Mentoring the New Teacher: Rebecca Feaster

Part of the NCA Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement Journal of School Improvement, Volume 3, Issue 2, Fall 2002

Mentoring the New Teacher

Rebecca Feaster

About the Author: Dr. Feaster is an associate professor in the Department of Education at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, South Dakota. She can be reached at refeaste@dwu.edu.

New teachers are leaving the classroom at an alarming rate. Samuels (2000) reported, "A study by the National Center for Education Statistics shows that 20% of new teachers leave the profession within the first three years, and in urban districts the attrition rate can be 30% to 50% in the first year" (p. 2). These rates are even higher in rural areas and inner cities. Kenneth Wilson, a Nobel-laureate physicist at Ohio State University, offered the following analogy:

Imagine that you aspire to be a mountaineer. You have a new pair of boots, a tent, a backpack, and endless enthusiasm, but you have never so much as climbed above the tree line. There are two ways to get into it. You could take a practice run with somebody who has lots of experience and the ability to share it. The other way is to be taken to the base of Everest, dropped off, and told to get to the top or quit. If you don't make it, your enthusiasm disappears, and you seek ways to avoid similar challenges in the future. Too often beginning teachers find themselves alone at the bottom of the world's tallest mountain. (Creating a Teacher Mentoring Program, 1999)

The lack of experience by new teachers and their concentration upon survival may cause a lack of emphasis upon student achievement. Most new teachers are so engaged in trying to accommodate themselves to their new responsibilities that that they have little time to participate in school-wide improvement programs. One new teacher explained her situation in the following words:

My first days in the classroom were horrible. I didn't know how to get the student's attention, much less keep it. They passed notes to each other all day and dropped pencils on the floor so they could crawl around and disturb each other. I had handed out worksheets, but I knew my students were bored. Then my mentor began giving me feedback. Time and again she would say, 'You are the one who creates the magic in the classroom. Think about what you want your students to understand.' And I began to see that instruction isn't nearly planning for what you're going to do tomorrow. I've learned the difference between teaching and assigning. I can now look at these papers in front of me and see that the assessments reflect really meaningful learning. I couldn't have done that without my mentor, who was there for me. (Clark, 2001)

Mentoring provides an opportunity to improve student learning throughout the system by reducing teacher attrition and engaging teachers in structured inquiry into exemplary teaching practices. McCann and Radford (1993) reported that, "mentoring provides teachers sharper observational skills, improved classroom management skills, increased ability to help students become active learners, improved questioning skills and group techniques, increased use of technological devices such as computers, and a positive change in student/teacher relations (cited in North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 2002) Engagement in a mentoring relationship can help a new teacher overcome those first-year obstacles and more quickly be able to focus upon whole-school issues such as school improvement and increased student achievement.

Schools need to start a professional development program before the school year begins and before new teachers are in trouble. Wong (2002) states, "The best way to support, develop, and cultivate an attitude of lifelong learning in beginning teachers is through a new teacher induction program focused on teacher training, support, and retention" (p. 52). The purpose of this manuscript is to discuss what school systems need to consider when developing and enacting a teacher mentor/induction program.

Why Is Mentoring Important?

Today, many school districts work with teacher associations, universities, and others to establish programs that mentor new teachers and experienced teachers who are new to the school district. More than half the states in the country now require mentoring for entry-level teachers (Creating a Teacher, 1999). Mentoring is also provided to teachers who are experienced in one area, such as third grade, who are moving to a middle school setting or to a teacher who has successfully taught general math to middle school students for 10 years and has moved to the high school to teach advanced algebra or calculus. These teachers might regress to lower levels of development, expertise, or commitment after being transferred to another setting. Mentoring programs provide neophyte teachers and experienced teachers new to a teaching area a directive informational or a collaborative supervisory approach that creates an environment that fosters psychological and cognitive growth (Glickman, Gordon, & Ross-Gordon, 2001).

Many demographic and policy trends lend greater importance to mentoring programs. In many areas there is an increase in student enrollments, an escalation of teacher retirements, a decrease in available certified teachers, and an increase of class-size reduction efforts. All of these factors represent serious challenges to districts seeking to ensure the quality of classroom instruction. As many as two million new teachers will enter the teaching profession within the next decade and uncounted experienced teachers will assume new assignments (Creating a Teacher, 1999).

