Vt*****************t01*DOCUMENT RESUME ED 319 145 EA 021 880 AUTHOR...

DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 319 145 EA 021 880

AUTHOR Morey, Ann I., Ed.; Murphy, Diane S., Fi.TITLE Designing Programs for New Teachers: The California

Experience.INSTITUTION ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management, Eugene,

Oreg.; Far West Lab. for Educational Research andDevelopment, San Francisco, Calif.

SPONS AGENCY Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED),Washington, DC.

REPORT NO ISBN-0-86552-104-2PUB DATE Apr 90CONTRACT RI89062004NOTE 127p.AVAILABLE FROM Publication Sales, Far West Laboratory for

Educational Research and Development, 1855 FolsomStreet, San Francisco, CA 94103 ($13.50).

PUB TYPE Information Analyses - ERIC Information AnalysisProducts (071) -- Guides - Non-Classroom Use (055)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC06 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Alternative Teacher Certification; Beginning Teacher

Induction; *Beginning Teachers; *Elementary SecondaryEducation; *Teacher Education; *Teacher EducationPrograms; *Teacher Effectiveness; Teacher Evaluation;Teacher Guidance

IDENTIFIERS California

ABSTRACTNine articles by California educators are included in

this guidebook for the planning and implementation of beginningteacher support programs, ei.th a focus on improving teacher qualityand retention. An explicit relationship between the conceptualframework and the operational program increases the effectiveness ofsuch programs. Chapters titles and authors are as follows: (1) "A

Context for Analyzing State Supported New Teacher Reform Efforts inCalifornia," by Laura A Wagner; (2) "Conceptual Frameworks and Modelsof Assistance to New Teachers," by Mary Gendernalik Cooper; (3)"Content and Strategies for Assisting New Teachers," by Diane S.Murphy, Katherine K. Merseth, and Ann I. Morey; (4) "The Role ofExperienced Educators in Assisting New Teachers," by Judith H.Shulman and Victoria L. Bernhardt; (5) "The Role of the University inNew Teacher Programs," by Victoria L. Bernhardt and Judith H.Shulman; (6) "Program Administration," by Louise Bay Waters, CarlynCates, and Cynthia Harris; (7) "Models of New Teacher InstructionPrograms"; (8) "A Policy Framework for New Teacher Support," byDouglas E. Mitchell and David Hough; and (9) "Beginning TeacherAssessment Activities and Developments in California," by Gary D.Estes, Kendyll Stansbury, and Claudia Long. Appendices include asection on resources for beginning teacher support and a list ofcontributors. (8 references) (LMI)

**********************Vt*******************************t**************01** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the /Jest that can be made* from the original document. *

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ESIGNING PROGOR NEW TEA CHE

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Designin ro y rams forew Teachers

The California Experience

Ann I. MoreyDiane S. Murphy

Editors

San Diego State University

April 1990

FAR WE T LABORATORYoft EDUCAHON SEARCI I AND DEVELOPMENT

ERIC CLEARINGHOUSEON EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT

3

Design: Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development

International Standard Book Number: 0-86552-104-2Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 90-81766

Printed in the United States of America, 1990Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development-I855 Folsom street, San Francisco, California 94103andERIC Clearinghouse on Educational ManagementUniversity of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403

No federal funds tve.-e used in the printing of this publicati

Far West Laboratory and the University of Oregon are affirmative action, equal opportunity institutl,rns.

This document is published jointly by the Far West Laboratory It Educational Research and Development andby the ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Managemt A pm i,on of the research was supported by federalfunds from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement.The contentsof this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Education nor doesmention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the United StatesGovernment. Reprint rights are granted with proper credit.

About FWL

Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development is located in San Fran-cisco. 1,8 ith primary funding from the U.S. Department of Education, e conducts research,provides technical assistance and training, and offers evaluation support to schools andeducation agencies. In addition, for 24 years, FWL has been a federally designated regionallaboratory with the charge to provide service and support for the public schools in Arizona,California, Nevada, and Utah. Other funding comes from state and private sources, andaddresses the entire range of educational concerns from preschool experiences throughadult literacy.

About San Diego State University

The College of Education at San Diego State University is involved in extensive collabo-rations with public school personnel and university discipline-based faculty to improve theprofessional preparation of teachers. Its work in this regard has been recognized by severalnational awards given by the Association for Teacher Educators and the American Associa-tion of State Colleges and Universities. San Diego State University and the San Diego publicschools are leaders in the development and evaluation of models of assistance for beginningteachers, with six different models currently under further development.

About ERIC

The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) is a national information systemoperated by the U.S. Department of Education. The ERIC Clearinghouse on EducationalManagement, one of several such units in the system, was established at the University ofOregon in 1966. ERIC serves the education community by disseminating research results andother resource information that can be used in developing more effective educationalprograms. Research results and journal articles are announced regularly in ERIC's index andabstract bulletins.

Besides processing documents and journal articles, the Clearinghouse prepares bibliog-raphies, literature reviews, monographs, nd other interpretive research studies on topics inits educational area.

Table ofContents

ForewordIN. Ann ReynoldsBill I lonig

Acknowledgements

Introduction

CHA19112 1:

CHAPTI R 2:

CI 1AVIIR 3:

CHAPTFR 4:

Ann 1. Morey

A Context for AnalyzingState Supported New TeacherReform Efforts in CaliforniaLaura A. Wagner

Conceptual Frameworksand Models of AssistancetoNew TeachersMary Gendernalik Cooper

Content and Strategiesfor Assisting New TeachersDiane S. MurphyKatherine K. MersethAnn I. Morey

The Role of ExperiencedEducators in AssistingNew TeachersJudith H. ShulmanVictoria L. Bernhardt

z 5: The Role of the Universityin New Teacher ProgramsVictoria L. BernhardtJudith H. Shulman

CHANT Program AdministrationLouise Bay WatersCarolyn CatesCynthia Harris

CicArri R 7: Models of New TeacherInduction Programs

CtiArFER 8:

19

tArl Llt 9:

26

A Policy Frameworkfor New Teacher SupportDouglas E. MitchellDavid Hough

Beginning TeacherAssessment Activities andDevelopments in CaliforniaGary G. EstesKendyll StansburyClaudia Long

CoNci.usioNs Insights and PrinciplesAnn 1. Morey

40 Mary Gendernalik Cooper

6

APITNIAX A: ResourcesCarol Withers

51

56

107

111

ApaNnix B: Contributors 114

Foreword

W. Ann ReynoldsChancellorThe California State University

111HO can forget his or her first dayindeed, first year of teaching?Most of us who recall that memo-

rable time were confronted with a task thatby today's standards was easy. Not only aretoday's beginning teachers expected to per-form from their first day as seasoned profes-sionals, but they are expected to do it in aclassroom setiing that has changed a greatdeal. When I started teaching, most studentsspoke English; they were reasonably wellprepared; they came from a rather homoge-neous culture; and I never had to give apassing thought to classroom safety or graf-fiti in the halls. Even then there was a lot tolearn in order to become a good teacher.

Foravord by Reyrudds

learning to teach competently is a long-termprocess, involving several stages of developmentand extending well into the first years of teaching.Unfortunately, until recently, there has been littlerecognition of beginning teachers as novices whorequire stable working conditions and professionalsupport it they are to become competent profession-als. Beginning teachers have been expected to as-sume the same responsibilities and perform as wellas chose teachers who have had many years of class-room experience. Frequently, working conditionsand assignments of beginning teachers are not con-ducive to their professional development or success.Beginning teachers too often become frustrated withclassroom management, overwhelmed with paper-work , and feel inadequate and powerless. Faced withthise conditions and lack of support, large numbersof teachers leave the profession within their first fewyears of teaching.

Preparing teachers who have confidence andcompetence and will remain in the profession re-quires a long-term, integrated, systematic approachwhich extends from undergraduate preparationthrough professional studies and continues duringthe novice years of teaching. This model of extendedteacher preparation recognizes the continuity of thelearning process and the developmental stages inbecoming a professional teacher. On this learningcontinuum, programs for beginning teacher supportprovide for the transition from university student toprofessional teacher and are the critical link betweentheory and its application in the classroom.

To put in place an effective extended approachto teacher preparation, universities and school dis-tricts must recognize that they need to he a singlehighly connected and integrated system for educat-ing teachers. There must be articulation between thecomponents of the extended teacher preparation:undergraduate preparation, professional studies andbeginn-ng teacher support programs. Where school-university partnerships have been developed forstudent teaching or school improvement, these part-nerships could become the vehicle foi framing and

ii Desigrrirra7 Progruitr4 fcer New Teachers

implementing beg teacher support programs.As well, professional educators should be consultedas university faculty define the university teacherpreparation curriculum, and university faculty shouldbe involved in building and delivering the beginningteacher support component. Thisprocess will not onlyresult in effecti VC beginning teacher su pport programs,but will provide opportunities for professional teach-ers and university faculty to learn about c irrent re-search on teaching, promising instructional practices,conditions contributing to teaching effectiveness, andthe challenges schools face when educating an in-creasingly diverse student population. True profes-sionals have the capacity to learn and grow through-out their careers. Beginning tead.erstipport programsneed to build this capacity in the novice teacher. Toooften, help for the beginning teacher is directed to-ward or limited to a narrow range of classroom sur-vival skills. While survival and adjustment may be animportant initial aspect of support for beginning teach-ers, it should not stop there. Beginning teacher pro-grams should improve and expand the beginningteacher's ability to implement a variety of appropriateinstructional strategies including cross-cu Rural edu-cation, curriculum development, diagnosing studentlearning, selecting and developing effective teachingmaterials, and assuming school leadership roles.

Assisting beginning teachers in their develop-ment toward becoming competent professionals iscritically important if we are to strengthen K-12 edu-cation, particularly for ethnically and linguisticallydiverse students. We cannot afford to waste our in-vestment in those who are preparing to teach becausewe are unwilling or unable to extend to them thesupport they need to succeed as they begin theircareers. Schools and universities can collaborativelylaunch beginning teacher programs which will curtailthe exi.,,lus of new teachers from the profession andstrengthen teaching. Pesistiing Programs for New TrYrrlr-crs: 6110ot-ilia Experience captures the experienceand knowledge of the many fine. California teachersand university faculty who are working together tobuild heginning teacher support programs.

Foreword

Bill HonigSuperintendentof Public InstructionState of California

HE qua lit\. cif clas, room teachers inCalifornia h-is never been more im-portant than it is today. Assuming

that pupil teacher ratios remain constant,the Policy Analysis for California Education(PACE) group forecast that California willneed 327,500 new elementary teachersthrough 1994-95. Beginning in 1990-91, sec-ondary pupil enrollments will also begin toincrease, with corollary additiolal demandsfor single-subject credential holders (PACE,1989). Where will these teachers come from?how well will they be qualified to teach thediverseCalifornia student population? What,if anything, can we do to ensure that thesewho are most qualified choose to stay inteaching?

9'word by iii

California must take a comprehensi ye approachto addressing these issues. The various educationalsegments (Elementarysecondary education, Calitor-n'a State University, University of California, Asso-ciation of Independent Colleges and Universities,California Community Colleges, and others) arecurrently working; icgether tn a number of coopera-tive initiatives to address these issues. These includestrategies to (I) 'IN-mit able individuals into the teach-ing profession; (2) provid'... them with the best pos-sible preparation; (3) give new teachers ample sup-port during their early, difficult years in the class-room; (4) establish rigorous standards for their fullrecognition as educational professionals; and (5) fa-cilitate their commitment to life-long professionaldevelopment.

This Guidebook is an important contribution tothese efforts, particularly as they pertain to the sup-port of new teachers. The articles describe variousconceptions and alternative approaches to newteacher support and assessment and the multipleroles that various organisations can take to this pro-cess. The insights offered in these are particularlycritical given our current shortage of teachers, thechanging studen population in the state, and theclimate of readiness fur educational reform.

Although the book does not address the issue ofrecruiting minorities into teaching, all of us will needto work toward a better match between the studentsin California classrooms and the heterogeneity in theteaching population. We need more teachers fromdiverse backgrounds to serve as role models for ourstudents. in 14-m4-on, the racial and ethnic composi-tion of the nation's K-12 pupil enrollment is diamet-rically opposed to school, college and universityenrollments. At a time when more than 50 percent ofK-12 students in California are racially, ethn'eallv,and linguistically diverse, the typical classroomteacher continues to be a forty-year-old, Anglo, non-Ilispanic female. Forecasts suggest that these trends

iv Designing Prii reniis fo New Teache,;

continue unless concerted efforts are made toincrease the successful participation ofas "I students inelementary, secondar, and postsecondary educa-tion. As Bud 114, dgkinson has put it, "By around theyear 2000, America will be a nation in which one ofevery three of us will he non-white. Minorities willcover a broader socioeconomic range than ever be-fore, which makes simplistic treatment of their needsnot useful," (Institute for Educational Leadership,1(485).

The need to ret ant and support new teachersvarious backgrounds is made more complex by

the climate of educational reform currently pervad-ing discussions of teachng.11istorically, changes inthe supply and demand of teachers in California, aselsewhere, have been managed by loosening or tight-ening the requirements for the teaching credential.What makes responding to the current shortfall ofteachers so difficult is that we are simultaneouslyexploring ways to upgrade the standards for entryand performance during the early Years in teachingwhile recruiting more individuals f rotn diverse, d is-similar backertninds into the oc-

I believe we can do it. As evidenced by pilotprograms in communities as diverse .as San Diego,Oakland, Chico, I layward, Fresno and Santa Cruz,Young and not-so-young people a re chtoosing careersin teaching. When provided with organizationalsupport and staff development that recognizes theirnovice status, new teachers are signing up to sta, inthe occupation, even in hard- ter -staff schools anddistricts. Nevertheless, new teacher support is onlyas good as the context in which it is embedded. In thatsense, it is just one element in the larger strategy tostrengthen the educational 1;orkforce through com-prehensive preparation and assessment of pruspt'c-tive teachers, the provisioti of support during induc-tion, competitive compensation packages, and work-ing conditions %yin, h reflect responsible decisionmaking in a climate of professional accountability.

Acknowledgements

1111

E wish to extend a very special ex-pression of gratitude to JudyShulman, Director of the Support

for Beginning Teachers Program and the In-stitute for Case Development at Fair WestLaboratory. Judy has been involved in everyaspect of this project. She shared her exper-tise and insights in the entire planning andediting process and enthusiastically contrib-uted to the development of this book. Shehas been a superb collaborator and colleagi 1 e,and this work would not have been possiblewithout her having served with distinctionin these roles.

ACknOW 1 V

We would also like to gratefully acknowledgeJoan Mc Robbie, Wri ter a nd Editor, and Fred ri ka Baer,Administrative Assistant. both from Ear WestI _aboratorv, who were responsible for the final editingand design of this publication, and Patricia Christenfor design suggestions.

We wish to expless our sincere thanks to SusieKidder, Coordinator for Support Services for the SanDiego State University Teacher Education ReformProjects. I ler orga nizational skills, dedication, gentlesuggestions and warm heart have assisted us through-out

igh-out the project and were especially invaluable duringthe preparation of tlw manuscript.

In addition to San Diego State University, thisproject was supported by the California State Depart-ment of Education, the Office of the Chancellor of theCalifornia State University, and Ear West Laboratoryfor Educational Research and Development. We areespecially appreciative of the assistance given to usby Laura Wagner of the State Deportment and IanMendelsohn of the Chancellor's Office.

vi Designing Program. New Teachers

We are also indebted to many tithe" individualswhose assistance has made this project possible. Inplanning the San Diego Invitational %Nit nkshop, uponwhich most of this heaeok based, we consulted withcolleagues throughout California by telephone andin small group meetings. 'Ibeir advice was incorpo-rated into the conference agenda and materials. Of-ten these generous colleagues served as group facili-tators, and some became contributors to this work.

Lastly, we want to thank the new teachers withwhom we have worked. The V have welcomed ourassistance and provided critical comments for theimprovement of our new teacher programs. Most ofall their appreciation of our Mints and their devel-opment as young professionals made us feel thatwhat we were attempting to do was of increasing ef-fectiveness and importance. This led us to want tocapture the knowledge that we and other educatorsin California were acquiring in ord,.- a I, improve ourprograms for new teachers and ha ..ly be of use toothers.

1 2

Intro action

Ann I. Morey*San Diego State University

HIS book is intended to assist themany talented women and menwho have chosen education as a

career and whose work with the nation'schildren will touch the future in significantways. As these new teachers enter theirclass-rooms they face unprecedented challengesrelated to changes in societal context, in-creasing ethnic diversity, and the conditionIf public education. As a group, they willstruggle with the transition from collegestudent to classroom teacher; they will en-counter situations where they questionwhether they have the necessary knowledgeor problem-solving skills to respond effec-

tively. Many will leave teaching within fiveyears. Programs to assist these new teachersare being organized, implemented, andevaluated across the country. As a result, theknowledge base is expanding.

*The author wishes to acknowledge the contributi ade

,y Diane Mu rphy , Gail Senior, and John Merge):the literature review of this chapter.

Introduction

In this publication we seek tocapture the knowl-edge of California educational leaders who are in-volved in programs of support for new teachers. Ourintent is to provide guidance for ourselve- and othersin the planning and implementation of programs fornew teachers. Decidedly pragmatic, this book is 10-cus..xl on improving the qnality and retention ofteachers.

We also hope to provide a perspective for Cali-fornia policy-makers and their staffs as they Framelegislation to support programs for all of California'snew teachers. Certainly, this legislation will be in thecontext of the revenues of the state and influenced byvarious state-level constituent groups. It costs about$35,000 to prepare a new teacher, and the loss of thisteacher within the first fewyears of teaching is indeedexpensive to California. It is our view that we canprovide effective support for new teachers that willgreatly increase their retention. However, the impactof such sup; ort will be reduced if the legislation ismore expedient than informed.

THE GROWTH OF NEW TEACHER ASSISTANCEPROGRAMS

Although induction programs in educationbegan ,,ver 20 years ago, it was not until the 1980s thatsuch programs commanded nationwide interest. In1988, Far West Laboratory identified nineteen statesand the District of Columbia where assistance pro-grams for new teachers were being piloted or newlyimplemented. Further, the literature on new teacherprograms has grown dramatically, reflecting a newinterest and research direction.

Two major factors that have influenced thisfocus of attention areconcern for the quality of publiceducation and the impending teacher shortage. Eachis discussed below.

Concern for quality. In recent years we haveseen a flurry of national and state reports voicingdissatisfaction with the quality of public educationand putting forth recommendations for its improve-ment (e.g., A Nation at Risk, N;:tional Commission onExcellence, 1983; A Nation Prepared, Carnegie Com-mission, 198n; Tomorrow's Teachers, Holmes Group,1986; Who Will Teach Our Children? California Com-mission on the Teaching Prof, .,;ion, 1985). While thecontent and structure of teacher preparation pro-grams vary among institutions and across states, key

2 Designing Program far New Teachers

issues have been identified and debated, and reformis well underway in many places. In California, fort.ample, fragmentation of the teacher preparationprogram is an important issue. Reform efforts in thisstate have centered on building an integrated, coher-ent, and extended teacher education program and onthe development of collaborative arrangements be-tween university discipline faculty, teacher educa-tors, and public school personnel.

In 1983, the Office of the Chancellor of tilt Cali-fornia State University issued a report on Excellence inProtessioual Education (Morey). This report spoke tothe issue of fragmentation. It also reflected the judg-ment of many California teacher educators and publicschool personnel that one-year teacher credentialprograms inadequately prepared ncvices for thecomplexity of teaching, and an induction period ofactual school teaching experience and structuredsupport was needed. This view, shared by manyacross the nation, is heightened by the tremendousgrowth in knovt ledge about teaching and learning.

Education is the only profession in which thenovices responsibilities are the same or more difficultthan those of veteran professionals (Borko, 1986;Darling-Hammond, 1985; Hall, 1982; Huling-Austin,1987; Lanier with Little, 1986; Odell, 1987). Medicine,engineering, and architecture require a lengthy train-ing period with gradual increases in assumption ofresponsibilities (Wise & Darling-Hammond, 1987).These and other professions have defined and refinedinduction and socialization programs. New archi-tects, engineers, and psychologists, for example, mustwork under the direction of an established profes-sional fora predetermined length of time before licen-sure. Future physicians have extended intern andresidency experiences, and nurses spend two to fouryears under the guidance of a senior nurse. Educationis still exploring and identifying the needs of noviceteachers, the mechanics and governance of inductionprograms, and the effects of such programs.

Research has documented the critical nature ofthe first year of teaching (Bork°, 1986; McDonald,1980; Nemser, 1983). The new teacher's developmen-tal growth, attitudes, feelings, style of teaching, ex-pectations and decision to remain in teaching are allinfluenced by the first year experience. The individ-ual is in transition from the familiar and comfortableroles of student and learner to teacher and, for many,to adult. Working in the real world of the classrmint

14

can result in a re-evaluation of expectations, changesin teaching behavior and belief systems, and in disil-lusionment (Blase, 1985; Hoy, 1968; Lortie, 1975;McMurray, I lardy & Posluns, 1987; Veenman, 1984).

Many studies have delineated the problemsfaced by new teachers. In an analysis of 83 st .3 t onthe perceived problems of beginning teacher. Veen-man (1984) determined that the ten problems mostfrequently encountered in the first year of teachingare in rank order: classroom discipline, motivatingstudents, dealing with individual differences, assess-ing students' work, relations with parents, organiza-tion of class work, insufficient materials and sup-plies, dealing with problems of individual students,heavy teaching load resulting in insufficient prepara-tion time, and relations wit;1 colleagues. Commonal-ity exists betv.t..en problems encountered by begin-ning elementary and secondary teachers. Interest-ingly, classroom discipline is the most serious andfrequent problem reported at even, level. Further,some studies relate the problems encountered bybeginning teachers to individual traits such as gen-der, age, attitude, and academic ability (e.g., Stone,1964; Myers, Kennedy & Cruickshank, 1979; Adams

Martray, 1980). Other studies have sought to clas-sify problems by focusing on teacher developmentand have identified clusters of concerns at variousstages (e.g., Fuller & Bowl, 1975; Clement, 1985;Adams, I flitch inson & Martray, 1980; Murphy, 1988).The underlying reason for delineating the problemsof new teachers is the assumption that successfulefforts which address the problems will improve thequality of teaching.

In recent years, many research and evaluationstudies have be in done on programs to assist ne1.1,teachers. These studies vary in scope, purpose, andmethodology. Huling-Austin (1988) did a synthesisof seventeen data-based research studies on induc-tion programs and practices that had been reportedsince 1977. As an organizing framework for the st+,the-as, she identified five goals of new teacher pro-grams and found research data to support the viewthat induction programs can be successful in achiev-ing these goals. The five goals were:

1. To improve teaching performance;

2. To increase the retention of promising begin-ning teachers during the induction years;

3. Tea promote the personal and professionalwell-being of beginning teachers;

4. To satisfy mandated requirements related toinduction and certification;

5. To transmit the culture of the system to be-ginning teachers.

In addition, Huling-Austin (1988) reported thatthe studies collectively also documented (1) the needfor flexibility in induction programs, (2) the impor-tant role o the support teacher, (3) the importance ofplacement in beginning teacher success, and (4) theneed to educate the profession (as well as the public)about teacher induction.

Huling-Austin (1986) believes that it is alsoimportant to state what induction programs cannotaccomplish. She contends that induction programscannot reasonably be expected to overcome majorproblems associated with school context such as mis-placements in which a teacher is given: 1) misassign-mentsplacements that do not match the teacher'sdiscipline; 2) classrooms that are overcrowded; 3) toomany preparations; and 4) placements where evenveteran teacher; have difficulty. Likewise, inductionprograms cannot turn all at risk novice teachers intoprofessionals, nor effectively screen out weak teach-ers without evaluation provisions in place. Finally, al-though effective induction programs can impact theretention of qualified teachers during their initialyears, puling- Austin suggests that to significantlyimprove teacher retention long-term, we need changesin the educational system at large.

The impending teacher shortage. The goal ofimproving teacher quality probably would not, byitself, 'lave spurred the current level of beginningteacher program activity. It took projections of ateacher shortage to foc'is state and national levelattention on the supply and retention of new teachers.

It is estimated that by the year 20(X), the nationwill need to replace half of its 2.2 million teachers dueto retirement and aition. Yet, the supply-side pic-ture is dismal. Only 6.2 percent of entering collegestudents in 1988 were interested in teaching as acareer; over twenty percent showed an interest twodecades ago (see Schlechty & Vance, 1983; huling-Austin, 1986). Moreover, an estimated fifty percent ofall new teachers leave after five to seven years of

Introduction

classroom teaching, and eighty percent are gone afterten years. This attrition of teachers from educationrepresents a tremendous loss of public investment inteacher preparation. Some do return. But even whensophisticated methods are used to estimate and in-corporate return rates of teachers, the national needfor teachers remains very significant.

California will need between 1fi,000 and 20,000new teachers each year for the next decade. With anestimated 26,000 students enrolled in basic teachercredential programs in California, the training costsare in the hundreds of millions of dollars annually.Yet, like elsewhere, California estimates that up tohalf of these beginning teachers will leave teachingwithin five years. The high rate of attrition com-pounds the recruitment problems of school districts,and increases the onerall costs of preparing a suffi-cient supply of teachers for California schools.

The reasons why teachers leave the classroomhave been well docun tented. Conditions of work arefrequently cited, including salary level, lack of careerladders, non-teaching assignments, class size andlack of adequate resources. Many teachers also leavebecause of frustration, isolation, unmet expectations,and a sense of helplessness over the increasinglycomplex demands all teachers face.

ACCOUNTARII ITY AND ASSLSSMLNT

The publicly supported effort to improvequality of teachers through pm-service and inserviceeducation has resulted in increased need and pres-sure for measuring teacher performance. Assessmentis seen as a means to verify professional knowledgeand competence. Such verification can support ef-forts for I :gher teacher salaries as well as become abasis for licensure and credentialing. States haveexperimented with different procf c.iures for testingbasic skills, assessing pedagogical competence, andcertifying subject-matter expertise. In fact, the vastmajority of states with new teacher support pro-grams erriphaFize assessment and require a summa-tive evaluation to determine whether a new teachershould receive state certification. The :unction ofassistance with such programs is often to help teach-ers meet the assessment standards. On the otherhand, programs sponsored by the District of Colum-bia and two states aim only to provide assistance andsupport, and have no formal assessment component.

4 Desigiun Programs for Nca, Teachers

THE CALIFORNIA EFFORT

School districts and, to a lesser extent, universi-ties have always given attention to neophyte teach-ers. During the 1980s, this attention has become moreintense and formalized. Local school initiatives werebolstered by the California Mentor Teacher Program,which paid successful teachers extra money to pro-vide inservice education to other teachers. Further,both school and university interests were assisted bysupport from the federal government and privatefoundations. For example, the Harcourt Foundation'sScholar's Program annually selects a new cohort oftwenty San Diego State University students that itthen supports from their senioryear in college throughtheir third year of classroom teaching. The U.S.Department of Education, through several of itsprograms, has funded many projects for new teach-ers, including those for bilingual teachers.

Public funding in California was authorized bythe legislature in 1986 as an intersegmental effort ofthe California State University system and the StateDepartment of Education. Five currently fundedprojects entail collaboration between a CSU campusand local public schools to support new teachers ininner-city schools. The expressed purposes are toincrease teaching effectiveness and improve the re-tention rare of new teachers.

In 1988, the California legislature authorizedformation of the California New Teacher Project. Inaddition to developing and evaluating alternativeinduction programs, this project is designing andstudying alternative models of teacher assessmentfor potential revision of state credentialing require-ments. Fifteen new teacher projects were funded, andthe potential collaborators with schools were broad-ened to include teachers' associations, county schooldistrict offices, the University of California, and pri-vate colleges and universities in addition to the Cali-fornia State University. It is interesting to note thateighty percent .,f the proposals submitted in thisfunding competition were school district and univer-sity collaborations. In an effort to explore alternativeconfigurations, however, the State Department ofEducation and the California Commission on TeacherCredentialing funded proposals which represented adiversity of partnership models.

Thus, California by 19S9 had a variety of newteacher programs funded locally, by the state and by

16

federal and private foundation sources. Networksquickly developed among the various program andproject leaders, and it became dear that many of theseprograms were addressing similar situations andtrying to implement similar innovative ideas. Someof these innovations potentially applied to otherprograms throughout the state. It also became appar-ent that program orientations and activities maturedand changed over time; older projects were signifi-cantly different from newer ones. The knowledgegained from these experiences would be transitoryunless an effort was made to document the learningsand experience.

In order to capture and articulate the experien-tial wisdom begin gained I roughout the state,College of Education at San Diego State Universityorganized a conference for educational leaders com-mitted to assisting new teachers. The State Depart-ment of Education, Far West Laboratory, and theCalifornia State University system were co-sponsors.

The state-wide conference, held in March 1989,attracted eighty participants who were actively en-gaged in Lginning teacher programs. Topics ex-plored included frameworks, obstacles, a nd practicalsolutions for implementation, collaboration, and in-stitutionalization of beginning teacher programs.Only a few sessions featured presentations made byexperts. The vast majority were structured to gatherinformationindividually and collectivelyfrom theparticipants. Each workshop session began with par-ticipants wilting responses to questions posed by theconference organizers. Next came small group dis-cussions which were recorded and later transcribed.These materials were used by the authors of this bookto capture our growing practical know ledge aboutprograms to assist new teachers. A second workshop,co-sponsored by the California State University at

layward and Oakland Unified School District, andFar West Laboratory focused on Bay Area p,-oposedand current efforts to assist beginning teachers.

Krifwledge gained at the San Diego confer-enceand to some extent the I layward d conferenceare incorporated into this book. Chapter authors,each involved in the structuring of the San Diegoconference, were selected for their expertise.

AN OVERVIFIW OF THE Book

[Aura Wagner (Chapter 1) provides a context forunde..rstandingstate-supported programs to assist newteachers in California. One of the important factorsthat shapes this context is the recognized need toaddress the fragmentation in teacher preparation thatis a result of California credentialing law. Regardlessof intent, this law has resulted in the separation of sub-ject-matter preparation from professional preserviceeducation and from inserviceeducation. Another criti-cal factor is the complexity and heterogeneity of theCalifornia education and policy systems; for Califor-nia, reform efforts are likely to be products of coali-tions, since multiple policy and programmatic ap-proaches are necessary to accommodate the varyingpolitical, economic, demographic, and educationalconditions in the state.

Mary Gendernalik Cooper (Chapter 2) offers anastute examination of conceptual frameworks whichundergird programs to assist new teachers. This ex-amination serves the practical purpose of deepeningthe reader's comprehension of the operational modelsand approaches discussed in subsequent chapters.Cooper describes four frameworks and analyzes eachframework for its efficacy in providing immediate aswell as long-term assistance to beginning teachers.She maintain-. that without this connection to a con-ceptual fra:nework, programs are less coherent andtherefore leas effective.

In Chapter 3, Diane S. Murphy, KatherineMerseth, and Ann I. Morey describe the content andstrategies for assisting new teachers. The informationpresented reflects the shared knowledge and experi-ence of beginning teacher project leaders who at-tended the California invitational workshops. Thechapter provides useful examples of content and as-sistance for starting the school year as well as forimproving instructional performance througLout theyear. It also includes suggested adaptatior of assis-

ce necessary for large geographic regions, ethnical-ly diverse school settings, and year-round education.

Judith H. Shulman and Victoria L. Bernhard t ex-plain the role of experienced educators in assistingnew teachers. They describe the wide-ranging serv-ices provided by public school teachers and adminis-trators as wr II as d istrict staff and university faculty toassist new teachers. The selection of these "assistors"aid their appropriate matching with new teachers are

Introductiolt 5

critical elements in the success of the program. Theauthors conclude the chapter with a set of recommen-dations to consider when planning a new teachersupport program.

In Chapter 5, Bernhardt and Shulman turn theirattention specifically to the role of universities in newteacher programs. They note that universities andschool districts increasingly recognize the need forintegrated, continuous and relevant instruction fromthe college years through the professional develop-ment years. Thus, teacher preparation institutionsworking with public school practitionersare devisingextended curricula for profession?' teaching. Eachpartner can make unique as well as similar a ntribu-tions to the development of new teachers.

Louise Bay Waters, Carolyn Cates, and CynthiaHarris (Chapter h) address two questions: What per-sonnel, programs, organizations, and other resourcesare necessary to achieve project outcomes? I-low cansupport be generated for the beginning teacher proj-ect? They describe district offices' contributions ofstaff development, mentor programs, and personnel,as well as the contributions of teachers' associations,universities, and county offices of education.

Seven new teacher projects are highlighted inChapter 7. They were chosen to represent the diver-sity of organizational structures, providers, content,strategies for assistance, and conceptual frameworksthat typify the California effort. The first two projectsdescribed (Oakland-CSU Hayward, and San Diego)are in their fourth year and represent university-school district relationships that are dynamic andfocused on continually improving support for newteachers. The Oakland-I layward description gives afour-year retrospective that is extremely useful be-cause it documents problems faced by many projectsat the initial stages of implementation and providesinformation about the successive steps taken to findoptimum solutions. In contrast, the San Diego de-scription focuses more on the conceptual frameworkfor the project and the translation of this frameworkinto actual project activities.

The next four projects described are in theirsecond year of operation. The Poway program is acollaboration between a school district and a teachers'union. Full-time experienced teachers working underthe guidance of a Peer Review Board provideindividual on-site assistance to new teacl len: and also

conduct assessments of teaching performance. TheCSU Chico program, which serves a huge geographicarea involving numerous school districts, usesinteractive instructional television to provideinstructional seminars and to reinforce therelationships established among advisors, beginningteachers, and university personnel. The Santa Claraproject is an example of a school district-designedand implemented program emphasizing time andclassroom management. Mentor tea ers an d on-sitesupport teachers assist new teachers through one-on-one consultations and class visits, seminars, andworkshops. The Santa Cruz program is a consortiumeffort among county offices of education, seven schooldistricts, and a university. Recognizing that newteachers enter the profession at differentdevelopmental c' s and with individual needs,each new teache. lops and occasionally updatesan individualizeo pla n and works with an exemplaryteacher. Lastly, the El Cajon/San Diego project, acollaborative project between a school district and auniversity, is a three-phase induction model basedon a developmental stage concept with assistance inthe last phase drawing upon the resources of aprofessional development school.

In Chapter 8, Douglas E. Mitchell and DavidHough provide a thought-provoking policy frame-work for new teacher support. They begin by defin-

g and examining five possible labor market qra te-gies for improving the number and quality of Califor-nia teachers. In doing so, they pose criteria for deter-mining whether induction programs are the most ef-fective and efficient market strategy, and they otteran analysis of whether conditions warrant invest-ment in new teacher programs.

If decision-makers choose to conc.ntrate re-sources in induction programs as a labor marketstrategy, then what orientations or patterns of sup-port should shape the content of the programs? Mitch-ell and Hough offer a typology for categorizing pro-grams that is based on whether skills and knowledgeor collegial relationships command more attentionand whether the primary focus is directed locally atthe school site or more generally to the pl ofession intote. The typology provides a useful tool for analyz-ing the relative emphases of different componentswithin an actual program. La-41y, the authors iden-tify seven key players in induction programs andnote that it is difficult to know how to distribute theappropriate mixture of responsibility and authority.

6 Desigiiiug Programs for New Teachers18

Perhaps Wagner's observation about the complexityof California and the need for a variety of collabora-tive models is helpful here.

Gary D. Estes, Kendyll Stansbury, and ClaudiaLong (Chapter 9) focus attention on the import-intmatter of assessing teacher knowledge, skills, andperformance. Like other states, California is seekingto evaluate individual teachers through the use ofparticular instruments that purport to assess teachercompetence. Based on their work, the authorsconclude that assessments which more authenticallyrepresent the knowledge and skills required forteaching can help shape assistance to beginningteachers, clarify the domains that are critical forteachers, and increase public confidence in the qualityof the teaching force.

This book is not meant as a prescriptive manual,but rather as a useful tool for those individuals andgroups who are planning and implementing pro-grams to assist new teachers. We hope to providesome encouragement, stimulate reflection and im-prove our collective efforts to support beginningteachers and ultimately to enhance the education ofthe nation's children. We also hope to highlight pol-icy and assessment issues and to raise people's con-sciousness about the complexity of teaching. Wewant 'o inform the development of guidelines andlegislation that provide structure, and at the sametime foster flexibility so that local entities can maxi-mize their efforts.

REFERENCES

Adams, R., & Martray, C. (1980). Correlates crf teacherperceived problems. Paper presented at the 9thannual conference of the Mid-South Educa-tional Research Association, New Orleans.(ERIC Document No. EL) 195 567).

Adams, R., Hutchinson, S., & Martray, C. (1980 ). Adevelopmental study (If teacher oincernsacross t i nt'.Paper presented at the annual meeting of theAmerican Research Association, Boston.

Blase, J.J. (1985). The socialization of teachers: Anethnographic study of factors cuntrihutin 7 tothe rationalization of the teacher's instructiu-alperspective. Urban Education, 20(3), 235-256.

Borko, 1-1. (1986). Clinical teacher education: The in-duction years. In J. Hoffman & S. Edwards(Eds.), Reality and reform in clinical teacher (quo-lion, NY: Random House.

Fuller, F., & Bown, 0. (1975). On becoming a teachesIn K. Ryan (Ed.), Teacher Education. The 74thNational Society for the Study of EducationYearbook. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

California Commission on the Teaching Profession.(1985). Who will teach our children? A strategy

proving California schools.

California State University. (1983). Excellencefessional education, a report of the advisory commit-tee to study pro,' rams in education, Ann I. Morey,Chair. Long Beach, CA: California State Univer-sity.

Carnegie Forum on Education and the EconomyTask Force on Teaching as a Profession. (1986).A nation prepared: teachers for the 21st century.New York: Carnegie Corporation.

Clement, B. (1985). Be c. iurriug s' use ofmanagement. Research and Development Cen-ter for Teacher Education, Texas University.(ERIC Document No. ED 263 110)

Darling- Hammond, L. (1985). Valuing teachers: Themaking of a profession. Teachers College Record,87(2), 205-218.

Hall G.E. (1982). Induction: The missing link. journalof Teacher Education, 33(3), 53-55.

Holmes Group, Inc. (1986). Tomorrow's teachers: Areport of The Holmes Group. East Lansing, MI:The Hohnes Group.

W. (1968). The influence of exbeginning teacher. f Eilut66, 89-93.

-e on theResearch,

u ng-Austin, L. (1986). 1h t can and cannot rea-sonably be expected from teacher inductionprograms. Journal of Teacher Education, 37(1), 2-5.

I luling-Austin, L. (1987). Teacher induction. In D.M.Brooks (Ed.), Teacher induction--A uew

Introduc z 7

(pp. 3-74). Reston, VA: Association ofTeacher Educators.

Hu ling-Austin, L. (1988). A synthesis of research onteaelu'r induction programs and practices. Paperpresented at the annual meeting of the Ameri-can Educational RCSelrch Association, NewOrleans, LA.

Lanier, J .E., with Little, J. W. (1986). Research on teachereducation. In M.C. Wittrock (Ed.). Handbook ofresearchon teaching (pp. 527 -569). NY: Macmillan.

Lortie, D.C. (1975). School teacher: A st gical shrift/.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

McDonald, F. (1980). The problems of beg: teach-ers: A crisis in training. Study of induction pro-,grams for beginning teachers (Vol. 1). Princeton,NY: Educational Testing Service.

McMurray, J., Hardy, M., & Posluns, R. (1987). Suc-cessful life experiences, teaching styles and stirss inbeginning teachers. Paper presented at the Ameri-can Educational Research Association, Boston.

Murph), D.S. (1988). The impact of socializationmechanisms on the problem-solving a pprt 'achesof novice teachers. (Doctoral Dissertation: TheClar,-mont Graduate School /San Diego StateUniversity Joint Doctoial Prcgram inEducation).

Myers, B., Kennedy, J., & Cruickshank, D. (1979).Relationship of teacher personality variables toteacher perceived problems. Journal of TeacherEducation, 30(6), 33-40.

8 Designing Programs for New Teachers

National Commission on Excellence in Educatioi(1983). A nation at risk: The imperative for e,

nal reform. Washington, IX:: GPO.

Nemser, S. F. (1983). Learning to teach. In L.S. Shulman& C. Sykes (Eds.), I landbook of teaching aud policy(pp. 150-169). NY: Longman.

Odell, S. (i987). Teacher induction: Rationale andissues. In D.M. Brt)oks (Ed.), Teacher inductionA new beginning (pp. 69-80). Reston, VA: Asso-ciation of Teacher Educators.

Schlechty, & Vance, V.S. (1983). Recruitment,selection and retention: The shape of the teach-ing force. The Elementary School Journal, 83(4),4-69-487.

Stone, E. (1964). Personal and professional problemsrecognized by beginning, junior and senior highschool teachers and the relation to the numberof their problems to personal characteristics,professional preparation, teacher assignmentand career plans. Dissertation Abstracts interna-tional, 25, 2808.

Veenman, 5. (1984). Perceived problems of beginningteachers. Reviei, of Educational Research, 54, (2),143-178.

Witv, A., Darling-Hammond, L., Berry, B., & Klein,5.1'. (1987). Licensing teachers: Design fora teacherprofession. Santa Monica, CA: The Rand Corpo-ration.

20

CHAPTER 1

A Context forAnalyzing StateSupported NewTeacher ReformEfforts in California

Laura A. Wagner*State Department of Education

LTIVITIES to support new teach-ers in California are part of a largermission to prepare, license, and en-

courage staff development for California'sK-12 educators in a comprehensive fashion.The purpose of this chapter is to provide astate policy framework for analyzing thesenew teacher issues. The central ideas to beaddressed include the central purpose of thenew teacher reforms in California, the policysystem in which reforms are positioned, someexamples of preservice preparation and newteacher support programs, and lessons fromthe implementation literature to give direc-tion to new teacher reform activities.

The Z?it'7VS expressed itt flti4 artide re the opauthor Mid art' ?lot official 'tit:so f the CalifoDepartment of Education.

21

theis State

Chapter 1: A Context 9

TIM PLIRVOSI- OV Tit:ACHIM EDUCA DON RRORMS

In recent decades, teacher induction in Califor-nia s been fragmented. Undergraduate work to-ward the baccalaureate has been separated fromteacher preparation, which has itself been separatedfrom organized learning activities for teachers oncethey are working in their own classrooms. Teachercredentialing has attended primarily to candidateliteracy and standards for teacher preparation pro-grams with fairly modest attention to assurance thatindividuals demonstrate curricular instructionalcompetence with diverse student groups. Californiais currently investigating the need to change its teachercredentialing requirement. There are currently twolevels of teacher credentials in California: a prelimi-nary credential and a clear credential. To receive apreliminary credential in California, candidates mustbe recommended by a California teacher preparationinstitution with a program appro, red by the Commis-sion on TeacherCredentialing. To receive this recom-mendation candidates must:

complete a baccalaureate or higher degreefrom a regionally accredited college or uni-versity

complete a single subject or multiple subjectprofessional teacher preparation program,including studeni teaching, with a minimumgrade of B

pass the California Basic Educational SkillsTest (CI3EST), intended to assess basic adultliteracy in reading, writing and mathematics

complete a course (two semester units orthree quarter units) in the provisions andprinciples of the United States Constitutionor pass an examination on the Constitution

complete a course in the methods of teachingreading or pass the National Teacher Exami-nation entitled "Introduction to the Teach-ing of Reading," and

verify subject- matter competency by:

obtaining a subject-matter waiverstatement from the authorized person inthe education department of a Californiacollege or university with a Commission-

10 gg Programs for New Teachers

approved waiver program verifyingcompletion or a subject-specific program(liberal studies or diversified subjectsconcentration for multiple subject, orcontent-specific concentration for singlesubject), or

by achieving a passing score on the a ppm-pria te subject-matter area examinationgiven by the National 1 :her Examina-tions (content-specific for sit .Ale subject,or general knowledge core battery formultiple subject).

The preliminary credential is issued for a maximumof five years.

To receive a professional clear credential anapplicant must:

complete a fifth study after thebachelor's degree

corn plete a unit requirement in health ed uca-tion, including, but not limited to, informa-tion about nutrition, the physiological andsociological effects of abuse of alcohol, nar-cotics, and dregs, and the use of tobacco

complete a requirement in the needs for andmethod:, of providing educational opportu-nities to individuals with exceptional needs(mainstreaming), and

. act ily complete a computer educa-tin course which includes goncral and spe-cialized skills in the use of computers ineducational settings.

An applicant must have a grade Ix int averageof C or that required by the approved institution,whichever is higher, in all coursework offered to-ward fulfillment of credential requirements. *

There are a i41

aiti Witlr SOTqualifications ;ho 'dent

he Commission on Teacher Credentiaolt°, California

22

Once in the workforce, teachers tend to pursuecoursework in self-selected areas which may or ma ynot be related to developing knowledge and skillrelated to the subjects they teach. At the same time,their increased knowledge and skill is only weaklyrelated to advancement in the profession, either as amaster or mentor teacher or in another leadershiprole. Thus, a fundamental pu goose of the teaching im-provement effort is to create a more comprehensivesystem of new teacher preparation, credentialing,induction support, ongoing professional develop-ment and diversecareer growth opportuni ties, wherethe content of these activities is better articulated.

