Webinar – New Teacher Center https://newteachercenter.org Dynamic teachers, powerful instruction Thu, 30 Jan 2025 23:59:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7 Practical tips and considerations for mentoring new special education teachers https://newteachercenter.org/resources/practical-tips-and-considerations-for-mentoring-new-special-education-teachers/ Tue, 10 Dec 2024 17:23:20 +0000 https://newteachercenter.org/?post_type=cpt_resource&p=1633

This webinar focused on actionable mentoring and holistic induction strategies to support new special education teachers. Our partners at Hawai’i Teacher Induction Center and Minnesota’s Southwest West Central Service Cooperative (SWCC) offered practical approaches for prioritizing differentiated supports for beginning special education teachers to address the long list of challenges they face, from legal requirements to specialized instruction to meet a wide range of different student needs.

Speakers:

  • Tanya Mau, State Office Teacher, Hawai’i Teacher Induction Center
  • Robyn Tanaka, State Office Teacher, Hawai’i Teacher Induction Center
  • Lisa Gregoire, Director of New Teacher Center, SWWC (Minnesota)
  • Charlie Josephson, Special Education Teacher, SWWC (Minnesota)
  • Kate Lieser, Site Administrator, SWWC Education Learning Center (Minnesota)
  • Jessica Robinson, Instructional Coach, SWWC (Minnesota)
  • Heidi Rops, Due Process Specialist, SWWC (Minnesota)

Highlights and takeaways:

Dedicate mentoring resources for new special education teachers

  • Lower mentor-to-mentee ratios for special education teacher support, recognizing this is (a) specialized mentoring that (b) requires more individualized attention and support
  • Expand mentoring support through pilot projects that elevate and target special education teachers
  • Increase collaboration with administrators/DOEs/LEAs to ensure special education-focused mentors are up to date with the most current best practices
  • Address the unique role of the mentor/coach by identifying common needs, sharing of resources, and connecting similar roles across multiple schools
  • Take into account resource prioritization to effectively teach multiple grade levels, content areas, and abilities, simultaneously, in one classroom

Understand (and address) high-leverage pain points

  • Create a special education task force (or committee) to build broader understanding of challenges and requirements and surface recommendations to target support for special education teachers and their mentors
  • Differentiate questions for special education mentors and beginning teachers in annual surveys to guide program improvement and direct resources
  • Develop a “due process specialist” support position to share the burden of compliance paperwork and tasks to ensure mentoring can be focused on instructional practices

Build collaborative spaces for special education mentors and teachers

  • Quarterly mentor forums foster a strong sense of community with tailored learning to the specific needs of special education mentors, including how to tailor use of mentoring tools for special education teachers and focusing on SEL for teachers
  • Have special education mentors participate in individualized mentor coaching sessions with observations from a special education mentor/coach
  • Provide differentiated professional learning for special education mentors by leveraging the expertise and experience of existing special education mentors and coaches
  • Create opportunities to network (build a special education teacher network PLC/space), share expertise and resources, and connect in communities of practice to create a broader community, especially for geographically spread out districts/schools

Leverage and adapt high-quality mentoring tools

  • Build off of quality mentor standards focused on deepening and maintaining knowledge of learner variability and culturally responsive pedagogy through a special education lens
  • Adapt tools for planning and analyzing student work to create more intentional entry points for special education teachers
  • Use the Optimal Learning Environment framework to support special education teachers to cross-map classroom instruction with research-backed practices, especially around fostering emotionally, intellectually, and physically safe environments for students with diverse learning needs
  • Create active feedback loops between mentors and mentees and school leaders

Resources:

 ]]> Designing teacher induction for the long-haul https://newteachercenter.org/resources/designing-teacher-induction-for-the-long-haul/ Fri, 11 Oct 2024 23:55:36 +0000 https://newteachercenter.org/?post_type=cpt_resource&p=1213

This webinar, presented in partnership with Results for America and Grant Wood Area Education Agency (GWAEA), highlights how to build effective, sustained, and well-supported induction programs. As part of GWAEA’s induction programming, new teachers in participating school districts receive two years of job-embedded professional development. At the core of these supports are induction coaches, who guide beginning teachers in improving their practice. These coaches, who are identified through a rigorous selection process, receive intensive training and coaching to ensure they can effectively support new teachers. Presenters make a case for what drives induction programming success, the critical importance of diverse stakeholder collaboration for buy-in and efficacy, and how to design program evaluation that yields evidence that supports continuous improvement while demonstrating the program’s credibility.

Key takeaways included:

Induction supports multiple benefits, some less visible.

  • Supporting new teachers in evidence-based practices that build optimal learning environments is crucial for enhancing student outcomes and experiences.
  • Nurturing teachers’ sense of success through job-embedded coaching and collaboration accelerates development, fosters persistence, and creates meaning…all key indicators that lead to improved teacher retention.
  • Targeted professional development for beginning teachers is a strong recruitment strategy. It supports higher-quality talent pipelines while creating a supportive instructional culture.

Stakeholder engagement is imperative for long-term success.

  • Treating school principals as true partners by involving them in joint program design efforts and aligning induction programs with school goals enhances support for new teachers and promotes program sustainability.
  • Understanding district priorities and challenges while providing regular data updates, relevant learning, and voiceovers of program impact ensures district-level buy-in and sustainability.
  • Establishing a multi-stakeholder steering committee with diverse representation fosters collective decision-making and ensures program alignment.