Mentoring and induction programs can be used as recruitment tools and to improve retention rates. New teachers are more likely to choose a school district which offers a mentorship program based on assistance (Creating a Teacher, 1999; Wong, 2002). The Armstrong Atlantic State University branch of the Pathways to Teaching Careers Program, which has mentoring as its major component, reports a retention rate of 100% for the four years ending June 1999 (Creating a Teacher, 1999). Wong (2002) reported that Lafourche Parish Public School officials reported a drop in attrition rate from 51% to 15% after the district implemented an induction program. Today, several years after implementing the program, the attrition rate has dropped to around 7%, a decrease of approximately 80% since the inception of the induction program. Laura Asta-Ferrero, a second-grade teacher, credits her mentor with keeping her in teaching. She states, "If Jeanne wasn't there last year, I probably wouldn't have stayed in teaching" (Samuels, 2000, p. B01).

What Does Mentoring Do For New Teachers?

Mentor/induction programs need to be focused on teacher training, support, and retention. "Mentoring is a process that opens the doors to the school community and helps new faculty find the wisdom of all the teachers in the building" (Creating a Teacher, 1999, p. 1). Teachers appreciate mentor assistance in making sense of the realities of teaching, learning their significance, and using what they have learned to improve their instructional skills (Creating a Teacher, 1999). Mentoring provides new teachers access to the accumulated instructional knowledge and expertise of their colleagues. Mentor Tom Holz offers the following example of how mentoring has evolved for him:

In the first few months of school, I don't wait for the two new teachers I mentor to come to me for advice. Instead, I go to them to help with the big hurdles: open house, first day of class, back-to-school night, parent-teacher conference, and report cards. They are as responsible on Day One as I am, and that's tough. (Samuels, 2000)

Christopher Wood, one of the teachers Holz is mentoring this year, said, "I've learned from Holz the importance of writing down comments on each of his students every day. That way, when it's time to do report cards or hold a parent conference, I can refer to my notes" (Samuels, 2000).

A study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics indicated that 70% of teachers who met with a mentor once a week said their instructional skills improved "a lot" because of the contact (Samuels, 2000). Wong (2002) reported that Lafourche Parish Public School induction program leaders found that new teachers will use a variety of effective teaching techniques that they learn in the district's induction program, which is different from the old lecture-and-endless-worksheets approach. Principals indicated that induction-trained teachers are much more classroom-ready from day one. Also, Wong (2002) reported, "Ninety-nine percent of new teachers who have participated in the district's induction program have successfully completed the performance-based Louisiana Teacher Assistance and Assessment Program, required for teacher certification in the state" (p. 54). Additionally, mentoring helps translate new teachers' content knowledge into meaningful instruction (Creating a Teacher, 1999). Glickman et al. (2001) state:

No school or school system can hope to improve instruction if direct assistance is not provided to teachers. To leave classroom teachers alone and unobserved in their classrooms, without professional consultation and without school resources tailored to their unique needs, is a statement (intended or not) that teaching is unimportant. The message to teachers is that what is important is keeping your class quiet, your doors shut, and your problems to yourself. Assuredly, this is not the message we want to give.(p. 330)

Another outcome of mentoring programs is the teaching improvements reported by mentors. A majority of those teachers who provided mentoring assistance at least once a week also reported substantial improvements to their practice (Creating a Teacher, 1999). Donnis Deeven, a retired teacher from Arizona who has been involved in the Glendale Union High School District's award-winning mentoring program, explains, "I think all of us who were mentors changed radically. . . . Our classroom management skills changed. The way we related to other teachers in our area changed. The skills that we had to work with students in our classroom changed" (Creating a Teacher, 1999, p. 5).

What Needs to be Included in a Mentorship Program?

The best practice is to offer systematic training over two or three years, starting with four to five days of workshops before the school year begins (Wong, 2002). The training should include role-taking experiences, careful and continuous guided reflection, balance between real experience and discussion/reflection, both personal support and challenge, and continuity (Thies-Sprinthall, 1984, p. 54).

The first step in developing a successful mentorship program is to develop a pool of experienced teachers. Mentors may be volunteers selected by their peers or a screening committee. Research indicates that selection criteria include some years of experience in the school system, effective teaching performance, interpersonal skills, past commitment to the profession, flexibility, and willingness to spend time helping beginning teachers (Glickman et al., 2001).

Once mentor teachers are selected, they should take part in a mentor-preparation program, which includes the following elements:

Introduction to the knowledge base on problems of beginning teachers, beginning teacher assistance programs, and mentoring.
Overview of the district's beginning teacher assistance program.
Research on effective classroom management.
Research on effective teaching.
Principles of adult learning.
Adult and teacher development.
Goal setting and action planning.
The coaching of teaching, including conferencing skills and observation skills.
Action research. (Glickman et al., 2001, p. 371)

The next step is to match mentors to beginning teachers or teachers with new teaching assignments. Supervisors should consider the grade level and content area, classroom location, and philosophical and personal compatibility of mentor and beginner (Glickman et al., 2001).