Tin; Por CY SYSTEM FOR INITIATIN(; WayTEACHER REFORM EFFORTS

Given the broad array of issues underlying re-form in teacher preparation, credentialing, and induction, the challenge for state and local schooleducators and university professors is to experimentwith manageable pieces of the reforms and provideopportunity for multiple alternative approaches todevelop locally, prior to making recommendationsfor system-wide implementation. however, in un-derlying assumption here is that ultimately, any state-wide system needs to have clear goals, establishrigorous standards for new teacher preparation andaccountability, and provide broad flexibility forimplementation in varying local contexts. Further, astatewide system needs to take into account thecomplexity of the California policy system. SusanFuhrman (1989), with the Fagleton Institu te of PolicyStudies at Rutgers University, provides an interest-ing viewpoint on the California policy system:

State politics al Id culture are strong influenceson the course of reform. The suit, and complevitv of California, the heterogeneity of teacher-student populations, massive electorate andweak political party system boost the importance of any' state-wide elected officials. Fur-ther, to mandate anything in California is al-most prohibitively expensive' because of thesii of the system and the high portion of fund-ing that comes from the state in the post-Proposition 13 era. The sta le is retiuired to fullyfund any mandates. Hence California reliesheavily on inducements to local districts toimplement reform (pp. n 1 -75 ),

The impleations of the complexity and hetero-geneity of the California system on reform efforts areseveral. First, reform initiatives are likely to be theproduct of coalitions, rather than individuals; sec-ond, limited resources tend to be allocated to thoseready to experiment with change rather than to ev-eryone on a formula basis; and third, there is a gen-eral expectation that multiple policy and program-matic approaches will be necessary to accommodatethe varying political, economic, demographic andeducational conditions in the state. Several examplesfollov., which illustrate these policy approaches. Ineach case, the initiative is collaborative, limited tothose evidencing readiness for change, and tied to alarger effort of i oforming future state policy.

EXAMPLES OF NEW TIA ER PREPARATION AM,SUPPORT PROCRAMS

Tin Comprehensive Teacher Education Institutes

The purpose of the Teacher Education Insti-tutes, jointly funded in I988-1989 by the CaliforniaState University (CSU) and the State Department ofEducation at 569(),(XX), is to reform teacher prepara-tion programs over a four-year period through three-way partnerships. Funding is provided for schooldistricts, university subject-matter departments, andschools of education to cooperatively redc .gn andstrengthen teacher preparation programs to wakethem more field based and responsive to the learningneeds of California's prospective new teachers. Thegoal is that these collaborative programs will preparehighly qualified teachers who arc able to work effec-tively with students from diverse backgrounds.

Six CSU campuses and one University of Cali-fornia (UC) site are currently implementing TeacherEducation Institutes. Two projects, one at San DiegoState University and a second at California Polytech-nic State University, San Luis Obispo, are in theirfourth implementation year. Five new projects at theCSU campuses at San Francisco, Chico, Fresno,Northridge, and at University of California, River-side, are just beginning the implementation processfor 1989-90. Although each of the seven projects isexpected to vary in program design and implementa-tion, the following state goals shape implementationof the locally developed plans:

Establishment of a collaborative dcmaking process for teacher preparati

Chapter I A Context 11

Provision ot an integrated curricular and in-structional program which nelps candidateseevvlop expertise in effective teaching of di-verse student populations

Artk-ulation of undergraduate, graduate, andAncient teaching components

As....ssnient of teacher candidate knowledgeand skills

Innovative approaches to postsecondary in-structional delivery

Recruitment of underrepresented groups intotea; king, and

Articulation between preservice preparationand inservice support.

Each Teacher Education Institute is intended tobe a catalyst for educational change in tear he: prepa-ration programs. Funds serve as a mechanism for self-study, restructuring, and experimentation with alter-native techniques of teacher preparation. In the pro-cess, the institutional partners review and assess thecurrent teacher pr paration programs, select mutu-ally agreed-upon Institute goals; design and imple-ment a plan to ach ieve those goals, and develop a planfor institutionalizing the most effective practices oncestate funding ceases at the end of the fourth year.

The San Luis Obispo and San Diego Instituteshave created collaborative work groups which gener-ate, shape, promote, and implement innovative teachereducation proposals. At both sites, the Institute hasrevamped the formal advisory structure that pro-vides input into the key policy making committeesthat oversee the teacher preparation process. I low-ever, because the contexts differ, the focus of eachproject differs.

The Teacher Education Institute at San DiegoState University has focused a substantial part of itsattention on the development of an experimental on-site teacher preparation program at Crawford HighSchool as well as on the development of a collabora-tive decision-making process. Some of the key fea-tures of the program are:

An ongoing and systematic decision-makingprocess that includes the academic depart-

12 Desisnin.

ments, the College of Education, and localschool district personnel as partners in thedevelopment and implementation of theteacher preparation program,

Collaborative instructional arrangementsamdong(.:ollegeof -Fdtis Ilion faculty, academicdepartment faculty, anci, public school teach-ers, placing; emphasis on the intt gration ofsubject matter content and pedagogy,

Coordinated advising and supervisioncandidates by master teachers, ethic.'faculty, and academic tIepartment faculty

A significa n t increase in thy number of sell( !-

based experiences in courses required for tfteprospective teacher, and

A public school-site based program provid-ing a classroom for university instruction andpro...ision of a physical space where studentteachers can give each other peer support andmeet with campus and school-site faculty.

By contrast, the Institute at San Luis Obisposerves a.= a catalyst for a number of initiatives andprograms. Some of these include:

Appointment of public schooadjunct professors who serve ieducation program

teachers asthe teacher

Expansion cof the master teacher trainingprogram, including development of clinicalinstructors to screeds resources for cooperat-ing teachers, and

Expanded n teach lug exprospect teachers opporfield experiences.

.riences to givenines for early

The Comprehensive Teacher Education Insti-tute Projects at San Francisco State University; CS;Northridge; CSU Chico; CSU Fresno; andthe Univer-sity of California at Riverside ,-,re still in their infancy,though each has initiated t,ome activity. The FresnoInstitute is planning to orient university faculty to thecontents of K-12 instruction. San Francisco State hasamulti-faceted approach in which five task forces aredeveloping integrated training and assessment ac-tivitic, for new teachers in curriculum and instruction

for heterogeneous student groups. UC Riverside isplanning to undertake a Professional DevelopmentSchool.

Regardless of approach, the Teacher EducationInstitute effectiveness brings a commitment from themultiple participants, including local school districtpersonnel, teacher education faculty, and faculty inuniversity arts and sciences programs. In addition tocollaboration, several other policy issues are emergingas important for program implementation, as reportedin the external evaluation of the pilot programs.

School districts and universities differ dra-matically in organization and culture, andspecial e forts need to be made by each systemto facilitate communication and resource allo-cation procedures.

Because each Institute grant is relatively smalland of limn d duration, Institute goals need 'obe focused and concrete so there is a reason-able opportunity for reform efforts to beimplemented and instautionalized.

The Teacher Education Institute is a "changestrategy" rather than a specified set of activi-ties for high fidelity implementation. In otherwords, the initiative must co-exist with otherinstitutional structures, and cannot initiatereforms unless they complement local readi-ness for change.

The Inner Cite{ New Teacher Retention Project

Legislatively authorized as an intersegmentaleffort of the CSU system in collaboration with the StateDepartment of Education, the purpose of the NewTeacher Retention Project is to support new teachers ininner city schools in order to increase their teachingeffectiveness and improve their retention rate:

Five CSU campuses (Hayward, San Diego, SanFrancisco, Northridge, and Dominguez Hills) areworking with new teachers in four inner city schooldistricts. Two projects, one in San Diego and a secondin Oakland, are in their fourth implementation year.Two new projects, one in San Francisco and one in thegreater Los Angeles area, are completing their fin:tyear of implementation. Combined, the projects areproviding service to approximately 400 new teachers.Because the contexts differ, each of the projects is

providing teacht , .; with somewha t di fierent services.Nevertheless, in each project, teachers:

Work with experienced teacher partners

Receive instructional support from peerteachers and university faculty

Are released from classroom responsibilitiesto observe and plan instruction, and

Receive scholarships for university graduatelevel study and a stipend for instructionalmaterials.

In both the San Diego and the Oakland/Hay-ward projects, new teacher support services are dif-krentiated to reflect new teacher needs and the datewhen new teaciiers are hired. (Approximately half ofthe new teachers are not hired until after the onset ofthe school year.) Those receiving the more intenseservices have more direct contact with mentor teach-ers, university faculty, and district staff developers.

Two additional projects in San Francisco andLos Angeles, are in their initial implementation year.Each site received Alma $1(10,000 (or implementationactivities, which include appointment of school siteteams for the development of new teachers' coopera-tive learning skills, on-site observation and assis-tance of new teachers by university faculty, releasetime for new teachers to work with other teachers,seminars conducted by university faculty and dis-trict mentor teachers, and a university-staffed tele-phone hotline.

Evaluation data from the two original projectsindicate that over90 percent of the teachers originallyserved by the two programs are still teaching inurban schools with 81 percent still working in innercity, high minority schools. in 1986417, the two proj-ects served 50 teachers, and 80 teachers were servedin 1987-88; 90 percent of all these are still teaching inurban settings. Important d ifferences between secon-dary teachers participating in the project and as com-parison group of new teachers emerged from theproject evaluation. All participating secondary teach-ers received satisfactory or better ratings on the dis-

eacher evaluation system; in contrast, 12.5 per-cent of the comparison new `. -achers were ratedunsatisfactory in providing a suitab,_- iearning envi-ronment for their students.


In addition to enhanced teacher retention, theNew Teacher Retention Projects have had otherpositive effects. New teacher participants demon-strated stronger classroom management skills, morediverse pedagogical skills and commitment to pro-fessional development than their non-project peers.The Retention Project evaluation has als 're 'hiedinsights into effective strategies for university facultyworking with new teachers in inner city settings. Forinstance, seminars and assistance need to be practicalwhile helping teachers develop self- analytic andreflective skills and the ability to adapt instruction tothe needs of their diverse student populations.

The California New Teacher Project

The California New Teacher Project builds uponand extends the lessons learned from the Inner CityNew Teacher Retention Program. The California NewTeacher Project is a legislatively authorized evalu-atio.. study, funded in 1989-90 at $4.5 million, tostudy alternative models of new teacher support andassessment. The overall purpose of the initiative is torecommend a strategy to the California Legislaturefor comprehensive induction and retention of well-prepared classroom teachers. Such a strategy willneed to reflect the particular demands put on newteachers and make cost-effective use of resources in acandidate-based credemialing assessment systemsupported by staff development opportunities.

The Commission on Teacher Co:den tialing andthe State Department of Education share the admin-istrative responsibility for the program. New teachersupport programs are underway in more than 100school districts, some of which are working inde-pendently, while others are working with teachers'organizations and colleges and universities, either insmall partnerships or in large consortia. In additionto providing information about staff developmentneeds of new teachers, the California New TeacherProject is piloting a variety of complex measures ofteacher performance to inform the Legislature aboutthe need for more performance-based measures ofteaching, as part of professional credentialing andstaff development requirements.

More than 900 teachers are currently participat-ing in the local pilot projects. Each new teacher par-ticipant is engaged in a program of professionaldevelopment with the assistance of experienced col-leagues. Preliminary data from the initial program

evaluation indicate that new teachers are supportedin two primary modes, although the support varies inintensity. These include:

experienced teacher support, both to meetthe initial "now job," or "start-up" and tohelp the new teacher learn or reinforce cur-ricular, instructional, and managerial assess-ment skills, and

staff development training, inservice coursesor workshops provided by districts anduniversities on a eapad range of :ssues.

In the assessment component of the CaliforniaNew Teacher Project, local project teachers andadministrators are assisting the state in piloting avariety of new teacher performance assessments. Inaddition to materials-based paper and pencil assess-ments, these include structured interviews to assessthe ability of a teacher to teach subject matter, andclassroom observations of actual instruction. A vari-ety of other performance assessments are in develop-ment for piloting with New Teacher Project partici-pants in the coming year. At this point, none of theseinstruments is intended for ultimate adoption in aCalifornia credentialing system. Rather, the study isexploring the feasibility of these prototypes as modesof assessment, either for credentialing or to guidestaff development decision-making.

The multi-year evaluation of the New TeacherProject is examining a variety of issues, including thecost effectiveness of the various support and assess-ment activities in:

retaining capable new teachers,

improving their pedagogical content knowl-edge and skill,

improving their ability to teach students whoare ethnically, cLIturally, economically, aca-demically and linguistically diverse,

identifying new teachers in need of assis-tance, and

making careers in education more appealingto prospective teachers.


26

Each of these initiatives the ComprehensiveTeacher Education Institutes, the New Teacher Re-tention Project in inner City Schools, and the Califor-nia New Teacher Project, is examining different, butrelated, parts of the teacher preparation and induc-tion process. To form an integrated system, they mustalso be linked to effective teacher recruitment andselection practices and to local career opportunitiesfor classroom teachers in professior -1 developmentand leadership roles.

Pilot Initiatives to Improve the Recruitment andSelection of California's Classroom Teachers

The majority of Audents in California's publicschools are from non-European, ethnic backgrounds.By contrast, most of their teachers are white, non-Hispanic women. The percentages of teachers fromthe majority ethnic groups is disproportionately low,with the K-12 system employing only seven percentHispanic and 5.8 percent Black faculty. These aredisturbing statistics. Non-white teachers are impor-tant role models for non-white students. Perhapsmore important, racism and racial segregation can bereduced when persons of different racial or ethnicbackgrounds cooperatively interact around reward-ing activities (Hawley, 1989).

To respond to these concerns, the EducationRt andtable, composed of the leadership of variouseducational segments in California, charged a sub-committee on teaching improvement with initiatingteacher recruitment efforts. Teachers, administrators,and representatives of each of the postsecondaryeducational segments are represented on the sub-committee. In April of 1989, the committee spon-sored a workshop where 32 district and universityteams developed local plans for identifying andsupporting minorities who might pursue careers inteaching. In a departure from traditional conferencepractice, participants used the occasion to build workplans for encouraging more minorities to considercareers in teaching. Existing programs such as ProjectSocrates in Los Angeles and the San Jose State consor-tium were described. In these programs, students inmiddle school and high school serve as tutors foryounger students and receive academic and persona,counseling support for their own participation inhigh school, college and postgraduate preparationfor teaching. As a follow-up, the CSU and the StateDepartment of Education issued planning grants in1989 for implementing local recruitment strategies.

Significant progress is being made. Projects like theseneed to be undertaken on a much larger scale it theeducational ro nmunity is to effectively balance theheterogeneity of the student and teacher populations.

Resourc,-, to Support More Local Career Opportu-nities fur Classroom Teachers

Strengthening teacher preparation, credential-ing, and induction support are only one part of acomprehensive system for new teacher development.Rigorous teacher evaluation practices "owned" bythe practitioners themselves, as well as opportunitiesfor experienced teachers to take local leadership roles,will be essential if our best teachers are to sustaincareers in teaching.

Experienced teachers need to be rewarded bygreater opportunity, more alterna fives, and additionalcareer incentives to motivate them to continue doinga good job and commit to staying in the profession.These should be encouraged within a broad frame-work of expanded teacher work roles. There are al-ready a variety of site and district leadership roleswhich experienced teachers can pursue.

Chief among these is the California MentorTeacher Program, which funded more than 10,500teachers in 1988-89 to work in staff development roles.Mentor teachers do a broad array of work, includingdeveloping curriculum, helping new teachers, andparticipating in school site improvement efforts andconducting district staff development activities. Theframework within which successful mentoring oc-curs is set by both the individual and the district withthe mentor's activities geared toward making a long-term positive difference for individuals at the school.This framework is not always present.

For the most part, mentor teacher work is sub-stantive. However, the differential status of the men-tor role has in some cases been minimized, withmentors assigned "project" status, quasi-administra-tive functions, or required to put in a designatednumber of hours in return for the stipend. This isunfortunate, and over the next few years special ef-forts will be made regionally and locally to strengthenthe mentor teacher's leadership role in overall schoolimprovement efforts and in dissemination of effectiveteaching practices to new and veteran faculty.


27

There are other things that teacher leaders cando besides becoming a mentor teacher or an admin-istrator. Some of these include:

working as adjunct university faculty teach-ing prospective and novice teachers skillssuch as student and instructional time man-agement, curriculum development, and howto adjust content and materials to reflectstudent diversity,

developing curriculum content and materi-als for specific student populations,

developing subject-specific benchmark ac-tivities and other assessments,

site-level leadership in school improvement,the integration of categorical and core pro-gram curricula, and the formation and de-velopment of professional development ac-tivities, and

collaborative participation in university-based action research and development.

California State Senate Bill 1882, Chapter 1362(Morgan, 1988) has been funded to support compre-hensive approaches to professional development andcareer opportunities in 1989-90. However, rather thaninitiating a separate categorical program, the legisla-tion focuses state-funded staff development programson school-site needs related to strengthening subjectmatter and instruction.

The school and its classroom teachers are iden-tified in SB1882 as targets for the design of profes-sional development activities which are organizedchiefly around school improvement needs, ratherthan solely around personal interest in externalworkshops and courses. A second component of thelegislation authorizes the establishment of resourceagencies or consortia to design and provide staffdevelopment where local capacity is lacking. A thirdcomponent focuses on expanding tle subject matterknowledge and instructional strategies of classroomteachers through state-wide projects organizedaround the California Writing/Literature Projectmodel. Each of these efforts reflects the desire toinstill a more "cultural" view of pmfessional devel-opment where classroom teachers access professionaldevelopment opportunities within a school improve-

ment context, as an alternative to participating inexternal short-term workshops provided by experts(Lambert, in press).

Professional development and leadership op-portunities need to be coupled with better workingconditions for teachers-- compet itive salaries, oppor-tunities for planning, working with other teachers,and working with students in class sizes adjusted tostudent needs. Unless working conditionsimprove tothe point where teachers command the respect of theadult community and feel valued in the work setting,even the best teacher preparation, induction, and staffdevelopment programs won't retain them.

The next section reviews lessons learned fromthe research on implementation of educational inno-vation; lessons which should serve as a good resourcebase for implementing teacher education reforms.

LESSONS FROM THE IMPLEMENTATION LITERATURE

Twenty years of research on the implementationof educational innovations gives us considerableguidance about what to expect in designing a compre-hensive new teacher preparation and support strat-egy.

Knowledge about effective practice is critical forsuccessful implementation at the service delivery level(1% icLaughlin, 1987). Practitioners need specific train-ing in effective implementation practices, or must beshown how to adapt existing strategies for that pur-pose. For example, theexpansion of training for mentorteachers is preparing them for, among other things,working with beginning teachers. However, we can-not always assume that individuals "have the knowl-edge" and only need resources to put it to use. Oppor-tunity for staff development during the regular in-structional day is an important approach to new teachersupport.

The organizational location of the responsibilityfor implementing a change strategy or innovationmakes a difference (Rossman, Corbett & Firestone,1988). Categorical program directors, who are fre-quently hired "to implement" a program tend to beoutside the responsible authority "lines" in imple-menting organizations. They have been hired toaddress a specific problem or issue. At the same time,the local staff person with the expertise may not be theindividual with the line authority. If the issuesdriving

16 Designing Programs far New Teachers

28

the initiative and the changes brought by the pro-gram are to have staying power, they need the atten-tion and support, if not the direct assistance, of thosewith line responsibility (e.g. principals, assistantsuperintendents, or deans). This makes it importantfor both individuals, the "expert" and the "line au-thority" to work together to change practice anddevelop strategies for institutionalization. That way,the program can, over time, become part of the insti-tutional way of doing business, and resources will bemore likely to be present to help make local practitio-ners expert in effective practiced (McLaughlin, 1987).

Some resource stability is critical for successfulimplementation of costly innovations. One key to thelikelihood of successful innovation is the degree towhich participants perceive that support for an inno-vation will continue even when non-local resourcesare expended (Whitford, 1987). It is ironic that thevery nature of "experimental" programs indicates atemporary resource base while getting real commit-ment to a program requires that those who committhe energy to it can anticipate long-term as well asshort-term support. In each of the pilot programscited above, the stronger implementation sites arethat way in part because local implementors art"owning the program," finding local resources tohelp offset the state costs, and beginning early on tofind ways to institutionalize the powerful compo-nents of their programs.

Implementation of new initiatives tends to beon the margin of organizational work, where specialsub-units can be created to "handle" the problem.Witness the proliferation of school lunches, interdis-trict transportation, and categorical programs for thedisadvantaged (Kirst, 1984). The net effect of havingprograms outside the technical core, however, isfragmentation. The categorical programs "take on alife of their own," asserting the never-ending needs oftheir client group and failing to intersect with keyrelated initiatives. Thus, the New Teacher Projectwhich is a pilot staff development program for pro-spective new teachers needs to be linked organiza-tionally with staff development for experienced teach-ers, and provide the kinds of support most needed byindividuals in specific contexts. To be sure, categori-cal programs arise to provide focused attention onindividuals in need of specific services, whetherstudents or teachers; however, those who fund andimplement them need to ensure that services areprovided within the framework of a comprehensive

approach, rather than as separate, categorical pro-grams on the fringes of the regular system.

Implementation strategies will vary dependingupon the understanding of the goal, the activitiesdesigned to reach it, the local context, and the popu-lation of individuals participating in the innovation.Implementation is the process of assembling theorganizational elements or pieces needed to make thegrand strategy work (Bardach, 1989). Individualprogram objectives and strategies differ significantlyacross the various teacher preparation and newteacher induction programs cited above. This is to-tally appropriate provided that each addresses sig-nificant objectives and is organized to reflect theneeds of the population of individuals being served.For instance, the various new teacher support pro-grams reflect ttu heterogeneity of California's di-verse teacher and student populations. Staff devel-opment in inner cities has to be offered at times whenindividuals can access it. For many, during schooland after-school acti vities are appropriate; for others,Saturdays and summers are better suited to accom-modate working and personal schedules. In othersettings, the relative geographic isolation amongteachers, teacher trainers, and institutions of highereducation means that teleconferencing and other longdistance learning strategies are most appropriate.Thus, we see instances of key staff trained as "train-ers," then rotate to provide site-level teacher assis-tance; and programs where teachers are broughttogether through telecommunications to discusscommon problems.

CONCLUSIONS

Several conclusi.rns can be drawn from this. Acentral one is that we cannot expect a single model ofnew teacher preparation, support, or career opportu-nity to arise, any more than we can expect that oneapproach to instructional pedagogy will work withall students. Rather, state policies developed forbroader system-wide implementation have to reflectth, diverse needs of the state's student teacher andnovice teacher populations.

Similarly, no one organization can provide allof the needed services. Colleges and universitieshave a central role in teacher preparation, but theymay also play a significant role in supporting newteachers in the classroom. Similarly, local schooldistricts are likely to be excellent laboratories for


29

clinical training of prospective teachers. There arealso some local school districts with strong capacitiesto provide services for new teachers without theassistance of institutions of higher education. Institu-tions of higher education will be the major player inproviding new teacher support. But some local schooldistricts are also able to take this role. Interestingly,research suggests that where multiple agencies areproviding support, an equitable balance of servicefrom the district and the -university is critical forprogram success ( Southwest Regional EducationalLaboratory, 1989). This confirms the value of a trulycollaborative relationship among agencies.

When asked to assume new roles, people needassistance and preparation. Whether new teachers,new teacher support providers, or administratorsexpanding group participation in decision-making,we each need the opportunity to develop new knowl-edge and skill in non-threatening, supported envi-ronments. Mentors, principals, and site leaders needtraining in their roles as supporters of new teachers.New teacher coaches and college and universitysupport personnel need help learning how to workwith new teachers in their classrooms. Administra-tors, teachers, and program developers may needtraining in more complex approaches to new teacherassessment and support. The kinds of assistance thatindividuals need will vary by context, role, priorknowledge and expectation, but our plans shouldprovide opportunities and revenues for training,rather than assuming that individuals can assumenew roles in human service organizations whichreflect, rather than lend, the wider culture. Statedsuccinctly:

At the heart of strategy is implementation; atthe heart of implementation is cooperation; atthe heart of cooperation is the creation andmaintenance of helpful environments (Bardach,1989).

The described initiatives are driven by a com-prehensive vision of a well-prepared generation ofnew teachers. Cooperation and coordination of effortin supportive teaching environments will be essen-tial if prospective and novice teachersa re to en ter a idi,e rewared by the education profession. It is nevertoo soon to begin institutionalizing effective practice.Although some fear that collaboration and coordina-tion with others may obscure their own agenda, suchefforts often make both initiatives stronger. (A good

example is the gradual incorporation of studentperformance data on state assessments with localdata collection efforts to inform site and district dee-sion-making about programs.) Given the anticipatedcomplexities of 21st century society and work, thetask of teachers will be enormous. Getting new teach-ers ready to meet the challenge is critical.

REFERENCES

Bardach, E. (1989, June). Session Summary: State andLocal Executive Institute. Berkeley, CA: Gradu-ate School of Public Policy, University of Cali-fornia.

Fuhrman, S. (1989). State politics and educationreform. The politics of reforming school ad-ministration. New York: Taylor and Francis.

Hawley, W. (1989). The importance of minority teach-ers to the racial and ethnic integration of Ameri-can society. Equity and Choice, 5,(2).

Kirst, M. (1984). Who controls our schools? Americanvalues in conflict. New York: W.H. Freeman andCompany.

Lambert, L. (In press). The .2nd of staff development.ASCD yearbook m! st.;ff development.

McLaughlin, M. (1987). Lessons from past implem-entation research. Educational Evaluation andPolicy Analysis, 9,(2).

Rossman, G., Corbett, H., & Firestone, W. (1988).Change and effectiveness in schools. Albany, NY:State University of New York Press.

Southwest Regional Educational Laboratory. (1989).Year 11 external study of new teacher retentionprojects. Los Alamitos, CA.

Whitford, B. (19S7). Effects of organizational contexton program implementation. In G. Noblit & W.Pink,(Eds.), Sclio9iing in social context. NewJersey: Ablex Publishing.


30

CHAPTER 2

ConceptualFrameworks andModels ofAssistance to NewTeachers

Mary Gendemalik CooperSan Diego State University

HIS chapter describes and exam-ines alternative conceptual frame-works which undergird efforts to

assist new teachers. Such frameworks maybe intentional, used to deliberately guide orshape the assistance effort. Their presenceand influence can be more tacit, however;embedded in the specific activities of the as-sistance effort, but never clearly articulatednor employed as the guiding standard fordetermining the assistance activities. Theconceptual frameworks represent, and there-fore, reveal orientations to, beliefs about,and operational meanings of three coreconcepts: teacher, teaching, and assistance.

31Chapter 2: Conceptual Frameworks 19

Approaches to assisting ne' V teachers generallyreflect one of three conceptual frameworks, eachdistinct from the others in terms of how it essentiallydefines or understands the three core concepts. Eachof these conceptual frameworks , eflects a distinctepistemological tradition or set of standards andbeliefs upon which knowledge claims and concep-tual definitions are based. A fourth, conceptuallyeclectic, approach to assisting new teachers also is ex-amined. This approach is predicated on concernsteachers demonstrate rather than on qualities or char-acteristics which define teacher or teaching.

Each framework and the attendant meaning ofthe core concepts is summarized below. The discus-sion then proceeds to examine the relationship be-tween conceptual frameworks and operationalmodels of assistance. These relationships are charac-teristically reciprocal and dynamic; they also can becontradictory. The chapter concludes with a briefdiscussion of some of the forces likely to influence theshape and substance of those relationships.

This examination focuses on meanings, ideasand beliefs, and their implications for practice. Whileessentially intellectual, this examination has thepractical aim of deepening the reader's comprehen-sion of the operational models and approaches dis-cussed in subsequent chapters of this volume. In sodoing, it promotes better inform& judgments about,and professionally sound utilization of these models.(This examination reflects the orientation that theintellectual and practical are inevitably and inte-grally linked [see Van Manen, 1977J.)

THE IDIOSYNCRATIC SURVIVAL-RESPONSEFRAMEWORK

The first of the conceptual frameworks is dis-tinct from the other two in that teaching and teacherare conceptualized as purely idiosyncratic. Withinthis framework the design, implementation andevaluation of the operational assistance model arenot shaped or orchestrated by coherent images ofthese concepts. The meaning of these concepts canonly be inferred from the specific assistance activi-ties. Those meanings may vary widely, and are sus-ceptible to contradiction. Teacher conceptualized astechnician may be embedded in one set of assistanceactivities, while another set may communicate theimage of teacheras autonomous decision-maker. Within

this framework, the concept assistance essentiallymeans responsiveness or reaction to expressed need.

The operational assistance models that reflectthis conceptual framework are often characterized bynon-integrated components ..nd actions. The collec-tive assistance activities may reflect the entire contin-uum of the concepts teacher and teaching, from*laborer through craftsman to professional and artisticdecision-maker (Mitchell & Kerchner, 1983). The re-sponse-oriented models may reduce assistance to"survival" tips and lack sufficient internal cohesionto exert long-term positive influence on the newteacher's professional practice. This lack of cohesioncan lead to incongruent or contradictory assistance(e.g., suggestions for management and disciplinethat are highly teacher-centered and directed whilesuggestions related to instruction and learning ac-tivities promote student initiative, choice and self-regulation).

This idiosyncratic conceptual framework makesit impossible for the operational assistance effort tofunction as a coherent strategy for acculturating newteachers into the profession. This assistance modelplaces responsibility for determining need and solu-tion primarily, if not solely, with the new teachersthemselves; arguably the least capable of makingaccurate assessments, by virtue of limited experi-ence, high anxiety, and the natural confusions whichare associated with the first teaching assignment.New teachers' expressed or felt needs are, all toooften, directed at symptoms rather than issues orproblems. While these expressions warrant a respect-ful hearing, the new teacher deserves the wisdomand insight of more experienced and, hopefully, moreexpert colleagues to assist in sorting through thecomplex phenomena of practice. The idiosyncraticconceptual framework and its attendant survival-response assistance models are ill-suited to assistingnew teachers in developing a clear sense of "profes-sional self" or in charting a coherent course of con-tinuing professional growth.

* laborer teaching is relegatea to the presentatiorstandardized curriculum; craftsman teaching requiresthe application of specialized techniques; professional andartist ic decision-maker careful a nahisis and diagnosis o fthe learning situation informs both the design and adapta-tion of -truction

20 Designing Programs for New Teachers 3 2

THE TECHNiCAL-INSTRUMENTAL FRAMEWORK

The second conceptual framework reflected inapproaches to assisting new teachers is grounded inthe positivist or empiricist epistemological traditionwhich emphasizes the paramount significance ofovert observable behavior. The conceptions ofteaching, teacher, and assistance embedded in thisframework focus on demonstrable technical skill,precise performance, and observable behaviors. Theprocess-product research of the past two decadeswhich examined correlations between overt teacherbehaviors and student achievement outcomes repre-sents this tradition and these conceptions. This re-search has generated many of the prescriptions forteaching practice which are emphasized in newteacher assistance efforts based on this conceptualframework. Within this framework, teaching is pre-eke performance of clearly specified and sequencedbehaviors. Teacher is performer, technician, implemen-tor, executor. Both conceptually and operationally,assistance in this framework relates to technical train-ing or retraining, the refinement or expansion of techni-cally precise accurate performance (see for exampleMitchell & Kerchner, 1983; Van Manen, 1977). Theprescriptions within this framework are character-ized by minimal ambiguity with respect to behavior,and broad generic applicability across situations andsubject areas.

Technical proficiency is the guiding image ofthis conceptual framework and the assistance mod-els which follow from it. The substance and strategiesof the operational models are aimed at improving orexpanding precise performance and technical accu-racy as ends in themselves.

This conceptual framework is strikingly dis-tinct from the "survival-responsive" framework inits clearly articulated conceptions of teaching andteacher. These conceptions orchestrate the shape ofthe operational assistance models. To the extent thatassistance based on this framework is responsive tonew teachers' expressed needs, it is likely to firstassociate the expressed needs with research relatedto new teachers' performance and then translate theminto terms or categories that can be addressed throughstrategies which emphasize technically precise be-haviors, such as clearly sequenced steps of instruc-tion or precise statements of consequences for behav-iors in management.

Operational assistance models within this frame-work may differ from one another it terms of thespecific performance areas they emphasize (e.g.,management, instruction) or the particular research-based proficiency models they employ. Instructionalassistance, for example, could in one effort empha-size direct instruction and employ the model embed-ded in the work of Brophy (1979), Brophy & Evertson(1977), Anderson, Evertson & Brophy (1979), Good &Grouws (1977, 1979). In another operational model,instructional assistance might emphasize the coop-rdtive learning strategies reflected in the complex

instruction model developed by Cohen (1983, 1987)and her associates. In either case, the emphasis of theassistance provided would be on the new teachersrefining their technical performance proficiency withthe particular model of instruction. Such would bethe case, irrespective of the topic.

This conceptual framework and the operationalassistance models which reflect it are highly congru-ent with the prevailing conception of teacher per-formance appraisal which relies on a checklist ap-proach to teacher accountability and evaluations.This framework also is congruent with efforts tostandardize curriculum, instruction, and instructionalpacing throughout a school district or across theschool districts of a state. Such state-level new teacherinduction programs as those initiated in North Caro-lina, South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee reflectthis conceptual framework.

THE COMPLEX-INTELLECTUAL FRAMEWORK

The third conceptual framework for assistingnew teachers reflects a similarly explicit conceptionof teaching and teacher. It is, however, considerablymore complex and comprehensive than the technicalinstrumental framework, since it is rooted in the con-structivist epistemological tradition which empha-sizes human cognition, deliberation, and internallydirected intentional action (see for example Ausubel,1968; Shulman 1986, 1987; Giroux, 1988; Leinhardt,1983; Stodolsky, 1988). Barnes (1989) succinctlysummarizes this conception:

... talking about teaching is analogous to de-scribing a tapestry that has many threads ofdifferent colors woven into complicated tex-tures and patterns. One can remove individualthreads and examine them separately, but onecannot appreciate the complexity of the tapestry

Chapter 2: Conceptual Frameworks 21

without seeing how the threads are interwovento create the whole cloth.. . . Teaching is seen asambiguous and complex work requiring judg-ment, action, and the capacity to reflect andrevise decisions on the basis of one's observa-tions and insights. Sound teacher judgmentsmust be rooted in deep understanding of teach-ing, learning, learners, and subject matter andhow these factors interrelate in the teaching/learning process. (p. 13)

The focus of assistance for new teachers in thisconceptual framework also is distinct from that rep-resented in the other two frameworks. It would re-flect that which Barnes recommends for preserviceteacher preparation:

. developing beginners' inclination and ca-pacity to engage in the sort of intellectual dia-logue and principled action required for effec-tive teaching. . .. The capacities needed ap-pear to be primarily intellectual in nature anddo not merely result from training in the tech-nical aspects of teaching. Rather, they involvelearning to see, to judge, and to act appropri-ately in situations that cannot be precisely an-ticipated. (p. 17)

Technical proficiency, which constitutes theessence of the previous framework, is but one dimen-sion of this framework. Here the technical dimensionis embellished to encom pass developing the teacher'sunderstanding of the underlying assumptions andrationales, which in turn inform judgments aboutwhen and where to employ the technical skill.

Operational assistance efforts based on this con-ceptual framework emphasize structured reflectionby the new teachers on their own teaching. This isdone to affirm and hone intellectual disposition, ori-entation, judgment and such capabilities as synthesisand analysis withr abstracting them from practice.The image of tea tg embedded in this frameworkexpresses these capacities as integral facets of boththe conception itself and its practical representations.The teacher is intellectually en,rn.d in this model.Both the capabilities and dispositions characteristicof that engagement are emphasized in the opera-tional assistance effort.

Reflection is a prominent feature of assistanceefforts grounded in this conceptualframework. Char-

acteristicaily, these assistance models engage newteachers in systematic, structured examination andanalysis of their teaching practices. Such examina-tions focus on both the distinctive and interactiveinfluences of learner characteristics, curricula, instruc-tional approaches and materials, and se tool and class-room context. These exercises convey the centrality ofinformed judgment in actir (see Gowin's (1981) dis-cussion of "action as informed behavior") to thisframework's conceptions of teacher and teaching.They also provide the new teachers with a strategicmodel for making sense of their practice (i.e., generat-ing new understandings from practice) and thenimproving their practice and practical judgment onthe basis of those understandings.

In practice these reflections might focus on ana-lyzing curricula as representations of subject matter."Is this reading curriculum phonics or grammarbased?" "Is it literature?" "Is this mathematics cur-riculum really nothing more than computation?"Similarly, reflection might exa mine instructional strate-gies being used by the teachers as applications oflearning theories and go on to explore their utilitywith a variety of distinct 'earnings (i.e., skills, con-cepts, facts, or values). These examples suggest thatth 2 conceptions of teaching and teacher, being con-veyed through the assistance effort, encompass cogni-tion, judgment, knowledge, and r ,ianingful behavioror action. The whole of teacher of teaching is, in thisconception, incomprehensible if individual dimen-sions are focused upon or emphasized in isolation.

THE CONCEPTUALLY ECLECTIC, CONCERNS-ORIENTED FRAMEWORK

The concerns-oriented framework does notconceptualize teacher in terms of categorical qualities(e.g., artisan, technician, reflective decision-maker) asdo the technical-instrumental and complex-intellectual frameworks. This framework reflects thework of Fuller and Bown (1975) and more recentlyBerliner (1988), which defines teacher in relation tocategories of concerns which occupy teachers' atten-tion. According to Fuller and Bown these concernsfollow a sequenced pattern: survivalconcerns, teach-ing situation concerns, pupil-oriented concerns. Theallure of this framework for planners of assistanceprograms lies in its underlying notion of develop-mental stages through which teachers pass. Assis-tance programs based on this framework are likely tobe structured around the posited sequence of con-


cerns. Such programs begin with an emphasis onsurvival tips and a "get through the day" focusfollowed by activities that reflect a technical concep-tion of teaching, then activities that suggest theteacher's need for reflective or intellectual engage-ment through activities requiring analysis, assess-ment and judgment.

A critical flaw in this framework is that, inconceptualizing teacher and teaching, it substitutescategories of concerns for defining or categoricalcharacteristics of ti ,e concepts. Teachers and the con-cerns they have are rot synonymous. Teachers' con-cerns are not their defining qualities. A further prob-lem with this framework is that its premise of "se-quenced" stages of concerns has been seriously chal-lenged by research which has found teachers of var-ied experience levels to be concerned with issuesfrom all three stage categories stipulated as sequen-tial in this model (see for example Adams, Hutchin-son, & Martray, 1980; Adams & Martray, 1981; Sitter& Lanier, 1982).

This sequence of concerns frameork presentsa smorgasbord of concepts of teacher -81d teaching,rather than a clearly oriented, coherently framedunderstanding of them. In accommodating multipleconceptions, it fails to assess and address the conflict-ing or contradictory features inherent in the differentconceptualizations and in their implications for prac-tice. It can easily engender in new teachers a muddiedsense of what it means to be a teacher or to teach.Assistance approaches based on this frameworkprovide little direction to new teachers for structur-ing, comprehending and intelligently acting on newexperiences. Their appeal lies in their appearance ofbeing grounded in research or theory or both.

DISCUSSION

In both the technical-instrumental and the com-plex-intellectual frameworks, the conceptions ofteaching and teacher deliberately shape the sub-stance and strategies of the operational assistanceefforts. At the same time, these assistance effortsserve to acculturate new teachers to teaching and tobeing teachers in terms of the embedded concep-tions. In other words, the assistance efforts reflect andcommunicate deliberate meaning of teaching andteacher to the neophytes. No such iiltentional imageimprinting is evident in the survival-response frame-work. There very likely is an image communicated

one that is fuzzy and somewhat incoherent. Thesequence of concerns-oriented framework suggestsprogressively changing conceptions of teaching andteacher based on preoccupying concerns. As wasdiscussed above, the whole premise of this frame-work is both conceptually and empirically suspect.

The relationship between conceptual frame-works and operational assistance efforts is essen-tially reciprocal. While the conceptual frameworkprovides an orientation and initial direction andshaping influence on the operational model, once theeffort is underway it will influence modifications,clarification and embellishments of the framework.The absence of congruence between the conceptualframework and the strategies employed in the opera-tional model would likely reduce the conceptualframework to mere rhetoric. The absence of this con-gruence also can result in less coherent and, there-fore, less effective operational models.

As Van Manen (1977) argues, conceptions are asmuch orientations ways of looking at things asthey are classifying or definitional categories.Murray's (1989) observation regarding research,"Basically researchers search only for what they be-lieve exists," also has an analog in this discussion.What is believed about teacher and teaching influ-ences the commitment to and shape of operationalassistance to new teachers. Such beliefs are alwaysimbedded in practical actions whether tacitly or de-liberately. Conceptual analysis is, therefore, a criti-cally practical component of assistance effort designand implementation.

Any number of forces can influent,' e concep-tual and practical shape of new teaches ,ssistanceefforts. For example, in instances where states (legis-latures or administrative agencies) serve as catalystsand funding sources for assistance efforts as part oftheir teacher performance appraisal agendas, theconceptual framework of the assistance models willreflect that of th,? agenda. Other influential forces arethe expertise and orientations of individuals involvedin designing and implementing the assistance effortand perhaps the institutions those individuals repre-sent. This is not to say that involvement by particulargroups necessarily predetermines either the concep-tual framework or the operational model of the assis-tance effort. The new teachers who participate in theassistance program are likely to influence its shapeand focus. How much influence any of these forces

3 5 Chapter 2: Conceptual Frameworks 23

has depends on how roles are defined and perceived,whether constructive candor can be generated andsustained among participants and whether there isan inclination and effort to regularly monitor align-ment between the conceptual framework and theoperative dimensions of the assistance effort.

This chapter offers a brief summary of four con-ceptual frameworks associated with initiatives toassist new teachers. It also provides a summary ofhow those frameworks are reflected in, influence, orshape operational models of assistance to new teach-ers. It briefly identifies key factors which may influ-ence the reciprocal relationship betweett conceptualframeworks and practical assistance efforts.

The basic proposition is that conceptualizationsof teacher, teaching, and assistance play very activeand directive though sometimes subtle roles in shap-ing efforts to assist and acculturate new teachers intothe profession. The fact that these conceptualizationsare often more tacit than explicit does not diminish ornegate their influence.

Comprehending the conceptual frameworksembedded in assistance efforts and being more ex-plicit about the frameworks as they influence thoseefforts are of crucial importance. They make us criti-cal and therefore better infnrmed consumers of pre-viously developed assistance models. They are es-sential to establishing accurate and valid standardsor criteria for assessing utility, impact and effective-ness of such efforts. For the reader of this volume, theconceptual frameworks may be either illuminatingguides or focusing lenses through which to considerthe book's ideas, descriptions, and discussions.

REFERENCES

Adams, R., & Ma rtray, C. (1981). Teacher development:A study of factors related to teacher concerns for pre,beginning, and experienced teachers. Paper pre-sented at the annual meetin8 of the AmericanResearch Association, Los Angeles.

Adams, R., Hutchinson, S., & Martray, C. (1980). A de-velopmental study of teacher cancer .; across time.Paper presented at the annual meeting of theAmerican Research Association, Boston.

Anderson, L.M., Evertson, C M., & Brophy, J.E. (1979).An experimental study of effective teaching in

first-grade reading groups. The Elementary SchoolJournal, 193-222.

Ausubel, D.P. (1968). Educational psychology: A cogni-tive view. New York: Holt, Rinehard and Win-ston.

Barnes, H. (1989). Structuring knowledge for begin-ning teachers. In M.C. Reynolds (Ed.), Knowl-edge base for the beginning teacher. New York:Pergamon Press

Berliner, D. (1988). Expert-novice differences in per-ceiving and processing visual classroominformation. Journal of Teacher Education, 39(3).

Brophy, J.E. & Evertson, C.M. (1977). Teacher behav-ior and student learning in second and thirdgrades. In G.D. Borich (Ed.), The appraisal ofteaching: Concepts and process (pp. 79-95). Read-ing, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Brophy, J.E. (1979). Teacher behavior and its effects.Journal of Educational Psychology, 71, 733-750.

Cohen, E.G. (1983). Talking and working together.Status, interaction and learning. In P. Petersonand L.C. Wilkinson (Eds.), Instructional groupsin the classroom: Organiwtion and processes. NewYork: Academic Press.

Cohen, E.G. (1987). Designing groupwork- Strategies forheterogeneous classrooms. New York: TeachersCollege Press.

Fuller, F. & Bown, a (1975). Becominga teacher. In K.Ryan (Ed.), Teacher education. The 74th Year-book of the National Society for the Study ofEducation, Part 11. Chicago: University of Chi-cago Press.

Giroux, H. (1988). Teachers as intellectuals: toward acritical pedagogy of learning. Granby, MA: Berginand Garvey Publishers, Inc.

Good, T.L., & Grouws, D.A. (1977). Teaching effects:A process-product study in fourth grade ma the-matics classrooms. Journal of Teacher Education,28,(3).

24 Designing Programs for New Teachers36

Good, T.L. (1979). Teacher effectiveness in the ele-mentary school. Journal of Teacher Education,30(2).

