districts appear to be recognizing induction as a critical part of the infrastructure for professional development and are beginning to commit resources to formal programs addressing the needs of inductees. The following trends attest to genuine progress regarding teacher induction programs:

 

- Federal legislation is beginning to address teacher induction

- States are enacting policies to support beginning teachers

- Districts are starting to develop induction programs in response to rising teacher attrition (especially of good beginning teachers); the need to fill positions in shortage areas (e.g., mathematics, science, early childhood education); growing enrollments; and accelerating teacher retirements. The program will require a greater investment of funds, staff, inductee and mentor training opportunities, and school site support to provide meaningful and consistent assistance and training for all inductees.

- Districts are expanding existing induction programs

- Regional centers are being created to support teachers

- Teacher union interest in induction is growing. Despite the fact that teacher unions have been for the most part reluctant to treat novices differently from veteran teachers when it comes to contractual matters, some union affiliates (still a small number) have been instrumental in collaborating with school districts to develop induction programs.

 

Increasingly, states and districts are recognizing the relationship between supporting novice teachers and ensuring teacher retention in this time of critical teacher shortage. Still, well-funded, comprehensive, developmental induction programs that serve all teachers who need assistance are far from the norm in U.S. school districts. Future research will tell us more about the quality of induction programs, how to serve all eligible inductees, and how to integrate induction policies and practices into wider school reform efforts.

 

Guidelines for Success

 

Whether you are developing a new induction program, or are aim-ing to expand or improve an existing one, keep in mind that the most effective programs do the following:

 

- View induction as a multiyear, developmental process.

- Within the first three years of their teaching careers, inductees passing through developmental stages have different needs, typically beginning with basic survival (e.g., the nuts and bolts of classroom management and student discipline) and orientation to school site and system-level policies, procedures, and paperwork; moving on to real concern for instructional effectiveness; and followed by interest in curriculum reform, school reform, student assessment, and teacher leadership.

 

It is important to view induction as an extended, multiyear process. University courses are the start of teacher training—inductees need continuous learning opportunities, ongoing orientation, and sustained support. Thus, a second or a third year of support, assistance, and training may be needed, particularly when inductees are hired late or are assigned to grade levels or subject areas that are not their principal area of expertise.

 

Ensure that school site administrators understand how to orient inductees, create supportive working conditions for them, and effectively meet their professional needs. Principals should be trained to be knowledgeable about and alert to inductees' needs and concerns and should convey to the entire staff the importance of welcoming, guiding, and assisting them. “Buddy” teachers in the same hall, grade level, or department can be asked to be available for emergencies arising in between scheduled mentor visits. Site administrators and department heads should also refrain from mis-assigning inductees to classes they are not qualified to teach or loading them up with extra duties.

 

While peers and buddy teachers often do a good job of providing support informally, designated mentor teachers play key roles in a formal induction program. Be sure you have paid careful attention to mentor selection, training, compensation, release time, support, and evaluation.

 

Link inductee evaluation to district- and state-level standards for what beginning teachers should know and be able to do. The most promising programs tie participation to new, more stringent professional standards and performance assessments that have been established as part of school reform legislation. Inductee performance assessments should be both formative and summative; and teachers should have access to support, information, and guidance prior to assessment.

 

Invest in technology to facilitate communication between and among inductees, their mentors, and university faculty. Email, online forums, bulletin boards, new teacher helplines, etc. are easy and relatively inexpensive ways for inductees to share ideas, concerns, and encouraging words with other novice teachers, regardless of geographic location. All teachers should have ready access to and training on the Internet, which offers a rich array of information resources to teachers and students alike.

 

Evaluate program effectiveness.

It is very important to set up a system of program evaluation or monitoring of progress. Begin by assessing specific program components/activities, such as orientation sessions and training work-shops for inductees—as well as training for mentors—to ensure that inductee, mentor, and district needs are met. Periodically ask inductees and site administrators for feedback on mentor availability and performance.

 

Go on to evaluate program outcomes in terms of teacher retention, improvement of teacher knowledge and skills, increase in new teacher confidence and satisfaction, mentor teacher professional development, etc. Be prepared to modify and improve program elements annually based on what each evaluation reveals. Learn from individual schools and site administrators who are particularly successful in implementing induction programs, and disseminate models of good practice districtwide.

 Whether you are aiming to expand, improve, or change the ways you serve inductees in your district, it is important to strive for a coherent approach to induction, tailored to meet the needs of your beginning teachers. Be sure to incorporate the steps below when developing your induction program:

 

Put together a planning team.