Collaboration is a cornerstone of setting instructional culture for new teachers.

  • Intentional communication structures, such as triad conversations between principals, instructional coaches, induction coaches, and new teachers, do more than get everyone on the same page and demonstrate the level of investment in new teachers. These interactions facilitate alignment, continuous improvement, and support rooted in concrete growth and development goals.
  • Bringing together the valued perspectives of new teachers and students (alongside other stakeholders) creates a collaborative mindset around how an engaged community is self-assessing and self-shaping program improvements.

Evidence is a foundational lever to collect support.

  • A multi-pronged approach to program evaluation blends together multiple data points. Reach and implementation data (quantitative data, such as the number of teachers, coaching time, observations, etc.) helps assess program fidelity and implementation. Impact Data — the “so what” data — combines qualitative and quantitative measures to showcase the program’s influence on mentor/coach and new teacher practices, enabling ongoing reflection and adjustment of program actions. Student outcomes data draws direct lines between program impact and improved student outcomes, telling the complete story of student learning experiences in real-time alongside teacher development.
  • Be practical in establishing an evaluation plan, first by clarifying program outcomes and intentions to determine what implementation, impact, and tangible non-survey data will provide readily actionable insights.

Speakers:

  • Kimberly Owen, Regional Administrator, Grant Woods Area Education Agency
  • Anna Selk, Associate Superintendent, Benton Community School District
  • Ellen Hur, Vice President of Solutions, Results for America
  • Ross Tilchen, Director of Economic Mobility, Results for America
  • Ann Wenzel, Vice President of Program & Partnerships, New Teacher Center
  • Jennifer Iacovino, Director of Program and Partnerships, New Teacher Center

1 Results for America Case Study
2 Webinar Research Round-up

 ]]> After the funding is gone — A community conversation on retention in smaller districts https://newteachercenter.org/resources/after-the-funding-is-gone-a-community-conversation-on-retention-in-smaller-districts/ Fri, 11 Oct 2024 23:44:30 +0000 https://newteachercenter.org/?post_type=cpt_resource&p=1210

The challenge of recruiting new teachers in small and rural districts makes retention strategies all the more critical. Our recent webinar, with contributions from our Maryland partners — Calvert County Public Schools and Talbot County Public Schools — offered supporting research and practical approaches for prioritizing high-quality teacher induction in smaller communities.

Key takeaways included:

Make the case with research, evidence, and positive experience data

  • Highlight the positive impact of induction and mentoring and the negative consequences of turnover on teachers, students, and school community
  • Connect positive induction experiences to retention and working conditions research; teacher turnover and job dissatisfaction in rural schools are related to a range of issues within the locus of control of districts and schools
  • Investigate sources of specific retention challenges (e.g., salary, isolation) and emphasize impacts mentoring and induction can have to improve them (e.g., professional fulfillment, sense of community)
  • Educate stakeholders on the features of quality induction (versus short-term orientation and call-if-you-have-questions or buddy-system mentoring)
  • Track and report data on intent to stay and leading indicators for retention — teacher confidence and workplace satisfaction  (“Overall, my school is a good place to work and learn”) — to take action before it’s too late
  • Emphasize the ripple effect of mentor experiences on teaching staff — enhanced instructional expertise, leadership, and job satisfaction
  • Identify a stakeholder buy-in list (school board members, union leaders, superintendents, HR, school leaders, etc.) and commit to regular communications and data sharing about new teacher support

Emphasize the impact of quality mentoring on teacher growth and self-efficacy

  • Use mentor observations that show teacher growth on district-identified priority practices
  • Enable teachers to self-report on their preparedness for named priorities (school, district, individual) to highlight growth and opportunity areas
  • Leverage storytelling to showcase new teacher confidence and build connectedness with teacher, mentor, and school leader testimonies

Get school leader support

  • Use retention data and mentor program alignment with school/district goals to gain school leader buy-in and advocacy
  • Build leadership understanding of mentoring and coaching practices and impact
  • Define clear roles and responsibilities for new teacher support
  • Bring school leaders into planning to create the conditions and structures for successful induction

Invest in people over programs — extend the sphere of influence of mentoring

  • Include other key (permanent) instructional staff in mentoring training to build a culture of teacher support with shared language and methods that extend from induction into ongoing professional learning
  • Showcase role-specific mentoring methodologies for instructional deans, content specialists, curriculum supervisors, teaching and learning coordinators/directors, professional learning planners, and coaches, lead teachers

Embrace the opportunities of smaller districts

  • Emphasize the sustained ripple effect an investment in mentoring can have
  • Focus on collective efficacy, leveraging connectedness, and the bonds in small communities that can accelerate cross-pollination of practices and learning
  • Leverage strong relationships and multiple roles of staff to build coherent new teacher experiences

Speakers:

  • Zakia Brown, Director of Program & Partnerships, New Teacher Center
  • Miya White, Associate Program Consultant, New Teacher Center
  • Lanette Henderson, Program Consultant, New Teacher Center
Role of the Principal in Beginning Teacher Induction

1 Webinar Research Round-up

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