Gowin, D. (1981). Educating. thaca, NY: CornellUniversity Press.

Leinhardt, G. (1983). Novice and expert knowledgeof individual students' achievement. EducationalPsychologist, 18, 165-79.

Mitchell & Kcrchner. (1983). In Shulman and Sykes(Eds.), Handbook of teachingand policy, New York:Longman.

Murray, F. (1989). Explanations in education. In M.C.Reynolds (Ed.), Knowledge base for the beginningteacher. New York: Pergamon Press.

Shulman, L.S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowl-edge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher,15(2), 4-14.

Shulman, L.S. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foun-dations of the new reform. Harvard EducationalReview, 57(1), 1-22.

Sitter, J., & Lanier, P. (1982). Student teaching: A stage'in the development of a teacher? Paper presentedat the annual meeting of the American ResearchAssociation, New York.

Stodolsky, S. (1938). The subject matters. Chicago, IL:Unix ersity of Chicago Press.

Van Manen, M. (1977). Linking ways of knowingwith ways of being practical. Curriculum Inquiry6:3, 205-228.

37Chapter 2: Conceptual Frameworks 25

CHAPTER 3

Content andStrategies forAssisting NewTeachers

Diane S, MurphySan Diego State University

Katherine K. MersethUniversity of California, Riverside

Ann I. MoreySan Diego State University

A SCENARIO OF FAILURE . .. AND NEW STORIESOF SUCCESS

I am a new teacher, which means t am takingover an empty classmoin, right? When f walkin the classroom door, it is bare. There is not apiece of paper, a pencil! There are no erasers!No chalk! No teacher's guides! No textbooks!I am lucky if there are chairs and tables anddesks. I might not even have a garbage can,but if I do, it is probably full because the cus-todian did not enter that room since the for-mer teacher left in June. That is what I enterinto. If I am lucky, it is two or three days beforethe kids arrive. If I am typical, it's three hoursbefore the kids arrive because i got hired justafter school stated when district personnelknew they had enough kids to need me. If I amreally unlucky, it's two weeks after the kidsarrive and lam getting all the kids who do notwant to be there because they are leaving theirbuddies from classes they were in before 1came.

Second, no one tells me where to get the books,papers, crayons, and erasers I need. Finally, Iget brave enough to interrupt a person, who Iknow does not want to be interrupted, and shesays: "Go down and ask the secretary in theprincipal's office where the bookroom is."Now in most schools, when I arrive at thebookroom, there is a clerk there with a thou-sand forms to fill out and no books on theshelf .. . because all you experienced people(you, who have had the privilege of being inthat school if you wanted to for the last twoweeks) have been popping in and and grab-bing every new book that came in the door.You have thcm in your classroom! S what isleft are the dregs that nobody else wants. Idon't know if they are good books or badbooks. I don't even know if they are appropri-ate to the kids l am going to teach; and nobodyis there to help me make that decision. I go tolw supply room for paper, pencils, and cray-ons. If I'm lucky there are some left. If not, allthe teachers who are experienced and havebeen there already have taken everything thatcame in the first supply shipment. Here I sit.The kids arrive tomorrow morning. 1 don'tknow what I am going to do. If I had any planfrom my preservice training, it at least re-quired paper, pencils, and books!


Now, here's the other thing that happens in atypical California classroom: the next day kidsfrom at least three if not five different ethnicbackgrounds walk into my room. Several ofthe-e children do not speak Frig lish. Regard-less of how good my preservicv preparationwas, it could not have prepared me for this!(Taken from int"rviews with new teachersreported by Beatrice A. Ward, 19891

This unfortunate scenario is the experience of manyno vi:.e California teachers. However, success storiesare beginning to surface as well, largely due to begin-ning teacher support programs now being piloted inthe state. Consider the words of two new teacherswho have had advisors assigned to assist them attheir school sites:

My start-up partner was (and is) incredible!We began working together during the lastpart of summer vacation and she was alwaysavailable for questions, ideas, support and anoccasional shoulder to cry on. We went overmy discipline plan, classroom setting andorganization, my lesson plans, etc. Many timeswe stayed at school through the dinner hourdiscussing and working on school projects. Ifeel very close to her and know I can go to herwith my needs. She always has treated me asan equal and I will always be grateful for herassistance. IA secondary language arts teacher.)

I needed to be supported emotionally and ad-vised as to the school day's 'ebb and flow.' Allquestions I may have had concerning materi-als, texts, etc. were answered. My "buddy"often came to my room for a drop-in visit andcommented positively on what she saw. Sheshared her ideas at,d materials willingly andwas excited about mine. IA combination 1st/2nd grade teacher.)

Their experiences are cause for hope: hope that thescenario of failure will be replaced by stories ofsuccess as the effects of beginning teacher programsfor a few become the norm for the profession.

This chapter is designed to provide informationon the content and strategies of assistance that havehelped to create these stories of success within Cali-fornia. The information presented reflects the sharedknowledge and experience of beginning teacher

project leaders who attended the statewide invita-tional workshops on beginning teacher programs. Atthe workshops, "content of assistance" was definedas the subject matter that is emphasized in beginningteacher programs. "Strategies of assistance" weredefined as ways that assistance is delivered, includ-ing who provides the assistance and how it is pro-vided. The chapter has been organized to identify thecontent and strategies that have been highly empha-sized in California programs, and to i!!ustrate boththe similarity and diversity of program assistance. Itdescribes assistance for starting the school year aswell as for improving instructional performancethroughout the first year. The chapter also suggestsadaptations for large geographical regions, multicul-tural school settings, year-round education, and sec-ondary school programs.

DETERMINING THE CONTENT OF BEGINNINGTEACHER PROGRAMS

Major tasks confronting planners of new teacherassistance are determining program content and es-tablishing priorities. An assessment of new teacherneeds is a valuable way to learn new teachers' per-ceptions of their situation. However, new teachershave a limited experience base for analyzing thetypes of assistance they may need. Thus, it is impor-tant to incorporate the informed knowledge of re-searchers and practitioners who and-"c -id the needsof new teachers within the broad text of theprofession in planning an assistanc rogram. Thereis a growing body of literature which should beexplored in this process, including Knowledge Base prthe Beginning Teacher (1989), a recent publication bythe American Association of Colleges for TeacherEducation. In addition, prospective leaders can learnfrom the combined knowledge of those currentlyimplementing new teacher programs.

In order to identify the content areas and em-phases of new teacher programs within California,the 66 project leaders at The Invitational Workshopon Beginning Teacher Programs in San Diego wereasked to indicate the degree of emphasis placed onspecific content areas in their 1988-89 programs andwhether they intended to retain or modify theseemphases in 1989-90. Beginning the list of contentareas to which participants responded were the 10most frequently cited new teacher problems identi-fied in Vuenman's (1984) review of studies on begin-ning teacher needs. Other areas frequently addressed

9 Chapter 3: Content and Strategies 27

FIGURE 1DEGREE OF EMPHASIS IN ASSISTANCE

Please rate the degree of emphasis in assistance (low Thigh) that is currently provided in your project (what is) and indicateyour intent to retain or modify that emphasis as you plan for next year (what will be). Rate one those areas you include orintend to include as part of your protect. Leave the others blank.

What Islow --> high

Emphasis in Assistance What Will Below > high

1 2 3 4 5 1) Classroom discipline 1 2 3 4 51 2 3 4 5 2) Motivating students 1 2 3 4 51 2 3 4 5 3) Dealing with individual student differences 1 2 3 4 51 2 3 4 5 4) Assessing students' work 1 2 3 4 51 2 3 4 5 5) Relations with parents 1 2 3 4 51 2 3 4 5 6) Organization of class wolk 1 2 3 4 51 2 3 4 5 7) Materials and supplies 1 2 3 4 51 2 3 4 5 8) Dealing with problems of individual students 1 2 3 4 51 2 3 4 5 9) Balancing heavy teaching loads & preparation time 1 2 3 4 51 2 3 4 5 10) Colleague relations 1 2 :4 4 51 2 3 4 5 11) Psychological support 1 2 3 4 51 2 3 4 5 12) Coping with isolation 1 2 3 4 51 2 3 4 5 13) District related issues 1 2 3 4 51 2 3 4 5 14) Standardized testing 1 2 3 4 51 2 3 4 5 15) Stress management 1 2 3 4 51 2 3 4 5 16) Curriculum issues 1 2 3 4 51 2 3 4 5 17) Record keeping 1 2 3 4 51 2 3 4 5 18) Procedures for referrals 1 2 3 4 51 2 3 4 5 19) Time management 1 2 3 4 51 2 3 4 5 20) Professional growth plans 1 2 3 4 51 2 3 4 5 21) Preparing, for substitutes 1 2 3 4 51 2 3 4 5 22) 1 2 3 4 51 2 3 4 5 23) 1 2 3 4 51 2 3 4 5 24)

1 2 3 4 51 2 3 4 5 25) 1 2 3 4 5

by new teacher programs were added to the list. (SeeFigure 1.)

The highly emphasized content areas desig-nated by a majority of the leaders who implementedprograms in 1988-89 are presented in ranked order ofresponse:

Content highly emphasized In 1988-89

psychological supportcurriculum issuesclassroom disciplinecolleague relationsrel3tions with parents

It is interesting to note that two of these areas psy-chological support and curriculum issues were notamong those identified in the Veenman review (1984).

The content areas that most of these respon-dents planned to highly emphasize in 1989-1990 in-clude these five plus an additional 11 topics.

Content highly emphasized in 1989-90

motivating studentsclassroom disciplineorganization of classworkdealing with individual student differencesrelations with parentscolleague relations

28 Designing Programs for New Teachers 40

psychological supportcoping with isolationtime managementprofessional growth planningcurriculum issuesdealing with problems of individual studentsbalancing heavy teaching loads andpreparationstress managementmaterials and suppliespreparation for substitutes

It is not surprising that classroom discipline is animportant content area in most new teacher programs.Discipline was identified in Veenman's study (19k !)as the primary problem of new teachers. The contentlisting shows that programs in California have under-scored this common need. However, it is particularlyinteresting to note that content associated with moti-vating students is the area in which most programsintend to intensify assistance in the second year of im-plementation. Perhaps the relationship between stu-dent behavior and student motivation for learning isbeing recognized and efforts to emphasize this rela-tionshir are being incorporated as induction pro-grams become more sophisticated in addressing newteacher needs.

The projected expansion in content focus andemphasis of assistance in programs within Californiacould he attributed to various factors:

refinement of the perceived needs of newteachers during the initial year of programimplementation

redesign of programs based on a reflectiveanalysis of the strengths and limitations of theoriginal program design and implementation

networking between projects about ways toenhance assistance

feeling of greate competence by the projectleaders, facilitating the introduction of a widerrange of subjects following the initial year ofimplementation.

But whatever is prompting the changes, the di-versity of topics listed reflects the complex challengeconfronting those who would attempt to support andassist new teachers.

FIGURE 2RANKS

Project Beginning Teacher:Strategy Assistance leaders CANTP NTRP

Money for classroomset-up expense 1.5

Help in their classnximsprovided by experiencedteachers

Observe expert teachers

Attend mentor teacherpresentations

Talk with othernew teachers

Demonstration lessonstaught in the newteacher's classroom

1.5 4

2.5 4

7

Support and guidancefrom the principal 7 2.5

To attend educationalconferences of their choice

To attend workshops

Formal university courseworkon a wide range of classroommanagement and curriculumconcerns. 9.5

7

it) 10

Individually ranked scores under each strategy of assis-tance were summed and then divided by the number of re-spondents in order to determine a ranked order of responsefor the project leaders and each of the new teachers groups.

DETERMINING STRATEGIES OF ASSISTANCE

Many strategies are available to assist begin-ning teachers. Similar to determining content, newtt. acher needs and /or wants are only one criterion onwhich selection of strategies should be based. How-ever, identifying the preferences of novice teacherscan be an important ingredient in program design. At


the invitational workshop, project leaders were askedto rank 10 strategies in the order they felt would reflectwhat new teachers want most in an induction pro-gram. In addition, participants in one of the CaliforniaNew Teacher Projects (CANTO and one of the state'sInner-City New Teacher Retention Projects (NTRP)were asked to rank the same list. (See Figure 2.)

The consensus across all three groups is thatnew teachers much prefer assistance that is immedi-ate and is provided at the school site. Given the timeconstraints and contextual needs associated with thefirst year of teaching, workshops, conferences, andformal coursework were not highly rated.

Interestingly, both new teacher groups rankedsupport from the principal among their top three pref-erences, while project directors ranked principal sup-port seventh. It may be that project directors tend tominimize the significant role principals play in the ex-periences of new teachers. This significance maypertain to the existing evaluation system and theperceived (or real) power of the principal within theschool setting.

The variation in responses between new teachergroups suggests that the structures of assistance pro-vided may have a significant influence on which typeis valued. "Talking with other new teachers" wasranked second by the New Teacher Retention Projectand seventh by the California New Teacher Project.The Retention program requires weekly meetings ofsmall cluster groups of new teachers (approximatelysix teachers per group) as compared to optionalmonthly large group new teacher meetings in theNew Teacher Project model. The higher rating fromRetention project teachers may reflect the satisfactionof relationships that resulted from the clusteringprocess and its continuity. Similarly, the teachers whogave a high ranking to "money for classroom set-upexpense" had been matched with a start-up partnerwho was encouraged to take them shopping at thebeginning of the school year and help them makeappropriate selections of instructional materials. Theother group of teachers received only written and oralinstructions on how to purchase materials. Most of thesecond group did not use the stipend until late in theschool-year.

It should be noted that formalized universitycoursework is ranked last by all respondents. Feed-back from discussion groups at both conferences indi-

cater that assistance offered through coursework ismore valued if modifications are made in the formal-ized structures of masters level coursework. For ex-ample, in some projects, new teachers and advisorshave taken classes together and have engaged inaction research which specifically applies to theirparticular school settings. San Diego State Universityincorporated structures to promote reflective analy-sis of an individual's teaching experience through theuse of critical incident summaries and case reports.New teachers spend 10 minutes of each class sessionwriting about a critical experience (positive or nega-tive) of the past week. These accounts help focusindividual thought and prompt small cluster groupdiscussion guided by a university professor. Theaccounts are developed into case reports by incorpo-rating descriptions of contextual factors and an analy-sis of all the elements of the experience. The person-ally relevant nature of the writing and the insightsderived from the discussions among teacher educa-tors and new teacher colleagues tend to minimize theburden of .university coursework added to an alreadychallenging schedule.

Similarity and Diversity of Support for NewTeachers Within California

Similarities exist in the types of beginningteacher support in California state-funded pilot proj-ects. Most pr-igrams include: 1) assigning an experi-enced teacher/ faculty member to assist new teach-ers; 2) training for new teachers; 3) new teacher sup-port groups: and 4) stipends for classroom set-up.But, by design, there is significant variation in theintensity of assistance. Projects are funded at differ-ent levels. Projects fund $500 to $5,000 per new teacherso that evaluators can analyze the impact of variouslevels of assistance on the attainment of inductiongoals. The most intense assistance, though relativelyvery expensive, may be the most cost-effective optionif the intensity results in distinguishable improve-ment in new teacher performance and retention.Figure 3 describes four types of assistance; the strate-gies listed under each illustrate the variation in de-sign and intensity among the projects.

ASSISTANCE FOR BEGINNING THE SCHOOL YEAR

Research indicates that even the most forope-tent student teachers tend to experience feelings ofinadequacy and incompetence at the beginning of thetirst year of professional practice (Murphy, 1988).


Intensive AssistanceFull-time Advisor (1:12 ratio)1n-class assistance weekly(e.g., 3 hrs.)

Intensive AssistanceRequired /paid training fornew and assisting teachers(can include release days)

Intensive AssistanceRegularly scheduled site-based meetings withknowledgeable theoristsand practitioners

FIGURE 3TYPES OF ASSISTANCE

Assignment of an Experienced AdvisorModerate AssistanceAssigned school site advisorRelease days to work together

Training for the New TeacherModerate AssistanceRequired/paid training fornew teachersTraining optional for advisors

New Teacher 'ippon GroupsModerate AssistanceStructured meetings with advisorswho have limited background intheory and/or practice

Minimal AssistanceAssigned school site advisorNo structures for workingtogether during school time

Minimal Assistance'Voluntary attendance attraining for new and assistingteachers (no monetarycompensation)

Minimal AssistanceSupport and interactionlimited to other new teachers(no guidance fromexperienced educators)

Stipends for Classroom Set-upIntensive Assistance Moderate Assistance Minimal Assistance

5500-51000 52004300 $100 or less

Evertson (1989) clarifies why the need for start-upassistance is so pervasive among beginning teachers:

The preservice teacher has rarely observedand rarely participated in the construction of aworld of learning; rather, he or she has gener-ally entered such a .vorld in midstream, ex-pecting to fit in and preserve the status quo ofthe classroom. Thus, how to begin is an issuethat falls between the cracks of the preserviceworld and the world of the professional teacher.(p. 59)

The challenge of providing adequate assistancein a typically inadequate amount of time is compli-cated by the fact that beginning-of-the-year assis-tance must incorporate information on such diverseelements as: 1) district and school site orientation; 2)classroom set-up; 3) acquisition and organization ofinstructional materials and supplies; and 4) creatinga learning environment. Strategies included in thissection are being used by California educators ac-tively engaged in start-up assistance for new teach-ers. To be effective, start up strategies must includeways to promote motivation, information, and ac-countability for assigned advisors as well as ideas for

integrating the new teacher into the profession. Cali-fornia educators are using the following:

Hiring Practices. In some districts, experienced gradelevel nr departmental personnel become actively in-volved in the interview and selection process andassume responsibility for assisting the new teacher inorder to support and justify their selection. They alsoprovide input to the principal as to who might makethe best match as an advisor for the new teacher.

Advisor Assignment. It is easier to ask for the help ofexperienced educators if the new teacher and otherproject participants know that assisting roles havebeen formally assigned to advisors. To the extentpossible, ad. isor assignment is made upon hiring.Advisors are given explicit information about roleexpectations. A good advisor/new teacher match ismore likely if the advisor is accessible at the schoolsite, has the same grade level expertise, is strong inclassroom management and discipline, is sensitive tothe psychological needs of new teachers, and iscommitted to providing the necessary time for assist-ing a new teacher.


Social Gatherings. Several projects host social eventssuch as luncheons where new teachers and their advi-sors meet in an informal setting. Frequently, otherschool-site, district, and university personnel attend.

Intensive Workshops/Conferences. Somedistrictsofferone-week or even longer conferences explr ring topicsimportant to new and veteran teachers. For example,one site has a Summer Institute for advisors and newteachers. It provides several weeks of immersion on atopic, such as instructional strategies for diverse class-rooms. Another district sponsors a Professional De-velopment Center where new teachers spend a weekprior to the start of school. They get acquainted withother teachers in the school and district; and togethernew and experienced teachers review the school cur-riculum, discuss seating arrangements, bulletinboards, and classroom management.

Project Orientation. The projects use a variety offormats to orient new teachers and other personnel tothe project. Some districts orientnew teachers, princi-pals, and other assisting personnel in one large groupmeeting so that all participants can hear the sameinformation, have the same expectations, and providean accountability check on each other for assistanceoffered and received.

Handbook for New Teachers. A handbook is a helpfultool that can facilitate orientation to the project, dis-trict, and school site. Some handbooks state expecta-tions for professional growth and present the project'scon:eptual basis. One handbook presents five differ-ent steps to be mastered before the school year begins,and is the major sourcebook for workshops prior toclasses. Some handbooks also include pertinent infor-mation that the new teacher is too overwhelmed toabsorb in an orientation meeting. They may also serveas directories for local and district resources, or asguides for assisting educators.

One-on-One. Advisors visit the new teacher's class-room and help them set it up. They help the teacherobtain curriculum materials and generally get ori-ented to the school and its resources (or lack thereof).

Stipends for Classroom Set-up and Other Purposes.Since beginning teachers do not have the inventory ofmaterials that experienced teachers accumulate, theyreceive stipends to offset costs of materials needed tocreate a learning environment. Stipends generallyrange from $100 to $500.

New Teacher Desk Kit. The district warehouse pro-vides a kit of predetermined, standard desk materials(gra debook, stapler, scissors, etc.) for each grade level.Each grade level kit has a specific order number sothat delivery can be arranged as soon as a new teacheris hired.

Ordering Classroom Materials and Supplies. Princi-pals replacing retiring or transferring teachers re-quest that those teachers order class sets of materials(texts, papers, etc.) as if they would be returning sothat their replacements do not end up with shortagesand/or the "dregs" of the district.

School and Neighborhood Tour. A welcoming/orien-tation strategy could include a tour of the school to in-troduce new teachers to personnel as well as showthem all the things hat experienced teachers alreadyknow (e.g., cubbyholes of supplies). If the tour in-cludes the neighborhood, the new teacher can gaininsights into many factors affecting the children wholive there.

Late-hire Contingency Plan. A contingency plan forlate hires is developed in conjunction with the begin-ning teacher program offerings for all new teachers.This plan reflects the practical time and personnelconstraints associated with late hiring. If checklists forassistance have been formulated in advance, alterna-tive approaches can be anticipated and incorporated.

Video-tapes of school start-up. Video-tapes of out-standing teachers at work in the first week of schoolhave proven helpful to new teachers who have neverparticipated in crea ting a learning environment. Tapesfor each grade level can be developed and duplicatedfor check-out. These can be used as a focus of gradelevel new teacher group meetings, advisor/newteacher con ferenci ng, or individual viewing.

Shadowing. To capitalize on a new teacher's intrinsicmotivation to prepare for school, districts prepare alist of experienced teachers who are willing to have anew teacher shadow them during the instructionalday. Available dates a re determined and disseminatedto new hires. Depending on the hiring date, shadowingoccurs in the spring, summer or fall. In schoolsoperating on a year-round schedule, staggered start-up dates make this easier. For new teachers hired afterschool begins, a shadowing experience lasting oneday to one week could be required as an alternative tohiring a teacher for immediate placement.


ASSISTANCE FOR IMPROVING INSTRUCTIONAL.PERFORMANCE

The prospectus for tne American Association ofColleges for Teacher Education's, Kum, ledge Base forthe &winning Teacher, asserts:

Knowledgeable teachers are not technicians,but professionals worthy and able to makedecisions and plans based on principled knowl-edge that is adapted to the particulars of theirteaching situation, their students, their uniqueexperience and their own special insights, self-knowledge, values and commitments (Gard-ner, 1989).

Helping new teachers improve instructionalperformance is the essence of a quality beginningteacher program. Getting acclimated to a new settingand position is vital but it is merely a foundation forthe more complex challenge of becoming an effectiveand professional teacher. Ideally, the process of as-sisting new teachers to become professional begins inteacher preparation and extends into the initial yearsof teaching. It requires the establishment of struc-tures to help integrate the experiential wisdom ofexpert teachers, the knowleoge gained at the univer-sity and the innovative and exploratory ideas ofnovice teachers.

The threats to attainment are the constraints oftime, training, and precedent. Nevertheless, the goalof improving instructional performance must remaincentral to the content and strategies associated withnew teacher assistance. Structures must be developedthat will create time for assistance; expert educatorsshould be trained in ways to effectively assist noviceteachers; and expectations for induction must beclearly established within the profession. Thestrategies presented in this section are among thosebeing used by project leaders who are currentlyengaged in implementing programs to reach the goalof improving the instructional performance ofbeginning teachers.

Workshops, Conferences, and Other Meetings. A va-riety of formats can be used for this type of staff de-velopment, including after-school workshops, full orpartial release days, weekend events, and local, stateand national conferences. Through these activities,new teachers can gain knowledge, understanding,and skills that will help them in a range of areas such

as parent conferences, back-to-school-night, gradingand record-keeping, effective teaching, different in-structional strategies, bilingual education, specificcurriculum areas, and teaching and learning in ethni-cally diverse classrooms. These activities, particu-larly when in the form of attendance at professionalseminars and conferences, can also provide accul-turation into the profession.

Curriculum Forums and Follow-up Meetings. Sev-eral projects offer day-long forums to enhance con-tent knowledge in core curriculum areas and to pro-mote skill in instructional planning and delivery.Followup meetings encourage implementation ofinstructional strategies and provide opportunities toraise questions and share ideas and experiences.When school site advisors are able to attend the sameforums and follow-up meetings, support in planningfor specific contextual and grade level concerns canbe more effectively integrated.

University Courses for Beginning Teachers. Univer-sity coursework is designed especially for new teach-ers. Using a variety of formats (e.g., seminars, criticalincident writing and analysis, lectures) courses haveincluded topics ranging from stress management,classroom management, and multicultural educa-tion to parent relations. Courses also include compo-nents on second language acquisition, instructionalstrategies, and teaching in the content areas.

Setting up for Substitutes. The work of preparing forand, in some cases, "making up for" a substitute canoften negate the benefits of a release day inservice forimproving instruction. One solution is to suspendcontinuity of instruction for a day and allow substi-tutes, prepared with special grade level materialswhich have been approved by district curriculumcoordinators, to teach content that they have per-fected and that is worthy of interrupting the estab-lished sequence of instruction.

Integration of Research Literature into Practice. Newteachers, veteran teachers, and university facultyreview the research literature on relevant topics anduse it to guide classroom practice and to developprofessional growth activities for new teachers. Spe-cific projects have used research findings to structureactivities on classroom management, effective schools,and such topics as the teaching of reading, math,science, and cooperative education.

Chapter 3: Content and Strategies 33

45

Cluster Groups. Groups of six to eight new teachersmeet regularly with a university faculty member oexperienced teacher to promote acculturation, thedevelopment of problem-solving skills, reflectiveanalysis, and expertise in identified areas.

Critical incident Summaries. New teachers meetweekly and do a brief writing session on an incident(positive or negative) that occurred at their school.The process of writing helps new teachers formulateand articulate their own thoughts and insights. Smallgroups facilitated by a veteran teacher or universityfaculty member discuss some of the "incidents" topromote understanding, reflective thinking, and peerproblem-solving.

Case Studies. Published case studies are a useful toolto engage new teachers in analyzing situations andpromoting professional growth. In one project, newteachers also develop their own case studies whichare reviewed by a university faculty member and arediscussed in group meetings.

Journals. Like critical incident summaries and casestudies, journal writing is another useful mode ofself-examination and can lead to clarification of is-sues, a habit of reflection, and skill at problem solv-ing.

Clinical Supervision. Advisors and university fac-ulty clinically supervise the new teacher in the class-room. Preconferences, classroom observations, andpost-conferences characterize this strategy in whichnew teachers identify change targets and write pro-fessional development goals.

Lesson Observations and Con ferencing. Various kindsof observation are incorporated, depending on theobjective of assistance. The new teacher .,:)servesexperienced teachers to become aware of alternativestyles and strategies. Or the advisor and the noviceteacher observe another teacher. In the latter case, theadvisor gu ides the new teacher in a reflective analysisof the instructional process.

Assess to Assist. Strategies of observation must belinked to the concept that becoming a teacher is aprocess and that assessment is the foundation forassistance. In some projects, structures for self-as-sessment are incorporated with other forms of forma-tive evaluation (e.g., cognitive coaching and reflec-tive supervision). Visual and auditory tapes with

written guidelines to promote diagnosis and analysisare used by new teachers in consultation with expe-rienced educators.

Team Teaching. A potentially less threatening strat-egy than structured teacher observation is team teach-ing, in which classes are combined forsome units andnovice and veteran teachers collaboratively plan,teach, and evaluate the instructional experience.

Video Tapes. Video tapes are produced by universityfaculty and district personnel as well as commercialenterprises. These tapes can assist new teachers indealing with teaching situations.

Second-year Teachers as Buddies. Second-year teach-ers are invited to activities with first-year teachers.Because they can identify closely with the new teach-ers, they can provide assurance, insights, and practi-cal information. This structured interaction also hasproven a vehicle for the continued professional growthof second-year teachers.

Newsletters. Project newsletters are a way to intro-duce the new teachers, report project informationand cover topics of interest.

Help-Line. New teachers discuss matters witha publicschool teacher, retired teacher, principal and/or uni-versity professor, all available by telephone. In oneproject, Help-Line members visit new teachers' class-rooms and provide on-site assistance.

Team Approach to Assistance. A team of educatorsworks with a specific teacher throughout the year.The team often consists of an administrator, a re-source teacher, an experienced grade-level teacher,and a university professor.

Professional Growth Planning. Since 1985, creden-tialed new teachers in California must develop an in-dividualized professional growth plan and accumu-late a minimum of 150 hours of participation inactivities related to targeted growth goals within fiveyears of receiving the initial credential in order torenew the Professional Clear Teaching Credential.Several new teacher programs train experiencededucators to serve as professional growth advisorsand provide inservices within the beginning teacherprogram that directly correlate with the new teacher'sneed to identify goals and develop a plan.


ADAPTING ASSISTANCE FOR SPECIFIC SITUATIONS

The content and assistance of new teacher pro-grams must be adapted to the unique settings inwhich new teachers begin their teaching careers.Adaptations for specific situations which will be dis-cussed in this section are presented under the follow-ing topics: 1) distance assistance: supporting newteachers electronically; 2) year-round education as-sistance; 3) assistance in multicultural school set-tings; and 4) secondary level assistance.

Distance Assistance: Supporting New TeachersElectronically

Some California projects are designed to assistbeginning teachers and their advisors over largegeographical regions. Some use interactive videoand cable television. Others provide assistancethrough an interactive network of personal comput-ers which can electronically transfer text messagesfrom one person to another or to a group of individu-als. An example of such a program is Cm BeginningTeacher Computer Network which was initiated atthe Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Assistance delivered by an interactive com-puter network connects teachers who art assigned toeven the most remote locations. According to theHarvard model, electronic support differs in twoimportant respects from typical assistance programs:first, rather than one advisor to one advisee, all theparticipants give advice to each other, resulting in amodel of professional development that defines anadvisor as a collection of individuals rather than oneperson; second, the vast majority of members arecolleagues of equal status, negating much of theexpert-novice interaction of most assistance programs.With the exception of the university participants andoccasional invited guests, all of the comments, adviceand professional support given to the first year teach-ers come from other first year teachers. This equalstatus of nearly all the members causes the networkto resemble peer coaching models of staff develop-ment.

Network conversations range widely, fre-quently moving from a specific example or questionto more general exchanges or consideration of prin-ciples. As an example, one Network message ex-change initially focused on classroom managementskills, i.e., how to keep student chattering under

control. This stimulated five somewhat prescriptivepeer responses. Responses moved within a few daysto a broader consideration of student motivation andthe purposes of education. The conversation began todiverge after the following comment by one of the be-ginning teachers: "A lot of this discussion has been onorder and only a little bit of it is on what that ordershould serve. . . . Order isn't what teaching is about."One week later, a junior high science teacher re-sponded with the message: "It is not so much thealgebra, biology, and writing that we teach, it is thefeeling of self-worth and confidence. . . ." Thislaunched the electronic group discussion into a con-sideration of personal priorities in teaching and adebate about the relative importance of "characterdevelopment" and "purer academics."

Because the network collectively represents notone, bu .vide range of teaching environments,there exists a "sieve of neutrality" with regard to localcontext knowledge. This local detachment, combinedwith multiple perspectives of different individualsfrom diverse subject matter fields, generalizes thespecific incident or situation to a higher level of ab-straction. Networking, with its focus on the contentof the message and not on the local culture, seems tofoster the ability of novices to perceive more broadlyand more generally, helping them gain perspectiveson their own teaching and on the teaching of others.Used in conjunction with a school site advisor whoassists with important local context concerns, thenetwork may well stimulate a level of reflection notoften found in teacher education or staff develop-ment programs.

While experienced educators know that manyfirst-year teachers will experience a remarkably simi-lar set of problems regardless of their school or class-room location, novices often do not have this per-spective. They frequently feel that they are the "onlyones" with discipline issues, management problemsor questions about the purposes of education. Thenetwork provides novice teachers with a means toshare a teaching experience or a thought at any hourof the day or night. This connectedness, providingcontinuity from their training experiences as well ascontact with each other, helps break down the senseof isolation that is particularly devastating to begin-ners. One participant observed, "Hearing about otherpeople's problems made me feel less alone. Thoseconversations let me know it wasn't just me."

47 Chapter 3: Conteat and Strategics 35

The question is often asked: Is assistance througha computer network expensive? Thirty-eight Begin-ning Teacher Computer Network participants re-ported an average monthlyusage rate of 6.1 hours perperson per month for a total of 61 hours for the year.Costs to implement the system are derived from thecapital expenditures for the host equipment, tele-phone line charges, and technical personnel to main-tain the system. The proliferation of computers inschools makes it possible for participants touse thesecomputers to participate. Total Network expendi-tures were $12,750 for the 1987-88 academic year, re-sulting in a cost per hour ofuse of $5.50. In subsequentyears, assuming the same participation rates andcohort size, the annual cost drops to approximately$6000 resulting in an hourly rate of $2.91 becauseequipment is re-used and no further equipment pur-chases are necessary.

Noting that the average number of hours loggedby participants closely resembles the number ofcon-tact hours for a one semester university course, thistechnology offers a pragmatic and relatively low costmeans for universities to provide formal support tobeginning teacher graduates. As in their universitypreservice teacher education experience, teachersnowgather electronically across thousand.: of miles toconsider a specific situation, problem or case. Onlynow the "grist" or material for discussion is not anabstract reading, a faculty lecture or a contrived sce-nario; instead, the conversations are grounded in realexperiences and events that a network member hasencountered or questioned. The motivation topa rtici-pate, either by passively reading the dialogue or byactively sending messages, is very high.

Year-round Education Assistance

In areas of high growth, many California schoolsare actively implementing year-round ducation inwhich schools operate on multiple sched u!P.is or tracks.One example of a multi-track system involves divid-ing the student body into four tracks. Three tracks, ona rotating basis, are always in session throughout theyear. Students and teachers have class fiur nine weeksfollowed by three-week breaks. Vacation days forstudents and teachers are staggered so that schoolbuildings can be cost-effective in accommodatinggreater numbers of students.

Some of the elements associated with year-roundschools which affect beginning teacher programs are:

1) school start-ups are staggered; 2) numbers of com-bination classrooms (classrooms in which there aretwo or more grade levels) are increased to allow forevery grade level to be offered on most tracks; 3)interactions between grade level teachers, advisorsand new teachers, and total staff are hampered byrotating vacation schedules; and 4) "flex" teachingbecomes necessary. A flex teacher is one who moveshis or her students and materials into different class-rooms which become available on a rotating basisthrough-out the school year. In some schools flexingoccurs every three weeks. Veteran teachers who havefirst priority of assignment within most districts of-ten avoid non-traditional assignments; therefore, ahigher number of new teachers begin their teachingcareers as flex teachers in combination classes ontracks that begin during the summer months.

Strategies of assistance which may be effectivein traditional schools are frequently inefftt ive inyear-round schools. Consequently, project_., aor as-sisting beginning teachers may need to implementsubstantially different models of assistance withinthe same district. Programs which currently incorpo-rate year-round schools have suggested the follow-ing adaptations in assistance:

Multiple training sessions covering the samecontent should be incorporated into the pro-gram design. For example, orientations fornew teachers and initial training forad visorsmay need to be offered on two-to-four occa-sions over a time span of four months (e.g.,June-September). Funds to support this du-plication in training should be incorporatedin the budget.

Communications usually sent to school sitesthrough district mail or publicized throughstaff bulletins must be mailed to home ad-dresses of teachers who are off-track (onvacation). Advance program scheduling andpublicity must become a high priority inorder to ensure effective communication.

Continuity of support for new teachersshould be maintained, despite difficultiesposed when new and experienced grade-level partners are on different tracks. Sinceadministrators seek to offer each grade levelon every track, it is common for a new teacherto be on a different track from the ether

36 Designing Prograt rs fo New Teachers 48

grade-level teachers at the site. Thus, thereare three-week periods of time scatteredthrough-out the year when either the newteacher or the advisor is off-track. One proj-ect has approached the problem of continu-ity of assistance in year-round schools byestablishing a support team of assisting teach-ers. When a new teacher's partner is off-track, the team members take over the assist-ing role.

Special assistance in learning how to managetwo grade-level curricula should be provided.Due to the need to provide each grade levelon every track, combination classrooms aremore prevalent in year-round schools. Newteachers often receive these assignments.Deciding what content must be taught sepa-rately to each grade within the classroomand what content can be taught to the wholegroup is complex even for an experiencedteacher. Consider the fact that a child en-rolled as a third grader in a 3/4 combinationone year, a fourth grader in a straight fourthgrade the next year, and fifth grader in a 4/5 combination the following year may re-ceive three years of content usually reservedfor fourth grade when whole group instruc-tion is the dominant instructional methodol-ogy. Yet, preparing and presenting twocompletely distinct lessons for five or sixsubject areas each day is unmanageable(particularly for the new teacher). Selectionof curriculum, instructional methodology,and the coordination of instruction for spe-cific combinations of classrooms demandsuniquely different approaches from thoseappropriate for regular classroom instruc-tion. District level curriculum specialists andschool site resource teachers can offer fo-cused inservice assistance to address thesespecific concerns.

New teacher projects should be particularlysensitive to the needs of the "flex" teacher,the teacher who must pack up materials andstudents and change classrooms as theybecome available on a rotating schedule. Onestrategy advocates that the flex teacher befreed from other assignments such as play-ground or lunch duty. Incentives of thisnature may encourage veteran teachers to

accept the flex assigr mentor provide neededstress reduction for the new teacher.

Year-round schedule can have some benefitsto new teacher programs. Experienced teachers whoare off-track may be more amenable to observing andadvising novice teachers when they do not need totake time away from their own classrooms to offer as-sistance. Frequently, however, off -track advisors areeither out of town or working as substitutes, so struc-turing this type of support can be difficult. Newteachers who are off-track can use the time to observeeffective role models in classrooms that are in ses-sion. In their own buildings, this can be facilitated byproject personnel and/or principals. A new teacheron a traditional schedule (September-June) couldelect to spend the beginning week of school with aveteran teacher at a year-round school that starts inJuly or August. It should be noted that teachers canneither be required not coerced to use vacation timeto engage in school activities. Off-track assistancemust be voluntary but it can be structured in waysthat will be highly beneficial.

Assistance in Multicultural School Settings

California's changing demographics have cre-ated a rich diversity within its student populationlargely due to immigration. It has been estimated thigt'one in six children in the public schools statewide isan immigrant, with more than a third of a millionrecently arrived newcomers. In some school districtsas many as 80 percent are limited- or non-Englishspeakers. In one third of the districts in the state atleast one in ten students is limited-English profi-cient." (Olsen,1988, p. 5.)

Despite a legal mandate to provide an equitableeducation for these children, there remains a signifi-cant academic gap between immigrant students andU.S.-born, English-speaking students. One criticalfactor in narrowing this gap is effective preserviceand inservice preparation of teachers in multicultu-ral education. Several new teacher projects havefocused assistance in areas related to teaching ethni-cally and linguistically diverse students.

For example, the Winters School District pro-vides new teachers with an opportunity to engage inan expense paid three-week Spanish language im-mersion experience in Mexico during the summerbefore they begin teaching. New teachers live with

49 Chapter 3: Content and Stmtegies 37

Mexican host families, receive instruction relevant totheir level of language proficiency, and earn univer-sity credit. The district uses this program as an incen-tive in hiring new teachers.

Another way to help is to offer preservice train-ing in second language acquisition theory and ap-proaches, alternative teaching strategies, and back-ground on issues facing limited-English proficientstudents. This training should be coordinated withdistrict-wide efforts to develop and implement Eng-lish language development programs. Unfortunately,most new teachers begin teaching with minimal train-ing in multicultural education and limited districtsupport. Consequently, emphasis on learning to teachlimited-English proficient students should be a pri-mary focus of new teacher support and assistanceprograms when teachers are given assignments toteach linguistically diverse students. Two outstand-ing references for defining the need and the relatedresources are Crossing the Schoolhouse Border: Immi-grant Students and the California Public Schools (Olsen,1988) and Bridges: Promising Programs for the Educationof Immigrant Children (Olsen, 1989). See the guidebookreference section, Appendix A.

Instructional bias associated with traditionalcompetitive school structures tends to exacerbate theacademic gap between white and racially diversestudents. To avoid such bias, emphasis is being placedon cooperative learning structures. These structureshave proven particularly effective in improving theachievement levels for African-American, Hispanic,and Native American students (Kagan, 1989). Sincenew teachers frequently struggle with cooperativelearning, it is recommended that maximum time andintensity be devoted to theory, curriculum, methodol-ogy, and coaching when this approach to learning isselected as a content focus of new teacher support.Several California projects give university credit forsemester coursework ci cooperative learning. Train-ing is offered to both new and experienced teacherssothat contextual factors can be integrated into discus-sions and application of learning can be promoted atthe school site.

Secondary Level Assistance

Although elementary and secondary new teach-ers have some needs in common, preliminary evalu-ation findings from the California New Teacher Proj-

ect have identified differences which require plan-ning for alternative strategies of assistance. Elemen-tary teachers have many more concerns in commonwith each other than with secondary teachers. Ge-neric concerns related to school structure, classroommanagement, instructing the same students for theentire school day and teaching multiple subjects inthe elementary program provide a common groundfor interaction and assistance which is less prevalentfor secondary teachers.

Secondary teachers require more narrowly fo-cused, content-specific assistance. Although someconcerns of new secondary teachersare shared acrosssubject areas (e.g., discipline and interacting withparents), program content and strategies should em-phasize curriculum concerns. Strategies of assistanceshould be altered to accommodate this variation ofneeds when a program serve, !loth elementary andsecondary teachers. One appro,ii h includes collabo-rative assistance that is, district-level, subject-areacoordinators and university preservice subject-areaprofessors together providing content specific semi-nars using district adopted criteria and instructionalmaterials.

It is recommended that support teams for sec-ondary teachers be integrated into the subject areadepartmental structure. If all members of the depart-ment are part of the support process, the new teacherwho teaches a range of grade levels or subjects withina specific discipline will have access to multiplesources of expertise. One strategy for providing thevarious kinds of support needed would be to allocatea specific number of release days or stipend allot-ments for assistance to the school site principal whocould guide the department in determining appro-priate structures for assistance and remuneration.

CONCLUSION

Supporting new teachers as they join the field ofeducation is both a challenging and reward rig re-sponsibility. Beginning teacher programs providethe bridge between preservice and inservice pro-grams which are part of the process of developingprofessional educators. As Griffin (1989) states:

We know that teaching cannot be mastered ina four-vear dose of courses, practica, seminars,

and student teaching. We know that what


teachers need to know, be sensitive to, andadapt for their own use must be collected,sifted, refined, and added to over a career.Learning to teach must be on-going. It must bea coherent and cumulative growth in under-standing and experimentation with ideas andpractices (p. 279).

There is a parallel between learning to teachand learning to assist beginning teachers. Thosecommitted to integrating new teachers into the pro-fession and helping them more effectively fulfill theirtask are like new teachers continually exploringand broadening their knowledge base.

REFERENCES

Evertson, C. (1989). Classroom organization andmanagement. In M.C. Reynolds (Ed.), Knowl-edge base for the beginning teacher. New York:Pergamon Press.

Gardner, W. (1989). Preface. In M.C. Reynolds (Ed.),Knowledge base for the beginning teacher. NewYork: Pergamon Press.

Griffin, G. (1989). Coda: The knowledge-driven school.In M.C. Reynolds (Ed.), Knowledge base for thebe teacher. New York: Pergamon Press.

Murphy, D.S. (1988). The impact of socializationmechanisms on the problem - :olving approachesof novice teachers. (Doctoral Dissertation: TheClaremont Graduate School/San Diego StateUniversity Joint Doctoral Program in Educa-tion).

Olsen, L. (1988). Crossing the schoolhouse border: Immi-grant students and the California public schools. ACalifornia Tomorrow Policy Research Report.

Olsen, L. (1989). Bridges: Promising programs for theeducation of immigrant children.

Veenman, S. (1984). Perceived problems of beginningteachers. Review of Educational Research, 54(2),143-178.

Ward, Beatrice A. (1989). Keynote Address. TheCalifornia Invitational Workshop on Imple-menting Beginning Teacher Programs.

Chapter 3: Content and Strategies 39

CHAPTER 4

The Role ofExperiencedEducators inAssisting NewTeachers

Judith H. ShulmanFar West Laboratory for EducationalResearch and Development

Victoria L. BernhardtCalifornia State University Chico

am convinced that the interactions betweenMs. R. and me have helped us both immensely.In helping her I found myself reflecting on myown classroom practices and striving for im-provement. And she often comments abouthow much I have helped. In our case, thementor-mentee relationship was beneficial.I Mentor teacher.'

I find wort- ing with Margie stimulating and re-warding. Sometimes she seems overwhelmedby the task and flounders bad ly. Then, in work-ing in the group (with other new teachers) sheseems to sort herself out, define the problemand use her own resources and the suggestionsof others to formulate solutions. (Universityfaculty member.)

I am having many problems juggling personalempathy, collegiality and professional help inthis case. I think I became too emotionally in-volved from the beginning. I certainly am con-cerned for my ego if I am unsuccessful and Janloses her job. (Veteran teacher.)

I feel ambivalent when I'm involved with teach-ers like Diane. I find myself not knowing whatto say or do. (Mentor teacher.)