You will need to bring together a planning team to tailor an induction program that best meets your district's needs. An effective planning team is comprised of site administrators, teachers, individuals from local teacher preparation institutions, central office personnel, union representatives, and others in a position to determine how the program components should be coordinated and integrated.

 

Decide which teachers your program should serve.

While most induction programs require participation, exceptions often are made for newly hired—but experienced—teachers. Many districts routinely distinguish between inductees new to the profession and those transferring in with experience. Some state education agencies allow districts to provide limited assistance to inductees who are experienced teachers, especially if they are returning to the classroom after a prolonged absence or if they are new to the state or certification area.

 

Your program can serve first-year teachers only, or you might allow or require inductees to participate beyond their first year of teaching. Of course, like many districts, your resources may be tight and you may only be able to accommodate first-year teachers. If your state has a two-tiered (i.e., initial and full) licensure system, you might require participation of any inductee who is not fully licensed, and consider extending the program into subsequent years.

 

Ask these questions when considering whom to serve:

 

- Have you hired teachers after the start of the school year?

- Has a teacher requested support services?

- Do you have teachers who have changed grade levels or content areas or who have returned to teaching after a long absence?

- Do you have teachers on emergency permit or waiver?

- Do some of your teachers have probationary status?

- Do some of your teachers need help demonstrating competence or meeting requirements?

 

Jeff C. Palmer is a teacher, success coach, trainer, Certified Master of Web Copywriting and founder of https://Ebookschoice.com. Jeff is a prolific writer, Senior Research Associate and Infopreneur having written many eBooks, articles and special reports.

 

Source: https://ebookschoice.com/how-to-get-started-improving-your-efforts-to-support-and-assess-novice-teachers/

Obstacles for Special Education Teachers - ebookschoice.com

With the word "accountability" on every teacher's and parent's lips these days, one controversial tool that's emerging is state mandated proficiency exams. Statewide assessments become truly 'high stakes' when school quality, teacher competence, and individual student capability are judged by their results. The stakes hit the ceiling when these test scores are used by states and school districts as the sole determinant of whether students pass to the next grade or graduate. The reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has pushed the notion of accountability into the world of special education. The law says that students with disabilities should have access to the general education curriculum and that these students should be included in state- and district-wide assessments. And that includes high stakes testing. Currently, many states are implementing or considering implementing high stakes testing.

 

Paperwork Is Number 1 Obstacle for Special Education Teachers

 

In response to a new survey on Special Education Teaching Conditions, respondents overwhelming cited overburdensome and duplicative paperwork as the number 1 obstacle to effective practice. High caseloads ranked a close second, and conflicted role expectations rated third. A complete breakdown of the survey results follows.

 

Overwhelming Paperwork - 79%

Caseloads, Class Sizes - 61%

Conflicting Role Expectations - 58%

Lack of Collaboration with General Education Teachers - 58%

Lack of Problem-Solving Opportunities with General Educators - 55%

Lack of Administrative Support - 44%

Lack of Access to Technology - 43%

Lack of Access to the General Education Curriculum - 37%

Poorly-trained Paraeducators - 34%

Poor Preservice Training - 27%

Unqualified Personnel - 26%

Lack of Opportunity for Professional Development - 26%

 

Comments

 

Following are selected comments from our respondents.

 

Paperwork

 

Planning appropriate lessons for my students is done on Sundays because my planning period is spent in meetings, hall duty, making phone calls, and/or more paperwork for upcoming Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). With 13 years behind me, I have found the situation with special education has become worse, with no support from anyone.

 

The paperwork problem has increased for us significantly this year, preventing us from providing the services the students truly need from us. We are so bogged down with documentation on monitoring and cooperative consultation students that we rarely, if ever, know who they are as a person. Offering them our time to assist them has become virtually impossible. This along with large class sizes, means we cannot truly provide the services and individual attention needed and deserved by so many kids.

 

I am working with 38 students in four grade levels (3-6). Each had an IEP for me to write. I need to be in contact with 10 teachers for which I get no extra planning time, nor concurrent planning time. Each child is wonderful, and each child deserves much more of me than I can give.

 

I feel the focus should be on the child and taken off the endless paper chain. I spend more time making sure I have correctly filled out special education forms and organizing folders than I do making lesson plans. An IEP is only as good as the teacher, and we could be better teachers if we could focus our attention on the children and less on the paper load. Educators, legislatures, state department officials, and parents should work towards getting back to the basics by not worrying so much as to what is written on the numerous special education forms (that change yearly if not sooner) but on what is actually happening daily in the classroom.

 

I feel the amount of paperwork special educators have compared to general educators is not enough to gripe about. The amount of paperwork is becoming unbearable. It is taking away from my students' time with me. The average length of our IEPs here are 45 pages and take 5-8 hours to complete. That doesn't count time for conferences.