Exemplary induction or mentorship programs kick off their program with several days of activities for novice teachers before the beginning of the school year. Flowing Wells School District of Tucson, Arizona, starts its program with a bus tour in which the district superintendent acts as a tour guide. They also set up demonstration classrooms where master teachers model the first day of school in an effective classroom. After the demonstration, the observers can discuss with the master teacher the strategies that the new teachers found useful. Another planned activity is a special professional assistance day with a mentor where the new teacher and the mentor observe each other teaching. After observations, mentors and protégés have lunch together. At the end of several days of new teacher induction activities new teachers are honored with a graduation ceremony (Wong, 2002).

Another exemplary program is found in the Lafourche Parish Public Schools in Thibodaux, Louisiana. The Lafourche Parish program begins the school year with a four-day training session for all new teachers, principals, curriculum facilitators, and mentors. Demonstration classrooms and a graduation ceremony at which new teachers receive certificates of achievement along with hugs and words of encouragement from master teachers are included in the program (Wong, 2002). Additionally, monthly support group meetings are held where new teachers can discuss their concerns, challenges, and successes and receive ongoing guidance and support (Wong, 2002). Both new and veteran teachers also have daily access to on-site curriculum facilitators who provide ongoing support, teach demonstration lessons, conduct informal teacher observations, and offer constructive suggestions for improvement.

Wong (2002) also discusses Port Huron Area Schools in Port Huron, Michigan. District officials work in conjunction with the education association to model teamwork as a way of achieving mutually desired goals. Their goal is to keep new teachers close for a year, nurture them, and take them step-by-step through the year and beyond. Port Huron's program also begins with a four-day orientation before the beginning of the school year. The program includes workshops introducing new teachers to district departments and programs, principles of classroom management, professional standards and expectations, and effective preparation for the first day and week of school. Monthly seminars also continue throughout the school year. According to Superintendent William Kimball, "After seven years, there are more induction-bred teachers than veteran teachers in our system, and you can see it today by the change in our culture" (Wong, 2002, p. 54).

Similar to the exemplary programs cited above, Glickman et al. (2001) also emphasize that new teachers receive ongoing support throughout the school year. They stress that a support team be formed consisting of a building administrator, department chairperson or instructional team leader, and a mentor. This team should provide continuous assistance, including expert coaching. Additionally, beginners should be provided opportunities to visit the classrooms of mentors and other effective teachers to observe teaching strategies. Mentors need to provide psychological support, information, and instructional assistance.

Annette L. Breaux, director of the Lafourche Parish new teacher induction program, feels every new teacher needs to be treated with dignity. She writes:

Every child-and every new teacher-should be treated with dignity and respect.
Every child-and every new teacher-can learn and succeed.
Every new teacher is a human resource, a person who has invested years in preparing for a life dedicated to helping young people; we have a responsibility to ensure that these new teachers will learn and succeed, just as we have a responsibility to ensure that every child will learn and succeed.
New teachers must be trained if we want them to succeed; it is much better to train new teachers and risk losing them than not to train them and risk keeping them.
An induction process is the best way to send a message to your teachers that you value them and want them to succeed and stay. (Glickman et al., 2002, p. i)

The message seems clear, if schools want quality teachers in their classrooms, they need to provide mentoring/induction programs that send a message that they value them, want them to succeed and want them to stay.

References

Breaux, A. L., & Wong, H. K. (2002). New teacher induction: How to train support, and retain new teachers. Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong.

Clark, F. T. (May, 2001). The best practices of mentors. Retrieved September 3, 2002 from http://www.ascd.org/readingroom/classlead/o1051may01.html.

Creating a teacher mentoring program. (1999, February). NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education (NFIE) publications. Retrieved July 11, 2002, from http://www.nfie.org/publications/mentoring.htm.

Glickman, C. D., Gordon, S. P., & Ross-Gordon, J. M. (2001). Supervision and instructional leadership, Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Collaboration, teamwork, and mentoring. Retrieved September 3, 2002, from http://ww.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envronmnt/stw/sw5ment.htm.

Samuels, C. A. (2000, February 7). New teachers, wise mentors. The Washington Post. Retrieved July 11, 2002, from http://www.wahsingtonpost.com/wp-srv.

Thies-Sprinthall, L. (1984/2001). Promoting the developmental growth of supervising teachers: Theory, research programs, and implications. Journal of Teacher Education, 35(3): 54. Abstract obtained from Supervision and instructional leadership, p. 210. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Wong, H. K. (2002). Induction: The best form of professional development. Educational Leadership, 59(6), 52-54.