This chapter focuses on the educators who areassigned to help new teachers who they are, whatthey do, the support they n .ed, and the benefits andchallenges of their new responsibilities. It also dealswith some of the organizational arrangements thatencourage or hinder the success of new teacher sup-port programs.

We used two major sources of inf6rmation tocapture our knowledge of such programs. The firstcame from a conference in San Diego, whereapproxi-ma tel y 80 program coordinators a nd staff gathered toshare their experiences and learn from each other.The questionnaires and group discussions from thisconference are our primary sources of data. We alsoused data from a conference in Hayward, where rep-resentatives of Bay Area districts that either hadsupport programs in place or were in the planningstages of developing them gathered to discuss com-mon concerns.

The chapter begins with a description of themultitude of terms used to describe educators who

40 Designing Programs for Nee, Teachers

52

assist new teachers. Next it focuses on ho they are,what they do, and how they need to be supported tobe effective advisors. It concludes with a discussion ofcommon problems in the organizational arrangementsof support programs, and some policy recommenda-tions for institutions planning similar programs.

THE NEED FOR A COMMON LANGUAGE

When we asked the 24 participants in our groupdiscussions in San Diego what titles they gave to edu-cators in their districts who support new teachers,they came up with twenty-one different terms. Somewere different because they referred to different rolegroups teachers, administrators/district staff, oruniversity faculty. The majority however, were titlesfor teacher advisors. In fact, one participant listed fouralternative titles, because her district could not decidewhat to call these teachers. Table 1 lists all of the titleswithin their respective role groups.

The range of titles that programs assign to teach-ers highlights one of the key ambiguities of newteacher support programs. How much authority comeswith the role of teacher advisor? Is it a supervisoryrole? Or is this person a consultant who can offersuggestiors? Table l's first four titles teacher advi-sor, mentor teacher, mentor emeritus, and lead teacher

appear to suggest a higher status than the remain-ing seven, perhaps implying more authority. The lat-ter group appears to qualify any status differences inits titles. In our experience, most teachers who areappointed to support neophytes try to diminish suchstatus differences. In fact, many districts that partici-pate in the California Mentor Teacher Program' havechanged the term "mentor teacher to a more benigntitle, like "consultant teacher" or "buddy."

'The California tor Teacher Pro am is funded IN thestate's Hart-Hr g ,s Education Reform Act of 198.3 (58813). This legislatierrr, in effect as of January 1, 1984, isintended to reward and retain excellent teachers and tocontribute to school improvement. The statute allocatesfunds to participating districts on a formula basis, allowing$4000 stipends fur district-designated mentors, and $200()per nrentor for district implementation. The mentors' pri-mary role is to guide and assist new teachers; they may alsoguide and assist more experienced teachers and developspecial curricula. The statute leaves considerable latitudefor California's diverse school districts to design their ownprograms.

TABLE 1TERMS FOR EDUCATORS

WHO SUPPORT NEW TEACHERS

Teachers

teacher advisormentor teachermentor emerituslead teacherteacher consultantcolleague coachpeer coachpeer consultantsupport teacherteammatehelp-line cati re member

Administrators/District Staff

principala'iministratorresource teachercoordinatorcurriculum team leadersite coordinator

University

help-line cadre memberuniversity consultantcluster leaderprofessor

Other districts use the title "peer coach" or"partner" to differentiate their advisors from othermentor teachers funded through the Mentor TeacherProgram. Since the legislation states that mentor teach-ers may perform other functions such as staff devel-opment and curriculum development, these districtsselected a term that refers specifically to assisting newteachers.

The titles used for school and district adminis-trators denote a job title or project role and are there-fore less ambiguous. The same appears true for titlesof university personnel involved in the new teacherprograms.

In this chapter, we will not attempt to develop aconsensus on what each title means, nor on appropri-ate behavior norms for support teacKers workingwith neophytes. These are issues for individual dis-tricts to decide. We have decided, however, to use theterm "teacher ad visor" or "advisor" to represent all ofthe educators, in whatever capacity, who help new-comers during their first few years of teaching.

WHO ARE THE ADVISORS AND WHAT Do THEY D©?

Advisors wedr many hats and provide a widerange of services for beginning teachers. For this dis-cussion, we define advisors according to four rolegroups veteran teachers, administrators, dis. -tstaff, and university faculty. We also address somepertinent issues, such as the importance of an appro-

Klapter 4: The Role of Experienced Educators 41

TABLE 2TYPES OF ASSISTANCE OFFERED BY VETERANTEACHERS TO NEW TEACHERS IN PROGRAMS

REPRESENTED AT THE SAN DIEGO CONFERENCE

Types of Assistance % of Programs

Observation and CoachingObtair Resource MaterialsProvide :motional SupportConduct WorkshopsConsultationDemonstration Lessons(e.g., curriculum management)

On-site BuddySurvival SkillsIntroduction to School ProceduresEvaluationMiscellanvaut-

Cover ClassroomsTeacher AdvocatesSite Coordinator for BuddiesAttend Seminars with New TeachersOrganize Action Research PlanGuest Speaker at University Seminar

50%

42%38%

33%33%

13%,

17(X,

13%

8%8%

4%

priate match between advisors and new teachers.And we describe a few programs that have unusualfeatures.

Veteran Teachers

All of the programs use ye' eritn teachers in avariety of capacities as advisors for new teachers. Thekinds of assistance veteranscan provide depend on a-number of factors, such is the district's definition ofthe advisor role, the amount of tine advisors canspend with their assigned colleagues, the number ofrelease days the programs allot for consulting re-sponsibilities, and the types of training, and/orsupport the district offers.

In the best of possible circumstances, veteranteachers can be of enormous help to beginners. Theycan, for example:

Help beginners learn to meet he proceduraldemands of the school;

Provide moral and emotional support andfunction as sounding boards for new ideas;

Provide access to other classrooms so thatnovices can observe other teachers, and haveseveral kinds of models;

Sham their own knowledge about new mite-rials, unit planning, curriculum development,and teaching methods;

Assist teachers with classroom managementand discipline;

Help neophytes understand the implicationsof student diversity for teaching and learning;

Engage teachers in self-assessment and re-flection on their own practice; and

Help them adapt new strategies for theirown classroom.

The first six types of assistance help teachers tosurvive in their classrooms. The last two are keys tocontinuous learning and increasing self-sufficiency.

One technique for promoting analysis on teach-ing is called coaching one teacher observes anotherteacher conduct a lesson, makes a record that is re-vealing and convincing to the teacher, and thenengages the teacher in an analysis of the lesson.Coaching is rewarding for the learner if done in anenvironment of mutual trust. This is the aspect ofmentoring that has the greatest potential for gettingto the actual work of teaching.

The programs represented at the San Diegoconference actively support beginning teachers (seefable 2). Half reported that veteran teachers observeand coach their beginning teachers a very highpercentage compared to most support programs(Shulman, 1987; Ruskus & Pecheone, 1989). One-third or more reported that veterans provide re-source materials, emotional and moral support. indi-vidual consultation outside of class, and opportuni-ties to watch demonstration lessons. Other activitiesinclude: 1) being an on-site buddy; 2) evaluating theperformance of new teachers (sec below); 3) coveringnew teachers' classrooms while they observe otherteachers; 4) being a teacher advocate when new teach-ers have problems like getting ,'lies; 5) attending


seminars with new teachers; and 6) being a guestspeaker at university seminars.

California Mentor Teacher Program. Most of theprograms in this sample use funding from the Cali-fon is Mentor Teacher Program to pay stipends totheir support teachers. For some, the program repre-sents the only source of funding available to assistnew teachers. Often, mentors represent an outstand-ing group of teachers who have the training andexpertise necessary to help newcomers.

The few programs that do not use mentor fundsreport specific reasons. For example, Poway UnifiedSchool District's consultants assess new teachers,which is not allowed under the mentor teacher legis-lation. Other programs (e.g., University of California,Riverside) use retired teachers as their teacher con-sultants.

Appropriate Match. The process of pairing advi-sors with new teachers is one of the most importantkeys to a successful program. Merely assigning anadvisor to a new teacher is not an answer, becausesome relationships are not helpful. The following aresome considerations that must be taken into account.

The first is proximity or assistance from some-cm- at the school site. Most people seem to agree thatthere simply is no substitute for having someoneC'arie by when a new teacher's problems occur.Howevers?rade level and subject specialty must also bematched. Consultants at the elementary level shouldhave experience in or be quite knowledgeable aboutthe particular problems of the new teacher's gradelevel assignment. It is especially helpful if the advisorhas recently taught at the same grade level, so he orshe can share materials and lesson plans.

Advisors are particularly limited when they donot understand their new teacher's content area.They cannot help their colleagues plan relevant les-sons tailored to the needs of their students. Nor canthey evaluate the novice's choices of instructionalstrategies. In these cases, advisors can only judge theappropriateness of some generic pedagogical skills.Though important, these generic skills represent onlyone component of the complex teaching process.

Other criteria for effective pairing are personalchemistry and similar philosophies of teaching. A matchmight look good on paper in terms of grade level and

subject speciality compatibility. But the two indi-viduals may have different teaching styles and be-liefs. They may not even like each other.

Several programs try to solve this dilemma byproviding their new teachers with more than onekind of advisor. For example, the unified schooldistricts in Burbank, Cajon Valley, San Mateo, SanLeandro, Fresno, Sacramento, and San Franciscoassign both designated mentor teachers and sitebuddies to assist new teachers. The mentor teachersare usually a cadre of teachers, funded through theCalifornia Mentor Teacher Program, who may haveextensive training in new teacher support. They areoften subject area specialists and are trained to usecoaching strategies, provide demonstration lessons,and conduct workshops. The site buddies (some-times referred to as peer consultants, or teammates)are veteran teachers at the school site who are as-signed to help newcomers with school proceduresand the day-to-day problems of teaching.

Often new teachers are able to select their ownsite buddies. In Sacramento, San Mateo, and SanFrancisco unified school districts, the new teacherssubmit to the principal a list of teachers with whomthey would like to work, and the principal makes thefinal decision. Usually this selection is done duringthe first few months of school. In all cases, the sitebuddies volunteer to be candidates for appointment.

Cajon Valley district has added a new dimen-sion to this approach. Because the staff understandsthe importance of help during the first weeks ofschool, principals assign a start-up partner to eachnew teacher in their buildings for the first weeks ofschool. A r the first eight weeks of the project, newteachers have input into the selection of their supportteam members, who are their primary consultants forthe rest of the year.

Other districts use less formal measures to pairteachers, such as personal agreements between newand veteran teachers. In one case, district staff hosteda dinner for all new teachers and potential buddies.Before the dinner, the program coordinator haddrafted a list of matched pairs, but before she knew it,new teachers and potential site buddies had madetheir own agreements. In retrospect, the coordinatorfelt that this pairing system probably worked betterthan her own scheme.

is Chapter 4: The Role of Experienced Educators 43

Eva/wit/on. In California, the job of evaluatingnew teachers is up to site principals. They are re-quired by law to evaluate and provide feedback toeach new teacher in their building at least once a year.Two districts, however Poway Unified SchoolDistrict and Santa Cruz City Schools are pilotingprograms that use experienced teachers to both assistand assess the progress of new teachers during theirinduction year. hi Poway, the experienced teachers,called "teacher consultants," are released full time toperform their designated responsibilities fora maxi-mum of three years. Each teacher consultant has aworkload of 15 new teachers and is given a $4000stipend. Santa Cruz City Schools is piloting an adap-tation of this model: principal and veteran teacherteams assist and assess new teachers together.2 Bothprograms are jointly governed by the Poway andSanta Cruz Federations of Teachers respectively undera trust agreement that is renewable each year.

Administrators

Because of their time constraints and range ofother responsibilities, most principals play a limitedrole in helping new teachers. However, conferenceparticipants agreed that active support by principalsis crucial to the potential success of any supportprogram. Some of the related functions that princi-pals perform are; supervising teacher-coaches, as-signing buddies to new teachers, providing substi-tutes when consultants and new teachers need re-lease time, making referrals to consultants whenteachers are in trouble, and participating in monthlymeetings with new teachers and their consultants.Some participants reported that principals provideongoing support for new teachers, but such assis-tance was rare.

In our experience, it is very important that bothteacher advisors and building principals meet face-to-face to discuss some ground rules for their respec-tive roles in helping new teachers. Without suchground rules, it is likely that each will have unspokenexpectations for the other's responsibilities. Thedanger is that relationships between advisors andtheir new teacher-colleagues can be compromised.For example, in many districts, advisors assume thatall their interactions with their colleagues arc

Teachers are released half-time to perform theserespoitsibdities.

confidential. Yet some mentor teachers report thatthey are asked by their principals to provide information on the professional growth of their colleagues.These kinds of requests put advisors in an uncom-fortable position.

DISTRICT STAFF/RESOURCE TEACHERS

Several districts use district staff or resourceteachers to coordinate their support program. Thesepersons also provide substitutes, schedule district-wide events, organize workshops, and conduct advi-sor training. Some also work with individual advi-sors and new teachers.

University Faculty

Several projects involve notable collaborationsbetween school districts and local university teacherpreparation programs. The advisor roles taken byuniversity faculty in these programs are not only dif-ferent from those assumed by school persons, butthey often cannot be duplicated by district personnel.Representative activities include: teaching specialcourses for new teachers and district advisors, con-ducting various seminars and workshops on theschool campus, assisting with planning and curricu-lum development, and providing one-on-one con-sultation for school-based advisors and their newteachers. The next chapter describes some of theprograms that are illustrative t,f these university-school collaborative;.

Staff Development for Advisors

Though the programs described above appearto offer a variety of support activities, staff in theseprograms agree that developing a constructive rela-tionship with any new teacher is a difficult challenge.Teacher advisors often have to clear several hurdlesbefore they are welcomed by their assigned col-leagues. One of the first challenges they face is estab-lishing a working relationship in an atmosphere ofmutual trust and respect. Many new teachers aresuspicious of another teacher's offer of help. Someresent such offers because they believe that they donot need any help, while others wonder if their

This is often due to an interprtaticn of one of e regu-hit ions of California Mentor Teacher Program whichstaies that mottor teachers cannot evalua te other h'aulie'rs.

44 De si ning Pre gratrr4 for New Tmehers 6

ad visors are spies from the ad ministration. This leavesthe advisors in an awkward position. If they assertthemselves too strongly, they may be perceived .e.;rude or disruptive. If they assert themselves too littlor unskillfully, they can be viewed as useless. Fortheir error, they are likely to be rejected or ignoree.The risk is that an excellent teacher could become asineffective advisor (Bird & Little, 1985).

Another challenge for advisors, especially formentor teachers who must demonstrate that theyearn their additional stipend, is finding ways to showtheir colleagues that they have the expertise to behelpful. They must be able to create these opportuni-ties, or they may find themselves all dressed up withno place to go.

Perhaps the most difficult challenge of all iscoaching itself. Many teachers find it very difficult togive constructive feedback to a colleague. 1 hey askthemselves, "Who am I to mentor another teacher?"and refrain from providing appropriate guidance.

For all these reasons, new and experiencedsupport teachers need sustained state developmentin the knowledge base of teaching and the skills ofadvising. Yet many districts around the state appointadvisors and expect them to assert their new rolewithout any training.

Several participants at the Hayward conferencereported that this was their situation. They came tothe conference because they simply had no ideawhere to begin. As one new advisor said, "I am theonly one our of 22 mentor teachers in my districtwhose job is to help new teachers. What should I do?"Another participant noted, "If we start programswithout taking into account that advisors may not beready to assist because they feel insecure about theirnew role, we've done a disservice to our new teach-ers." This guidebook provides a list of resource's thatcan be used as a starting point for planning inserviceactivities.

Programs represented at the San Diego confer-ence appear to be more sophisticated in their regardfor the importance of additional training for advi-sors. They reported offering a variety of activities totheir advisors. The most frequently described work-shops focus on peer coaching or clinical supervishw.They range from a one-day seminer to the six-daycognitive coaching series offered by Art Costa ane.

Robert Garmston. Other workshop topics include ef-fective teaching, the needs of new teachers, adultlearning, group facilitation and communication skills,and presentation skills.

Our questionnaires and 2, k:cussions on advisortraining programs brought two disturbing revela-tions. First, there is an apparent lack of focus on theimplications of student diversity for teaching andlearning. This finding was surprising, since multicul-tural education appears to be a dominant theme insome university seminars. This content is included inseveral preservice programs (see previous chapter)and in university seminars for new teachers and theiradvisors (see next chapter). With the growth of mi-nority populations in California, we bel ieve that strate-gies for teaching diverse student populations oughtto be imbedded in the training of all advisors, so thatthey can help new teachers meet the needs of theirstudents.

The second revelation is the lack of emphasis oncontent and ibject matter issues. A few programsmentioned sending their teacher advisors and newteachers to subject-specific conferences. These kindsof conferences are definitely helpful. Yet context-specific issues must also be addressed during thegeneric coaching seminars that are so popular.

A Case Approach. Perhaps the most importantsta ff development takes place during regularly sched-uled meetings where teacher advisors come togetherto discuss common concerns and share experiences.As teachers present their own personal "cases" andreceive critical feedback from their colleagues, theycan begin to develop some coaching strategies thatwork for them. By analyzing one another's cases, theadvisors can find precedents for action and can gen-erate some principles that apply across cases.

Far West Laboratory, in collaboration with theLos Angeles Unified School District, used a combina-tion of case writing and case presentations to developThe Mentor Teacher Casebook (Shulman & Colbert,1988). This book was developed by a group of mentorteachers who met weekly in a course taught by JoelColbert. They presented their written narratives toone another, then used the cases as a springboard foranalyzing appropriate behavior. Several mentorsnoted that writing the narratives helped them reflecton their practices with new teachers and raised theirconsciousness about the' dimensions of the' mentor's

5 7Chapter 4: The Role 4 'ell Educators 45

role. Equally important, they said, was the opportu-nity to share experiences and concerns with theircolleagues and to learn alternative ways of handlingdiverse situations. The mentors learned that theywere not alone that their experiences were notunique.

Far West Laboratory currently uses a similarcase approach in its own mentor training workshops.Beginning with selected published cases, advisorsanalyze the issues in each case and share relatedpersonal experiences. These deliberations are oftenused as the basis for developing a set of district normsthat advisors can subsequently use with their newteachers.

BENEFITS/INCENTIVES

If the advisor's job is at times ambiguous anddemanding, what are its benefits? What incentivesdo projects use to encourage teachers to apply?

Personal growth and satisfaction are the big-gest pluses according to most participants. As oneput it, "There is a stipend for mentor teachers, but thelargest benefit is renewal an increased vigor andenthusiasm for teaching." 0" ters told of satisfactionfrom helping the new teacher survive the first andsecond year experience, from ensuring that their ownnovice trauma was not suffered by someone else, orfrom sharing years of experience with others. "I cannow repay those educators who helped me throughthe yi ars," said one consultant.

Still others said they benefitted from increasedreflection on their own teaching; release time to getadditional training and go to conferences; an in-creased sense of professionalism; recognition in thedistrict; an increase in self-esteem; friendship; andstipends or mini-grants to buy supplies.

Incentives. Increased remuneration and releasetime are the most highly touted incentives to apply-ing for an advisor position. The remuneration in thissample ranges from the mentor stipend of $4000 toconsultant fees of $50 per teacher. One program gives$15 per hour for consulting; another, funded by aprivate foundation, of.-ers each consultant a $150mini-grant to buy supplies. Other incentives include:extended professional development opportunities,reduced fees for university courses, university cred-its which move them up the salary scale, certificates

and letters of appreciation from the central office, andautonomy over the mentor administrative budget.University faculty and district level personnel mostfrequently participated as part of their regular workload and as such did oot receive extra remuneration.

One participant at the Hayward conferencemourned her high school district's lack of a supportprogram for new teachers. Since the disi. ict used theCalifornia Mentor Teacher Program funds for teach-ers who had interesting projects, no money remainedto provide financial incentives for advisors. A com-mittee is developing a support program, but as theytry to find teachers to partic;rate, the 1.,,pica 1 responseis, "New teachers should suffer like I did during myfirst year."

FACTORS THAT CAN IMPEDE SUCCESS

We have seen that appropriate matching of newteachers and advisors, inservice training, benefitsand incentives can be keys to the success of newteacher support programs. Next we turn to some ofthe factors that can impede success. The first is selec-tion procedures because they are often the mostcontroversial part of a support program.

Selection and Renominating Procedures. There isprobably no more important predictor of programsuccess than the perceived quality of the teachersselected as advisors. Unless the new teachers believethat the advisors are worthy of their appointmentsand art credible in their role, they will not request as-sistance. As one new teacher told us:

My mentor teacher came to see me yesterdayand asked if I had any problems. I respondedthat I needed help with my ninth grade Englishclass, and proceeded to describe what I wascurrently doing. He gave me some advice, likegoing to the curriculum library and changingseat assignments, all of which I had alreadydone. At the end of our conference, it was clearthat I had already pursued all of his suggestions.That was the last time I saw my mentor. Heteaches advanced English classes and clearlyknew nothing about the problems of ninth gradeEnglish.

Our discussion of selection procedures is di-vided into two parts: the selection of site buddies andthe selection of mentor teachers. Most of the pro-


grams use a process similar to one of these. Anexamination of renominating procedures concludesthis section.

Selecting Site Buddies. As described earlier in thischapter, several projects provide a site buddy foreach new teacher, i.e., an experienced teacher whovolunteers to help a new teacher in his or her build-ing. In most districts, site principals make these selec-tions. They try to find teachers who are themselvessuccessful, are committed to the notion of new teachersupport, and are matched according to subject and/or grade level. Most principals pair site buddies withnew teachers with the consent of the veterans them-selves. In some districts, new teachers consult on theselection of their own buddies. In others, the collabo-rating universities select the buddies. Often theyselect teachers who have already gone through theirown cooperating teacher training.

Selecting Mentor Teachers. A mentor teacher isone who is funded by the California Mentor TeacherProgram. The state legislation contains certain re-strictions on the program:

1) Mentor teachers must be credentia led, class-room teachers with permanent status.

2) The selection committee for mentor teachersmust be made up of a majority of teachers.

3) Mentor teachers can serve for up to threeyears, with an opportunity to reapply.

The s section procedures for mentor teachersare potentially quite controversial because of the ac-companying stipend and other benefits for each men-torship. In general, the projects report positive recep-tions to their selection criteria. Some mentors andother teachers, however, said that political factors in-fluenced selections.

In most districts, selections are ) sed on a com-bination of application screening and interviews.Some programs add classroom observations, in anattempt to ensure excellence. But without painstak-ing care, the observation process can backfire. Theobservation instrument must be perceived as valid,which itself is difficult, and in order for observers touse the instrument appropriately, they need exten-sive training that is often too time-consuming fordistricts to undertake.

Moreover, educational researchers and schol-ars are becoming increasingly convinced of the limi-tations of one or two brief observations (e.g., Sto-dolsky, 1988), which is all that most districts havetime to conduct. They assert that to establish "typicalteaching performance," many more classroom visitsare needed than have ever been used for evaluation(L. Shulman, 1988; Stodolsky, 1988). As Lee Shulmansaid in an interview for this chapter, "The most wecan say from one or two brief observations is that theteachers observed will not be a complete disaster."

One problem is that no existing evaluation pro-cedures for judging excellence are generally per-ceived as valid by the teaching profession. Districtsmust convince teachers that their evaluation systemis legitimate and not capricious. At the very least,teachers should be entitled to see the evaluationinstrument on which they are judged. We know of atleast one urban district that does not allow its teach-ers access to their own observation instrument. Webelieve this to be an untenable position.

Renomination. Renomination refers to advisorswhose term is ending (e.g., those funded through theMentor Teacher Program have a limited term with anopportunity to reapply). Ideally, renomination isbased on a viable monitoring system that reflects theway in which advisors work together with theircolleagues. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. Oneof the most common questions we are asked is how toevaluate advisors. Most districts use a combinationof mentor logs and principal recommendations, nei-ther of which is usually valid. Mentor logs are infre-quently monitored. And principals are not usuallyprivy to the quality of interactions between advisorsand their colleagues.

One alternative, which appears to be in the for-mative stages in some projects around the country, isthe development of a portfolio that documents thekinds of activities that advisors and their colleaguesdo together. Sample er.. s es that advisors could in-clude are: action plans worked on together, docu-mented observations and conferences, and feedbackforms or recommendations from colleague teachers.This portfolio could be used as one source of data onwhich candidates are examined during the renomi-nation process.

59 Chapter 4: The Role of Experienced Educators 47

PROBLEMS/CONSTRAINTS AND POSSIBLESOLUTIONS

For the most part, California leachers appear en-thusiastic about beginning teacher support programs.Conference participants, however, noted several prob-lems that constrained their programs' success. Thissection will describe some of these problems and po-tential solutions that have been developed.

Time. Lack of time to work togetherwas the mostfrequently noted constraint. 'There is so much to do,and so little time to do it," reported several partici-pants. Moreover, some advisors have so many re-quests from new teachers, that they feel overwhelmed.Others complain about the time it takes to visit newteachers at different school sites. Their solution is toconsult only by telephone.

Since time during school is at a premium, manyadvisors meet with their new teachers after school orduring lunch. Others arrange a common prep periodto consult. The disadvantage of these options is thatteachers have less time to themselves, their students,and their families.

Release TinielSubstitutes. Even if advisors haverelease time available, most hesitate to use it. Theirmajor reason is the general lack of good substitutes.These teachers care deeply about the quality ofinstruction their students receive, and they hesitate tosubmit `heir students to poor teaching. One advisor atthe conference said, "1 can't rely on subs to teachaccording to my lesson plans, so I gave a test today."Another said, "1 showed a movie." Teacherconsu ltantsin Connecticut's Beginning Educator Training andSupport Program (BEST) reported similar reasons fornot using their allocated release time to work withtheir beginning teachers (Ruskus & Pecheone, 1989).

Advisors also hesitate to provide release timefor their new teachers to visit other veterans. Thoughthey agree that these visits are usually beneficial, par-ticularly when they can go together and debrief theobservation, they are reluctant to submit their teach-ers to potential chaos upon returning to their classrooms.

individually, conference participants were hardpressed to come up with viable solutions to theseproblems. One program coordinator described goodresults with permanent substitutes who were hired

specifically for advisor activities. Several conferenceparticipants thought that permanent substitutes couldbe a viable option for their programs.

As a group, participants brainstormed someother alternatives. Everyone agreed that an effectivesupport program cannot depend on the availability ofgood substitutes, because they are becoming increas-ingly scarce as more permanent teaching positionsopen up. One possibility is to change the organiza-tional framework of the system. For example, at thesecondary level, advisors could team-teach groups ofchildren. At specified times during the day, one teachercould take over the entire group, while the otherwould be free to consult with teachers. Another alter-native is to hire recently retired teachers as advisors.Several programs in California are already usingretirees, with excellent results. They have more timeto devote to new teachers than do regular classroomteachers, and are enthusiastic about their new role.

A third option is to assign certain teachers full-time consulting responsibilities for no more thanthree years (as in Poway Unified School District). Asurprising number of conference participants pre-ferred this option to their current state of despair c verbeing torn in several directions.

Administrative Support. While many participantspraised the support they receive from their princi-pals, others feel that their principals sabotage theirprograms. For example, one stated that her principalrefuses to alloy, mentors to use release time, eventhough they are entitled to it through the CaliforniaMentor Teacher Program. Others said that their prin-cipals disapprove of any absence from the school site.One plan to counter such resistance is to ensure thatadministrators are included in the planning and staffdevelopment of new teacher support programs. Somedistricts have thought very carefully about the need tosupport veteran teachers as they assume advisorresponsibilities, but have neglected to put equalthought into helping principals deal constructivelywith teachers' new roles as instructional leaders. Onestrategy is to have meetings of administrator andadvisor teams, so they can develop some agreementsfor working together. At the very least, district staffand ad visors should keep their principals informed ofsupport activities.

Year-round Education. Organizing support pro-grams for neophytes who teach in year-round schools

48 Designing Prognms for New Teachers 60

offers several unique challenges. One advantage isthe availability of off-track teachers as substitutes.This both enhances the pool of qualified substitutesand provides teachers with an opportunity to makemore money. A disadvantage is the complexity ofplanning the program. Scheduling workshops andmatching advisors with new teachers is often a night-mare because of multiple track schedules.

District Hiring Procedures. Several ad visors notedthe difficulty of achieving an effective support pro-gram when teachers are hired at the last minute or, asin some cases, well into the school year. The teachersrarely get the kind of support they need, because ofthe lack of time and personnel to plan accordingly.The solution appears simple. Hire new faculty earlyenough so that both they and their advisors have thenecessary time to plan for the new year.

Inappropriately Matclied Pairs. What shouldhappen when it is clear that some new teachers are notworking well with their assigned consultants? This isa common and delicate question. The most commonadvice is to be flexible and try to change assignments.Often it is helpful if at least one person in the projectis given the respor.sibility to solve such problems.That person should be available t... ooth advisors andnew teachers, and should be adept at mediatingdifficulties.

Sometimes it is not possible to find appropriatematches in content areas and grade levels at a build-ing site, but it is possible to pair teachers w.io sharecommon beliefs about teaching and work well to-gether. In these cases, advisors should broker rela-tionships with other veteran teachers who are moresubstantively qualified.

Unclear Role Definition. Many advisors com-plained that they were unclear about what was ex-pected of them. Districts must deal with these difficultquestions of role expectations, or there will he rhetoricabout new teacher support without much substance.

Perhaps the appropriate place to deal with suchissues is during advisor meetings, where advisors canwork out, over time, a consensus of appropriate normsof interaction. Districts with only one or two teacherconsultants should provide time for advisors fromneighboring communities to meet together. Countyoffices and local universities are often good places tohost such meetings.

RECOMMENDATIONS

In this chapter we described who the advisorsare, what they do, the support they need, and thebenefits and challenges of their new responsibilities.We also analyzed selected problems and constraintsof the organizational arrangements that either en-courage or hinder the effectiveness of their work.Finally, we offered potential solutions to some ofthese problems. Based on all of this information, weha% e created a list of recommendations for institu-tions to consider when planning their own supportfor beginning teacher programs.

Provide training in the skills of coaching andthe knowledge base of teaching for all advi-sors. Demonstrated excellence in teachingchildren does not automatically lid to ex-cellence in advising other teachers.

Define expectations for advisor roles, andthen provide ongoing opportunities foradvisors to collaboratively develop norinsfor appropriate interaction.

Provide time for advisors and new teachersto work together during the school day.

Limit the case load for each advisor to a rea-sonable number of new teachers.

Make teacher support a routine part of dis-trict business so that teachers will developthe expectation that they should collaborateand learn from one another.

Ensure that the selection procedures are ac-ceptable to a majority of b.acher-.

Select advisors who are credible, well-matched, and committed to assisting newteachers.

Develop a monitoring system that reflectsand documents the ways that advisors andnew teachers work together.

Enlist the support of administrators in theplanning and implementation of the assis-tance program.

fi ilzapter 4: Tin' Role of Exper ced Lducators 49

Be creative in organizing arrangements thatencourage constructive support for newteachers.

If these principles can be followed, more newteachers will echo the sentiments voiced by this youngnovice:

"I could not have lasted had it not been for mymentor. Thank God for the mentor program!"

REFERENCES

Bird, T., & Little, J.W. (1985). From teacher to leader:Training and support for instructional leadership byteachers. San Francisco: Far West Laboratory forEducational Research and Development.

Ruskus, J. A., & Pecheone, R. (1989). Making men-toring matter. Paper presented at the annualmeeting of the American Education! ResearchAssociation, San Francisco.

Shulman, J.H., & Colbert J.A. (Eds.). (1985). The men-tor teacher casebook. San Francisco: Far WestLaboratory for Educational Research and De-velopment; and Eugene, OR: ERIC Clearing-house on Educational Management.

Shulman, L.S. (1988). A union of insufficiencies:Strategies for teacher assessment in a period ofeducational reform. Educational Leadership, 46(3),36-41.

Stodolsky, S. 19...). The subject matters. Chicago:University of Chicago Press.


CHAPTER 5

The Role of theUniversity in NewTeacher Programs

Victoria L. BernhardtCalifornia State University, Chico

Judith H. ShulmanFar West Laboratory for EducationalResearch and Development

HE current crisis in education andimpending teacher shortages arguepersuasively for alterations in cur-

rent teacher education practices at all levels.Traditional formulas of classroom "theoryand practice" lectures, supervised studentteaching, and first year trial-and-error sur-vival tactics are not guaranteed tf produceadequate, let alone excellent, instructionalleaders for today's students. Increasingly,universities and school districts are recog-nizing that in order to prepare teachers 4-fectively, there is a need for continuous andrelevant instruction starting with the under-,, iduate program and Q tending into the

professional developmel.L years.

63 Chapter 5: The Role of the Um 51

This new thinking about teacher preparation isreflected in university delivery of on-site beginningteacher support and professional development. Theseprograms are designed to help new teachers makethe difficult transition from student teacher to profes-sional teacher aiding these new professionals inthe integration of content knowledge, instructionaltheories and strategies, and interpersonal skills thatthey have learned in the university setting. Throughinvolvement in new teacher programs, universitiesare developing new and expanded definitions oftheir role in teacher preparation. Theyare also work-ing in partnership with practitioners to devise "ex-tended curricula for professional teaching" that makesense. So the university's increased understanding ofthe products of its programs and increased aware-ness of typical novice teaching conditions are leadingto better teacher preparation programs.

Beginning teacher programs are being estab-lished to improve the effectiveness of new teachers,increase the retention rates of capable new teachers,promote professionalism, and build commitment toprofessional development and life-long learning.University faculty can perform many of the roles thatare a part of achieving these goals, ranging fromdesign of the program to delivery of instructional andpsychological support to supervision and coachingof the beginning teachers. Many of these roles canalso be carried out by experienced teachers andadministrators working in the field. In some instances,each plays a different and crucial part.

These collaborations have been documented ashaving a positive impact on new teacher develop-ment. Benefits to the participating university andschool district are also apparent. The university'sability to see the performance of its graduates be-comes crucial to enhancing its preservice trainingprograms. As one university beginning teacher proj-ect director said:

Our collaboration with the !school district! hashelped our faculty learn about and deal withthe real world of the classroom. Hy extendingour involvement with teacher preparation intothe teacher's first year, we can help new teach-ers apply what they have learned at the univer-sity to the real world setting.

A university faculty member reports:

Advising new teachers has given me the op-portunity to participate in problem-solving ina way that has been professionally stimulatingand rewarding. I deeply value confronting therealities of the initial year of teaching and'walking through the minds of new teachers,as we collaboratively analyze alternative pos-sibilities.lhrough our interactions, I feel that Ihave gained insight on how to more effectivelyprepare student teachers for the challengesthey will encounter.

Districts also profit from their involvement withthe university. One district project collaborator said:

Working with the university has been greatthis year. They were able to do some things wecould not do from the district base. The univer-sity offered graduate level units as an incentivefor teachers to participate, and they assistedour teachers in establishing their professionalgrowth plans. The university received ex-tremely high ratings on the small group sup-port network that they operated fur beginningteachers during the year. The university wasable to operate the group on a fully trusting,confidential basis.

A university faculty member adds:

They have things we don't have and we havethings they don't have. BY working togetherand sharing our resources we both benefittedgreatly not only now, but in the future.Working together on this project has led tocollaboration on other projects and increasedcoordination between preservice and inservice.

Clearly a nev. partnership in theeffect;Ye prepa-ration, long-term retention, and enhanced proles-

nalism of teachers is emerging among schools,districts, and universities through their joint execu-tion of beginning teacher projects.

ADVANTAGES OF UNIVERSITY LEADERSHIP INNFW TEACHER PROGRAMS

One traditional function of colleges of educa-tion has been the advancement of knowledge and thedissemination of research findings to practitioners inthe field. As part of their university role, educationfaculty engage in basic and applied research and


other forms of scholarship. They communicate theirnew knowledge through teaching, publications, pre-sentations, and consultations. In their professionalfield, education faculty have a special responsibilityto guide the integration of new knowledge withpractice, including consultations with public schoolpersonnel, and the development, piloting, and evalu-ation of new teaching models.

Traditionally, university faculty have dissemi-nated new knowledge by teaching at the preservicelevel and providing inservice to school personnel.New education studies, however, show that begin-ning teachers have a crucial need for specific kinds ofinformation, as well as for guidance and nurturing inprofessional skill-building as they assume responsi-bility for their own classrooms. Further, the studiesshow that in the absence of this information andprofessional leadership, large numbers of gifted teach-ers leave the profession at the end of their first year ofteaching. Universities have a unique capability todevelop comprehensive and intensive programsaround both state-of-the-art knowledge and localpriorities. Working collaboratively with local schools,they can both support beginning teachers and createcareer ladders for experienced teachers in ways thatare designed to develop autonomous educationalprofessionals.

I By collaborating with a university in the sup-port of new teachers' the d istrict sees an oppor-tunity in capitalizing on the strengths of newteachers. Universities are capable of contribut-ing the research base and theoretical knowl-edge of teaching, while school districts bringthe practical, craft knowledge of teaching tothe support process. (District protect director)

Before we began our collaboration with 'theuniversity I, we had a traditional view of howto support begii ni ng teachers. Our staff devel-opment activities focused on providing pre-scriptions and /or strategies that would enableteachers to survive teaching. That focus hasnow changed. Our interactions with univer-sity faculty have forced us to move beyond thissurvival mode to one of developing reflectivepractitioners who are able to a nalyze their ownteaching and make thoughtful decisions._Rather than mandate standards and prescribehow to achieve those standards as the Boardand administration have done in the past, we

want to involve teachers in setting the stan-dards and determining how to achieve them,(District protect director)

An abundance of content area experts and otherresources can be found at universities and brought tothe beginning teacher as needs arise. University-based specialists in such diverse fields as multicultu-ral education, English as a second language, educa-tional measurement, biology, mathematics, or geog-raphy, can be recruited to meet specific beginningteacher needs. Further, expanded access to univer-sity resources such as curriculum libraries, computerhardware and software laboratories, and curriculumand instructional consultanNcan enhance the growthof teachers during their early years in the profession,guiding them into sound educational practice.

Teacher preparation facult,- can provide "safe"instruction to new teachers as they attempt to sort outthe problems and conditions of their new professionand working environment. The supervisory andevaluative relationships teachers previously formedwith university personnel can be extended intocoach-ing and advising relationships during the beginningteacher's first years. Because this enhanced relation-ship is external to employer/employee personnelprocesses, it is confidential, non-evaluative, andadvisory. Continuing interaction can be focused onmeeting the perceived needs of beginning teacherswhen and where they need it in the classroom.Instruction is driven by the beginning teacher's "itchto know" and desire to provide the best possiblelearning situation for students, apart from questionsof evaluation and professior al survival.

Additionally, universit offer valuable incen-tives for participation in proven beginning teacherprograms. Graduate units, el abling teachers to moveup on district salary schedules, are awarded. Net-works for sharing ideas anti reducing professionalisolation are created. Access 'o centralized resourcebanks and content specialist.. is granted in a formatthat encourages teachers to make use of them. Theopportunity to participate in profeisional develop-ment activities is guaranteed even to the most geo-graphically isolated teacherl., keeping them up-to-date with the latest developments in the field. Per-haps most important, a link to career-long and life-long learning is established early in each teacher'sprofessional life.

Chapter 5: The Role of the 'rsity 53

Universities can also assure continuity andbroad dissemination of knowledge gained from newteacher programs. At instructional seminarsor work-shops they can reach teachers from many schooldistricts at once. Often such seminars are the onlyaccess small school districts have to needed profes-sional development activities. By bringing teachersfrom many schools together, universities can helpestablish a network that teachers can then use toshare ideas and reduce the isolation inherent to theprofession.

Many universities also have technological ca-pabilities that allow them to interface with teachersover great distances. Such capabilities include in-structional television (California State University,Chico), electronic bulletin boards (University of Cali-fornia, Riverside), and toll-free telephone hot lines(California State University, Northridge) facilitiestoo expensive for all but the largest districts to financeand fully utilize. One school board president rein-forces this point:

We're in an isolated mountain community.Without the university, our staff would haveno opportunities for comprehensive profes-sional development. The university includedus in the development of the beginning teacherprogram and then brought it to us! They alsohelped us support each other through a struc-ture and training that we couldn't, and proba-bly wouldn't have, established on our own.Most of all, by including us with other teachersfrom many other communities, they helpedlessen our feelings of isolation and depriva-tion. We now have a large network of teachersand university faculty to draw from.

Su.n enthusiastic reactions are typical of school dis-tricts, both urban and rural, working jointly withuniversities to find cutting edge solutions that work.

In some cases, university faculty can rovi.leservices to new teachers when public school tt ichersand staff are ;able to de so. School personnel, forexample, are often too busy initiating their own classesto assist new teachers during the critical first fewweeks of school. Some school districts do not selecttheir mentor teachers until after school starts. Thus,university faculty are frequently the only personnelavailable tciactually coach new teachers in these earlyweeks.

Finally, universities are important resource part-ners, particularly in developing a centralized bank ofinformation and skilled personnel that can be tappedquickly to help novices. Beginning teacher programsmust meet the needs of participants in a timely way ifthey are to merit funding the dedication of financialand human resources in tight budget times. Throughformative and summative evaluations, programcontent and timing must be continually revised andrefined to coincide as closely as possible with theoptimal moment for new teacher's learning. Thisimplies the construction and maintenance of a databank sophisticated enough to suit diverse contentand geographic needs clearly a job best handledjointly by university personnel, experienced teachers,administrators, and beginning teachers.

The need for formative and summative evalu-ation of new approaches to teacher preparation can-not be overstated. Accountability of local schools anddistricts as well as teacher preparation institutionsmust be above reproach if their efforts are to be fullysupported by public dollars. The excellence of publiceducation is closely tied to the availability of excellentteachers and excellent teacher preparation programs.Teacher preparation programs must provide clearevidence that they are effective in preparing person-nel to meet the demands of the modern classroom.Summative evaluation is key to the designation ofprograms and program components that effectivelyand reliably meet the needs of teachers and students,and that merit institutionalization by teacher prepa-ration institutions.

EXAMPLES OF UNIVERSITIES TAKING THE LEAD INBEGINNING TEACHER PROGRAMS

The Induction for the Beginning Teat her Pro-gram based at California State Una ersity, Chico wasdeveloped in collaboration with teachers and admin-istrators from he 14 counties in the 36,000square mileservice area of ralai Northern California. The pro-gram provides all schools in the area with the oppor-tunity to participate in professional development,and in par: comes to the school via live, interactiveinstructions! television. The program is structured toprovide two sourc of help for beginning teachers:1) day-to-day support and assistance from on-site,experienced teachers, and 2) comprehensive and well-researched programming and action planning fromthe university for their continuing education.

54 Designing Prognims for New Teachersf6

A consortium of 21 school districts formed bythe Riverside and San Bernardino County Offices ofEducation is offering five models of new teachersupport through the University of California, River-side. These programs include a telecommunicationsnetwork, curriculum workshops, extended univer-sity supervision, peer coaching, and mentor teachersupport. A comparative analysis of the five modelswill be conducted by the consortium to determine themost effecti% e approaches for the districts involved.

The Los Angeles Unified School District has tar-geted four inner-city junior high schools that havehigh student drop-out and teacher turn-over rates forassistance through California State University, Dom-inguez Hills. Support teams consisting of two to fournew teachers and an experienced coach or mentorteacher have been formed. New teachers are enrolledin special classroom management and cooperativelearning courses taught by university faculty who arefamiliar with these teachers' classroom challenges.The project is experimenting with school-level coop-erative learning as an approach to teacher develop-ment as well as the use of cooperative learning strate-gies in the classroom.

These examples illustrate the many settings inwhich innovative district/university partnershipsoperate and the diverse roles participants play in thetraining, long-term retention, and professional de-velopment of beginning teachers.

SUMMARY

Teacher preparation is increasingly viewed as aprocess that extends into the first few years of teach-ing and involves university and school personnel incollaborative arrangements. Each partner cai makeunique as well as similar contributions to the dt ,e1-opment of teachers. A variety of collaborative e'r-rangements exist to accommodate the diversity ofneeds and settings of new teachers, districts, anduniversities. Program strengths generated by univer-sity involvement include:

training that is comprehensive, researchbased, and customized to local needs andpriorities;

enhanced access to university resources, in-cluding human resources, libraries, computerlaboratories, and research support systems;

research knowledge to inform school acti-.1-ties and programs and to evaluate newteacher programs;

extensive expertise in subject matter fieldsand in areas of special relevance to educa-tion, e.g. multicultural education, linguis-tics, and educational technology;

cost-effective delivery of programs acrossdistrict boundaries resulting in multipliedeffects of teacher networking;

cost-effective delivery of programs through-out widely dispersed geographic a reas crea t-ing classrooms without walls for many teach-ers who might not be able to participate inother forms of professional development;

establishment of "third party" structureswhich promote continuous new teacherlearning in "safe" environments apartfrom legal requirements for supervisionand evaluation of new teachers; and

improved dissemination of informationthroughout the education community.

The needs of beginning teachers are notfundamentally different from the needs of other newprofessionals integration of theory and practice inthe context of the working environment is key to theirsuccess. In collaboration with practitioners in theschools, the university can be a strong force in helpingdevelop, deliver, and evaluate new teacher programs.

