Beginning Teacher Support
The quality of interactions between beginning teachers and their colleagues can play a critical role in the success of novice teachers. Paired with carefully prepared mentors, beginning teachers are supported in a trusting, respectful and confidential partnership that goes beyond “buddy mentoring”. Launch into Teaching, a comprehensive model of induction, accelerates beginning teachers’ learning, impacting student achievement. Research shows that within a model such as LIT, beginning teachers exhibit increased job satisfaction, are retained at higher rates, work more effectively with diverse students, and are better able to solve problems around issues of instruction and student achievement.
My mentor did it all – from observing me to being an advocate for me when I had no support. We had discussions every day and she even saved me from giving up on teaching.
-Second year beginning teacher
During regularly scheduled conferences, conversations between novices and mentors focus on substantive topics such as:
- planning instruction and assessment
- utilization of strong student motivation
- understanding subject matter
- scaffolding of student learning
- integration of classroom management with purposeful student engagement
- analysis of student work
- learning in and from practice
Useful tools for helping beginning teachers learn to teach can be found here.
Through this collaborative relationship with the mentors, beginning teachers continue to develop their vision of teaching in ways that extend and support their practice to directly impact student achievement. Further support is provided in work with the university during seminars, content consultation, and one credit courses.