 

When I started Teaching, I would estimate 80% of my time was spent working directly with students, 20% in paper management. As the years have progressed, the percentages I stated above have reversed. The inordinate amount of time spent pushing papers directly impacts my ability to deliver a special education to the students with special needs. As a resource teacher, I feel like a person trying to fix a broken leg with a band-aid.

 

I am at a point in my career that I question my effectiveness as a special educator. I am tired, stressed, and really disappointed. We are asked to push more papers and deliver a service that is almost impossible. Our caseloads need to shrink and our job responsibilities need to be less. I want to be able to sit across from a parent at an annual review and feel good about the services I was able to provide their child. I do not want to sit there and feel like all IA could do was provide a band-aid for the child's broken leg.

 

High Case Loads/Class Sizes

 

It seems that case management is a full-time job in and of itself. It has become impossible to teach, consult, and manage cases.

 

I feel that I am reaching the point where I am going to have to choose whether I want to be an effective teacher or an effective case manager. No longer do I feel it is humanly possible to do both jobs well.

 

I'm a high school resource teacher and very concerned about the case load. If the numbers are divided equally, I have about eight minutes of individualized instruction a day for each student. The maximum caseload needs to be lowered for the resource teacher to be effective.

 

Caseload sizes may not always take into consideration the severity of the population served.

 

It is not uncommon for special educators to be expected to be actively working in "inclusion" classrooms while conducting resource (and in a few cases self-contained) special education classes simultaneously. Paraprofessionals do much special education instruction simply because special education teachers are unable to be in two or more places at the same time.

 

Certification

 

I am feeling betrayed. I am a good teacher. I am flexible, adaptable, creative, and dedicated. Simply checking my references would satisfy any concerns or questions one might have about my suitability for a particular Teaching position. I simply do not understand why I could read, reason, write, compute, and teach successfully in some states and be unworthy of practicing my profession when I arrived in Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

 

Nonsupportive Administrators

 

The biggest problem is the total lack of support from district administrators for our programs and kids. They are still not thought of as part of the school.

In my experience, administrators top the list of obstacles. Am I the only special education teacher who was disturbed by the way related service personnel and special ed teachers are thrust into a classroom together with no forum to plan?

 

I have great concern about administrators who view special educators as lower-status teachers when compared to general educators and are simply unaware of what is going on in special education.

 

Lack of Resources

 

We use special education software that covers ALL aspects of the special education process. It works well, saves time, and teachers love it. No canned IEP goals and objectives here. Teachers write individual goals and objectives and can save their work to be modified and used again.

 

What about classroom space in public education buildings? People are expected to work with 20 kids and have an office for space - then administrators get upset when the kids get out of hand.

 

I am a third-year teacher of a pre-primary cross-categorical unit. I started my first year with a teacher's desk and not one item more proved from the school system. I had to practically beg for supplies. I would call my special education department and ask for materials and furniture, and they would refer me to my building principal. The principal would tell me he didn't have to provide supplies for special education rooms. I feel as though I am getting burned out already due to the constant struggle I have to go through to get what my students need.

 

Lack of Adequate Professional Preparation

 

A significant obstacle for me and my students is the unwillingness of regular education teachers to accept my students' abilities and disabilities. As we attempt to implement inclusion, I feel like a leper every time I try to help the teachers adapt instruction to include the students in their classes. I know this is due a great deal to the fact that my district has done very little in the way of teacher inservice on inclusion.

 

Special education teachers are generally seen as something other than a real teacher. We need desperately to bridge the gap between the factions in our profession. I believe this bridge can be built most effectively in the college environment. Regular and special educators in training need to have more opportunities to understand the basis behind each degree.

 

If the push for inclusion and the implementation of regular education curriculum is to be effective, the training needs to begin at the college level. In addition, the colleges and universities training new teachers must implement a program that is not only philosophy but what is really happening in the schools today. Too many new teachers are not prepared for the real classroom.

 

Lack of Respect for Special Education

 

Special education teachers are at the bottom of the food chain. If the regular teacher is out, they use a special education aid every time. I am supposed to have two assistants. One of my assistants was taken for another class; the other works in the office every day from 1:00 until the end of the day.

 

I teach all day with no break or lunch. I have students to feed during lunch, so I usually don't have time to eat? Why do I do this? I really enjoy my students and have a deep bond with each one.

 

Teachers, parents of exceptional children, and the exceptional children themselves are given little attention by school administrators. The special education teacher is expected to solve all problems, keep a low profile, and ask for nothing. In a few schools, administrators will not provide Teaching supplies and instructional materials on the grounds that the special education funds are supposed to be used, not the school's budgeted funds. Teachers are often bounced back and forth from school to agency.