8 7 Chapter 5: The Role of the University 55

CHAPTER 6

ProgramAdministration

Louise Bay WatersCalifornia State University,Hayward

Carolyn CatesFar West Laboratory

Cynthia HarrisOakland Unified School District

HREE questions drive the designof an effective new teacher supportproject. First, what are the goals of the

project? Typically, these include providingpsychological support and orientation tobeginning teachers, helping them acquirespecific instructional methodologies, reduc-ing their isolation, increasing their ability toteach children from diverse cultures andlanguages, helping them become better prob-lem-solvers, and evaluating them for reten-tion decisions. The second important ques-tion is what personnel, programs, organiza-tions,and other resources are necessary to ach ievethese goals? And third, how can these re-sources be mobilized, how can support for theproject be generated? This chapter addressesthe latter two questions, with some addi-tional comments about collaboration, a criti-cal ingredient in all projects that cross de-partmental and organizational boundaries.


POTENTIAL ADMINISTRATIVE RESOURCES

Many new teacher projects in California,whether grant funded or not, are built around theschool district's staff development office and mentorprograms. Additionally, projects frequently involvethe school district's personnel department and ateachers' association. If outside funding is available,a nearby university is sometimes involved or, lessfrequently, the county office of education. Each ofthese potential participants brings its own perspec-lives and resources to the support of beginning teach-ers. However, each must make certain changes in itstraditional practices in order to contribute fully to theassistance of new teachers.

District Staff Development Offices

In most large districts, the st,iff .;,.relopmentoffice provides programs for the instructional sup-port of teachers, including the state's Mentor 'f.,acherProgram. These programs make staff developmentthe logical home for beginning teacher support pro-grams, since training is already offered on topicsuseful to new teachers, such as cooperative learningand classroom management. Moreover, staff devel-opment offices are typically the site of resource per-sonnel, inservices, professional development oppor-tunities, teacher resource centers and instructionalmaterials collections. They commonly offer trainingin peer coaching which also indirectly benefits newteachers by supporting partner teachers.

On a process level, principals in most large dis-tricts already turn to the staff development office toprovide curricula r and instructional support to teach-ers in need. Collaborating with the staff developmentoffice to meet the needs of new teachers is a logicalextension of this relationship. Traditionally, the di-rector of the staff development office also holds acabinet-level position in the district. This ready ac-cess to top-level decision makers can be important tothe success of a new teacher project.

Since districts have only recently begun to hiresignificant numbers of new teachers, most staff de-velopment programs have not yet differentiated theirservices for new and veteran teachers. This differen-tiation is an important step in designing a new teacherprogram. Staff development programs must focustheir efforts to support new teachers at the beginningof the year at their school sites or on a one-to-onebasis, as well as in district-wide workshops.

Mentor Programs

The role of the California Mentor TeacherProgram in new teacher projects is substantial. Fordistricts that receive no internal or external funding fornew teacher support, the mentor program may be theonly existing vehicle to assist new teachers. In somedistricts, one or a small cadre of mentor teachers usetheir mentor time to help ma nage the support program.According to the New Ha veli New Teacher Project andthe San Mateo City Project U.S., there is an advantageto having mentors fill this role: new teachers seem to bemore willing to express their concerns and frustrationsto the mentor serving as program manager than todistrict administrators in the same role.

Along with project management, mentors typi-cally provide workshops, beginning-of-the-year ori-entation, or one-on-one assistance. In the Oakland-California State University Hayward New TeacherSupport Project, mentors provide individualized as-sistance from the day new teachers are hired until lateOctober and are on call the rest of the year for specialproblems. This strategy provides critical initial sup-port while allowing the project eaough time to locateand match teachers with their on-site partners.

In many districts, the existing mentor programhad to be restructured to allow for maximum interac-tion between mentors and new teachers. For example,mentors are frequently selected on the basis of projectproposals usually curricular in nature ratherthan on their interest or ability to work with newteachers. Both Winters and Upland school districtshave changed their selection procedures to choosemen curs who are specifically interested in helping newteachers. To facilitate partnerships between mentorsand new teachers, many districts have found it valu-able to provide release time to mentors to observe andmodel instructional techniques in new teachers' class-rooms. Districts that do not participate in the MentorTeacher Program must identify other ways to offer theteacher-to-teacher support that mentors can provide.

District Personnel Offices

Close coordination between new teacher supportprograms and the personnel office is critical to thesuccess of such programs. It is the personnel office tha tinitially interacts with new teachers and can facilitateprompt identification and referral to new teacher ser-vices. On a more fundamental level, the personneloffice in response to higher district decisions

f3 t, Chapter 6: Program Ada -t ation 57

determines when new teachers will be hired. if thepersonnel office hires new teachers either at the lastminute or after the school year begins, a new teachersupport program does not have enough time to provideadequate initial assistance.

Because personnel practices are important to thesuccess of new teachers, the personnel office is the ad-ministrative home for some new teacher projects.Whether it carries primary responsibility for the proj-ect or is merely closely affiliated with it, some districtsneed to make changes in their traditional personnelpractices. First, the personnel office must develop amechanism to identify new hires as opposed to rehireson temporary contract. Second, it must differentiatebetween teachers who are new to teaching and thosewho are simply new to the district or new to a particu-lar school or subject area. Third, they and top districtadministrators must be aware of the need to try toplace new teachers long before the beginning of theschool year.

Teachers' Associations

A teachers' association can be a valuable playerin the success of a beginning teacher project. Becauseof the vulnerability of new teachers in terms of assign-ments, lay-offs, and tenure, teachers' associations aregenerally well aware of the novice's special needs. Inaddition, both the National Education Associationand the American Federation of Teachers have estab-lisNed national programs to encourage local affiliatesto provide support to new teachers.

The relationship between certain elements ofnew teacher programs and bargaining issues can makethe involvement of teachers' associations critical. Tobegin wi'le the design and restrictions placed on theMentor Program are the result of collective bargain-ing. Similarly, project benefits such as stipends andrelease time for either new teachers or their partnerteachers ca n touch on contractual agreements. Projectsthat wish to be closely tied to either new teacherassessment or to the development of induction schoolsneed to work closely with an association in both thedesign and implementation phases.

The project most heavily involved in teacher as-sessment in California, the Poway New Teacher Proj-ect, is directly administered by the It teachersassociation. In Poway, the program manager is a keyar,sociation member. Both support and assessment are

carried out by a committee of association representa-tives and district administrators. This committee di-rects individualized support during the yearand makesultimate retention decisions in the spring.

Universities

A number of grant-funded new teacher projectshave strong university involvement, while othe7 ; in-clude the university in an advisory role. In the lattertype of project, the university advisor primarily servesas a link to university courses and resources. In theformer, university participation can occur in a varietyof ways.

The most common form of close university in-volvement is the development of special universitycourses for new teachers, partner teachers or both. Inthe Chico Induction for Beginning Teachers Program,courses for both partners and new teachers are deliv-ered to widely separated consortium districts via theuniversity's instructional television station (see Chap-ter 5). In addition, a university staff member mightserve as the primary director in a consortium of dis-tricts, or as the co-director of a collaborative projectwith a specific district.

University involvement in leadership is advan-tageous because it is easier to release a university pro-fessor than to buy out a district administrator's time.This time factor, along with the different nature of thetwo jobs, can allow university personnel to develop amore concentrated focus on the project than manydistrict administrators are able to have. That focuscanbe particularly helpful during a project's start-up phase.

University participants also generally havegreater access to literature and research on teacherinduction and on programs in other districts. In addi-tion, the university can provide evaluation services,since district evaluators are frequently overburdenedwith student testing and report compilation. Suchongoing evaluation has played a central role in theRiverside County/San Bernardino County NewTeacher Project. Their five different new teacher sup-por projects are being provided through five districtsand two county offices. Personnel from the Universityof California at Riverside function as key members ofthe management team with the responsibility to con-tinually assess the five models and nrovide feedbackon them. University involvement in management can

58 Designing Programs fvr New Teachers 7 0

also provide administrative flexibility in such areas astravel, purchase of materials and use of rooms.

The last form of university participation is di-rect, one-on-one consultation with beginning leach-ers. Such involvement is difficult in districts servinglarge numbers of beginning teachers, but it offersbenefits to smaller programs. Professors have theflexibility to observe and coach on a weekly or bi-weekly basis something that mentor teachers withtheir own classrooms find it difficult to do.

University observers /coaches are also gener-ally acquainted with a range of observation sites andinstructional resources outside of the district, knowl-edge that is potentially valuable to new teachers.Professors outside the university teacher preparationdepartments are one such resource, particularly forsecondary teachers. In the Oakland-CSU HaywardNew Teacher Support Project, physics and biologyfaculty have provided supplies, lent and repairedequipment for science teachers, and helped new teach-ers set up demonstrations.

As with each of the other potential contributorsdiscussed above, universities must make certainchanges in traditional perspectives and practices inorder to contribute effectively to induction efforts.First, universities must see that their responsibility forteacher preparation extends beyond granting teach-ing credentials. Second, professors must become a wareof the realities of the typical first-year teacher's class-room. Normally, student teachers are placed in thebest classrooms with the best master teachers whohave located or purchased the best materials. This isnot the usual classroom situation encountered by newteachers. Third, university leaders must bea ware thatnew teachers have a survival orientation and havedifficulty absorbing much beyond the immediatelyapplicable. Finally, teacher preparation programs donot usually participate with districts in projects in-volving shared leadership. Collaboration is a processthat has to be learned by members of these programs.

While each of these changes is critical to success-ful university involvement in new teacher support,each also contributes to improved preservice teachereducation. The more professors are aware of theneeds of beginning teachers, the more realistic anduseful credential programs will be. Similarly, univer-sity-district collaboration that assists beginning teach-ers will encourage more collaboration in other teacher

education programs. For example, one spin-off of theOakland-CSU Hayward New Teacher Support Proj-ect is the new collaborative Urban Intern Program forcredential candidates interested in inner-city educa-tion.

County Offices of Education

A county office of education plays a major rolein only two of the state-funded new teacher projects.However, in smaller, nmi- funded projects, countyoffices can provide substantial services to an informalgroup of districts. Such services typically includecourses or support groups for beginning teachers ortheir partner teachers. They also provide an opportu-nity for participating districts to form r tworks andshare ideas. For example, the Alameda County Officeof Education sponsored a New Teacher Recognitiondinner and afternoon conference for all beginningteachers in the county who were completing their firstyear. At this writing, county offices of education arean under-utilized source of support for beginningteacher programs, but they are a source that willprobably grow in importance as more districts spon-sor their own programs.

GENERATING SUPPORT

As outlined above, there are many potentialcontributors to new tea cher programs. I lowever, con-tributions are not automatic. They must be sought,and support must be cultivated. Three of the mostsuccessful ways of generating support include col-laborativ planning, building from the success ofexisting programs, and providing a valued service.The more effectively potential participants are in-volved in the initial plannin it grant writing, themore they feel a sense of owne. "p. Once initial planshave been made, continue.] input via an dvisorycommittee and regular communication can maintainthis commitment. Project reports can be scheduledregularly on principals' and the superintendent'scabinet meeting agendas. They can also become partof regular staff development and mentor programne.A sletters.

Havillg a successful project is the second key togenerating support. In the words of one project man-ager from an urban district:

We seldom get positive press or get a chance toreceive state-wide recognition for anything. We

Chapter C: Program Acfniinistration 59

have gotten so much good feedback from thisand so much positive attention from the Statethat the administration is eager to support us.

Some projects have purposely tried to capitalize onthe "bandwagon" effect by marketing the project as amodel. Others have taken care to appear successful,preparing polished brochures, newsletters, or video-tapes.

Providing a valued service is the third way togenerate continuing support for new teacher pro-grams. While the success and retention of new teach-ers is important to all district administrators, it iscrucial to the personnel office and to principals. Bothurban and rural districts have diffk Ity competingwith the suburbs for fully credentialed new teachers.Ail districts must compete for good teachers in certainspecialty areas. In these instances, providing supportto new teachers can be crucial in attracting good appli-cants. For some districts, it may be the only real mar-keting advantage they have.

The support of the principal is critical for certainelements of the new teacher project to be successful.The principal is the key to selecting partner teachers,releasing new teachers for observations, and encour-aging new teachers to participate in project activities.The traditional scourges of new teachers multiplepreparations, lack of books and materials, problemstudents, inadequate classrooms, and heavy extracur-ricular assignments are often under the principal'scontrol. For all of these reasons, securing the activeinvolvement and support of principals is essential tothe success of the program. Similarly, at the secondarylevel, the backing of department chairs is also impor-tant. The Modesto New Teacher Program in particu-lar has found this approach successful.

Avenues to generating support from principalsare straightforward. In the words of one programmanager, "Principals are eager for our help itmakes their job much easier." In particular, principalswelcome orientation assistance during the hecticopening of school. Knowing that someone outsidetheir office can provide individualized support tonew faculty is reassuring. They also appreciate hav-ing year-round resources to call on when teachers areexperiencing particular difficulty. Early involvementof a strong, respected principal in the planning or im-plementation phase of a new teacher program can alsohelp legitimize the program to other principals.

One note of caution: Some problems can arisefrom principals, personnel offices, or teachers' asso-ciations because of territoriality. While each of thesegroups are potential allies enthusiastically seekingproject assistance, program leaders must be careful topresent the project so it is not perceived as infringingon their legitimate functions.

A FINAL THOUGHT ON COLLABORATION

A successful new teacher support project musthave leaders who are adept at crossing organizationalboundaries both inside and outside the district. Col-laboration is difficult; the greater the numbers ofplayers, the harder it is to maintain communication orsimply schedule meetings. Because the individualsinvolved in the effort are generally open to collabora-tion and experimentation, they are often overcommit-ted and have serious time constraints. In addition,tensions between collaborating groups due to collec-tive bargaining, resource allocation, or other issuescould harm a new teacher project.

Some steps can be taken to facilitate collabora-tion and overcome some of these difficulties. The firststep entails involving all parties in planning. Hope-fully there is enough lead time before program im-plementation or grant submission for input by allconcerned. The second important facilitative step is tomake sure all roles are clearly defined in writing toavoid any potential misunderstandings. In the proc-ess of role definition, it is important to keep in mindthe different strengths and constraints of the organizatiottal partners. These differences can be turned toprogrammatic advantages by recognizing and build-ing on them. Regular communication and adequatesupport personnel can keep minor problems fromgrowing and help prevent burn-out. Finally, a goodrelationship between key project personnel can pro-vide the critical difference between a smooth projectand a problematic one. Despite all efforts to facilitatecollaboration, problems will arise. When that hap-pens, outside funding or recognition helps keep peoplegoing "for the good of the project."

The challenges of education in general, and newteacher preparation and support in particular, defysimplistic approaches. However, the process of col-laboration and the creativity that can result frommultiple perspectives and resources have the poten-tial to generate the solutions that will be needed tomeet the complex challenge within education.


HIS chapter presents seven modelsof new teacher induction. The firsttwo programs, The San Diego State

University/San Diego City Unified SchoolDistrict New Teacher Retention Project and theOakland Unified School District/California StateUniversity, Hayward Project New TeacherSupport Project were initiated in 1986.Sponsored by the California State UniversityChancellor's Office and the State Departmentof Education, these two programs addressthe needs of new teachers assigned to inner-city schools through the collaborative effortsof districts and universities.

7ChaMer 7: Models of Mil Teache. Induction Programs 61

The remaining five projects are part of the origi-nal fifteen programs in the California New TeacherProject which were implemented in 1988. Initiated bythe Commission on Teacher Credentialing and theState Department of Education, The California NewTeacher Project was designed to establish alternativemodels of new teacher support and assessment. Proj-ect TAP (Teacher Assistance Program) represents auni..ersity/district collaborative program. The SantaCruz Consortium involves a university, county officeof education, and seven school districts. The ChicoInduction for Beginning Teachers Program is a consor-tium of a university, several county offices, and schooldistricts in rural northern California. 77ie Santa ClaraProject is a single-district model for new teachersupport. The Powa Project is an induction and evalu-ation model that was initiated by the Poway Federa-tion of Teachers and supported by the local schooldistrict.

The models of new teacher support programsthat have been presented in this chapter representonly a few of the specific ways in which educationalorganizations are identifying and addressing theconcerns of the beginning teacher in California. Thediversity of organization and programming suggestthe limitless potential for professional response to theinduction needs of new teachers.

SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITYSAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICTINNER CITY NEW TEACHER RETENTION PROJECT

The Inner City New Teacher Retention Projectis a collaborative program between San Diego StateUniversity and the San Diego City Schools. In 1988the American Association of State Colleges and Uni-versities awarder. the project the Christa McAuliffeShowcase for Excellence Award for being an excel-lent model of large urban school district and univer-sity collaboration. The 1989-90 school year marks thefourth year of service provided by the Project to newteachers who teach in multicultural schools in the SanDiego Unified School District. To date about 95 per-cent of the new teachers assisted by the project arestill teaching in San Diego schools. Jointly funded bythe Chancellor's Office of the California State Univer-sity system and the Superintendent's Office of theCalifornia State Department of Education, the projectcurrently serves 100 beginning teachers a year.

The New Teacher Retention Project representsa developmental and collaborative approach to pro-viding professional growth opportunities as well asan effective support system to new teachers. Theproject is designed to build on tile new teachers'preservice creGential preparation, not to supplant it.Project components are designed to acculturate thenew teachers as thoughtful practitioners, orientedtoward informed decision-making and distinctlycapable of translating research and theory into soundprofessional practice. Project efforts also assist thenew teachers in becoming acclimated to their schoolsand the school district the context of their profes-sional practice.

Within this conceptual framework, the primarygo ils of the San Diego Inner City New Teacher Reten-tion Project are:

to develop an induction year model based ona reflective and analytic conception ofteaching;

to strengthen the instructional effectivenessof new teachers working with students fromculturally diverse backgrounds by buildingon the new teachers' preservice preparation;

to increase the retention of effective teachersin such settings;

to provide a formal support network forteachers during the critical transition periodof their first year of professional practice;and

to establish sustained collaboration betweenSan Diego State University and the San Di-ego Unified School District.

The New Teachers and Their Schools

For the purpose of the program a "new teacher"is defined as a leave replacement or first-year proba-tionary teacher who has had less than six months ofteaching experience in any district. For all of theseteacher.; this is their first contract teaching experi-ence. The elementary schools to which these teachersare assigned are in the process of being convertedfrom a traditional school year schedule (September-June) to a year-round schedule composed of fourdistinct "tracks," wherein classes are staggered in a


nine-week-on/three-week-off schedule throughoutthe calendar year.

For the most part, classes are self-contained andthe teachers are responsible for instruction in allsubjects of the curriculum. The cultural diversity ofthe new teachers' classes matches or exceeds overalldistrict patterns of ethnic representation. Among thecultural/ethnic groups represented in the new teach-ers' classrooms are African-American, Cambodian,Filipino, Hispanic, Indochinese, and Vietnamese.

Program Description

All aspects of the project are jointly panned, re-viewed, implemented, and evaluated with leader-ship provided by co-directors from the universityand the school district. Weekly seminars and fiverelease day workshops are presented by individualsfrom both institutions. Classroom observations andconsultations are provided by district mentors, uni-versity faculty, and other resource personnel, com-bining assets from both institutions.

Developing the "Thoughtful Practitioner"

The Retention Project reflects a number of be-liefs, shared by the project developers, i'bout bothteaching and the types of assistance new teachersneed. First, we conceptualize teaching to be a highlycomplex integration of knowledge and understand-ing, strategic and technical skills, attitudes and dis-positions, analytic and synthesizing capabilities.Second, we believe that the judgments teachers makein practice are pivotal influences on student learning,and that the soundness of these judgments is a func-tion of the depth and richness of these domains.Sound judgment can only be developed within thecontext of actual practice, but not without sharedreflection, assistance, and collegial support. Theenvironment of practice, therefore, must both en-courage and value that development. This concep-tion of teaching differs significantly frem the nar-rowly technical and implicitly condescending"teacher-proof" notions embedded in the generic

; effectiveness prescriptions that have beenso p. ca.sive ;n recent years.

Three key implications for structuring system-atic assistance to new teachers follow from this con-ception. First, recognizing that the new teacher's firstteaching assignment constitutes a period of transi-

tion, any assistance must address both continuedacculturation to the profession (i.e., development ofsound judgment, thoughtful informed practice, anda professional self-image defined in terms of thesequalities) and acclimatization to the school and schooldistrict. Second, the assistance must be structured insuch a way that it simultaneously draws out theknowledge and skills the new teacher brings to theenterprise and helps the new teachers contextualizethe application and adaptation of that knowledgeand those skills to their actual situation. Third, theassistance must encourage the new teachers' confi-dence in their ability to work through problem siu-ations and to engage with colleagues in shared prob-lem-solving.

In addition to responding to these implications,we have structured the components of the RetentionProject to minimize communicating a "survival"mentality to the new teachers, which too often trans-lates to quick fixes for controlling and manipulatingstudents. This concern takes on added poignancywhen new teachers are working with culturally di-verse populations. Finally, we have been cautiousabout structuring the content of the project on thebasis of the new teachers' perceptions of what theyneed. We have found their inexperience may leadthem to confuse symptoms with problems, and todevelop the unrealistic expectation that pre-pack-aged, universally applicable answers exist. When wedo respond to perceived needs, we avoid "doing for"or "doing to" teachers without actively involvingtheir judgment or intellectual engagement.

Program Components

The new teachers are clustered into groups ofsix to eight persons on the basis of school location andschedule and by grade level if possible (primary,intermediate, middle school). A faculty member fromthe College of Education serves as the cluster leaderand 'fleets with the cluster weekly. Cluster leadersare selected on the basis of their expressed interest inworking with new teachers and school district per-sonnel as well as their subject matter and pedagogicalexpertise. This expertise allows us to build a stronginterdisciplinary team.

This organizational structure provides a pri-mary peer support group along with expert assis-tance. The clusters reduce isolation of new teachersby enriching commu.iication, providing continuity

Chapter 7: Models of him, Teacher Induction, Programs 63

among project participants, and allowing the newteachers to establish important connections with theirpeers. The cluster leaders work with the new teachersto develop and implement an individualized profes-sional development plan. In addition to planningproject activities with other un:versity and schooldistrict personnel, the cluster lead2rs make classroomvisits, observations, and demonstrationsto new teach-ers in their clusters and document practices and ac-tivities which reflect dimensions or strands of theproject.

All the new teachers participate in a year-longseries of seminars and workshops that are jointlyplanned and delivered by university faculty anddistrict personnel. Five thematic strands shape theseactivities in order to promote the new teachers' pro-fession 11 growth as thoughtful practitioners. Thesestrar.is include: 1) understanding learners, theirindividual as well as culturally significant similaritiesand distinctions; 2) recognizing the importance ofsuch understanding in developing and implement-ing both instruction and management effectively; 3)continuing to expand and deepen subject matterunderstanding as a strategy for increasing the likeli-hood that curriculum is accurately and meaningfullyaddressed; 4) expanding the new teachers' repertoireof instructional approaches as well as enriching theircapability for adapting and adjusting approachesgiven variability in ]earnings and learners; 5) devel-oping the complex cognitive capabilities, particularlyanalytical and synthesizing skills, which underlieinformed professional practice. Within the context ofthese strands, presentations are made in such topicsas class room management, professional growth plan-ning, stress management, cultural diversity,coopera-tive education, reciprocal teaching, writing as a proc-ess, the preparation of case reports, and instructionalstrategies in the content areas of language arts, math,science, social studies, and fine arts.

Following the whole group seminar presenta-tion and a question-and-answer period, the new teach-ers meet in their clusters and write for ten minutesabout any significant incident that happened duringthe week. This strategy affords the new teachers anopportunity to reflect on what they and their studentsare doing, why events are happening as they are,what pleases them and what they want to sustain aswell as change in the classroom. The critical incidentsare not necessarily just a reporting of problems ornegative events, because new teachers also write

about progress they are having in an area of concern,events that have boosted their self-confidence, orflashes of insight that writing helps them preserve.The new teachers are not required to share what theyhave written with their peers in the seminar. They do,however, turn them in to their duster leader forwritten response or comments. This routine providesa systematic means of confidential communicationand permits regular orportlinities for contact be-tween cluster leaders and the new teachers. The clus-ter leaders report that a review of the weekly criticalincidents alerts them to the need for individual assis-tance with the new teachers and to instances of newteachers who confuse symptoms with problems.

The discussion portion of the seminar becomesan extension of the critical writing incident and cantake a number of directions depending on the needsand interests of the group. Sharing experiences, com-miserating, problem sharing and solving ake upmuch of the time in these sessions. The discussionsprovide collaborative opportunities for the new teach-ers to reflect on their practice and work throughproblems together. The cluster leaders facilitate thesediscussions and encourage new teachers to thinkbroadly about alternative solutionsto identified prob-lems.

Critical incident writing promotes reflectionabout teaching and provides the new teachers anopportunity to be thoughtful about their practicewhile dealing with the practical real life world of theirclassrooms. From these critical incidents the newteachers are required to write two case reports, oneeach semester, on incider rs they feel are particularlyinfluential in their thinking and development as aprofessional.

The new teachers submit an initial draft of theircase report which is read by the cluster leaders andreturned with comments, suggestions, and questionsintended to prompt greater elaboration or depth ofconsideration. At this point, the case r,port becomesthe basis for professional dialogue beta een the"reader" (in this case, the cluster leader) and the newteacher about the new teacher's thinking and her/hisrepresentation of it. The new teachers are encouragedto refine their dialogue through successive drafts, astime, energy, and interest permit. Final drafts areturned in following this process. The procedure isrepeated during the writing m the second case report,with the addition of commentaries solicited from col-

64 Designing Progranis for NCIV Teadien;'/6

leagues or site administrators. These commentarieshelp give the new teachers another interpretation ofthe incidents from which they are drawn.

Through the new teachers' accounts of their ex-perience, we can see that they do not enter the profes-sion as "blank slates." The critical incidents and casereports reveal the thought, of people who are tryingto sustain their beliefs and synthesize their knowl-edge about teaching and learning within the contextof complex teaching situations. Included in the criticalincidents and case reports are burgeoning philosophi-cal statements reflecting the application of theory andbeliefs which emanate from their knowledge of psy-chology, sociology, content material, and their knowl-edge of the world of "school."

The release day workshops (five throughout theyear) usually focus on a topic fairly new to the teach-ers and therefore require a longer concentration oftime. Familiarizing the new teachers with the schooldistrict curriculum, related materials and resources,for example, was one release day topic, as was coop-erative learning strategies. The release days afford theteachers the opportunity to try some things out it i thesafe and helpful company of colleagues. Mentor teach-ers often participate in the release days with the newteachers, frequently as presenters or demonstrators.

Through the California Mentor Teacher Pro-gram, each new teacher is matched with a mentorteacher from the school district. These matches aremade on the basis of similarity in grade, curriculumand student assignments. The mentor teachers pro-vide classroom visitation and consultation assistanceto the new teachers. They also serve as presenters inthe Feminars and workshops.

Through meetings with project administrators,the mentors come to understand and contribute to theconception of teaching underpinning the project. Tothe new teachers, the mentors personify credibility.They represent successful practice, ability, even v rtu-osity in what the new teacher is about to try. Theypossess the knowledge of the district as a distinctculture; they know how it works. They demonstratethe seasoned and balanced perspective which encour-ages risk-taking and engenders stability.

The new teachers are also provided a network ofresource personnel from both the university and schooldistrict. In addition to serving as seminar presenters,

these individuals provide classroom consultations toindividual new teachers and assist them in becomingacclimated to the school district, its resources, poli-cies, ar.d operating procedures. Coordination of thissupport network is provided by the school district'sOff ice of Staff Development and Training. In particu-lar, the office assigns one of its resource teachers half-time to the Retention Project. This person serves as acritical liaison between the new teachers and thevarious administrative and resource departments ofthe school district. He also fills a key planning andlogistics role in the develcpment of all facets of theproject.

The project provides the new teachers withscholarships for six units of graduate credit at the SanDiego State University. These units a re earned throughparticipation in the seminars and release days, andthrough successful completion of course require-ments. The units are applicable fel salary advance-ment and can be counted toward the state's require-ment of 150 hours of continuing education every fiveyears. An instructional materials stipend of between$200 and $300 is available to each new teacher as well.The project also provides for five release days through-out the school year for the new teachers and theschool district provides five release days for theirmentor teachers.

Project Administration

The dean of the San Diego State UniversityCollege of Education serves as Pry ncipal Investigatorand provides t.verall policy and programmatic direc-tion to the project. The project has two co-directors:the 7irector of San Diego Unified School District'sOffice of Staff Development and Training, and a fac-ulty member from the San Diego State UniversitySchool of Teacher Education. A half-time resourceteacher, a full-time secretary, and a student assistantalso provide vital support to the Retention Project.These individuals meet regularly to d iscu ss a nd evalu-ate the project. In addition, the San Diego State Uni-versity co-director meets weekly with the clusterleaders.

Project Changes, Observations, and ConcludingThoughts

The New Teacher Retention Project representsa true collaboration between the San Diego UnifiedSchool District and San DiegoState University. While

Chaiite s of New Teacher Induction 1'rc grattrs 65

the collaboration takes a considerable amount of timeand personal energy, it provides opportunities forshared ownership, access to broader professionalresources, and substantial impact on the professionaldevelopment of new teachers that no other arrange-ments would afford. The collaborative element isconsidered essential to the project's success in bring-ing theory and application together.

In the four years since the New Teacher Reten-tion Project was implemented, three significant modi-fications have been incorporated into the programdesign: 1) adopting the cluster structure instead of alarge group approach to interacting with new teach-ers; 2) incorporating critical incidents and case re-ports as strategies for promoting thoughtful practiceand evaluating new teacher professional growth;and 3) broadening the involvement of universityfaculty in the program. Rationale for the first twomodifications has been presented earlier; however,the purpose for broadening the involvement of uni-versity faculty warrants further discussitms.

In the fir st year of the project, university partici-pation was limited to the project director who partici-pated in the weekly seminars, and several contentarea consultants who visited new teachers' class-rooms upon request. This year, eight university fac-ulty members serve as cluster leaders. Their partici-pation in the project has had a significant socializingeffect on both the new teachers and the universityeducators. The weekly dialogue that occurs in thecluster groups provides faculty with the opportunityto add cognitive and experiential breadth and depthto the collaborative analysis of the teaching experi-ence. The critical incident/case report approachpromotes new teacher participation in what might beconsidered "an apprenticeship in analysis." Concur-rently, faculty members gain increased :nsi)411 s intothe often stark realities of teaching in the :drier -cityschools a; new teachers share their stories. This knowl-edge has an impact on the preservice programs.

After several years of working in this collabora-tive effort, it is abundantly clear that the project isvery important to new teachers. The provision of thesupport network and activities, coupled with thought-ful reflection on their own experiences, promotesattending to the immediate and practical needs ofclassroom teaching while simultaneously develop-ing habits of mind and practice that will sustain theseteachers well beyond the first year. This continuity of

reflection, the notion of the "thoughtful practition-er," will support professional teachers as they entertheir second year and throughout their career.

Prepare.' by Ann I. Morey and Diane S. Murphy

San Diego State University/San Diego City Schools

New Teacher Retention Project Staff

Project Direct- rUniversity Co-Director(1989 )

Past University Co-Director(1987-1989)

District Co-DirectorResource TeacherProject Secretary

Ann I. Morey

Diane S. Murphy

Mary GendernalikCooperMary HopperRich BiffleSusie Kidder

Contact Person:Dr. Diane S. Murphy

New Teacher Retention ProjectSan Diego State UniversitySan Diego, California 92182

(619) 594-2390

THE OAKLAND-CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITYHAYWARD NEW TEACHER SUPPORT PROJECT

This project began in 1986-87 as a pilot to in-crease the retention and effectiveness of beginningteachers in inner-city Oakland. Jointly funded by theChancellor's Office of the California State Universityand the California State Department of Education, itinitially served 25 teachers. Now in its fourth year,the project provides varying levels of support to allnon-tenured teachers in Oakland.

Over the four years the elements of new teachersupport have remained the same: release time to ob-serve other teachers or visit resource centers; a teacherconsultant on site to provide psychological support,instructional guidance, and orientation; a universityconsultant from the Hayward Department of TeacherEducation offering clinical supervision and a link toprofessional practices beyond the District; wider Uni-versity support from other disciplines as the need arises;workshops where teachers can form a support groupand receive helpful classroom materials and ideas;and stipends for the purchase of instructional materi-als. However, as the project has matured, the content

66 Designing Programs for New Teack

and delivery of this support has changed; so too hasthe management structure of the project and thedistrict-university rel^":onship.

Evolution of Project Elements

Release Time. Under the original pilot design,teachers were released one day a week for observa-tion, seminars, planning, and visitations. This weeklyabsence from their classrooms proved too frequent,causing classroom management problems as well asdifficulties in providing substitutes. In the secondyear teachers were only released every other week;still, the problems arose. Nonetheless, release timewas the most highly rated project element both years.In the third and fourth years of the New TeacherSupport Project participants were granted substi-tutes for six days, which has proven to be a moreappropriate number, given the lack of reliable, qual-ity substitutes.

Teacher Consultants. All participating teach-ers were paired with experienced teachers at theirschool sites. These experienced teachers providedcrisis support, practical and political advice, andcurricular guidance. In the third and fourth yearsthey received coaching training and three releasedays to work with the new teachers. They were alsoallocated a stipend.

In 1986-87 principals selected the teacher con-sultants with mixed success. Some did not know thenew teachers we'd enough to make good matches;others selected consultants on a political basis. In1987-88 the new teachers chose their own consult-ants, again with mixed results. Many were too new toteaching or to their faculty to make appropriatechoices. In the last two years, participants havenominated one or two consultants, with final selec-tion being made by the principal. This new selectionprocedure, coupled with training and release time,has generally increased the efficacy of the teacherconsultants.

A second change related to teacher consultantsoccurred in year three, when the project went district-wide. During the first two years 4 proved impossibleto select teacher consultants before mid-October. Atthe same time, program evaluation targeted Septem-ber as the time when new teachers most neededassistance. To address this disparity, in years ti treeand four the Mentor Bridge was instituted. At 11; re,

the Bridge paired district mentors with new teachersto offer general support until the more carefullymatched teacher consultants could be put in place.Later these mentors were on call for any non-tenuredteacher needing special assistance.

University Consultants. The university con-sultant has been the primary project resource provid-ing in-class observation and clinical supervision tonew teachers. Hayward Teacher Education facultyobserve participants biweekly on a regular univer-sity supervision formula. Great care has been taken toestablish a consultative, teacher-directed relation-ship rather than a supervisorial or evaluative one.Over the past four years the only change in this aspectof the program has been an increase in the ratio ofnew teachers to university consultants, from 15:1 to25:1. Made for financial reasons, this change didaffect the quality of consultation. Even so, the evalu-ation of university consultants remained high.

Wider University Consultation. In its originalconception, the New Teacher Support Project was todraw upon the expertise of the wider universityfaculty for curricular assistance. This goal has beenvery successfully met on the secondary level, espe-cially in the sciences. It has proven elusive at theelementary level, however. University professorsfrom outside the School of Education have generallyhad difficulties translating their content in ways thatwould be directly applicable to an elementary class-room.

Workshops. In its first two years the projectheld formal biweekly seminars for university credit.These offered a combination of theoretic and hands -on presentations. While participants appreciated theinteraction with each other and with seminar leaders,they found the formal nature of the course, and itsfrequency, too demanding. Therefore, in years threeand four the seminars became the less formal Ele-mentary and Secondary New Teacher Networks.These monthly meetings featured mentor-led work-shops on specific, pragmatic instructional strategiesand materials. Response to the change has beenpositive.

Stipends. Early in the project it was found thatnew teachers were significantly constrained by theirlack of classroom materials, particularly since theywere teaching at severely underfunded inner-cityschools. To address this need, $200 was allocated to

tie

Chapter 7: Models of New Teacher Induction Programs 67

each participant ($150 in year four). In general themonies were well spent and strongly boosted morale.

University Involvement

The original impetus and primary first-yearleadership for the New Teacher Support Project camefrom the California State University, Hayward. Theuniversity's strong role evolved primarily because itspolitics and structures differed from those of thedistrict. Basically, it was easier to buy universityfaculty time than the time of a district administrator.The ability to devote time exclusively to the projectwas critical during the start-up phase - not just to getthe project going, but also to produce the kind ofsuccess and visibility necessary to insure districtsupport and commitment. In year two NTSP leader-ship became more shared, and in year three - whenthe project expanded to serve more than 200 teachers- day-to-day management transferred to the district.At this point, a mentor teacher on leave was hired asthe full-time manager. Finally, in year four, financialefficiency prompted the dividing of project manage-ment among four mentor teachers who did not re-ceive release time. They formed a leadership teamwith the district and university directors. By yearfour, the university director was involved primarilyin the development of project spin-offs rather thanmanagement of the on-going program.

New Directions

Over the first three years of the project it becameincreasingly apparent that new inner-city teachersneeded intense site-level support. In particular, theyneeded to begin their careers in a highly professionalenvironment where their colleagueswere committedto on-going professional growth. Unfortunately, suchassignments for new teachers are rare. Therefore, inyear three the NTSP began working with two die-menta: y schools, one predominantly black and theother black and Hispanic, to design professional de-velopment schools. Faculty from each sitespent nearlya year visiting other schools, reading research, andplanning t!,_fir programs. Each redesigned its organ-izational structure, dividing into cooperating grade-level teams. In addition, each school developed aspecific curricular focus, a comprehensive scheduleof staff development, and a commitment to peercoaching. This fall (1989-90), three-quarter time in-terns were assigned to work with each teacher as partof an urban/minority teacher recruitment program.

Next year positions will be set aside at each schoolfor two-year residency contracts for fully credential-ed beginning teachers. in addition, minority instruc-tional aides with an interest in pursuing full teach-ing credentials will be given preference for instruc-tional aide positions at each school.

Summary

The Oakland-CSU Hayward New TeacherSup-port Project has evolved from a university-centeredproject serving 25 new teachers at approximately

,000 each to a dual-focus effort involving twodifferent types of district-university partnerships.The first, the continuing district-wide New TeacherSupport Project, is now district-run and serving upto 150 new teachers at $1,200 to $1,900 each. Theuniversity pla supportive role in this process.The second focus, the development of two induc-tion / professional development schools, hasa heavyinitial university involvement in partnership withsite-level teachers and administrators. Both aspectof the project demonstrate the fluid, dynamic natureof successful district-university collaboration. Eachpartner has a different role to play, depending uponthe nature of the task and the developmental phaseof the program.

prepared try Louise Bay Waters, Proie(t Director

The Oakland-California State University,Hayward

New Teacher Support Project

District Project DirectorUniversity Project DirectorManagement Team

Cynthia HarrisLouise Bay WatersDolores GodboldMaria WatsonErnie MillerEvelyn Ely

Contact Person:Louise Bay Waters

Project DirectorNew Teacher Support Project

California State University, HaywardHayward, California 94542

(415) 881-3009


POWAY PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Program Overview

There is little disagreement within our educa-tional community that beginning teachers must makea difficult adjustment as they move from the aca-demic world to the real world of the classroom. Thequality of the teacher work force is influenced notonly by who enters teaching, but by who stays inteaching. By the beginning of the next century we willhave to replace half of our nation's 2.2 million teach-ers due to retirement (the average age of teachers is47) and attrition (50 percent of teachers leave afteronly five years in the profession, 80 percent are goneafter ten years). Just as alarming are the figuresrelating to able college students choosing teaching asa profession. In 1973 almost 20 percent of collegegraduates considered teaching as a career; today thatfigure has plummeted to 7 percent. The resultingshortage of new, promising teachers is not just aproblem particular to personnel directors. It is of sig-nificance to everyone concemea with effective schools.

Fully responsible for instruction of his/her stu-dents from the first working day, the beginning teacherperforms the same tasks as a 20-year veteran. We inthe profession often short-change our "rookies." Tasksare not added sequentially to allow for gradual in-crease in skill and knowledge; the beginner learnswhile performing the full complement of teachingduties. Since teaching style is most often developedearly in a teacher's career, it is particularly importantto monitor teachers' early work in the classroom. Inmost schools, supervision of the new teacher is rare,limited to infrequent and brief observations of class-room performance. The Poway Unified School Dis-trict and the Poway Federation of Teachers, the localteachers' union, agreed that intensive supervision,training and support for new teachers was impera-tive and mut: Aly beneficial to both organizations.

The Poway Professional Assistance Program'PPAP) was based on this mutual recognition ofneeds and the premise that experienced teachershave a legitimate role in the screening and training ofnew entrants into the profession. This teacher induc-tion and assessment system provides teachers new toPoway with the services of an experienced classroomteacher to help them ease into their new professionalrnies. The experienced teacher, called a teacher con-sultant, has a workload of 12 to 15 teachers and as-sumes the responsibility for the first-year evaluation

of each of those teachers. The teacher consultantprovides each new teacher with thorough and fre-quent classroom observations, assistance, objectivecriticism, coaching and supervision from a recog-nized expert teacher.

The teacher consultant periodically reports theprogress of the new teachers to the Peer Rev vBoard. This board, composed of union and adminis-trative representatives, monitors the work of theconsultants and governs the program under theumbrella of a trust agreement. It is this board thataccepts or rejects the final evaluative findings of theconsultants and forwards its recommendation to thesuperintendent of schools and ultimately to the schoolboard of trustees. This unique collaborative effort be-tween the union and the district has been a funda-mental departure from past relationships and has seta cornerstone for further local reform.

The evaluation aspect is unique, but the pro-gram is more than peer review. The consultants'work with the new teachers begins with the planningand presentations of New Teacher Day and contin-ues throughout the year. The consultants view theirrole as one of support and assistance for the newteacher rather than one of evaluation. From explain-ing the spelling program, modeling a classroommanagement strategy, providing a sympathetic ear,and explaining the social and political expectations ofthe staff room, to administering a strong dose ofreality, the teacher consultant provides a resourceheretofore unavailable to teachers new to Poway.

The District

The Poway Unified School District (PUSD) is lo-cated in the west central portion of San Diego Countyapproximately 25 miles north of San Diego and 10miles from the Pacific Ocean. The district's bounda-ries encompass 103 square miles and include the cityof Poway and the city of San Diego, plus a smallportion of unincorporated territory in the county ofSan Diego.

Three major communities are located in thePUSD. The Poway community is largely residentialin character with a moderately expanding commer-cial segment. Rancho Bernardo, a planned commu-nity, includes a 635-acre industrial park which con-tains some of the nation's lorgest firms. RanchoPetiasquitos is also a planned community which is

8 1Chapter 7: Models of New Teacher Induction Programs 69

almost exclusively residential in character with lim-ited commercial development.

The overall community is predominantly awhite, middle class community with 72 percent of thefamilies classified as professional or semi-profes-sional, as contrasted with 33 percent in these classifi-cations statewide. The racial/ethnic composition ofdistrict students is 83.8 percent white and a 16.2percent minority mix of Asian/Pacific Islander, Fili-pino, black and Hispanic.

The Poway Federation of Teachers has been thelocal bargaining agent for the teachers since 1976.Contract negotiations have been stormy at best andthe relationship between the union and district hasfluctuated from distant and strained to cool andprofessional. Because of the success at jointly manag-ing the PPAP, both parties agreed in 1988 to attemptcontract negotiations using a non-adversarial model.They were successful in negotiating a two-year con-tract ready for ratification upon the teachers' returnin Sep:ember, an event that has only happened oncein the previous 18 years.

The Teacher Consultant

Early in the planning stages of the program,both the union and the administration agreed onsome guidelines for developing the new position ofteacher consultant. Although the consultant is insome ways similar to a mentor teacher, it was recog-nized that tie consultant's responsibilities would farexceed those of a mentor. It was decided that theposition should be full time, so that cacti of theconsultants would be released from classroom dutiesto work exclusively with the new teachers. However,

was also recognized that the consultant's role neededto be viewed by all staff as that of "expert teacher"- .ther than as one experienced staff member put it, "atraining ground for junior administrators." It wasthus decided to limit the term for each individualconsultant to three consecutive years, after which theconsultant returns to the classroom for a period of atleast one year. The consultant would remain in theteacher bargaining unit and would receive the samemonetary stipend and district status as a mentorteacher.

Applicants for the position must have five yearsof district experience and apply for announced va-cancies. The selection is completed bya joint teacher/

administrator panel following a writing sample, in-terviews, recommendations of teachers and adminis-trators and, if needed, classroom observations. Expe-rience showed that the degree of flexibility for poten-tial assignments by grade level or subject matter wasimportant, so the breadth of previous teaching expe-rience of the applicant proved to be sign' t leant. Per-sonal skills, such as the ability to communii ,ate and tobe sympathetic are critical attributes.

he teacher consultant position has been evolv-ing over the past two years.

Experience during the past two years has en-abled the teacher consultant to anticipate and help thenew teacher avoid beginning-of-school problems suchas difficulty adjusting to late assignment changes,feelings of isolation at the site, and trouble accessingfurniture and supplies. The consultants share a pro-gram goal of being in each of their new teachers'classrooms a minimum of once a week. They mustcomplete at least 20 hours of contact time for each oftwo evaluation periods. This is 20 times the contrac-tual requirement used prior to the program, althoughthe evaluation process is not emphasized during themonth of September. Time in the classroom and timecon ferencing is critical to the success of the consultant.

