About LIT
Launch into Teaching (LIT) is a unique model of comprehensive induction designed to support beginning teachers—especially those who teach in schools of poverty – with the focus on increasing student achievement. American schools spend $2.6 billion annually to replace beginning teachers who leave the profession. Research shows that up to 50% of beginning teachers leave within their first five years, well before they can develop fully as high quality practitioners. The most common reason given by these beginning teachers for leaving the profession is isolation and lack of support in developing their teaching practice. Research indicates that without adequate support, novices need as many as seven years of teaching to reach their maximum impact on student learning. LIT creates a structure in which mentors are prepared for, and supported in, engaging the teachers they mentor on substantive issues of teaching: analysis of teaching tasks, analysis of student work, goal setting and co-planning to teach engaging content.
LIT is a program that prepares mentors to help novices integrate pedagogical and content knowledge with knowledge of students. We believe that high quality teacher induction needs to involve both the university and school district working together to improve teacher quality. LIT compliments and extends district support for beginning teachers through university/school partnerships. A LIT partnership promotes growth and development of beginning teachers to impact student learning early in their career. This mentor and beginning teacher collaboration engages colleagues in joint inquiry to help understand the importance of learning from practice while providing tools useful for studying teaching
LIT provides research based mentoring that pairs beginning teachers with highly trained and supported mentors in their content area. With a focus on helping novices enhance student achievement through development of effective and balanced instructional practices, LIT initiates professional learning communities for mentors and administrators centered around substantive issues of teaching. Using standards- based formative assessment tools to gather evidence about student and beginning teacher growth, LIT provides specific data on beginning teacher and student effectiveness. Launch Into Teaching, a comprehensive induction model, provides university support for the beginning teacher, the mentor, and the administrator.
Information about History and Funding can be found here.