 

I find because of our schedules, it is very hard to make the appropriate contacts needed to benefit our students.

 

I see building level support as key to success for special ed teachers.

 

Unqualified Special Education Teachers

 

It is very disillusioning to see the quality, or rather lack of, in most of the present special education teachers. It seems that school districts will hire anyone to teach a special education class.

 

Lack of Opportunity Career Paths

 

Regarding the questions about career options, preservice preparation, and professional development, I see these as personal choices and motivational levels. As for career paths, with all of the changes going on, special educators have a multitude of paths to follow.

 

Miscellaneous

 

The threat of law suits and overdocumentation is driving away many teachers. Please work to simplify the legal part of this profession and let teachers do what they can do best - teach.

 

Teachers who are actually in the classroom dealing with day-to-day realities of our job should have some input-i.e., having an administrator at every IEP meeting. That would 360 meetings on our campus. Besides, they are not required to sit in on general ed parent conferences, so why should IEPs be any different?

 

It is hard to continually give and give - with little respect or help, added paper work, and laws always demanding more.

 

Two teachers are on staff at my school. One is above state caseload by two and the other by four. We do not have a continuum of service, and the new director of special education has no clue about an elementary setting.

 

Gains and Losses

 

High stakes testing has engendered pluses and minuses, as well as confusion and anxiety for special education students and their teachers in schools across the nation. For instance, some special education teachers are caught in a basic quandary: do I teach content to my students so that they will do well on the test, or should I focus my energy on helping a student master essential skills such as reading or Mathematics?

 

Weaver goes on to say that many teachers try to offer the best of both worlds by attempting to meet goals by using content that may be found on state assessments, but no one knows if this technique leads to success for the students. In other cases, special education teachers say high stakes testing and the pressure it brings has caused them to change the way they teach.

While parents of children with special needs support their children's inclusion in state- and district-wide testing for the most part, they often share teachers' concerns about what is being lost educationally. For example, the "Teaching moments" that can make all the difference to a child's understanding of a subject can be forfeited.

 

However, special educators also say that state- and district-wide assessments can benefit students with disabilities. For example, high stakes testing may prove to be the impetus needed to ensure students with disabilities get a higher quality of educational service from both special and general educators. Another plus is that including students with special needs gives school administrations incentive to devote more resources to special education.

 

Test Anxiety

 

A side product of high stakes testing is the psychological toll on students and teachers. The net effect of the diploma sanction has been an increase in dropout rates, especially for minority, urban, special education, and bilingual students. Special education teachers are also grappling with the question of who can take alternate assessments. Students with disabilities have the option of alternative assessments, but it is expected that only a low percentage of students, between one and five percent, will require an alternative assessment.

 

The Accommodation Paradox

 

Children with disabilities must be included in general state and district-wide assessment programs, with appropriate accommodations, where necessary. But the legislation does not specify what constitutes an "appropriate" accommodation, so decisions about which accommodations are allowed during testing are in the hands of the states, and ultimately the student's IEP team. Examples of accommodations are giving students with disabilities more time on the test or using the services of a scribe or reader.

 

Then there's the nagging question of whether a test taken with accommodations is the same test at all. Thus, if a teacher reads a question to a child with a learning disability, is that the same test? At what point does a reading test become a listening comprehension test? Another problem schools are facing with test accommodations and modifications is that they require additional personnel, and some schools do not have the resources for such personnel.

Positioning the Goalposts

 

In schools where the majority of non-disabled students are struggling to pass standards tests, some educators fear that students with special needs will be left behind. Others are optimistic about the types of success students with disabilities can achieve. But the fact is, we just don't know what to expect. Even in today's climate of increased accountability, no consensus has emerged about how much progress is acceptable for students with disabilities.

 

Emerging Tools for Schools

 

Special education students can rise to the challenge by using appropriate accommodations, interventions and modifications, layering the curriculum, diversifying instructional delivery systems, implementing multi-level testing, utilizing resource teachers better, and giving general education teachers tools to help them tackle the precise difficulties individual students are having.

 

A Challenge We Can Meet

 

While high stakes testing is causing unease and uncertainty, many special educators hope it is a challenge both students with disabilities and they will meet. As for the children, taking statewide tests may be one of the toughest academic challenges they will ever face.  

 

Jeff C. Palmer is a teacher, success coach, trainer, Certified Master of Web Copywriting and founder of https://Ebookschoice.com. Jeff is a prolific writer, Senior Research Associate and Infopreneur having written many eBooks, articles and special reports.

 

Source: https://ebookschoice.com/obstacles-for-special-education-teachers/