The consultant, working with the site adminis-trator and under the supervision of the Peer ReviewBoard, assists each new teacher on an individualbasis. By pacing the consultant in the novice's class-room on a frequent basis, the program is able toprovide the new teacher with staff development at anappropriate time in the learning cycle. If the newteacher is ready to focus on curriculum concerns, itmakes littler sense for all new teachers to attend man-dated inservices on cooperative learning. Conversely,the consultant may elect to attend an inservice in CAPwriting with a new high school English teacher andwork with that teacher to implement CAP strategiesin the classroom. The consultant frequently modelsinstructional strategies in the new teacher's classroomor releases the new teacher to visit the classrooms ofother skilled professionals.

Each consultant receives the usual training inthe technical skills used in the evaluation of teachers.Additionally, each consultant has $500 available forhis own professional development. The team of con-sultants meets formally once a week to share ideas,receive advice on a teacher facing some difficulty, a r-

70 Designing Prognims for New Teachers 8 2

range calendars and "recharge batteries." Isolation,loss of the love and contact with their own classroomsand a difficult assignment may be drawbacks to theconsultant assignment. Informal meetings and net-working by telephone have proven to be invaluableresources.

Formative and summative evaluations on eachconsultant are completed by one union and oneadministrative representative of the Peer Board ofReview. Each new teacher and each principal issurveyed. Interviews also provide data for theevaluation.

Program costs are the salary of the consultant'sclassroom replacement, the consultant stipend, andmiscellaneous minor support costs. In Poway, the1989-90 cost is about $34,000 per consultant position(taking into account all monies spent).

Peer Evaluation

The PPAP based its program on the researchwork of Arthur Wise, Linda Darling-Hammond,Milbrey McLaughlin, and Harriet Bernstein in the1984 Rand Corporation study on teacher evaluationand the work started in Toledo, Ohio. These authorssurveyed evaluation practices in a number ' dis-tricts and offered several observations that were in-corporated into the PPAP. We believe that teacher in-volvement and responsibility improve the quality ofteacher evaluation. Our program recognized that theresponsibilities of the site principal require that shetry to be all things to all teachers. But the teacherconsultant role is focused only on the new teacher.The increased time and the narrowing focus greatlystrengthens the district's capacity to effectively su-pervise new teachers. Because the consultants arepractitioners of what they preach, they have greatcredibility with their teachers

Involving the teacher's union in the design andoversight of new teacher evaluation helped ensure le-gitimacy, fairness and effectiveness. The minimumof 20 hours of assistance and assessment per evalu-ation period is far exceeded with teachers facingsome difficulty, and in one case, involved over 100hours of contact time by more than one consultant.The Peer Review Board accepted the recommenda-tion of the consultant not to renew the contract of thenew teacher, and the union was part of that process.The best way for a union to ensure that new teachers

receive due process and all the assistance possible isto jointly govern and monitor a program that pro-vides that service. Only six of the 110 teachers partici-pating in the program over the last two years have notbeen rehired for their second probationary year.

The Review Board also recognized that roleconflict between administrators and teachers wouldbe inevitable, but by being sensitive to specific con-cerns the impact of those conflicts could be mini-mized. The program was made optional for each siteprincipal. The expectation was that some administra-tors would be reluctant to give up the evaluationprocess at first, but would be convinced as the pro-gram matured. This expectation was met. During thefirst year about 60 percent of the schools participatedin the program using peer review, the second yearincluded almost all the schools, and the third year allschools with new teachers are participating in theprogram. By constantly communicating with the siteprincipal and encouraging that person to make fre-quent, informal "drop-in" visits to the new teacher'sclassroom, the consultant ensures that the needs ofthe site administration are met.

The Peer Review Board and Trust Agreement

The program is governed by the Peer Review3oard composed of the Federation president and twoother union represen ta t Yeti plus the Assistant Super-intendent pers; noel and an add it ml administra-tive representative. This board meets about every sixto eight weeks, ur as specifically needed. A majorityvote is deemed to be tour votes. Consultants reportbe progress of each of their new teachers and the

recrunmend soveral alternative strategies'Tnprove the performance of the new

.ting decisions, personnel choices,the assignments of the consultants are

all functions of th..! Peer ReviewBoard.

The Federation of Teachers and the districtoperate the project under the umbrella of a trustagreement teat both parties renew annually. A trustagreement is a ii:-gotiated compact between a districtand a union. Trust ogreements are intended to spec-ify educational problems of joint concern and estab-lish mechanisms for we rking on them. They set asidemoney, time and au tin ,rity and they create structuresthat allow union and management to resolve dis-putes as they wo-k toward joint goals. Trust agree-ments anticir.ite joint action on problems such as

Cluzpter 7: Models of New Teacher Induction Programs 71

curriculum reform, student achievement, teachingcareers, school restructuring, and teacher evaluation.Technically, they are frequently beyond the scope ofbargaining for labor contracts. The Poway trustagree-raent is only one of six such agreements operating inCalifornia.

The trust agreement enabled the working rela-tionship of the Review Board to set a new benchmarkfor labor relations in Poway. The cooperation andmutual respect necessary for the success of the pro-gram are beginning to be seen in other programsthroughout the district. This is a pleasant but not un-expected byproduct of the process.

Program Review

The PPAP has contracted for an independentreview/evaluation from San Diego State University,and copies of the reports from 1987-88 and 1988-89are available. The program has evolved using recom-mendations from the previous years. Many of theserecommendations were procedural rather than con-ceptual but the most significant of these dealt withpeer evaluation.

During the initial pilot year (1987-88) the con-sultants were working with new teachers at someschools where the principal wanted the consultant toassist but not evaluate the new teacher. The evaluatfound that the consultants were less effective withteachers at those sites than with teachers at siteswhere the consultants were evaluators. This wasespecially true with new teachers who were strug-gling in the classroom. For future years the ReviewBoard chose to continue to make the program op-tional for principals but ensured that the consultantswere the sole evaluators. All but two principals optedfor the program the second year, and in the third yearall schools are participating.

Th.: program applied for and received inclu-sion in the California New Teacher Project beginningin the 1988-89 school year. An additional consultantN715 hired (bringing the total to four), but timingforced this new person to be hire ' after the start ofschool. This proved to be a great disruption for stu-dents, new teachers and especially the row consult-ant. Anticipating a similar problem, the Review Boardformed a "pool" of five possible consultants in Juneof 1989 that would be immediately available to startin September of the new school year.

The consultants' view of the operation of thedistrict is somewhat global, since they work in class-rooms at every school. it appears that this is a uniqueexperience among all district staff. There seems to besome diversity between schools, and some of thesedifferences significantly affected the new teachers.For example, during the first year only ten percent ofthe new teachers were satisfied with the equipmentin their classrooms and the instructional suppliesavailable. But then the consultants began reporting tothe Review Board and quietly working with princi-pals; the level of teacher satisfaction in the secondyear rose to 57 percent. The consultants also con-vinced the staff development director to change theformat used for "New Teacher Day," which tradi-tionally was a morning devoted to greetings byadministrators and a guest speaker. In the past twoyears the time allocated to administrators decreasedand no guest lecturers were invited to speak. Insteadthe new teachers aLe broken up into grade levelgroups led by experienced teacher experts that helpintroduce the curriculum "the way we do thingshere in Poway" and who help locate resources. Al-though allowing time for teachers to speak togethermay seem simplistic, it was a novel recommendationthat has proven to be a great success.

Finally, the issue of which new teachers mayparticipate in the program is still a concern that needsto be addressed. Poway has more teachers new to thedistrii. 1- -in the program's resources can accommo-date. Cul .tly, the program is serving all new teach-ers who h.- r less than two years experience in thefield of t.u. _ation. However, a district study hasrevealed that new hires who have had experience inother districts may still need to be served by thisprogram. In fact, 50 percent of the teachers droppedfrom the program came to Poway with several yearsof experience. The principals and consultants havehad some difficulty deciding on which "experienced"new teachers should be recommended to the ReviewBoard for inclusion in the program.

Plans for Expansion

Plans for expansion of the Poway ProfessionalAssistance Program fall into three areas. The unionwould very much like all teachers new to the district,regardless of experience or assignment, to be in-cluded in the program. For this year that would meanthe addition of three full-time consultants. Not atrivial cost! The program is also planning some type


of activity for second year teachers. PPAP provides agreat veal of close supervision during the first proba-tionary year and believes some type of "bridging"program is needed for the second year. Finally, itseems desirable to use the services of the recognizedteaching expert, the consultant, in a non-evaluativemanner to assist a permanent employee facing seri-ous professional jeopardy. The 1989-90 school yearwill be used to plan these activities.

The benefits of the Poway Professional Assis-tance Program for the new teacher, the district, andthe profession are many, but it is the students ofPoway who will reap the ultimate rewards.

Prepared lnf Donald Raczka

Poway Professional / isistance Program Staff

Project Coordinator/Teacher ConsultantTeacher ConsultantTeacher ConsultantTeacher ConsultantTeacher ConsultantProgram Evaluator

Donald RaczkaChristine EvansCharlotte KutznerVeleta RollinsJanet MaloneBarbara Moore

Contact Person:Donald Raczka

Project CoordinatorPoway Professional Assistance Program

14640 Tierra Bonita RoadPoway, California 92064(619) 748-0010 ext. 283

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, CHICOINDUCTION FOR THE BEGINNING TEACHER PROGRAM

The Induction for the Beginning Teacher Pro-gram is a comprehensive and innovative program ofsupport and skill-building designed to assist begin-ning teachers in rural Northern California in makingthe transition from effective students to effectiveteachers, and ultimately to retain them in the profes-sion. Program participants receive comprehensiveinstruction in targeted skills through seminars deliv-ered on the California State University, Chico, cam-pus and over instructional television. The programpairs each beginning teacher with a successful, expe-rienced teacher trained in peer coaching and observa-tion techniques. Each pair forms a teaching team thatdevelops action-research plans for implementing

seminar concepts in the beginning teacher's class-room. The experienced teacher-peer coach observes,supports, and provides feedback to his/her begin-ning teacher on a weekly basis.

The program has been deemed highly success-ful by its participants and their administrators. Thissuccess is due largel:r to its comprehensive and indi-vidualistic structure, and to the fact that the 7,-warrihas been able to meet the needs of teachers in isolates:two-teacher schools, as well as the teachers in the"emerging urban" schools of the Chico university'svast 36,000 square mile area (almost the size of thestate of Ohio). The conceptual framework and cowponents of the Induction for the Beginning TeacherProgram are described below.

Conceptual Framework

Teaching is a complex profession. Yet, tradi-tionally, new teachers are required to perform thesame tasks, at the same level of corml etence, as theseasoned professional. Recent literature and empiri-cal research on beginning teachers indicate that manyaspects of teaching cannot be learned or experiencedduring the university preservice program. Someaspects of teaching can only be experienced as an individ-ual becomes a new teacher alone in the classroom.Consequently, beginning teachers often report:

Feelings of isolation and insecurity

Problems with classroom management

Lack of skills in evaluating students andcommunicating with parents

A basic inability to blend into the social struc-ture of the school

Without guidance, support, technical assistance,and supervision, beginning teachers may resort tosurvival technique; that rely on teaching methodsthat are likely to prevent their developing into effec-tive teachers. For t;ome, poor performance evalu-ations lead to job dissatisfaction and early careerchanges. It is clear that many new teachers leave theprofession when their frustrations peak, resulting inan attrition rate of almost 40 percent of all teachers b theirsecond year (The Governor's1991 Report on Education, p.37). Even more alarming is the evidence that the bestteachers may be the first to leave.


Project Development. New teacher retention isa major cone, rn of the rural isolated areas of NorthernCalifornia. Some counties report that 100 percent oftheir new teachers who come from outside their geo-graphic areas leave the profession before they havecompleted two years of teaching.

This fact and many others surfaced during aneeds assessment conducted during the 1986-87 aca-demic year by the California State University, Chico'sInstitute for Advanced Studies in Education. Thisassessment included interviews with local educatorsin the 14 rural counties of the university's 36,000square mile service area as well as a detailed review ofthe literature and a national interactive teleconferencedesigned to ident ;.), issues and solutions related tobeginning teachers. Following the evaluation cf thedata collected, it was determined that there was aneed for a program that promoted good teaching,supported nlw teachers, and encouraged these be-ginning professionals to remain in the profession.

California State University, Chico facultymember, Dr. Victoria Bernhardt, in collaboration withuniversity faculty members and teachers andadministrators from the university's service regiondeveloped the Induction for the Beginning TeacherProgram. The design and content of the program v aswidely reviewed in open forums by university facultyand county and district educators within the serviceregion.

The program was pre-tested during the 1987-88academic year. Pleased that the design of the programreflected their input, and confident that it had the po-tential to meet the needs of their beginning teachers,districts demonstrated their support and commit-ment by collectively absorbing a portion of the direct"bare- bones" costs of the pilot program. These dis-tricts also provided release time for teachers to partici-pate in the program and for teachers and adivinistra-tors to serve on the Advisory Committee.

During the 1988-89 academic year, the induc-tion for the Beginning 'reacher Program became oneof the fifteen projects funded by the California StateDepartment of Education and the Commission onTeacher Credentialing through the California NewTeacher Project.

Philosophy and Goals. The underlying phi-losophy of tl,e program is that beginning teachers

already have the basic tools they need for developinginto successful, long-term teachers. What they needis a support program which allows them to grow intothe profession a safety net for experimentation,evaluation, and reflection.

The goals of the Induction for the BeginningTeacher Program are to provide a support and infor-mation system that will:

improve instructional abilities,

promote self-assessment and reflection,

enhance working conditions and job satis-faction by reducing professional and geo-graphic isolation,

model professionalism iind provide oppor-tunities for professiona! growth,

increase teacher retention rates while retain-r ig the best teachers, and

provide the best educational experience forschool age children.

c*ructures for Implementation

The structure of the Induction for the BeginningTeacher Program has been modified over time tomeet the changing needs of the service area. How-ever, the basic structure has remained constant andhas been proven to be an effective and appropriatemodel for the induction of beginning teachers. Inessence:

Each beginning teacher is paired with a suc-cessful experienced teacher, preferably fromthe same grade level, conten t a rea , and school.This pair forms a teaching team.

The experienced teacher is trained by theprogram in peer coaching and observationtechniques.

The teaching team attends monthly semi-nars both on-campus and at local Instruc-tional Television ,tor Students sites. This is theChico university's interactive microwavetelevision system that links the campus tothe 14 Northern California counties in its


service region. It allows participants to viewthe program from their counties withouthaving to drive up to six hours to attend allsessions on campus.

Following each monthly seminar, each teach-ing team develops an action-research plan forimplementing the seminar's concepts in thebeginning teacher's classroom.

Peer coaches observe their beginning teach-ers on a weekly basis, either in person or onvideotape, to reinforce the implementation ofthe action-research plan.

Following each observation, the beginningteacher and peer coach hold a post-observa-tion conference to review the successful ele-ments of the beginning teacher's perform-ance, and to plan the next logical step.

This structure enables the teaching team to focuson specific skills after each seminar. The teachingteam plans together for this learning, and participatesas a team it implementing the plan, evaluating theresults, and projecting future action. Effort is devotedto identifying successful experiences, allowing the be-ginning teacher to learn from what he/she is doingright. This structure offers safety to the beginningteachers so that they may experiment and find soundinstructional techniques that work for them.

Roles of Experienced Educators

Experienced teachers (peer coaches) are thebackbon of the Chico university's induction pro-gram. They provide instruction, collegiality, feed-back, and support to beginning teachers where theyHeed it back in their classrooms. The support,insight, and safety provided by experienced teachersare regarded as essential to the learning of beginningteachers. The specific duties of the peer coaches are to:

attend evil seminar with the beginningteachers,

extend the seminar learning into the class-rooms,

assist beginning teachers in the developmentof action-research plans,

oversee implementation of the plans, and

provide supportive and constructive feed-back after each weekly observation.

The peer coach's knowledge of the beginningteacher and the situation in which that teacher is per-forming enable her/him to offer insight and sugges-tions that are tailored to immediate individual needs.In this way, seminar concepts can be carried to the"grass-roots" level.

Instructional and administrative staff rein-force the comprehensiveness of the program struc-ture. Staff make site visits to the schools of participat-ing beginning teachers where they observe and con-ference with the participants and meet with theiradministrators. Individually tailored instruction andtechnical assi' ranee to the teaching team are pro-vided. In adJition, feedback from program partici-pants is obtained and used to further refine seminarofferings to address the current needs of beginningteachers. Program staff are able to see first-hand theteaching conditions each participant must confront.Thus, they are able to suggest alternative strategies toindividual participants that will help mitigate nega-tive conditions and capitalize on positive ones. Semi-nar offerings are also fine-tuned to reflect this input.In this way, program staff are able to extend persona:support and validation to the new teacher as al,important and valued member of the profession.

Content Emphasized

Program content emphasizes posi' eve, construc-tive issues which help beginning teachers sort out thediff,:rence between a problem and a condition, andidentify how to respond appropriately to each. Con-tent areas are selected based on a synthesis of re-search and are presented in an activities-orientedapproach. Content includes:

Classroom Management: Creating a PositiveClassroom Environment

Classroom Management: Developing and Im-plementing a Discipline Plan

Classroom Management: Understanding YourPower and How to Use It

Time Management: Balancing Personal and Pro-fessional Commitments

Implementing Model Curriculum Standards inYour Lessons


Student Evaluation and MotivationTeaching Students Who are At RiskTeacher as Instructional LeaderCoaching Teachers to Higher Levels of Effec-

tiveness (for peer coaches)

These topics were chosen on the basis of theneeds assessment that was conducted in the designphase of the program and through a survey of theparticipating first-year teachers. They were the mostfrequently mentioned in the literature and byprofessional educators (both experienced educatorsand new teachers) as areas of difficulty for beginningteachers. Thus, these topics serve as a soundinstructional base for the program as well as a viablespringboard for the action planning and "lea.-n bydoing" support that are integral to the success of theparticipants.

Program seminars focus on the identification ofindividual talents and teaching styles and an explo-ration of how each might be used effectively. Inaddition, beginning teachers are encouraged to ex-plore different styles as potential adaptations thatmight be useful in a variety of classroom settings.Enitia. i. is placed on refining what the beginningteac he: ioes well and introducing variations on thesestrategies as a way of generating options so that he/she gains confidence and a realistic perspective aswell as a set of educationally sound techniques.

Modifications to the Project

Over the past two years of operation, the Induc-tion for the Beginning Teacher Program has beenresponsive to the reactions and input of programparticipants and their administrators. Thus, a secondyear follow-up program has been designed to offercontinued growth opportunities for new teachers.This phase of the program deals in depth with iden-tification of individual lei ming styles and the teach-ing of students who are at risk. In addition, two ad-ministrative workshcps are being offered to giveadministrators a greater understanding of the pro-gram and peer coaching. The topics of these work-shops will be Coaching Teachers to Higher Levels ofExcellence, and Evaluations That Make a Difference.

Two books have been written to augment anddocument imponant aspects of the program (seeBernhardt and Triplett, Flaherty and Rebello, in theResource Section of this document).

Annual program evaluations clearly demonstratethat the Induction for the Beginning Teacher Programstrongly influences the early professional develop-ment of beginning teachers. Beginning teachers haveconsistently improved their classroom rformancesaccording to the observations of their peer coaches.Additionally, participants have cited the program as aprimary impetus for their decisions to continue into asecond and third year in the profession.

prepared Victoria L. Bernhardt and Margaret Triplett

Induction for theBeginning Teacher Program Staff

DirectorInstructor/TrainerField SupervisorProgram AssistantAdministrative AssistantProgram Assistant

Victoria L. BernhardtGeraldine FlahertyFran Rebel loMargaret TriplettJoyce AndersonGeorganneDonaldson

Contact Person:Dr. Victoria L. Bernhardt

Induction for the Beginning Teacher ProgramDirector

College of EducationCalifornia State University, Chico

Chico, California 959294)224(916) 895-6165

SANTA CLARA NEW TEACHER PROJECTA DISTRICT PROGRAM FOR NEW TEACHER SUPPORT

The Santa Clara New Teacher Project includeskindergarten through sixth grade teachers in a unifiedK-12 sr: of district. The mainly suburban district issocio-et -ally diverse, and the student popula-tion is nearly percent .ion-white.

The purpose of our project was to develop an ex-emplary model for supporting and assessing newteachers which would result in improved learningopportunities for all students in Santa Clara UnifiedSchool District. We developed our model with thesupport of the local Teachers' Association, UnitedTeachers of Santa Clara.

Our goals included providing an organizationalenvironment where new teachers would sense sup-port, personal success, stability and continuous pro-


fessional development while undergoing transition toa new teaching job. A survey of new teachers from theprevious spring showed a need for training in timemanagement and class management.

In the first year of the project, 15 teachers partici-pated. Nine were fresh out of teacher training; theother six were in their second year of teaching. Indeciding which teachers would be a part of the project,we looked at which schools had the greatest numberof new teachers. We also looked for those schools thathad principals who would be very supportive, and wewanted principals who were involved in the Bay AreaAdministrative Training Program.

Project teachers attended a seminar series ofabout 15 sessions that covered all aspects of time andclass management. Some of the support teachers alsoattended. The new teachers also attended workshopsin cooperative learning strategies. The seminar meet-ings quickly became a time for sharing and solvingcommon problems, and participants developed a closecamaraderie. The director also used these meetings toshare information about the project. At the end of theyear the teachers commented on the close relation-ships they had developed with the seminar instructor,the director, and each other.

We wanted the new teachers to experience sup-port from as many different people as possible. Eachteacher was assigned to a mentor teacher who taughtat the same grade level but usually not at the sameschool. Each project teacher was also linked up with asupport teacher at the same le level and schoolsite. The on-site support I was the everydaycontact with the new teacher helping with day today planning, answering questions, offering advice.

The project director a middle school teacherwas released from teaching in the afternoon to man-age the project. He visited the project teachers in theirschools many times throughout the year, makinghimself available as another support person.

We also provided some incentives for people in-volved in the project. The new teachers received astipend of $16 per hour for attending meetings. Theyalso received credit toward their professional growthrequirements. The on-site support teachers received$300 for the year plus the hourly stipend for attendingmeetings. The mentor teachers were compensatedfrom the Co lifornia Mentor Teacher Program.

For the second year of the project, the programfor first year teachers is similar to that of the first year.We have added a component for the teachers who arein the project for the second year. Second year projectteachers will continue working on planning and class-room management. They will also be trained to useIntegrated Thematic Instruction. Mentors will takeon more of a coaching role, and there will be trainingin collegial coaching.

Teachers who participated in the New TeacherProject last year report that beginning school thisyear was comparatively easy, thanks in large part towhat they learned in the project last year.

Prepared IT Jim Mit

Santa Clara New Teacher Project Staff

Project DirectorProject CoordinatorProject Secretary

Delberta MeyerJim MitchellCathy Vzn Pernis

Contact Person:Jim Mitchell

Santa Clara New Teacher ProjectSanta Clara Unified School District

1889 Lawrence RoadSanta Clara, California 95052

(408) 720-8540

THE SANTA CRUZ COUNTY NEW TEACHER PROJECT

Anyone who has been a teacher reme;-i tbers hisor her first year of teaching and all too often wouldprefer to forget it. Typically, it an isolating, gruel-ing, and difficult introduction to the profession. Thenew teacher's idealism and excitement are quicklyeroded by the stress and anxiety of keeping a class"together," mastering classroom skills, and becom-ing a successful professional.

In Santa Cruz County Schools, the new teacher'syear begins differently from most others. Forty-twofirst-year elementary teachers, 28 of whom are bilin-gual, are at the hub of an exciting collaborative effortbetween the university, the county office of educa-tion, and school districts to ease the transition fromstudent teacher to experienced teacher. The SantaCruz County New Teacher Project supports begin-ning teachers' efforts to translate what they havelearned in preservice courses into classroom practice.

Chapter 7: Models of New Teacher induction

Though their task is still not easy, new teachersreceive a gentler, smoother, and more supportivetransition into the profession.

The p' oject is a collaborative effort between theUniversity of California at Santa Cruz Teacher Edu-cation Program, the Santa Cruz Co linty Office ofEducation, and seven school districts in Santa CruzCounty. This county-wide consortium, led by theuniversity, is composed of 17 representatives fromeach sponsoring organization, including assistantsuperintendents, principals, personnel directors andstaff development coordinators, mentor teachers,union representatives, university faculty and projectstaff. A distinctive featvre of this project comes fromthe close ties developed between the universityTeacher Education Program and the school districtsin the area. The consortium builds on a ten-yearlegacy of effective collaboration between the univer-sity and county schools. The project is led by EllenMoir, Coordinator of the Student Teaching Programat the University of California at Santa Cruz, who alsoserves as chair of the consortium. The consortiummeets six times during the year. Consortium inputdirects the project and provides a unique forum un-precedented in Santa Cruz county. It facilitates com-munication and collaboration across districts and in-stitutional boundaries for the purpose of supportingand assisting new teachers.

The project serves seven school districts in Sa ntaCruz County. Santa Cruz County is a rapidly grow-ing area with a diverse population of about 220,000.Employment in the county is primarily in agricultureand tourism, although in recent years the comput, rindustry has grown significantly. The seven schooldistricts serve the needs of approximately 33,000 K-12 students.

The county's population is technically and lin-guistically diverse. For example, in Pajaro ValleyUnified School District, the largest of the county'sschool districts, 40 percent of the students are Lim-ited English Proficient, making the district one of themost linguistically impacted in the state. Ninety-fourpercent of these studelirs are Spanish-speaking, andof this population, 77 percent are migrant workers.Consequently, the district is and will continue to behiring many first-year bilingual teachers who, inaddition to their special 'language training needs, willhave to deal with the social, emotional, and academicneeds of this fluctuating student population.

The Santa Cruz County New Teacher Project,one of 15 pilot projects in the state, is built upon the ex-isting supervisory model used in the Teacher Educa-tion Program at UCSC, where exemplary local class-room teachers are hired on a rotational basis to super-vise student teachers and teach methods courses.Student teachers are observed on a weekly basis fortwenty weeks. This close working relationship pro-vides a rich supportive feedback system as well as themany benefits of working with the best teachers in ourlocal area. Four exemplary teachers novice teacheradvisors are the cornerstone of the Santa Cn zCounty New Teacher Project. The advisors, two 1fwhom specialize in bilingual education, are hired towork with r'vice teachers for the entire year underthe guidance of a UCSC project director.

O

The Project's First Year

Below are some of the unique features of thisproject from its first year of operation:

Novice Teacher Advisors. Key to the Santa Cruzproject's approach is the strong belief that the newteacher will benefit most from ongoing coaching andsupport with a clear understanding of what consti-tutes effective teacher performance in his/her particu-lar setting.

Four advisors were hired in August, 1988 fromSanta Cruz County school districts. Two bilingual ad-visors, one full-time and one half-time, worked with23 bilingual first-year teachers from the Pajaro ValleyUnified School District, the largest in the county. Oneadvisor worked half-time with the Santa Cruz CitySchool District. The other full-time advisor workedwith the remaining five school districts. All of theadvisors were on loan to the project while remainingas district employees. The districts were reimbursedfor their entire salary and benefit package in June. Ad-visors worked with each new teacher on the average oftwo hours a week. New teachers had the opportunityto schedule the ad visors' visits to be : eld before school,after school, or during class time. This schedulingenabled the advisors to work with each new teacherboth in and out of the classroom. The advisors' time inthe class was spent doing demonstration lessons,observing and coaching, team teaching, assessing stu-dents, videotaping lessons, providing I elease time, re-sponding to interactive journals, and assisting withproblems as they arose. Time outside was spent onplanning, gathering and providing resources, prob-


lem-solving and reflection, and general support andencouragement. By being familiar with the studentsin the class, the overall curriculum plan, and the classstructure and organization, the advisor was able toprovide new teachers with specific, pertinent, con-crete praise and suggestions.

As a result of the intensive involvement, eachadvisor developed a unique and powerful collegialrelationship with each new teacher. Evaluations fromthe new teachers in May used such descriptors as"saint," "guardian angel," "friend," and "co-teacher"to describe this relationship. The advisor/ novice part-nership truly prred to be the cornerstone of theproject.

One of the unanticipated benefits to new teach-ers was the spillover effect of the collegiality beingmodeled by the new teacher and the new teacheradvisor. Veteran teachers at the school sites oftenapproached new teachers or their advisors to be apart of their sharing or to receive copies of resourcesthe advisors brought. This gave new teachers a boostin self-esteem as they could now be give's rather thanalways "takers."

In reflecting upon their role, advisors felt thatthey needed additional training in counseling skills,developing a repertoire of skills to work with themost needy new to chers, and a structure to developtheir own collegiaLty and networking.

Individual Novice Plan. The project recognizedthat new teachers enter the profession at different de-velopmental stages and with individual needs. In anon-evaluative and supportive manner, the noviceteacher advisors helped each aew teacher develop anindividualized plan to addiess his/her goals andneeds specifically. From week to week the advisorand the new teacher worked together as partners tostrengthen the new teacher's program.

The project staff developed a Novice TeacherLog which was used to keep record of the type ofcontact each new teacher had on a weekly basis andto document follow-up comments on what wouldhappen next. Close contact with principals and on-site support teachers also focused the direction of theassistance to the new teacher. In January, project staffalso developed a New Teacher Self Assessment de-signed to have each new teacher reflect on his/herstrengths and weaknesses This self assessment serves

to focus he content of the new teacher/advisor con-tact during the subsequent visitations. In May andJune advisors met with new teachers for a half day ofreflection, curriculum development and planning forthe following year.

The Individual Novice Plan was an evolvingaspect of the project. As the new teacher developedthrough the phases of first year teaching, so did thePlan. At the beginning of the year, each week pro-vided a new challenge for the new teacher and theadvisor responded to the concern of the moment. ByJune, many new teachers were able to accomplish thegoal of constructing a year plan for the following year,including plans for specific areas of strength andweakness identified through ongoing self-assessmentand reflection. Because project staff were so closely in-volved with the new teachers, each plan was uniqueand matched the goals of each individual teacher.

On-Site Support Teacher/Buddy. New teacherswere paired with an experienced teacher at their schoolsite. Efforts were made to pair teachers of the samegrade level. At an orientation meeting in September,buddies were asked to maintain regular contact withthe new teachers and were given a packet explainingthe project and exampirs of areas of support. Theywere also asked to keep a log of the type of service theyprovided the new teacher. These were collected andreviewed by project staff. Each buddy received astipend of $225 at the end of the year.

Project staff felt that the on-site support teachercomponent of the project was about 50 percent effec-tive. Some buddies were very involved and werecrucial to the success of the new teacher. The other halfwere helpful at the beginning of the year, but assis-tance decreased significantly as the year progressed.

University Aides. A new course was developedat the University of California at Santa Cruz thatstrengthened the student teacher program (in draw-ing minority students and providing additional fieldplacement opportunities) and assisted first-year teach-ers. University students were trained specifically towork with new teachers in their classrooms for 10 to 12hours per week for a 10-week period. A universityfaculty member (another veteran teacher from a localschool district) taught the class and supervised theuniversity aides. Fifteen aides were placed in newteachers' classrooms.


Staff Development. Staff development has beena coordinated effort by the New Teacher Project staffand local districts. Each district offered a preserviceorientation for its new teachers. The director and anadvisor attended each orientation to introduce theNew Teacher Project as well as to become familiarwith each district's services to new teachers.

A key philosophy and strength of the SantaCruz County Project was the emphasis on keepingthe new teacher in the classroom, thereby limitingoutside staff development activities which mightdetract from the teacher's growing abilities to absorband apply material directly to his or her own class.New teachers were encouraged to become activeparticipants in their own professional development.The project staff planned and delivered three in-service days aimed at meeting the identifiet. needs ofthe new teacher. The inservices were: ClassroomManagement, Language Development (specificallyaimed at working with language minority students),and The Reading/Writing Connection. Evaluationsof these days were overwhelmingly positive. Newteachers felt that they had received information whichwas immediately applicable and manageable withintheir first-year context. In addition, each new teacherplanned two self-selected release days from Januaryto June. Many worked on long-term planning withtheir advisor. Others observed exemplary teacherswith their ad visor and collabora tivelydiscussed whatthey had seen to promote an application of what hadbeen learned in terms the new teacher could use andapply.

A series of 10 seminars was offered to newteachers. The seminars provided a forum for follow -up to the inservice days as well as other topics such asclassroom management, classroom organization, end -o f-sc hool procedures, stress reduction, time manage-ment, a nd networking among thenew teachers them-selves. Participants received five units of universitycredit. New teachers were unanimous in wantingthis to continue into their second year.

Newsletter. Project staff created an informa-tional and promotional newsletter that was distrib-uted to all participants, on-site support teachers,principals, district administrators, and Consortiummembers three times during the year.

Educational Community Awareness and Net-working. The project hosted a reception for the edu-

cational community in September. One hundredtwenty-five educators from around the county at-tended, including seven superintendents, union rep-resentatives, on-site support teachers, principals,Ur iversity of California at Santa Cruz faculty, newteachers, and project staff. In June, the UniversityChancellor hosted an end-of-the -year reception tocelebrate the successful retention of 42 new teachersin the county; public school administrators, newteachers, veteran teachers, and university facultyalso attended.

The Consortium assisted project staff in hostinga Symposium for educators in June. The Symposiumpresented the successful elements of the project. Pre-senters represented the project staff as well as dis-trict-level administrators, principals, the Universityof California at Santa Cruz Board of Studies in Edu-cation, and new teachers. The participants stated thatthe information presented will changeand strengthenthe ways in which they deal with new teachers in theft hire. Many asked for copies of our findings, ourself -i ssessment instrument used to develop the Indi-vidual Novice Plan, and our chart of the phases ofteaching through which a new teacher passes in a firstyear.

Hotline. Each advisor was available on an on-call basis for immediate support. Advisor logs indi-cate that an average of two to three hours a week werespent on the phone for after-hours support.

Summary

The results of this project have been far-reach-ing. The project has been based on a model thatreleases exemplary teachers from full-time classroompositions in order to form partnerships with newteachers. The strength of the project has been thisintensive, individual involvement with each newteacher which provided non-judgmental, regular andsustained support over the year. An additionalstrength has been the collaborative nature of theproject, enabling genuine teamwork, communica-tion, and reflection within andamong the particieat-ing institutions (the University of California at SantaCruz, school district administrations, and teachingstaff). For the Santa Cruz Teacher Education Pro-gram, this collaboration has provided rich feedbackabout how Our preservice preparation works ordoesn't work when tested within the reality of firstyear teaching; we Lave already begun to integrate

SO Designing Programs for Neu, Teachers 92

this knowledge into our teacher preparation course-work. Twenty-six of the 42 new teachers are gradu-ates of the university preparation program. Since theinception of the New Teacher Project, we have beenable for the first time to conduct a level of graduatefellow -up and support that begins to resemble Lclose supervision and support model to which theybecame accustomed during student teaching.

As a collaborative effort of the Consortium, theUniversity of California at Santa Cruz, local districts,administrators, veteran teachers, and unions, theSanta Cruz County New Teacher Project was clearlysuccessful in empowering and retaining 42 oftomorrow's educators.

Prepared by Ellen Moir and Judy Stobbe

Santa Cruz New Teacher Project Staff

Project Director Ellen Moir

Novice Teacher Advisors Wendy BaronJanette MiilerCarrot MoranJudy Stobbe

Contact Person:Ellen Moir

Santa Cruz County New Teacher ProjectOffice of Teacher Education

University of California at Santa CruzSanta Cruz, California 95064

(408) 429-4025

PROJECT TAP (TEACHER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM)A DISTRICT /UNIVERSITY COLLABORATIVE MODELOF INDUCTION

Project TAP (Teacher Assistance Program), athree-phase induction model, is a collaborative proj-ect between Cajon Valley Union School District andSan Diego State University. Phase I involves the as-signment of school site start-up partners who assistnew teachers in their first eight weeks of teaching.Phase II includes the selection of school site supportteam members. Teams, led by the principal, focus onassisting new teachers in areas of improving instruc-tional performance, reflective problem-solving, andprofessional growth planning. Phase III integratesdistrict and university educational resources at theModel Education Center, a professional develop-

ment school, in order to promote the professionalgrowth of new teachers.

The project staff includes the school district'sAssistant Superintendent for Instructional Servicesand a university professor who serve as Co-Direc-tors; a teacher on special assignment who coordi-nates the program; the university instructional teamleader of the Model Educ ition Center who serves asa consultant; and a full-tv-ne project secretary. Thestaff meets with an advisory board of district anduniversity personnel which includes the district'sSuperintendent of Schools and the dean of the Col-lege of Education as well as principals, mentor teach-ers, and teacher union representiitives. In the initialyear of impleme. ":ation (1988-89), Project TAP served45 first-year teachers representing 16 schools.

Phase I

As part of the hiring proses.., the principal ;.teach site is responsible for assigning a start-up prst-ner for each beginning teacher. The partner whoreceives a stipend of $200 during i'llaFe !, expectedto reflect the following characteristics:

Be expert in creating a learning environment(a role model)

Teach at the same grade level as the newteacher

Be approachable and supportive

Be experienced (have materials and ideas toshare)

The roles and responsibilities of start-up partners areto:

Welcome and orient the new teacher to theschool site

Attend Project TAP inservices for veteraneducators

Assist new teachers in beginning the schoolyear (i.e., welcoming, assisting in securingappropriate materials, creating a learningenvironment, establishing a discipline plan,unit /lesson planning, assessing learningskills of students, answering questions)

93Chapter 7: Models q New Teacher Induction Programs 81

Assist new teachers in spending a $200 class-room set-up stipend (i.e., going shoppingtogether). Stipends are spent on nonconsum-able items which enhance the new teacher'sclassroom. These become the personal prop-erty of the new teacher.

Participate in the evaluation of the project

The content of assistance is targeti- toward-eas of concern associated with beginning the school

year and is individualized based on the needs of thenew teacher and the contextual setting. Partners areprovided with resources such as "Beginning theSchool Year, Pamphlet A" of Randall Sprick's TheSolution Book, A First Year Teacher's Guide to Success byBonnie Williamson, and the district new teacherhandbook. Although most assistance is providedafter school, the project provides release days (a halfday for the novice teacher and a full day for theveteran teacher during Phase I) in order to facilitateinteraction and support. In addition to assistanceprovided by start-up partners and the project teacheron special assignment, new teachers participate in aseminar on classroom management prior to the be-ginning of school, and monthly TAP RAP sessionswhich address topics like parent conferences, prepar-ing for substitutes, record keeping, and testing. Thesemeetings are led by district new teacher mentors andextend throughout the school year.

Phase 11

The process of setting up the Phase II supportteams involves having the principal consult with thenew teachers and their partners to discuss possiblereassignment of support personnel. Start-up part-ners are assigned to the support team if the partnermatch has been successful, Phase I has been imple-mented, and the experienced teacher is able to makethe necessary time commitment given other respon-sibilities. This commitment includes sb. team meet-ings and three training seminars. Team membersreceive a $200 stipend for assisting new leachersduring Phase II, which extends for approximately sixmonths.

The focus of assistance in Phase II shifts fromstart-up needs to improving instructional perform-ance, reflective problem-solving, and professionalgrowth planning. Support team members at end twoday-long seminars on reflective supervision and al-

ternative observation strategies, and an after-schoolseminar on developing professional growth plans.Two release days are provided for the experiencedteacher and one release day is provided for a_e noviceteacher in order to facilitate assistance during thisphase. .-ts experienced teachers work together withnew teachers during this phase, assistance is given intargeting growth areas which translate into goals fora professional gi _ wth plan. As part of the plan,activities to achieve the goals are identified and re-corded. The project staff plans Phase III inserviceopportunities in response to these identified goals.

To promote reflective problem solving, teamsengage in writing critical incident summaries at theirmeetings. This involves a ten minute quick-write inwhich the new teachers describe an incident that hasbeen positively or negatively significant to them intheir teaching. New teachers share the incidents withthe group. The principal and experienced teachersserve as facilitators in the ensuing discussion as teammembers interact to gain insights and ideas. The goalof the discussion is to encourage new teachers toreview and reflect on their own experiences as well asspeculate on possible solutions to identified prob-lems. Experienced educators are encouraged to guidenew teachers in self-analysis and reflection ratherthan simply prescribe pat answers.

The roles and respon,ibilities of support team mem-bers are to:

Attend Project TAP inservice seminars

Organize classroom observation and confer-ence opportunities for new teachers andexperienced teachers at the school site

Collaboratively assess new teacher strengthsand target growth areas

Assist new teachers in developing a profes-sional growth plan

Engage in reflective problem-solving bywriting critical incident summaries and dis-cussing particular concerns at team meet-ings

Participate in the evaluation of Project TAP


Phase III

Each new teacher is provided with two releasedays during Phase III in which they can visit theModel Education Center and a district mentor's class-room. A wide range of inservice opportunities aredeveloped in order to respond to the diversity ofgrowth goals that new teachers identify in their pro-fessional growth plans. San Diego State Universityprofessors offer seminars on such topics as integrat-ing language arts and social studies, discovery learn-ing in science, math manipulatives, and teachingculturally diverse students. Model Education Centerteachers give demonstration lessons in all subjectareas at the various grade levels and conduct pre- andpost-conferences with the new teachers. Strategypackets of materials are prepared to assist new teach-ers in implementing what they observe and learn.University and Model Education Center teachersreceive a $200 stipend for participating in Phase III,which occurs during March and April.

The project teacher on special assignment iscritically important to the continuity and success ofProject TAP. Responsibilities include:

Coordination, guidance and monitoring ofeach phase of the project in consultation withproject staff, new teachers, site administra-tors, and assisting teachers

Conducting informal observations of newteachers (formal observations on request)

Participating in TAP RA; sessions for newteachers

Supervising work of the project secretary

Serving as a resource for lesson demonstra-tions

Serving as an advocate for new teachers

Assisting in designing and presenting semi-nars

Participating in the evaluation of the project

Project Rationale

The purpose of Project TAP is to provide assis-

tance in promoting the professional growth of noviceteachers in the Cajon Valley Union School Districtand to serve as a pilot program in a statewide evalu-ation study on alternative models of induction fornew teachers. This purpose is accomplished by: 1) in-dividualizing assistance based on the personal andcontextual needs of each new teacher; 2) providing aforum for new and experienced teachers to engage inreflective problem solving; 3) incorporating struc-tures to ensure an effective new /experienced teachermatch; 4) educating veteran educators in strategies ofsupport and assistance; and 5) integrating districtand university resources for induction.

Complexity invariably characterizes each teach-ing experience. Among other factors, diversity inteacher personality. prior experience, grade/classassignment, and school context interact to identifythe challenge the first-year teacher encounters. Someinduction programs seek to respond to this challengeby placing major emphasis on new teacher seminarsin which generic content is presented. This alterna-tive model chooses to focus educational time, energy,and resources on preparing veteran educators toassist new teachers at the school site during the initialtwo-thirds of the s pool year before offering addi-tional opportunities for professional growth at theModel Education Center. Throughout the program,the focus is placed on addressing the individualgrowth needs of each new teacher.

Promoting the reflective problem-solving skillsof both the veteran educator and the new teacher inrelation to the specific diversity of each new teacher'ssetting is an additional focus of the program. Struc-tures such as school site team meetings, critical inci-dent summaries, and reflective supervision are allrelated to this objective. For many new teacher par-ticipants in the project, this is an extension of pre-service preparation. Project TAP builds on the reflec-tive supervision training provided by the Partners inSupervision Project, a CSU clinical supervision modelprogram at San Diego State University.

Project TAP ilso maximizes the assistance p.-oc-ess by providing new dnd veteran teachers with theopportunity to have input in the selection of supportpersonnel. According to Ruling- Austin, Putman &Galvez-Hjornevik (1985), 'The assignment of anappropriate support teacher is likely to be the mostpowerful and cost-effective intervention in an induc-tion program." Achieving an effective mentor/new

95

Chapter 7: Models of New Teacher !faction Programs 83

teacher match is complicated by the fact that supportis critical at the beginning of the school year.

Unfortunately, assignments must be made be-fore novice and veteran teachers have had an oppor-tunity to identify how well they work together. Proj-ect TAP is designed both to ensure start-up assistanceby assigning start-up partners and provide for anopportunity to change support personnel at the endof Phase 1. The phase-in approach offers opportuni-ties for interaction and rapport building to occurprior to the selection of the support teams that extendstart-up assistance a program for professionalgrowth. All the participants of Phase I consult withthe principal individually before the support team isofficially assigned. Changes in support personnelcan be made prior to beginning Phase

An assumption of this model of induction, whichemphasizes preparing veteran teachers to assist newteachers, is that veteran teachers, carefully selectedfor their contextual understanding and content ex-pertise, will know what a new teacher needs to learn;but they may need assistance in articulating andrelating their knowledge and expertise. In addition,the experienced teacher may need to learn how toguide the new teacher in reflection rather than simplyoffer solutions that have worked in other settings.Seminar sessions stress how to integrate the veteranteacher's "wisdom of practice" (Shulman, 1986) withthe knowledge of new teachers through contentcoaching in complex settings and reflective problemsolving.

