The Study

Edward Britton, Senta Raizen, and Mary Ann Huntley of WestEd’s Natural Center for Improving Education (NCISE) along with Lynne Paine, professor in the Department of Teacher Education, wrote this paper that emphasizes how U.S. teacher induction programs can be made more effective.

Findings

The researchers base their suggestions on preliminary findings from their three-year, National Science Foundation sponsored study that looks at exemplary teacher induction in China, France, Japan, Switzerland, and New Zealand. The first issue in achieving greater efficiency is broadening the goals of induction. The researchers point out that all schools provide new teachers with some type of orientation, such as introducing them to school and district personnel, resources, and procedures. Formal induction programs go on to increase a novice’s skill with general teaching abilities they learned in teacher preparation. But more effective induction efforts go beyond “merely being a safety net for teachers to helping them learn” subject-specific issues in curriculum and instructional practices, and basic professional skills, such as communicating with parents or evaluating students’ learning. This type of induction, the researchers note, requires more time. In Shanghai, for instance, educators regard new teachers as those in their first 3 to 5 years, and administrators and faculty continue to help teachers throughout that time.  In terms of broadening the goals, the researchers found that effective induction programs include a subject-specific focus, the development of basic professional skills, and balance assistance versus assessment. The researchers found that few U.S. induction programs include a subject-specific focus, such as deepening new teachers’ understanding of how to teach mathematics and science.  In Shanghai and Japan, new teachers are expected to spend considerable time being familiar with what mathematics is appropriate for children at different stages of development. The researchers also call for using a greater variety of induction activities, including improving initial teaching assignments, enhanced mentoring practices, more variety of teaching observation, and facilitating peer support. Finally, the researchers point out that teacher induction programs that use more varied induction activities and providers are most effective when: (1) programs include evaluation of their outcomes; (2) induction activities are systematically coordinated and involve complete participation by schools, districts, and states;  (3) programs involve preservice institutions and professional associations; (4) policies and programs are flexible enough to address the needs of individual schools and teachers; and (5) sufficient resources are provided.

Citation

Britton, E., Raizen, S., Paine, L. & Huntley, M.A. (2000). More swimming, less sinking: Perspectives on teacher induction in the U.S. and abroad. Paper presented at a meeting of the National Commission on Teaching Mathematics and Science in the 21^st Century. The article is available on the Web at http://web.WestEd.org/online_pubs/teacherinduction/index.html.

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