Modifications Based on Lessons Learned

Phase I (start-up assistance) and Phase 111 (inte-gration of district/university resources for profes-sional growth) at the Model Education Center wereimplemented with relative ease in the initial year ofthe project. In Phase I, providing one-to-one assis-tance at the school site was clearly understood as avaluable innovation. Participation in the partnerarrangement was affirming, both to the novice andthe experienced educator who was selected to assist.Principals made the assignments efficiently and ef-fectively. Phase III involved utilizing teaching teamsat the Model Education Center who were alreadyactively interacting as part of an ongoing staff devel-opment plan. The tasks of preparing strategy packetsand providing demonstration lessors for novice teach-ers were new but the structures for accomplishing the

tasks (i.e., cross -grade team planning) were in place.The Model Education Center has been a collaborativedistrict/university program since 1986. In contrast,Phase II (support team assistance) involved creatingnew expectations and new structures for realizingthose expectations. Evaluation data indicated thatthis phase was particularly significant for new teach-ers in schools where principals identified with therecommended theory and practice of Phase II andassumed active leadership in implementing thisphase. However, several teams did not meet consis-tently. In the second year of implementation, inten-sive effort is being made to help each school siteprincipal and support team clarify the goals andstructures associated wii. Phase II. In addition toveteran educator seminars, project staff representa-tives will be attending each team's initial meeting tomodel a reflective approach to problem solving, andto help clarify expectations associated with class-room observa tions and targeting professionalgrowthgoals.

All innovations require time and effort to movefrom implementation to institutionalization. Fortu-nately, the district and university have evidenced ahigh level of enthusiasm and commitment to the goalof assisting new teachers through this model of in-duction.

Prepared Diane S. Murphy

Project TAPTeacher Assistance Program Staff

District Co-DirectorUniversity Co-DirectorProject Teacher on SpecialAssignmentUniversity ConsultantSecretary

Yvonne JohnsonDiane S. Murphy

Chris KeitelMarlowe BergMary Cooper

Contact Person:Dr. Diane S. Murphy

Project TAPCajon Valley Union School District189 Roanoke Road, 11.0. Box 1007

El Cajon, California. 92022(619) 588-3002

84 Designing Programs for New Teachers PCFri

CHAPTER 8

A Policy Frameworkfor New TeacherSupport

Douglas E. MitchellDavid HoughUniversity of California, Riverside

FFECTIVE teaching, like qualitywork inane other occupation, doesnot just happen. Good teaching

begins with the motivation of able youngpeople to obtain appropriate training andseek employment in the public schools.Motivation alone is not enough, of course.Creating high quality teacher trainingprograms, carefully screening graduatesbefore hiring, and inswing that, once hired,teachers are given a si ipportive environmentand held accountable for their assigned tasks,are all critical ingredients in a highperformance school system. Faced withcomplexities such as these, policy makersusually ash, "What are the most importantpoints of leverage?" In other words, whatare the most cost-effective means forimproving the system?

Chapter 8: A Pctf tc y Framework 85

This chapter is devoted to wrestling with thisbasic policy question. We begin by taking the broad-est possible look at the labor market processes shap-ing overall teacher recruitment, training, employ-ment, and supervision in the schools. Within theframework of this labor market system, we then lookclosely at the state-supported new teacher supportprograms, examining what role they can be expectedto play in shaping the effectiveness of California'snearly 200,tXX) public school teachers. Two dimen-sions of these programs will be examined: 1) thenature of the services they should be expected toprovide, and 2) the distribution of authority andresponsibility for insuring the proper induction ofnew teachers into the complexities and subtleties ofhigh quality teaching.

THL POL ICY PROM EMI A LABOR MARKET Focus

Public policy decisions always involve a bal-ancing act. Since problems are numerous and re-sources always policy makers must decidewhich problems should be add ressed , and how muchmoney, regulatory attention, or programmatic sup-port should be allocated to ameliorating them. Evenbefore a problem can he attacked, it must beconcep-tualized in a way that allows policy makers to imag-ine taking constructive action. Problems that are at-tributed to fate, or the exercise of personal liberties, ofthat are producing no demand for sol u tions are simplyignored by the policy system. Conversely, problemsthat have mobilized powerful interest groups areseen as either the "proper business of government"or the cause of social unrest and criminal activity, andthose get high priority.

Schools and school improvement are no excep-tions. Americans have a century-long tradition ofpublic support for free, compulsory education of allchildren. As David Easton (1965) noted in his classicformulation of the political process, this traditioninvolves both demand and support demand forschooling that prepares children for success in theadult world, and support in the form of h uge budgetsand broad legal authority for teachers and adminis-trators. Over the years, attention by both citizens andpolitical leaders has oscillated between an emphasison demi.. (ding better schools and Siiilliort lug educators intheir attempts to produce them. During periods whendemand is high and support relatively weak, policymakers emphasize raising requirements, elaboratingassessment, and strengthening accountability for

86 Di'siguing Programs New Teachers

performance. When the pendulum swings in theother direction and support considerations becomeprominent, policy makers tend to debate increasedschool funding and the development of new andinnovative programs to enhance the work of profes-sional educators.

The 1980s have witnessed a unique mixture ofintense and rapidly shifting policy demands andsupports for the public schools. Early in the decadethe shrill rhetoric of the National Commission on Ex-cellence (1983) report, A Nation at Risk, unleashed anavalanche of demand-oriented reform proposals.Schools were seen as mired in "mediocrity," seri-ously undermining the nation's secure`, by failing toprepare students for productivity in a global econ-omy. As the decade comes to a close, however, sup-port-oriented policies have begun to surface onceagain. Today's policy makers recognize that reformand improvement require the dedicated effort andenthusiastic engagement of professional educators

not just the adoption of standards and mandatesfor accountability. Thus, proper funding of publicschooling, symbolized in the passage of Proposition98, innovative programs, and the development ofcurriculum materials, training of managers, andnumerous other aspects of school operations are re-ceiving widespread interest and support.

The state-supported California New TeacherProject and the Inner City New Teacher RetentionProject are among the more imaginative and poten-tially far-reaching of these new school support poli-cies. These aim at school improvement by facilitatingentry into the occupation for new teachers who mightotherwise be consumed in the "baptism by fire" thatawaits newly certified teachers as they enter thepublic schools. The new teacher programs weredeveloped in response to a growing awareness thatcollege- and university-based training programscannot adequately prepare teachers for the rigors andtensions that accompany the first year or two ofclassroom work. Too many young teachers fall by thewayside during their first years on the job victimsof disillusionment, alienation, and stress.

Can the California new teacher programs pro-vide the needed transition from preservice trainingand certification to full-time classroom responsibil-ity? If they can, are these programs more cost-effec-tive than reduced teaching work loads, a longertraining period, recruitment of more able or more

FIGURE ILABOR MARKET DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES

Labor Market Labor Market Policy Magnets Policy Screens Direct Fiscal Indirect Fiscal

Improvement MembershipStrategies

1. Motivate Eligibles Publicize Disclose Base Sahli-kr School Funding

2. Train Talented Innovate Retpirements Ntset ProgramTraining Costs Development

3. Select Qualified Recruit Assess Placement Systems DifferentiatedDevelopment Staffing

4. Induct Unlisted Support Support Services Release Time

5. Develop SucceS,,fu Reward EvAluate Ladders ProtessionaliieTeaching

mature teacher candidates, or any other strategies forincreasing the probability of bringing highly quali-fied and dedicated long-term teachers into the workforce? One starting point for answering these ques-tions is to look at the overall i 'Ior market for teachers

from motivation and training through recruit-ment, selection, induction, and ongoing support.

Ttii PI ACT Or SUPPORT PROGRAMS IN TiltTI. , cri R LABOR MARKET

Induction programs like those supported bythe California New Teacher Project and the Califor-nia New Teacher Retention Project play an importantrole in facilitating high job performance in any OCCIIRation. Many employers use some form of orienta-tion or apprenticeship program to help new workerslearn specific job requirements or adjust to the workenvironment. Long-term induction programs maytake several years and involve complex learningprocesses as required of medical interns or lawclerks, for example. In most jobs the induction proc-ess is much shorter, lasting from a few minutes toseveral weeks as new workers learn overall job re-quirements, demonstrate competencies, or merelypractice under dose supervision.

As indicated in Figure 1. however, inductionprograms are but a small part of the overall labormarket picture. Long before induction programs canhe used, employees have to he motivated to enter anoccupation. Those motivated have to acquire needed

experience and training to qualify for employment,and qualified workers have to be selected for employ-ment. Only then can effective induction programs beused to provide the skills, social relationships, andworkplace orientation needed for successful job per-formance.

As indicated in the first column of Figure 1,policy makers have five distinct labor market im-provement strategies available to them fur enhancingthe overall quality of school teaching. Each of theselabor market improvement strategies is the subject ofa large both, of research and scholarly interest as wellas being the object of ongoing education policy de-bates. In the paragraphs that follow, we briefly revieweach of the five, labor market enhancement strategiesin order to identify the place of induction supportprograms within an overall policy framework.

99

Each of the labor market enhancement stra tegiesescribed by answering five key questions:

1. What does the labor market look like fromthis perspective, who are the members of thepool, ind how are they identified for reviewand support?

2. What sorts of policies could he used as "mag-nets" to increase the number and quality ofthe teacning work force at this stage?

Cluipte;- 8: A Po 87

3. What sorts of policies could be used as"screens" to reduce the likelihood that weakor low-performing teachers will enter theschools and/or continue to serve in class-rooms?

4. If policy makers seeught to provide direct fis-cal support or incentives to strengthen thelabor market at this stage, what sorts of fiscalmechanisms are available?

5. \hat general fiscal strategies can be used toenhance the labor market at this stage, if pol-icy makers wish to improve the teachingwork force indirectly that is, by providingfiscal resources that local educators or otherkey actors may use to improve the likelihoodthat the teaching work force will improve?

We turn now to a review of each strategy in light ofthese five questions.

Motivating the Etiai it

In teaching, as in any other labor m' het, thefirst problem is to find a way to motivate eligibleyoung people to seek needed training an:i apply forwork in the occupation. While motivation is thecritical element at this point, it is important to targetmotivation programs on those w ho already are or ca nbecome eligible for employment in the field. Theresult of motivating ineligible people is pain andsuffering, not successful employment. Just as athleticteams, performing artist groups. and highly technicaloccupation: like engineering or medicine try to targettheir recruitment of new employees on individualswho have the requisite talents and interests, teachingrecruitment is enhanced when motivation is appro-priately targeted.

1 o attract eligible young teachers, schools pub-licizea vailable job opportunities emphasizing thoseaspects of the job that are most !ikely to attract indi-viduals with needed skills and interests. While edu-cation salaries are modest, they have been movingupin recent years. Job security, the stimulation of work-ing with children, and the satisfaction of performinga highly valued service are also attractive features ofthe teaching profession. Whether potential teachersare attracted by a 180-day student contact work yearwith six-hour student contact days or repelled by theemotional drain of this intense interpersonal contact

is not entirely certain. In any event, young people aredrawn into teaching through the use of policy mag-nets that publicize the positive features of the work.

It has recently become CV ident that the publicitysystem works too well for some young people. Anumber of individuals who lack either the tempera-ment or the talent to become good teachers have,un-fortunately, entered the occupation naively unawareof its real demands. Hence, some have recommendedthat policy makers create more effective screeningdevices to discourage these teacher candidates be-fore they take extensive training or actually seekpublic school employment. When dealing with thelarge pool of eligible workers who have yet to decideupon a teaching career, the best screening device isprobably full disclosure of the emotional and intel-lectual rigors of this line of work. Bringing manymore college students into the schools as teacheraides or student tutors would probably go a long waytoward disclosing the real nature of the occupationand providing eligible students with a solid basis fordeciding whether to seek preservicu training.

Two types of fi-ical policies are appropriate formotivating more eligible young reople to seek teach-ing careers. Direct fiscal motivatitri is provided whenpolicy makers directly fund teachers' base salaries.This approach insures that local administvators tit)not use these earmarked resources for capital devel-opment or other non-salary items. A less direct ap-proach to making schools attractive to eligible youngpeople is to simply raise overall schoo! handing lev-els. Where policy makers are c infidert that localdecision makers can strike a proper balaece betweensalary and non-salary aspects of the program, theyare well advised to simply raise overall scherol budg-ets. Local variations in the cost of various programneeds and local labor market variables often makedirect funding of particular program comr)onentsunproductive for sonic schools or districts

Incentives for future teachers that will attractthe most able college students and pref.ent teachingin a favorable light foster commitment to theoccupa-tion over the long term. Especially in California,wht e teacher shortages and rapid turnover in staffare d t fecting the quality of instruction for many schoolchildren, fiscal incentives can significantly reducethe shortage of teachers. Although California willneed between 15,000 and 17,000 teachers each yearthrough the 1990s, the number of new teachers being

88 Desi 'lig Programs far Nall Teachers 1 0 0

trained in colleges and universities is on the decline(PACE, 1988). This suggests that fiscal as well as non-fiscal incentives for eligible teacher candidates needto be raised significantly.

Tn.:rang the Talented

Once able young people are motivated to enterthe profession, the teacher labor market enters a newphase where training rather than motivation is theprimary policy consideration. Even the most highlymotivated teacher candidates those who see teach-ing as a rewarding occupation, find schools stimulat-ing, and feel that classrooms are places where theygain personal worth by enriching the lives of children

cannot enter their chosen profession until theyobtain adequate training.

At this point costs rise, but membership in theteacher labor market shrinks dramatically. Motiva-tion programs must reach a very large number ofpotential teacher candidates. By contrast, expensivetraining programs can be rather narrowly focused onthe much smaller number of individuals who aretalented enough to be successful in the field.

Throughout the twentieth century, stay' policymakers have made very large investments in improv-ing the quality and character of teacher training.Early state efforts involved development of certifica-tion standards and creation of "Normal" schoolsaimed at meeting these standards. Normal schoolprograms were intended to upgrade the subject matterknowledge and pedagogical skills of the rapidlyexpanding teacher work force. Using relatively shorttraining programs, these schools were designed toimprove the skills of a large number of teachers whohad little or no college level training. As the twentiethcentury progressed, training requirements wereexpanded. Normal schools became building bloeksin the development of public colleges and universi-ties in most states, and teacher certification becamelinked to completion of a baccalaureate degree. in afew states, notably California, legislators extendedpreset vice training beyond the baccalaureate level toinclude postgraduate training.

In addition to the establishment of specialschools and training programs, policy makers linkedteacher salaries to the acquisition of 'no-east:Al train-ing. Originally, the link between salary and formaltraining was intended to insure that all teachers

would complete a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor ofScience degree. Once started, however, the salarylinkage was extended to include masters' and evendoctoral degrees.

In recent years 1 acher training programs haveconic under widesp, ..ad attack as dull, inadequateand outdated. Two messages are at the heart of thiscriticism. The first, and harshest, criticisms have beendirected toward the so-called "methods" courses.Critics contend that the methods taught lack a solidtheoretical base, and amount to little more than "warstories" by former teachers who are often out of touchwith changing student characteristics and unfamiliarwith changing curricula. The second criticism fo-cuses on the lack of subject matter expertise amongteacher program graduates. An early leader iii re-sponding to this criticism, California eliminatedundergraduate majors in education, mandated sub-ject area majors for teacher candidates, and in 1468essentially made teacher preparation into a post-graduate program.

This history of criticism and response illus-trates the critical role played by policy in shaping thetraining phase of the teacher labor i.!arket. Policymakers have at their disposal both screening devicesand candidate magnets that can be used to adjust thetraining process.

Primary responsibility for training future teach-ers has been a function of institutions of higher edu-cation with specific requirements for certificationmandated (in varying forms) by the states. Whileindividual school districts adhere to state require-ments and selcct new teachers from the existing poolof college and university graduates, these same dis-tricts typically have little or no control over theapplicant's prior training.

It is not entirely discernible whether collegesand universities are tailing to train talented studentsin their charge, whether states are mandating re-quirements that fail to adequately screen new teach-ers, or whether districts are selecting the least, ratherthan the most, talented. I lowever, when it is per-ceived that teacher preparation programs can beimproved to provide necessary, comprehensive, anduniform training, alternative approaches emerge.Recently, schools of education have moved to embedtheir programs more fully into the public schools. Forexample, the Comprehensive Teacher Education In-

101 Chapter 8: A Policy Framework 89

stitutes in California seek to involve public schoolsmore fundamentally in teacher training programs.

The fiscal policy approaches used to link teachertraining with school organizational needs include:1) offsetting training costs and 2) supporting trainingprogram development. The first provides direct fiscalsupport to the training of talented teacher candidates,the second enhances training indirectly by increasingthe quality of available training opportunities. Atpresent, offsetting teacher training costs throughshared personnel and increased investment in teachertraining programs appears to be increasing in popu-larity among policy makers. Again, the model pro-vided by the Institute project may help shed somelight on the efficacy of the indirect, program qualityimprovement strategy.

Selecting the Qualified

After prospective teachers have been motivatedand trained, a selection process is used to review train-ing quality and candidate character. Membership inthe labor pool at this juncture shrinks substantiallyonce aga in. In the ca se of teaching, the work force is re-stricted to those qualified to meet the needs of aparticular school or district. Selection consists of twocomplementary processes: 1) assessing competencyand fit, and 2) recruiting qualified candidates forspecific jobs. Assessment processes represent policyscreens; recruitment programs generate the tit fsettingmagnets to attract quality teacher candidates.

Assessment is more difficult than it may at firstappear. While teacher training programs all lead tothe same formal certification, they have very differentprogram emphases and produce teachers with widelyvarying skills and abilities. Moreover, individualscompleting the same program benefit in widely differ-ent ways from their experiences.

Establishing an adequate fit between the skills,temperament, interests znd educational philosophyof an individual teacher and the needs of a particularschool or classroom is an even more difficult task.Prospective employers get too little data to compe-tently make this important assessment of most jobapplicants. More important, bias and prejudice fre-quently replace sound judgment in tl,ese matters.While teacher candidates are legitimately screened toassure that they adhere to community moral stan-dards and respect cultural norms and values, they

90 Desigiti is Programs for Neu, Teachers

cannot be expected to create cultural norms wherenone exist or to enforce the parochial interests andbiases of special interest groups.

Often formal program requirements hear littlerelation to real competency. According to most stateteaching requirements, for example, Walter Cronkitewould not be "qualified" to teach high school jour-nalism. l le may be eligible for a special eminence cre-dential or to serve as an adjunct professor at a collegeor university, but cannot be routinely certified. Many,perhaps most, university professors do not have thenecessary certification to teach in the public schoolsthroughout America.

Several states acknowledge a lternative entrancemechanisms into the teaching market. One largegroup supports various internship programs to pro-vide a n a ken .ative avenue to access. And many statesissue emergency credentials for personrl in districtsunable to secure qualified teachers. IA e eminencecredentials and internships are innovations gearedtoward improvement, emergency credentials aremore a ttuned to school needs and are often seen as analternative to rigorous recruitment and assessmentprocedures associated with the more traditional en-try system.

In contrast with assessment prtxed tires, teacherrecruitment programs provide the magnet side ofteacher selection policy. lr many labor markets sub-stantial sums of money are spent on advertising toattract new recruits. Schools do not seem to find thisto ben cost-efficient policy approach, however. Somehave suggested that schools incorporate the collabo-rative effort among all key institutions to form part-nerships designed to augment teacher recruitmentprograms.

When it comes to providing financial supportfor the selection process, policy makers can make adirect contribution by facilitating the development ofmore effective and more powerful teacher placementsystems. A new teacher placement system pulls re-sources together in an effort to reach more prospec-tive teachers by advertising positions nationally andby trying innovative approaches. One example of aninnova tire pproach is the esta blishment of a bulletinboard system that monitors both teaching vacanciesand qualified applicants. Such a system monitorsmore accurately and efficiently prospective teachers,their interests, qualifications, and intentions.

02

A more indirect approach to financing betterteacher selection lies in reducing the risks of assess-ment and recruitment efforts. If, for example, statescreate strong teacher career ladders or other forms ofdifferentiated staffing, local districts can place teach-ers in the environments best suited to their particul.irmix of talents and interests. As job performance com-petencies are demonstrated, the staff members canmove to positions of greater responsibility or to onesbetter suited to their individual tres and abilities.

Assessing the personal abilities and contribu-tions that those selected for membership might makeultimately rests with the erriploN :ng agency. No de-finitive guidelines that produce incontrovertibledecisions have yet been devised. I iowever, reviewprocesses often make use of differen; iated staffing, adirect way to determine job placement. That is, differ-ent jobs require different skills, abilities, and person-alities, and the proper job placement based uponthese characteristics is the goal of most personnel de-partments, regardless of the labor market.

Support for New Teachers: Inducting the Enlisted

As indicated by the highlighted .ntries in Fig-ure 1, new teacher support programs operate rela-tively late in the overall labor market structure. Onlyafter a new teacher has been selected and hired doesthe qu estion of how best to support entry into the newjob become paramount. In education, as in most occu-pations, new staff members generally need both timeand supportive assistance if they are to achieve peakperformance. They almost always find themselvesfaced with unique problems and special building,program, or student characteristics. I knee, induc-tion support programs can be very helpful if theyprovide systematic orientation to the unique expecta-tions and conditions found in the new school ordistrict.

Additionally, teacher training programs arerather brief, short-term experiences, compared tothose in other professions. Therefore, new teachersfrequently need supplementary training in specificskills and techniques for effective job performance.Induction support programs provide two additionaltypes of skill and experience that can greatly enhanceearly job performance. First, induction programs canhelp link new teachers to a collegial support groupmade up of peer teachers and administrators. Sec-ond, well-supported induction programs can facili-

tate adjustment by providing lie% teachers withassistance in handling some tasks so tnat they have anopportunity to gradually assume full responsibility,rather than be plunged into the "baptism by fire" thatresults when they are thrown entirely onto their ownresources during the first critical months of a new job.

Inducting new employees into the work placeinvolves both formal and informal processes. Imbed-ded in these processes are some combination of sup-port mechanisms and employ,Ncounsc/ing activities.Support services serve as policy magnets makingthe job transition easier and encouraging long-termcommitment to teaching careers. Employee counsel-ing services serve as screening devices to ameliorateanxiety, direct attention to improved job perform-ance, or guide the misplaced teachers into anotherjob. Beginning teachers who participate in inductionprograms are expected to gain a more accurate per-spective on the complexities involved in teacher ef-fectiveness. New teachers will either readily adapt toclassroom rigors, derive satisfaction and reward as aresult of performing well, and remain in the occupa-tion; or they will come' to recognize job demandsincompatible with personal skills, abilities, and /orpersonality traits, and their dissatisfaction will in-duce a career change.

The focus of the state-supported new teacherprograms in California is enlisting new teachers forpanicipation in an ongoing program of support. Theprimary goal of this enlistment is to increase teachereffectiveness by providing one or more of the follow-ing: needed skills and knowledge, improved class-room performance, adjustment to the school socialsyst,,m, and determination to remain in the occupa-tion. Individual needs determine the typo of supportthat will be most beneficial.

The fiscal policies needed to make teacher in-duction successful center around direct funding tocreate and sustain various support services, andindirect funding for teacher release time and otherworkload control programs. Direct funding, like thatprovided to districts and universities participating inthe California projects for new teachers, enables statepolicy makers to define the nature and extent of thesupport provided. Indirect funding through suchmechanisms as new teacher workload reductionsputs control (Ivor the content of the support program

he hands of the teachers themselves.

0 3 Chapter 8: A Policy Framework 91

Developing tire Successful

Concern for management of the teacher latermarket does not end with successful induction. Cur-rent statistics confirm what sensitive policy makershave long known: good teachers leave theoccupationtoo frequently while marginal teachers tend to lan-guish and become emotionally "burned out" fromstress and overwork. Hence, a fifth labor marketimprovement strategy professional developmentfor successful teachers is an integral part of an ;comprehensive policy for teacher support and im-provement.

At a minimum, professional developmentmeans: 1 ) encou raging continued expansion of teacherskills and abilities, 2) regular updating of subject andpedagogical knowledge, 3) growth in overall respon-sibility for school programs and operations, and 4) in-creasing self-awareness and enhancing the capacityfor self-assessment and self-improvement.

There are at least two key elements in this pro-,fessional development process. The first is the mag-netic power of a reward system capable of providingteachers with both intrinsic rewards suchas a senseofsignificance and suitable economic incentives. Asecond key element is the screening power of aneffective evaluation system capable of holding teach-ers accountable without making them feel belittledorthreatened. Neither of these basic professional devel-opment policies is easy to formulate or implement.Teacher salaries remain low compared to those ofother professions. Moreover, the powerful intrinsicrewards provided by students to successful teachersare difficult to control through formal policy. It is alsodifficult to develop and implement teacher evalu-ation systems capable of seriously challenging lowperforming teachers or substantially rewarding thosedoing an outstanding job. The problem is partly amatter of infrequent and inadequate observation ofactual teaching performances. It is exa cerba ted by the

itent to which teaching philosophy and personalpreferences seriously affect the ability of well-inten-tioned educators to reach consensus on the definitionof quality teaching.

Ir. recent years, stimulated in part by substan-tial Carnegie Foundation investments, teacher as-sessments have become more sophisticated, and thereis a growing belief that effective teachers can beidentified and appropriately rewarded.

92 ng Programs for Nov Teachers

Fiscal policies aimed at professional develop-ment for successful teachers include targeted fund-ing for merit-based career ladder programsand broad-based support for professionalism among teachers.A substantial number of states and local districts arenow experimenting with career ladder programsthat include various levels of special funding. Fiscalsupport for professionalism includei., such things ascreation of teacher-controlled professic nal standarc;sboards, substantial salary . ;vases for the entireprofession, and enhanced support for mentor teacherprograms, insery ice training, teacher aides, and otherprograms providing direct support to experiencedteachers.

In sum, the first question facing education pol-icy mlkers is hether induction programs to supportnew icachers are both valuable and feasible. Thisqu -lion is best answered tImiugh a careful analysisof teacher labor market conditions. To concentratefiscal resources and administrative energy on thedevelopment of new teacher support programs, threepropositions about current labor market conditionsshould be true:

I. New teachers are:

inadequately prepared for the complexitit'and rigors of the job, or

learning inappropriate and unproductivework attitudes and habits during their firstfew years, or

leaving the occupation at an unacceptablyhigh rate.

Problems related to induction arc more seri-ous than those involving recruitment, train-ing, selection, or ongoing support and pro-fessional development, or

There is reason to believe that modest invest-ment in this aspect of the labor market willmake especially large improvements in theprospects of success fur new teachers.

3. The format and content of effective supportprograms are well known and their imple-mentation is feasible in both cost and organ-izational terms.

Proposition #1 is widely recognized to by true.Exit from teaching is very high during the first fiveyears. So high, in fact, that two or more talentedteacher candidates need to be trained for every full-time teaching position. If this high rate of early exitc/iuld be reduced, the resources now used for train-ing could be concentrated on providing bet ter qualitytraining for the best motivated and most highly tal-ented members of the labor pool now going throue,hpreservice training programs, or shifted to otherneeds.

Proposition #2 is harder to evaluate. Inductionproblems are serious, but so also are problems ofrecruitment, training, selection and professional de-velopment. Whether California policy makers shouldexpand the two state-supported new teacher projectsto provide comprehensive induction programs for alnev teachers in the state depends on whether Owcosts of induction can be offset tv savings in recruit-ment, training, selection, or professional develop-ment. At an annual cost ranging from $1,000 to $5,000per teacher, the new teacher projects compare fa vora-bly with the costs for preservice training but art'rather more expensive than current staff develop-ment programs. This is relatively expensive, how-ever, when compared with current recruitment andselection policies. Thus, tube sustained, programs furnew teachers should deliver substantial teacherquality improvements improvements at leastcomparable to those produced by present preserviceand inservice training practices.

Should policy makers consider shifting fundsfrom preservice and inservice training to recruit-ment, selection and induction programs? Availabledata simply cannot answer this question. Recruit-ment is clearly an important problem, deservingmore resources than are now being devoted to it.Selection improvements depend on the developmentof improved assessment instruments, an area ofweakness that has been receiving substantial atten-tion in recent years. lnservice programs have recentlycome u nder close scrutiny. They may hecosting morethan they are worth, but most policy makers seeminclined to fix the quality and content of existinginservice programs rather than shift attention to otheraspects of the labor market.

Determining whether proposition #3 is true is aprimary objective in both the California New TeacherProject and the New Teacher Retention Project. By

pilot testing and closely evaluating a variety of in-duction support programs, California policy makerscan detemine the most appropriate content for suchprograms, and can get some idea of the cost of pro-viding. various kinds of support services. Policyma kei-s would be well advised to carefully review thefindings of the Southwest Regional EducationalLaboratory eviluation ...o,dy of the two Californiaprojects. They might als v gage in an ongoing dia-logue with the projects' program manawrs who areaccumulating invaluable personal insights into theproblems and possibilities of facilitating new teacherinduction into the profession.

1Vhile t he data on new teacher program successare still being collected and analyzed, it is alreadypossible to identify basic questions that need to beanswered in order to understand how inductionsupport programs contribute to teacher success.Funded new teacher programs involve a wide vari-ety of organizational arrangements and draw upon abroad range of participation by administrators, uni-versity faculty members, and more experiencedteacher colleagues for the delivery of the actual serv-ices. On two basic questions, however, the fundedprojects can be seen as offering distinctive patterns ofsupport patterns that could be tested for theirrelative importance in enha- icing the long term moti-vation and performance e. new teachers. These' twoquestions are:

1. Are new teachers best served by enhancing;specific pedagogical and subject matterkno Arledge and skills, or are they betterserved by early assistance in developingstrong collegial and professional relation-ships?

2. Should induction support be linked to thespecific school site or district where a newteacher works, or is it more' effective to con-centrate on induction programs that assistnew teachers in understanuing and adopt-ing a broad-based professional role orienta-tion?

The next se: Lion of this paper explores differentwa vs of organizing induction support programs oncethese questions are answered. While our explorationof program alternatives remains theoretical and a hitabstract at this point, we look forward to reviewingthe findings of the Southwest Regional Educational

105 Chapter 8: A Policy Frrtrtrc work 93

FIGURE 2INDUCTION PROGRAM ALTERNATIVES

FwandSkill,' kilviledge

'Enhance CollegiaRel: ionships

Site Specific Professional RoleInduction Induction

PrigramK ny I ed geI )evelopment

Work CroupSolidarity

I rote sitmalStandardsAcquisition

ProfessionalIdentityDevelopmcnt

Laboratory study Codetermine how successfully eachof the pilot new teacher support projects deals withthese fundamental issues.

SHAPING SUPPORT PROGRAMS TO MEET TEACHERORIENTATION NEEDS

Figure 2 illustrates how induction programcontent is affected by the two questions posed above.The rows distinguish between programs emphasiz-ing expansioh of identifiable skill and knowledgefrom those aimed at enhancing collegial relation-ships. The columns separate site-specific programsfrom those aimed at supporting the development ofbroad-based professional work roles.

Large numbers of new teachers need sunportprograms of the type shown in the upper left coil ofFigure 2. These programs let's call them Programknowledge Development involve familiarizing newteachers with the cu rricu lum materials, managementsystems, and program goals that govern operationsin their own local school or district. Such programsare especially attractive to policy makers and localleaders who feel that preservice teacher trainingpro,,-,rams do not prepare new teachers who haveinfor,nation about specific programs being used in aparticular school. Equally important, the approachshown in this ceii is closely aligned with what mightbe called the "labor" model of teaching (Mitchell &Kerchner, 1983). In this model, teaching effectivenessis assumed to spnng directly from diligent and faith-ful implementation of district or school-adoptedprograms and curricula. Induction, in this model,means learning the specifics of local programs andlearning to implement these program elements inone's assigned classroom.


The upper right hand cell f=igure 2 identifiesinduction support programs that aim at expandingthe knowledge of professional standards and prac-tices among teachers let's call them the Professiona/Stmplards Acquisition support programs. As with thoseshown in the first cell, these programs concentrate onexpanding technical knowledge and skills, but differfrom the first group in adopting a much broader defi-nition of the needed skills and abilities. In this cell aresupport programs that insist that teaching is a "skifledcraft" rather thar, a laboring type of work. Supportprograms in this quadrant are viewed warmly bypolicy makers and school leaders who feel that teach-ing involves complex processes that are difficult tomaster. This view leads to the belief that preservicctraining is too short to be complete, and that impor-tant skills can only be leanied in the classroom.Leaders who favor this approach want inductionprograms to help new teachers become continuouslearners, constantly searching for new and betterpedagogical techniques.

In the lower left cell of the figure are workgroupcollegiality or solidarity induction programs. Theseprograms let's call them the Work Group Soli4aritysupport programs emphasize the importance ofenhancing collegial relationships for teachers, butjoin the first group in emphasizing the importance ofsite-specific induction and support. This approach iscompatible with the view that teaching is a type of"performing art" an emotionally demand ir,g taskwhich requires a certain amount of talent to p_.rformsuccessfully. For policy makers and leaders holdingthis view, the local work group plays a key role inproviding needed emotional support for the newteacher, support that enables the new teachersustain engagement in the act of teaching despitetension and un, ertainty regarding how to performwell. These induction programs tend to emphasizethe importance of mentoring, coaching, and peertutoring among teachers in order to help each mem-ber of the staff tap into reserves of personal energyand strength.

In the lower right cell of Figure 2 are workgroup enhancement programs that emphasizemembership in the broader teaching professionlet's call them the Professional identity Developmentprograms. These programs rely on development ofcollegial relationships to provide emotional supportand guidance for new teachers, but emphasize theneed for colleagues to bring a breadth of vision and

dedication to standards of service and ethical conductappropriate to a professional work role. Such induc-tion programs are linked to the "professional" modelof teaching work. In this model, teaching is a work ofspecial responsibility understood and practiced onlyby thoroughly trained and dedicated individuals whoresist political pressures and parochial cultural normsin order to bring their students access to the broade!;tpossible range of human wisdom and knowledge.This approach It; new teacher induction seeks to raisethe standards of the entire educational system byforming a cadre of dedicated professionals who main-tain shared values and a mutual support system.

These tour d ist i nct ive a pproaches to defi ning thecontent and goals of induction support programs fornew teachers lead to the creation of sharply divergentsupport services. Arguments over which of these serv-ices are really needed by new teachers are only par-tially amenable to empirical resolution. While carefulresearch would shed considerable light on the extentto which new teachers lack knowledge of local pro-gram elements or a wa reness of professional standards,and would help determine whether collegial isolationor lack of technical knowledge are n.ost troublesome,advocates of these different induction support pro-grams can be expected to maintain support for theirfavorite approach on the grounds that it responds tothe "real" problems faced by new teachers. These"real" problems are defined a!; much by one's view ofthe nature of good teaching as by detailed informationabout the problems faced by any spec ific grou p of newteochers.

This observation leads to the conclusionpolicy makers need to give careful consideration toquestions of control over the development and im-plementation of new teacher induction support pro-grams.

Allocation of Authority and ii spoisibility

No discussion of policy would be complete iih-out giving at least some attention to the issue ofcontrol. If, as our analysis Indicates, the CaliforniaNew Teacher Projects are appropriately conceived asa labor market strategy for enhancing the develop-ment of one or more of the four distinctive teacherwork orientations described above, we need to ask:Who should determine the specific nature of the sup-port services to be provided, and who should decidewhich teachers to support?

It is easy enough to list the candidatecontrol. They include:

I. State officials (State Department of Educa-tion or the Commission on Teacher Creden-tidig!)

2. Intermediate agencies (County Offices ofEducation)

3. Local School Districts

4. School Sites

5. Individual Teachers

6. Teacher Organisations

7. Institutions of Higher Education or otherpublic/private agencies

It is much harder, however, to know how to d is-tribute to each of these agencies the appropriatemixture of responsibility and authority. Past experi-ence suggests that individual teachers, left to theirown devices, tend to "grin and bear it," heroicallyovercoming adversity or simply leaving the profes-sion. Such conditions do not produce promisingcandidates for complete control over the inductionprocess. These candidates do, however, need suffi-cient control over their own professional lives toprevent exploitation and abuse.

Institutions of higher education, once seen asthe primary source of teacher quality improvement,have been criticized in .-ecent years. While theseinstitutions have moved to respond, their authoritymay be limited in years to come. At the same time, weshould note that public investment in higher educa-tion is very substantial and that these agencies needto be given responsibilities commensurate with theirresources.

The analysis ofcapacity for teacher support andhe inclination of various agencies to turn that

capacity into high quality direct services needs to beapplied to each of the seven key players. Where thatanalysis would take us depends, however, in. 'othercritical element that needs to by developed beforefurther analysis of each key group's resources andpredilections will be helpful. That key element is thechoice made among the tour different types of sup-

1 0 7 Chapter 8: A Policy Framework 95

port outlined in the preceding section of this chapter(.e., local program knowledge, professional practiceknowledge, peer relationship development, or pro-fessional identity formation).

Where new teacher needs include acquisition oflocal program kn o w led ge nd skills, individual teach-ers and site level leaders can be ex pectel to make ap-propriate decisions. lf, however, the primary needfor new skill and knowledge is more professional incharacter, agencies more remote from the classroomare more likely to provide appropriate leadership.

By the some token, if local level collegiality isthe dominant need, teacher organizations are goodcandidates for control. Intermediate agencies andhigher education institutions are better candidates itbroad-based professional collegiality is the crucialneed.

In short, while control over teacher supportprograms is a fundamental question in any policyanalysis, answers to that question will remainspeculative and tentative until questions about thecontent of needed programs are settled, and therelative importance of induction support for newteachers is established in relation to other labor marketifth,rventions.

CON('LUSION; A POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR NEMTEACHER SUPPORT

Elements that frame the policies adopted to in-stitutionalize new teacher support programs fall intothree categories: 1) the components of a teachinglabor market, 2) induction alternatives that can beviewed as job orientations, and 3) control, delineatedcontextually as responsibility and authority. Eachplays an essential role in framing new teacher induc-tion /support policy.

Although induction is a bona fiele. labor marketimprovement strategy, it is but Out' facet among the

96 Designing Programs for Neu Teachers

variety of options. Decisionmakers v. ill sort throughthese available options and determine where to con-centrate time, money, and energy, and in whatamounts. If, indeed, it is determined that induction iseither most lacking among the labor market improve-ment strategies or is the most effective and efficientoption, then policy can focus more narrowly in thisdirection.

Once induction is targeted for impro.,-ement,four alternatives rooted in thc job orientations oflabor, craft, art, and profession can be analyzed.Whether skills and knowledge or collegial relation-ships command more attention, and whether theprimary focus i- directed locally at the school site ormore generally to the profession in foto will dictatethe direction support policy takes.

Finally, the decision abirm where ultimatecontrol of support programs belongs in thehands of the seven key groups :;io share individu-ally and collectively varying degrees of responsibil-ity and authority. A complicated mix of issues canthus be sorted, analyzed, and scrutinized as newteacher program evaluations produce data from whichpolicy decisions will be made.

RFFERENCES

Easton, D. (l%5). A systems ,1m i1q is ( politicoNew York: John Wiley.

Mitchell, D.E. & Kirchner, C.T. (1983). Labor rela-tions and teacher policy. In l.. Shulman and C.Sykes (Eds.), liandboiik of teaching and policy(pp 214- 2321). New York: Longman.

National Commission on Excellence in Education.(1983). A nation at risk: The imperativetioal referrer. Washington, IX: GPO.

Policy Analysis for California Education. (1988). Con-ditions of educatioi, in California. Berkeley, CA:Author.

1 «8

CHAPTER 9

B E.-ginning TeacherAssessmentActivities andDevelopments inCalifornia*

Gary D. EstesKendyll StansburyClaudia LongFar West Laboratory

HROUGHOUT the nation there isrenewed interest in and commit-ment to educational excellence. We

have seen many recent analyses of Ameri-can education (Boyer, 1983; Goodlad, 1984;President's Commission for Excellence inEducation, 1983) (Ind proposals for its re-form (Holmes Group, 1986; Shulman andSykes, 1986; Carnegie Corporation, 1'186).Aitl ough numerous different aspects of theeducational enterprise have received atten-tion and suggestions for improvement, therehas been particular emphasis on the prepa-ration, credentialing, and support of newteachers.

* This paper is based tom work .11 pursuant toContract TCC-9023 with the California agency Task

Force of the California Commission on Teacher Credential-ing and the California State Department of Educatioit NewTeacher Project. The contents do not necessarily reflect theviews or policies of these agencies and the 17Cat racy of the

k the sole responsibility of the authors.

1 09 Chapter 9: Begrrtrring Teacher Ass,'ssment Activitte:, 97

Discussion has also centered on the further de-velopment of teaching as a profession, principallYthrough an increased emphasis on quality controlover personnel, opportunities for professional devcopment, and expansion of career roles for classroomteachers (e.g., Wise and Darling-Hammond, 1987;Shulman and Sykes. 198b).

The new emphases on beginning teacherprepa-ration and support anal on the development of teach-ing as a profession, are moving states toward candi-date- rather than program-based modes of assess-ment. To enhance the caliber of teacher candidates,there is a trend toward setting higher standards forteacher preparation programs, e.g., toughening re-quirements for program entry a nd matriculation and /or more clearly specifying competencies to be mas-tered. States are also adopting new assessments, andprospective teachers must pass these exams to becredentia led.

Like other states, California is particularly con-cerned with maximizing the quality of teaching in itsschools. The state has moved to evaluate individualteachers by using instruments that purport to assessteacher competence: California Basic EducationalSkills Test (CHEST), the National Teachers Exam(NTE) Core Battery, and the NTE Specialty AreaTests. In recent years, these tests have been reviewedby California teachers and teacher educators for theirappropriateness in the creden t iali ng process (Wheelerand Elias, 1983; Wheeler, 1988).

The 1987-1988 review of 15 NTE Specialty AreaTests by over 400 California educators raised somemajor issues. The primary concern reported by re-viewers is a need to augment, or in some cases re-place, the multiple-choice tests with some type ofperformance assessment. Secondly, several of themultiple-choice tests are not especially congruentwith the California curriculum frame works, and anumber of the reviewers felt that they should bereplaced and/or supplemented by tests more com-patible with the framework emphasis (Wheeler, 1988).

A nuir.--.)r of efforts are underway to explorehow prospective teachers are assessed for licensure.The California State University system, for example,has undertaken an institutional effort to define theknowledge and skill!, that prospective teachers needwithin each subject area. And the California Legisla-ture, in the Bergeson Act (or Teacher Credentialing

Law of 1988) charged the California Commission onTeacher Credentialing (CTC) and the State Depart-ment of Education with identifying and evaluatingalternative meriods of teacher assessment to ascer-tain whether and how such assessments should beused (potentially in tandem witha beginning teachersupport program) in the process of credentialing offuture teachers.

This same legislation also established 15 proj-ects providing support to teachers in their first orsecond year of teaching. The teachers participating inthese support projects also agreed to participate inthe pilot tests of teacher assessments. The supportproject, the assessment project, and an evaluationproject to determine the efficacy of differing methodsof new teacher support together comprise the Cali-fornia New Teacher Project, under the joint supervi-sion of the Commission on Teacher Credentialingand the State Department of Education.

In commissioning the pilot testing ofnew teacherassessments, the California Legislature has taken theposition that although teacher assessments are beingused in some other states, most of the existing instru-ments are unsuitable for use in credentiAing Califor-nia teat hers. For example, the Legislature specificallycriticized the use of observation instruments consist-ing of checklists of teacher behaviors. h developingand /or testing a broad variety of new teacher assess-ments, the Legislature hopes to acquire the informa-tion necessary to assemble a package of assessments.These assessments would be given at appropriatestages of the preparation program and early in theteaching career to ensure that every certified teacherin the state of California has the skills necessary to ef-fectively teach students. California has identified andis currently using assessments of a teacher's basicskills (the CBEST) and subject matter competency(NT`,:: Specialty Area tests or, for elementary teachers,the Test of General Knowledge in the NTE Core Bat-tery). While these assessments 3 re aimed at teachercandidates, the Bergeson Act provides for the pilottesting of assessments of teachers in their first orsecond year of teaching.

The Commission on Teacher Credentialing andthe State Department of Education contracted withFar West Laboratory to conduct and appraise theresults of the pilot administration of a number ofexisting innovative measures of teaching. In the fol-lowing report, we will describe the instruments pilot

98 Design!? Programs for New Teachers no

tested, outline findings from the pilot testing, andprovide a summary of our conclusions and implica-tions for the future development of new teacherassessments.

PILOT TESTING

In selecting instruments to be t tests, theCommission on Teacher Cmientialing nd the StateDepartment of Education staff reviewed the litera-ture on tea her assessment and observation and askednational experts and state administrators of teacherassessments to identify instruments that might serveas appropriate prototypes in the pilot project. A largenumber of instruments, particularly classroom ob-servation systems, were reviewed and found to be in-appropriate for pilot testing at this time. A few instru-ments were identified as promising, because theyeither employ innovative modes of assessment orthey assess significant domains of teacher compe-tence (especially subject-specite pedagogy) that havenot been assessed adequately in the past.

The purpose of the pilot tests was to examinehow the various assessment components functionedin order to determine whether these assessmentswould serve as useful models for the state's desiredassessment system. Components included such thingsas prompt materials, scoring criteria, and training ex-ercises for assessors. The assessments were tried outon a small scale, since the focus of the pilot tests wason the functioning of the assessment instrumentsrather than on the performance of the participants.The ultimate goal of these pilot tests was to find outwhether it was advisable to invest additional re-sources in developing assessments resembling thospiloted.

The pilot tests aimed to examine the following:

The appropriateness of alternative contentand modes of assessment

Identification of the strengths and weak-nesses of an instrument in measuring thevaried competencies desired of teachers,especially content knowledge, pedagogicalknowledge, and pedagogical content knowl-edge

The reaction of new teachers to the contentand modes of assessment

Whether and how such assessments couldand should be used as future requirements forteacher cmclentialing

Fairness across differing teacher characteris-tics and teaching contexts

Accommodation of varied teaching styles

The appropriate stage in a teacher's career toadminister requirements for teachercredentialing

The ability to assess competency to teach di-verse students

Assessment Instruments

Six assessment instruments were identified bythe Spring 1989 pilot testing: one classroom observa-tion instrument (the Connecticut Competency Instru-ment or CCI) applicable to all subjects, grades K-12;one materials-based, rnultiple-choice examination forelementary grades K-8; and four semi-structured inter-views. Of the semi-structured interviews, two focusedon two different topics in secondary mathematics, oneon a secondary social studies topic, and one on anelementary (grades 5-6) mathematics topic.

The elementary mathematics and secondarysocial studies assessments were developed byStanford's Teacher Assessment Project (TAP) as partof its prototype test development work for the Na-tional Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Bothassessments were originally developed for use withmaster or expert teachers. The other four instrumentswere developed by the state of Connecticut, or undercontract to that state, as part of its developmentalwork to assess beginning teachers for a professionalteaching credential. All instruments were pilot tested,with the exception of the Semi-Structured Interview insecondary So ciril Studies, which the two state agen-cies, Far West Laboratory and the test developer,agreed would require too much revision to make itappropriate for beginning teachers.

The following are brief descriptions of the threetypes of instruments:

Classroom Observation Connecticut Com-petency Instrument (CCI). This is a classroom obser-vation system in which an observer conducts a 45-6(1

11 1 Chapter 9: Beginning Teacher Assessment Activities 99

minute observation, focusing on 10 indicators of ateacher's classroom performance. These 10 indica-tors are grouped in three clusters to represent threemajor areas of instruction: Management of the Class-room Environment, the Instructional Process, andStudent Assessment. In addition to the observation,the CCI system includes a pre-assessment informa-tion form that is filled out by the teacher and includesthe learning objectives, activities, instructional ar-rangements, and materials associated with the les-son; a pre-observation interview in which the ob-server meets with the teacher to go over the aspects ofthe lesson that the teacher has detailed in the pre-as-sessment information form; and a post-observationinterview in which the teacher meets briefly with theobserver to explain any deviations from the plan thatmay have occurred during the lesson.

A key feature of the CCI, and one that distin-guishes it from many other observation systems, isthe analysis and rating process. After scripting whattakes place in the classroom as accurately as possible,the observer completes a one-page form for each ofthe ten indicators, writing in one column of the formevidence from the script that supports the indicator,and evidence that does not in another. The observerthen weighs the evidence in both columns in order torate the teacher's performance as either "Acceptable"or "Unacceptable."

Semi-Structured Interviews. These assessmentscombine two assessment strategies: the semi-struc-tured interview and the assessment center. A semi -

f;tructured interview strategy provides opportuni-ties for teachers to respond orally to a standardizedseries of questions or tasks that are presented ver-bally by an examiner who uses a script or interviewset' siule. The interview is semi-structured in that itallows the use of follow-up questions at the discre-tion of the assessor when a teacher's answer is judgedto be incomplete. An assessment center strategy al-lows for simultaneous assessment of a number ofteachers, all of whom participate in a series of exer-cises or tasks which might otherwise be ad m inisteredto teachers individually. For these semi- structuredinterviews, the assessments were organized so thateach teacher did a different task in the same timeperiod, rotating through the tasks.

Two Semi-Structured Interviews in SecondaryMathematics (551-SM) have been developed by theState of Connecticut as a means to assess the compe-

tency of their beginning teachers of secondary mathe-matics. The interviews are similarly structured butfocus on two different topics: (a) linear equations,and (b) ratio, proportions, and percent. Each inter-view consists of five tasks:

1. Structuring a Unit. A teacher arranges 10mathematical topics in a sequence appropri-ate for teaching the unit, explains the reasonsbased on training and experience, and dis-cusses how the chosen method might affectstudent learning.

2. Structuring a Lesson. A teacher explains howa lesson might be constructed from a topicrepresented by several pages of a textbook.

3. Alternative Mathematical Approaches. A teacheris given alternative solution strategies for aproblem, chooses one or more approaches touse in teaching students, justifies the ap-proaches selected, and discusses the relativeadvantages and disadvantages of each strat-egy.

4. Alternative Pedagogical Approaches. A teacheris shown five alternative curriculum materi-als, chooses approaches) to use in teachingstudents, justifies the approach(es) selected,and discusses the relative advantages anddisadvantages of each method.

5. Evaluating Student Performance. A teacher isshown simples of student work that containerrors in the solutions, identifies the error(s)made, and offers suggestions about reme-dial instruction.

The assessment for the Semi-Structured Inter-view, Elementary Mathematics (SSI-EM) was devel-oped by the Stanford Teacher Assessment Project forassessment of expert teachers. The nature of the tasksvaried only slightly, however, from those of the SSI-SM assessment:

1. Lesson Nunn; A teacher has 30 minutes toplan a lesson on a given topic in mathematicsfor a 5th grade class, and then responds toquestions about that lesson.

. Topic Sequencing. Using a set of 17 cards rep-resenting mathematical topics in a unit, a

100 Designing Pr grarriti fcor New Teachers 1 1 2

teacher sorts the cards into groups of topics,selects the cards representing the majorthemes of the unit, defines the topic on eachcard, and arranges eight of the cards in orderof perceived difficulty for students.

3. lustmetional Vignettes. A teacher responds toa series of hypothetical situations involvingstudents in after-school tutoring sessions.

4. Short Cuts. A teacher is presented with twopurported computational shortcuts or rulesof thumb for solving mathematical problemsand evaluates them in terms of pedagogicaland mathemati.:al soundness.

The Semi Structured Interview, Secondary So-cial Science assessment is similar in format to the SSI-EM and 55I-SM. The tasks for the assessment are:

1. Reviewing a Textbook2. Planning a Lesson3. Use of Documents

Given the level of difficulty of the tasks for beginningtea and the need for further developments be-tore the assessment would be ready for pilot testingwith new teachers, a decision was made to postponethe pilot testing of this assessment.

Multiple-Choice Assessment ElementaryEducation Examination. This two-hour assessmentwas designed for beginning elementary (K-8) teach-ers, and was developed by 10X Assessment Associ-ates, Inc., for the state of Connecticut. The pilot as-sessment consisted of six different forms, each with77 multiple-choice Lems covering three major com-petencies: mastery of content knowledge, mastery ofknowledge of teaching, and mastery of teaching par-ticular content areas. These items differ from othermore traditional multiple-choice items in two re-spects: 1) The majority of questions are embedded ina classroom situation, e.g., "You are planning a lessonor chemical changes. Which of the following . . 7";and 2) Some of the items ask the teacher to .ilyzereference materials that are commonly used by class-room teachers. These include stu-lent worksheets,lesson plans, report cards, and test reports.

Teacher Samples

Far West Laboratory was directed to admin-ister the assessments to appropriate samples of newteachers in the Ca lifornia New Teacher Project and toother new teachers in the state if sufficient samples ofproject teachers were unavailable. Teacher sampleswere identified based on their match with the gradelevel-subject matter of the assessments and theirgeographic location. All elementary 5th- and 6th-grade project teachers, for example, were identifiedas potential candidates for the Semi-Structured Inter-view in Elementary Mathematics (SSI-EM). The finalsample for each assessment, however, was deter-mined by the number of potential candidates avail-able in geographically clustered areas. No teachersparticipated in more than one assessment. The as-sessments and the sample of teachers for each wereas follows:

Classroom Competency Instrument45 teachers

Elementary Education Examination138 teachers

Semi-Structured Interview-Secondary Math(2 assessments)*

20 teachersSemi-Structured Interview- Elementary Math

41 teachers

Findings from Spring 1989 Assessment Pilot Tests

The above descriptions provide an overview ofthe different assessment instruments that were ex-amined for use with beginning teachers and thesamples of teachers that participated in the pilottesting. In Spring, 1989, Far West Laboratory coordi-nated the administration of five assessment pilottests. Upon completion of the pilot tests, we evalu-ated our experience with each assessment along threedimensions: administration, content, and format(including scoring).

Administration. The ease of administering theassessments varied with the materials-based, mul-tiple-choice examination being the easiest to admin-ister and the semi-structured interviews in an assess-ment center format (i.e., rotation of teachers andtasks) the most difficult in terms of training for scor-

* Teachers were interviewed in the morning on one topicand in the a t 7noon 011 another.

1 I 3Chapter 9: Beginning Teacher Assessment Activities 101

ers, identifying and scheduling facilities and teach-ers, and conducting the assessment. Based on our ex-perience, we identified the following as improve-ments needed:

1. Semi-Structured Interview Elementary Math

a) Lengthen training for assessors

b) Redesign tasks so that each consumes ap-proximately the same amount of time

2. Connecticut Competency Instrument

a) Reduce the number of observations andevaluations to one per day

Most teachers and assessors found the arrange-ments for the assessments to he reasonable. The twoareas of most concern were tI timing of the assess-ments at the end of the school year and the difficultyof the assessors in completing more than one obser-vation per day. Finding the optimal time for assess-ments seems to be a challenge: teachers were tireda fie; school; during the day they did not want to leavetheir classrooms and mbstitutes were not alwaysavailable; and on weekends teachers often had othercommitments, including lesson preparation.

Content. Although analysis of the assessments'congruence with CTC California Standards of Peda-gogical Knowledge and Competence for BeginningTeachers and SDE curricular expectations (as definedby the Model Curriculum Guides) will not be avail-able until the end of 1989, we can summarize theteachers' and assessors' perceptions of the content ofthe assessments.

Teachers generally found the assessments rep-resented by the CCI, the Elementary Education l-amination, and the Semi-Structured Interview in Sec-ondary Mathematics (SSI-SM) relevant to the workti _ey perform as teachers. For the SSI-EM, some teach-ers questioned the appropriateness of the task that re-quired them to sequence topics for instruction. Oth-ers questioned the task that asked them to respond toa series of hypothetical situations involving studentsin after-school tutoring sessions. Teachers felt thatthe first task was beyond the scope of their work andthat the second was "unreal" because it did notprovide critical information that teachers use to re-spond to student questions, such a: the student's

temperament. what the student had learned previ-ously, and nonverbal cues from the student duringthe interaction.

Teachers also differed in the extent to whichthey felt prepared to perform the tasks required.Most of the teachers observed with the CCI or as-sessed with the SSI-SM reported feeling well pre-pared. The issue of lack of preparation surfaced inthose assessments specifically ,,eared to elementaryteachers. Some teachers who took the ElementaryEducation Examination or were assessed by the SSI-EM stated that it was unfair to assess a teacher oncontent that they had not previously taught. Thisposition is especially relevant to elementary teachersbecause the curriculum differs markedly in contentand emph- -tween lower-grade (K-3) and upper-grade (4-8, Other teachers criticized the SSI-EM for its lack of recognition that teachers use sup-plementary materials and resources to assist in in-structional design for topics with which they are lessfamiliar. Determining the balance between assessing

1se subjects and grades covered by a certificate andthot c! in which teachers have taught is a key designissue which decisions will need to be made con-cerning credentialing areas and assessment content.

While the SSI -EM and the Elementary Educa-tion Examination were perceived as problematic inassessing competency across grade levels, most teach-ers and assessors thought that the SSI-SM and CCIdid a good job in this regard. However, one assessorwho observed a vocational education class with theCCI questioned whether this assessment is appropri-ate for classes where students receive little directinstruction but instead work independentlyon prac-ticing techniques.

Teachers were asked whether the assessment inwhich they participated has the capacity to measurea teacher's ability to teach students of diverse aca-demic, cultural, or ethnic backgrounds. None of theassessments was perceived as being completelyadequate in this area: The CCI is limited to the rangeof students in the teacher's classroom; some forms ofthe Elementary Education Examination (six werepilot tested) did not contain any test items that ad-dress teaching bilingual/LEP students; the SSI-SMasked about adapting instruction for the teacher'smore or less advanced students, but did not ask theteacher to define the reference group; and the SSI-EM


had few questions that focused on either enrichmentor remedial instruction.

Format. Teachers were surveyed about the ap-propriateness of the format of the particular assess-ment in which they participated. Teachers observedwith the CCI tended to view the pre- and post-obser-vation interviews as being especially helpful in al-lowing them to explain the lesson's objectives andclassroom content so that their behaviors were morereadily understandable. The change in the format ofthe materials-based Elementary Education Examina-tion received mixed reviews. (The assessment em-beds multiple-choice items in a classroom context,e.g., "You are planning a lesson on chemical changes.Which of the following...?" and asks teachers to re-spond to items by evaluating materials such as IEPs,report cards, and lesson plans.) Some teachers feltthat the items on the new assessment reflected actualteaching tasks more accurately than more traditionalmultiple-choice test items. Others felt that these itemswere unable to avoid the limitations of multiple-choice items in that they represented ideal ratherthan real situations and did not reflect a teacher'sknowledge of students and the necessity of makingdecisions consistent with available resources.

The semi-structured interview format also re-ceived mixed reviews. Teachers who participated inthe 5.51-SM generally liked the format, while thosewho participated in the SSI-E M were divided Teach-ers who viewed their experience favoraEy generallyappreciated the opportunity to talk with anothereducator about their newly-gained teaching tech-niques. Teachers who criticized the interview formateither preferred to give written responses or foundresponding to oral questions to be highly stressful.One reason why a greater percentage of teacherspreferred the SS1-SM format over the SSI -EM formatmay be found in the differing purposes of the twoinstruments. The SSI-SM was designed for beginningteachers, while the SSI-EM was a prototype for iden-tifying experienced exemplary teachers. nos, theSSI-SM was administered to math specialists andfocused on topics that were relatively easy for them,while the SS1-EM was given to subject matter gener-alists and focused on more difficult topics it elemen-tary mathematics such as fractions, ratios, , nd pro-portions.

Because teachers perceived a particular formatto have both strengths and weaknesses in critical

areas, there were many recommendations that weuse of multiple assessment strategies in order to viewteaching from multiple perspectives. In designingand implementing a comprehensive approach toteacher assessment for licensing, the use of multipleformats would be highly desirable. It would capital-ize on the strengths of different formats and mini-mize limitations associated with any particular for-mat.

One format issue that cuts across assessmentswas feedback. Teachers desired feedback on theirperformance on the assessments, generally wantingtheir strengths and weaknesses identified. The ma-jority of teachers elaborating on the feedback formwanted the feedback to occur as soon as possible afterthe assessment. Appropriate feedback, however,depends largely on scoring results, and of the fiveassessments administered, only the CCI had a com-plete scoring rubric. Scoring protocols for the SSI-SMand 551-EM were still in development, although datashould be available late in 1989. Data by subject areaon the materials-based Elementary Education Ex-amination will also be available then.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTUREASSESSMENTS OF BEGINNING TEACHERS

Although we are still analyzing some of themeasures, the following issues have emerged for con-sideration in conducting future pilots and in devel-oping assessments for beginning teachers.

Purpose of Assessment

California would like the new assessments toserve both a summative and formative purpose. Thesummative entails insuring that only qualifiedteachers are granted certificates and that the criteriafor granting these certificates represent a soundknowledge and application of teaching content andpedagogy. The formative purpose includes providinginformation and guidance that will be useful inplanning staff development activities and programsto support and improve a new teacher's teachingperformance.

Our findings suggest that teachers are very in-terested in receiving information from the assess-ments that will enable them to know their strengthsand weaknesses. Both teachers and assessors sup-ported the formative purpose of the assessments.

1 5 Chapter 9: Beginning Teacher Assessment 'Wiz, 103

Assessors and some teachers a Ise recognize and sup-port the need to assess more directly the skills andknowledge that are important to effective instructionand to make credentialing decisions based on theseassessments. Thus, the summative and credentialingpurposes also received some support.

It will be important to consider the tradeoffsand tensions that will exist when an asst: moment isdesigned to serve both of these purposes. For ex-ample, how a teacher responds in an interview willundoubtedly be affected by whether that response istied to the gi inting of certification or even to poten-tial staff development activity. if certification hangsin the balance, they will not be inclined to reveal theirareas of uncertainty or weakness. But they may veryreadily reveal these to obtain support and assistanceif the assessment is to serve a formative purpose.

Effect on Preservice/Inservice Programs. An-other reason for developing and implementing newassessment systems is to influence the preparationand support given in preservice and inservice pro-grams. Our findings suggest that teachers feel lesswell prepared to teach math than other subjects in theelementary grades, and are less comfortable withmath concepts than secondary teachers with mathmajors. Also, beginning teachers related that theyhad much more experience and training in some ofthe assessment tasks than others. For example, lessonplanning was a familiar and relatively easy task ascompared to sequencing topics and reflecting onalternative options for teaching. Including these ar-eas and tasks in a credentialing system can have animpact on the attention and support that teacherpreparation programs give toward ensuring thatprospective teachers have these skills and knowl-edge. Thus, designing the assessment system to rep-resent the domain of knowledge and skills requiredfor effective teaching and matching these domains tothe assessment methods can help lead and shape thepreparation and support of teachers.

Scoring Assessments

The lack of scoring systems for the prototype as-sessments made assessor training difficult and analy-sis of the instruments problematic. Test developershave been reluctant to develop scoring systems andcriteria at an early stage in the development of thesetypes of innovative assessments. The intent of thisstrategy ot development is to avoid limiting or reduc-

ing the assessments to that which is easily xoreableand to push the limits of the assessments so that theyrepresent actual teaching skills and competence asstrongly as possible. We support this objective, butbased on the experience of pilot testing we suggestthat scoring systems be developed prior to trainingassessors and administering an assessment. Scoringcriteria and protocols will affect the questions thatneed to be asked to solicit information from theassessments that matches the targeted areas.

Teacher Samples for Piloting Assessments

Emphasis should be given to creating variedsamples of teachers for future assessments. Ourexperience indicates that increasing the sample sizebeyond 20 teachers for pilot assessments does notnecessarily yield more information data. In particu-lar, assessments might be designed for beginningteachers with different levels of experience (i.e.,beginning of first year, end of first year, and so onthrough the end of the second year) because teachers'knowledge increases markedly from the completionof a teacher preparation program through the secondyear of teaching. If sample size is increased, teachersfrom varying teaching contexts should be included.Larger samples of teachers would be more useful atthe stage of field testing in which estimates of reliabil-ity, comparisons of different subgroups of teachers,etc. were more critical.

Context Issues in Assessment

How can assessments reflect contextual differ-ences in teaching? This question deserves thoughtfulconsideration e we design assessments. To deter-mine an instrument's capability to competently :,s-sess a teacher's ability to teach in diverse contexts,many approaches are possible, but two are obvious:1) include questions in the assessment about varyinginstruction for different types of students; and 2)provide specific information about different con-texts. Problems identified with some of the questionsand tasks used in this study suggest that both ap-proaches to teaching context need further refine-ment. Also, the interviews and multiple-choiceques-tions are always likely to be limited in their ability todepict teaching contexts well. On the other hand,classroom observations, which are rich in allowingfor teaching context, are restricted to the specificcontext observed. Thus, multiple asses'ir .ent strate-gies can help provide different but complementary


TABLE 1

Content of Assessment1. Does the evaluation or assessment retied important teaching skills, knowledge and activities? If

teachers were to prepare or be prepared to "do well" in the evaluation or assessment, would it likelyimprove their teaching or instruction?Are there important teaching skills, knowledge and activities hat are not included in theassessment?

3. Is the content and pedagogy that is represented or assumed in the assessment consistent with thedistrict's curricular and instructional focus and emphasis?

4. What types of information will be produced? Will the scores or reports be useful for judging andproviding feedback an strengths and weaknesses? Will the information yield only a pass/faildecision?

Feasibility of Assessment5. What are the costs in terms of time and fiscal resources for the assessment, and can the district afford

to support these costs?a. What initial and ongoing training is needed for the assessors, raters, or judges?b. What are costs for the training, for releasing assessors or raters, for supporting teacher time?

b. What level of curriculum content knowledge is required for assessors or evaluators? For example, isthe curriculum knowledge that is reflected in the assessment such that a curriculum or contentspecialist will be needed to conduct the evaluation or assessment?a. If special knowledge is needed, e.g., math expertise to judge or evaluate teachers' ability to teach

math, is there a pool of potential assessors within the district or nearby with this knowledge?

Reliability of Assessment7. Is there information to support the reliability or consistency of the assessment across:

a. occasionsh. raters or judges?

approaches for incorporating and assessing teachers'ability to adjust and teach in different contexts.

lmplicatioas for Local Assessment Decisions

We have described some of the options that arebeing explored to move teacher assessments awayfrom checklist approaches, tests of basic skills, andindirect measures of teaching toward more authenticforms of assessments. It is possible that districts andlocal agencies may want to consider alternativeapproaches or at least review their evaluation sys-tems in light of this movement. We outline somequestions that might be useful guides in reviewingand deciding on teacher assessment or evaluationsystems in Table 1.

These are not presented as a complete set ofcriteria. They are illustrations of questions that shouldbe asked when considering alternative teacher as-sessment or evaluation purposes.

SUMMARY

The above represent findings from our earlyexamination of alternative forms for assessing begin-ning teachers. It appears that assessments that moreauthentically represent the knowledge and skillsrequired for teaching have promise. If that promise isrealized, these types of assessments can help shapethe support and instruction provided to beginningteachers, cla rify the domains that are critical for teach-ers and that can be incorporated intocredentialing orother assessments, and increase the public confi-dence in the quality of the teaching force.

California's ft.ture plans include developingand pilot testing alternative forms of teacher assess-ments, desigi; ing a system that will combine the com-plementary features of these different assessmentforms or modes, and developing alternative forms ofteacher support systems. These activities can help toachieve the promise mentioned above.

1 1 7 Chapter 9: Beginning Teacher Assessnion Activities 105

REFERENCES

Boyer, E.L. (1983). High schrol: A report to the CarnegieFoundation for the advancement of teaching. NewYork: Harper & Row.

Good lad, J.1. (1984). A place called school: Prospects forthe future. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Holmes Group, Inc. (1986). Tomorrow's teachers: Areport of The Holmes Group. East Lansing, Ml:The Holmes Group.

National Commission on Excellence in Education.(1983). A nation at risk: The imperative for educa-tional reform.

Shulman, L. S., & Sykes, G. (1986). A national board forteaching? In search of a bold standard. A report forthe Task Force on Teaching as a Profession.New York: Carnegie Corporation.

Wheeler, P. Hirabayashi, J. B., Maretinson, J., &Watkins, R. W. (1988). A study on the appropria te-ness of fifteen NTE specialty area tests for use incredentialing in the state of California. Emeryville,CA: Educational Testing Service.

Wheeler, P. & Elias, P. (1983). California Educa-tional Skills Test: Field test and validity study re-port. Berkeley, CA: Educational Testing Service.

Wise, A., Darling-Hammond, L., Berry, B., & Klein,S.P. (1987). Licensing teachers: Design fora teacherprofusion. Santa Monica, CA: The Rand Corpo-ration.


CONCLUSIONS

Insightsand Principles

Ann I. MoreyMary Gendemalik CooperSan Diego State University

IIIN the opening chapter, the majorforces influencing recent initiativesto provide support and assistance

to new teachers were discussed. That chap-ter also provided an advanced-organizer ofthe topical issues examined in subsequentchapters. This concluding chapter providesa synthesis of insights gleaned from theconceptual and experiential reflections ofthe contributing authors. We close by rec-ommending some guiding principles forboth new teacher assistance program devel-opment and for framing on-going policyconsiderations.

1 1 9Conclusions: Insights and Principles 107

PROGRAM INSIGIITS

Chapters 3 through ti explore in considerabledept': distinct dimensions of new teacher supportprograms. Together they provide a coherent frame-work for developing such programs; a framework:iufficiently flexible to accommodate diversity in im-plementation. These chapters also contribute tounderstanding the content of the Ca lifornia programsin terms of two pervasive characteristics informedresponsiveness and the evolving nature of the pro-grams. Content is determined and shaped by theexperience and expertise of program staff and thenew teachers themselves. Content encompasses is-sues related to personal well-being as well as profes-sional skills and understandings. Content evolutionis reflected in the expansion of topics from year toyear and in the ways in which topics are linked andsequenced. The San Diego State Uri; versity /San DiegoUnified School District Retention Pmgrar.i, for ex-ample, addressed classroom discipline issues as thehighest priority topic in its first year. By the secondyear, insights and reflection led project staff to ad-dress discipline in conjunction with motivation; inthe third year this content dimension evolved furtherto engage the new teachers in considering how theirinstructional _epertoire as well as their motivatingstrategies were influencing classroom discipline. Thisexample suggests one of many kinds of evolutionswhich take place in the treatment of content in pro-grams for new teachers. Evolutions occur as a num-ber cif forces and factors interact. Their specific char-acter will depend, in part, on the guiding conceptionsof the program, as well as program staff's interpreta-tions of program experiences and program impactdata. They also will depend on program staff effortsto integrate other sources of insight, such as relevantresearch, into their program reviews and revisions.Lastly, the programs will be influenced by the deep-ening nature of the collaboration itselfas the partnersincrease their knowledge of each other's strengthsand resources and further develop their workingrelationships.

The program elaboration chapters clearly sug-gest a more integrative model of support and assis-tance than that represented by Mitchell and Hough'stypology. Their typology is useful to analyzing therelative emphasis of different components within anactual program. Most of the extant programs weavetogether elements of professional acculturation (stan-dards of practice and professional identity) with

elements of accs.mating to the immediate school,district and work- groupcontcxt. This is accomplishedthrough such program dimensions as the organizingstrategies (e.g. dusters, content or site-based groupmeetings), project staff roles, and the treatment ofcontent. There may be variability of emphasisacrossprograms on these dimen-ions, hut virtually all of theprograms encompass t nem.

The chapters which explore program dimen-sions further sugi.,Test that substantial benefits accrueto district-based staff development/inservice pro-grams, university-based preservice programs, and toprogram staff as well as to the new teachers and theirstudents. Chapter suggests that there are distinctlearnings and insights to be gained from workingwith and in support of beginning practitioners whichenrich individual professionals as well as other pro-gram areas for which they have re.iponsibilities.

COI.LABORATION

Resides providing a comprehensive understand-ing of support program elements and effects, thecentral chapters of th.s book suggest a great dealabout the quality and character of collaborative work.Collabmat ion among professionals in support of newteachers is both institutional and personal. It pro-vides opportunities for understanding the institu-tionally distinct purposes and tasks, the bases forstructural arrangement, thenorms of practice and thelanguage of the institutional culture. As much as weare all in the same business, collaboration amongschool districts, universities, and teacher's associa-tions makes us aware of how differently we mayperceive and approach that business. Collaborationallows us to learn about and from each other. And, asin the case of new teacher support programs, crea-tively corrbine each other's expertise in pursuit ofshared purpose.

Collaboration can "ale a means to correctingmisconceptions and distrust which ignorance built.It can be a powerful vehicle for new arrangementsand alternative resource allocations. Through col-laborative programs such as the new teacher supportprograms, university faculty maintain better contactwith the world of practice and this informs theirjudgments in designing or revising preservice pro-grams. Similarly, collaboration affords experiencedteachers as means to keep abreast of research andinnovative models of practice and to contribute to


these endeavors. Collaboratien is a way to acknowl-edge and incorporate, through an expanded periodof preparation and induction, the ever expandingknowledge base of pedagogy. It communicates apowerful image that learning to teach is a life-longcollegial venture. Further, it enhances integrationand articulation of theory and practice through aguided period of transition from student to profes-sional practitioner, not unlike other professions.

Collaboration can promote and help sustaininstitutional as well as personal renewal. It is, none-theless, taxing, time-consuming, sometimes intru-sive. On the basis of the programs reported herein,the benefits of collaboration make the effort worth-while. All of these programs are in some sense col-laborations, involving various combinations of theseven key groups of players identified by Mitchelland I-Inugh. It should further be noted that 80 percentof the original California New Teacher Project propos-als were school-district/university collaboratives.There is undoubtedly a broadly-based perceptionthat such arrangements are mutually beneficial.

CONCEPTIONS AND ASSESSMENT

It is evident from the discussion in Chapter 9regarding the assessment initiatives for teachercredentialing and licensure that the guidingconceptions of teaching and teacher are not thoseembedded in more prevalc nt performance-ohservatiolt-for-detecting-specific-behaviors assessment mk dels. Thedeveloping assessment protocol reflects a deeperunderstanding of the complexities of teaching andteacher thinking. The assessments are being designedto reveal and probe teachers' decisionmaking and thecontent and pedagogical knowledge which undergirdand give meaning to the overt deliberate actions ofteaching.

Standards and assessments related to teacherlicensure must be recognized as categorically distinctfrom support and assistance initiatives. The two en-terprises need not and ought not be discordant. Tothe extent that both efforts emanate from congruentconceptions of teacher and teaching and are groundedin the same theoretical and research paradigm theycan symbiotically support each other. Together theycan serve as powerful catalysts for exemplary profes-sional practice and on-going professional growth. Tothe extent that structures and networks can be madeto facilitatecontinuouscommunication between these

two efforts, they will enrich and inform each other, tothe ultimate benefit of the teaching profession as awhole, and to the students of California's publicschools.

Laura Wagner opened this book by describingthe characteristic diversity of California's popula-tion, politics, and public education institutions. Ineducation, at least, that diversity can be woven into aresilient cloth only if there are informed comprehen-sive conceptions of who we are, what we are about,and the goals we are pursuing. Diversity, then, be-comes a well-spring from which ideas, models, strate-gies and approaches for deliberate action are forged.Within this framework, delegations of authority andresponsibility are not used to separate interests orperspectives, nor to create counter-productive statushierarchies.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

We began this book by examining how thecurrent interest in programs for new teachers stemsfrom a concern for the quality of public education inEs.: United States and from increased recognition ofthe many challenges new teachers face. The impend-ing teacher shortage and the staggering statisticsregarding the proportion of new teachers who leavethe classroom during their first five years of teachinghave added to the impetus for such programs. Theinitial evaluations of the California programs indi-cate that these programs are successful in assistingnovices to become professional educators. The dataalso suggest a dramatic increase in the retention ofthese teachers. Clearly, the programs are having theirintended impacts.

We conclude with some general observations.Teaching is a complex task involving an extendedperiod of preparation and a lifelong journey involv-ing continuous professional development. In addi-tion, today's teachers face special challenges relatedto the increasing ethnic and linguistic diversity ofstudents, the changing societal context and the condi-tion of public education. Programs to assist newteachers must be based Oil conceptualizations whichrecognize this complexity and which provide a or-ganizing framework for the actual program. In cur-rent practice, the presence and influence of differentframeworks is sometimes more tacit; embedded inspecific activities rather than clearly articulated andserving as the guiding standard for determining

121 Conclusions: insights and Principles 109

assistance efforts. We maintain that programs will bemore coherent and effective if the relationship be-tween the operational program and the conceptualframework is more explicit.

Such corceptualizations will ' :d nmgramorganizers to move away from proviulagg assistanceat just the survival level. This was most obvious in theCalifornia case by the move from first year programemphasis on classroom management and disciplineto increased focus on motivating students, instruc-tional performance and professional development.

Our experience has lead us to focus also on theimportance of the selection and preparation of theindividuals who provide assistance. Relatedly, thebenefits to the providers in terms of their own profes-sional growth and in the execution of their responsi-bilities have been impressive.

We are convinced that whenever possible col-laborative models of assistance should be imple-mented. The combined expertise and other resourcesof the collaborating partners produce a more effec-tive model of assistance. As public policy is formedregarding nc w teacher programs, we believe that thenature of these collaborations should be defined invery general terms. Matters regarding who the col-

laborators are and fiscal agents should be decided bylocal groups. Our experience with the fine modelsdesigned and implemented in this diverse state haveled us to this conclusion. Further, we are impressedwith the amount of in-kind resources and "volun-teered" extra time that has been contributed to theprojects. We are concerned about the ability of insti-tutions and individuals to sustain such efforts overthe long term. Given this situation and the largepublic investment in preparing a new teacher, wehope that California will not be penny wise andpound foolish in it, decision regarding what consti-tutes sufficient resource support for programs fornew teachers.

The California experience is just one of manyefforts to assist new teachers occurring throughoutthe country. We are impressed simultaneously by thesimilarities and diversity across our programs andbelieve our experience is not unique to our state. Wehave tried to capture our knowledge about providingassistance for the development of new teachers, andin the process have discovered that we havegrown asprofessionals through our work with them and withour colleagues in the schools, teacher associations,universities and state level agencies. We are encour-aged by the dedication and growth of the new teach-ers as we know that the youth in our schools willbenefit from their efforts.

110 Designing Programs f©r New Teachers 122

APPENDIX A

Resources

Carol WithersSan Diego State University

CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS

Association for Supervision andCurriculum Development NationalTraining Center Summer Program(A variety of 5-day programs)Association for Supervision andCurriculum Development125 N. West StreetAlexandria, VA 22314-2798(703) 549-9110

Case Approach to Mentor TrainingJudith H. ShulmanFar West Laboratory1855 Folsom StreetSan Francisco, CA 94103(415) 565-3000

Effective Instruction andInstructional Management(Three workshops: EffectiveInstruction; EffectiveSupervision; Planning/Monitoring of Staff Development)Michele Garside, CoordinatorSan Diego County Office ofEch.cation6401 Linda Vista Road Room 405San Diego, CA 92111

Three workshops: class manage-ment, raising student productivity,instant involvement seminarsMeredith Fellows5865 Friars Road, # 3405San Diego, CA 92110

Language Development Across theCurriculum Training ModulesCharles S. TerrellSan Bernardino CountySuperintendent of Schools601 North E StreetSan Bernardino, CA 92410(714) 387-3135

PRIVATE TRAINERS

Management teaching toolsRick Morris4305 Gesner Street, Suite 202San Diego, CA 92117(619) 276-6301

Geraldine FlahertyPeer Bach TrainerPerformance Learning Systems224 ChurchNevada City, CA 95959(916) 265-6264

Positive Parent RelationshipsTrainingLee Canter and AssociatesP.O. Box 2113Santa Monica, CA 94087(800) 2624347

Randy SprickTeaching Strategies, Inc.P.O. Box 5205Eugene, OR 97405(800) 323-8819

Training Workshops (a variety oftopics)Karen OlsenCalifornia Institute for SchoolImprovement1107 9th Street, Suite # 150Sacramento, CA 95814(916) 447-2474

Bonnie WilliamsonDynamic Teaching CompanyP. 0. Box 276711Sacrameri.o, CA 95827(916) 638-1136

123 Appendix A: Resources 111

For Bilingual and English as aSecond Language contact:The California Association ofBilingual Educators926 J Street, Suite 810Sacramento, CA 95814(916) 447-3986

*$OOKS AND HANDBOOKS

Association for Supervision andCurriculum DevelopmentSupervision Library(A variety of books)Association for Supervision andCurriculum Development125 N. West StreetAlexandria VA 22314-2798(703) 549-9110

Attracting, Retaining, andDeelopins Quality Teachers inSmall Schools(cite order number RL-9040-588-WR)The Regional Laboratory forEducational Improvement of theNortheast and Islands290 South Main StreetAndover, MA 01810

Beginning Teachers andProfessional Development(cite order number PPD-706-10S82-WR)Central Regional EducationalLaboratory295 Emroy Ave.Elmhurst, IL 60126

Bright Ideas by Meredith Fellows(160 ideas to involve students inproductive thinking)Meredith FellowsBox 81Fallbrook, CA 92028

The Holmes Group Forum (free)The Holmes Group501 Erickson HallMichigan State UniversityEast Lansing, MI 48824-1023(517) 353-3874

Mentor flandlxvicNorthwest Regional EducationLaboratoryMarketing Office101 S. W. Main StreetPortland, OR 97204

The Mentor Teacher Role: Owners'Manual by Karen Olsen (1987)Karen OlsenCalifornia Institute for SchoolImprovement1107 9th Street, Suite 150Sacramento, CA 95814(916) 447-2474

Crossing the Schoolhouse Border byLaurie OlsenCalifornia Tomorrow849 South Broadway, Suite 831Los Angeles, CA 90014(213) 623-6231

Preparing Mentors for Work withBeginning Teachers: A Leader'sGuide to Mentor TrainingPublicationsFar West Laboratory1855 Folsom StreetSan Francisco, CA 94103(415) 565-3000Or

ERIC Clearinghouse onEducational ManagementUniversity of Oregon, Eugene1787 Agate StreetEugene, OR 97403-5207

Kinnoledge Base for the BeginningTeacher by Maynard Reynolds(editor)Pergamon PressMaxwell House, Fairview ParkElmsford, NY 100523(914) 592 7700

The Intern Teacher Casebook byJudith H. Shulman and Joel A.Colbert ;1988)PublicationsFar West Laboratory1855 Folsom StreetSan Francisco, CA 94103(415) 565-3000

The Mentor Teacher Casebook byJudith H. Shulman and Joel A.Colbert (1987)PublicationsFar West Laboratory1855 Folsom StreetSan Francisco, CA 94103(415) 565-3000

Sourcebook for Rural Educators byBethAnn BerlinerPublicationsFar West Laboratory1855 Folsom StreetSan Francisco, CA 94103(415) 565-3000

The Solution Book byRandy SprickTeaching Strategies, Inc.P.O. Box 5205Eugene, OR °7405(800) 323-8819

Teacher Preparation for RuralSchools(cite order number NL-788-WR)Northwest Regional EducationLaboratoryDocument Reproduction Service101 S. W. Main Street, Suite 500Portland, OR 97204


A First-Year Teacher's Guidebookfor Success byBonnie WilliamsonDynamic Teaching CompanyP. O. Box 276711Sacramento, CA 95827(916) 638-1136

For Bilingual and English as aSecond Language, contact:David Dolson, AssistantManagerBilingual Education UnitCalifornia State Department ofEducation721 Capitol MallSacramento, CA 95814

VIDEOS

Another Set of EyesPart One: Techniques forClassroom Observation (over 90minutes, 80 page trainer'smanual)Part Two: Conferencing Skills (over120 minutes, 80 page trainer'smanual; available for purchase,rent, or preview)Association for Supervision andCurriculum Development125 N. West StreetAlexandria, VA 22314-2798(703) 549-9110

Classroom Episodes(A set of ten videos, may bepurchased separately; availablefor purchase, rent, or preview)Association for Supervision andCurriculum Development125 N. West StreetAlexandria, VA 22314-2798(703) 549-9110

Classroom Management with PatWolfeAssociation for Supervision andCurriculum Development125 N. West StreetAlexandria, VA 22314-2798(703) 549-9110

How You Can Be a SuperSuccessful Teacher (an audiotape)Dr. Harry Wong1536 Queens Town Ct.Surtnyvai CA 94087

Management teaching toolsRick Morris4305 Gesner Street, Suite 202San Diego, CA 92117(619) 276-6301

Randy SprickTeaching Strategies, Inc.P.O. Box 5205Eugene, OR 97405(800) 323-8819

For Bilingual and English as aSecond Language Curriculum,contact:Tim Allen, DirectorSecond Language DivisionSan Diego City, Schools4100 Normal Street"in Diego, CA, 92103-2682(619) 293-8096

125 Appendix A: Resources 113

APPENDIX B

Contributors

Allen, LanaMilpitas Unified SchoolDistrict

Balch, PamelaSan Diego State University

Bar loga, Mary BethSan Leandro Unified SchoolDistrict

Berg, MarloweSan Diego State University

Bernhardt, VictoriaCalifornia State University,Chico

Berry, JanModesto City SchoolDistrict

Bern 'aqua, LouiseJohn Swett Unified SchoolDistrict

Bissell, JoanUniversity of California,Irvine

Blackney, DeniseUpland Unified SchoolDistrict

Brinlee, PatCommission on TeacherCredentialing

Brown, JimSan Francisco StateUniversity

Bye, TomVallejo City Unified

Cates, CarolynFar West Laboratory

Cauchi, PaulMilpitas Unified SchoolDistrict

Chryst, SuePittsburg, California

Colvin, CarolynSan Diego State University

Cooper, Mary GendPrnalikSan Diego State University

Cooper-Shoup, SusanCalifornia State University,San Bernardino

Cronenwett, SusanSacramento City UnifiedSchool District

Dawson, DonnaSan Jose Unified SchoolDistrict

Dianda, MarcellaSouthwest RegionalLaboratory

Ely, EvelynE. M. Cox School

Fitch, PhilCommission on TeacherCredentialing

IIIIHE editors would like to expressappreciation to participants at theinvitational workshop on Begin-

ning Teacher Programs and the Bay Area Re-gional Planning Seminaron Supporting NewTeachers and others who havecontributed tothis guidebook.

Folsom, RoxieBurlingame School District

Gair, StefanPittsburg Unified SchoolDistrict

Garmston, SusanState Department ofEducation

Getridge, CarolynOakland Unified SchoolDistrict

FrankGilroy Unified SchoolDistrict

Ginwright, SylviaLa Mesa/Spring ValleySchool District

Godbold, DeloresRoosevelt Junior HighSchool

Green, Jennie SpencerCalifornia State University,Chancellor's Office

Harris, CynthiaCalifornia State University,Hayward

Hightower, CherylAlameda County 0Education

Hogan, KathySan Mateo Schools

Holtzmann, JaneCalifornia StateDepartment of Education

Hoover, Mary LeeLivermore Valley UnifiedSchool District

Hope, DonnaNew Haven School District

Hopper, MarySan Diego City Schools

Hough, DavidUniversity of California,Riverside

Hunter, Ena I.Pittsburg Unified SchoolDistrict

Hunter, JimBerryessa Union SchoolDistrict

Johnson, YvonneCajon Valley Unified SchoolDistrict

Johnston, fabiolaLos Angeles Unified SchoolDistrict

Kapic, LindaLodi Unified School District

Keitel, ChristineCajon Valley Unified SchoolDistrict


Kelly, PatUnited StatesInternational University

Kohonen, ViljoUniversity of California,Santa Cruz

Krahcnbuhl, JaniceGilroy Unified SchoolDistrict

Lass, Mary JoCalifornia State University,Long Beach

Lemoyne, FrancesSan Mateo Unified SchoolDistrict

Loucks, SharonFresno County Office ofEducation

Mackie, B. I.Cabrillo Unified SchoolDistrict

Majetic, DickCommission on TeacherCredentialing

Martin, NancyCalifornia State University,San Bernardino

McBride, SusanCalifornia PolytechnicState University,San Luis Obispo

McClung, R.E.Centralia School District

McLevie, JohnCommission on TeacherCredentialing

Merseth, Katherine K.University of California,Riverside

Miller, ErnestineClaremont Middle School

Mitchell, Douglas E.University of California,Riverside

Mitchell, JimSanta Clara UnifiedSchool District

Moran, MarilynSequoia High School

Morey, Ann I.San Diego State University

Muniz, SophiaFresno Unified SchoolDistrict

Murphy, DianeSan Diego State University

Myatt, KeithBurbank Unified SchoolDistrict

Nagel, AnneSan Diego State University

Nielsen, DonaldCalifornia State LlniversLos Angeles

Perotti, PaulMilpitas Unified SchoolDistrict

Raczka, DonPoway Unified SchoolDistrict

Ratzlaff, CharlotteSan Mateo Union HighSchool District

Riggs, IrisCalifornia State University,San Bernardino

Ritchie, LorraineSan Leandro UnifiedSchool District

Roberts, MichaelWinters Joint UnifiedSchool District

Roth, RobCalifornia State University,Long Beach

Sandlin, RuthCalifornia State University,San Bernardino

Shaw, BevMilpitas Unified SchoolDistrict

Shulman, Judith H.Far West Laboratory

Sleiman, VickiPoway School District

Sly, Caro lieAlameda County Office oEducation

Sweetland, GretaUpland Unified SchoolDistrict

Swihart, VirginiaNew Haven Unified

Todd, LarryOrchard School District

Towner, ArthurleneCalifornia State University,Hayward

Van Wyke, CarolUpland Unified SchoolDistrict

Wagner, LauraStale Department ofEducation

Ward, BeatriceSouthwest RegionalLaboratory

Warren, BetsyBerryessa Union SchoolDistrict

Wasserman, SusanCalifornia State UniversNor

Waters, LouiseCalifornia State UniversHayward

Watson, MariaCalifornia State UniversHayward

Weir, CathySan Mateo City Schools

Wierman, StarlaWinters Joint UnifiedSchool District

Wiggins, LornaJohn Swett Unified SchoolDistrict

Wilkins, JanSan Jose Unified SchoolDistrict

Williams, DianaLong Beach UnifiedSchool District

Williamson, SandyAlameda County Office oEducation

Withers, CarolSan Diego State University

Worthy, ReginaSan Francisco ParksidcCenter

Wright, DavidCommission on TeacherCredentialing

Yanos, Mary AnnWalnut Valley UnifiedSchool District

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