PREPARING NEW
TEACHERS:
TRANSITIONING
TO A
September 10th, 2006
Mark
Karadimos
This
paper is designed to generate a research foundation to create a tutorial for
new teachers. The material presented
within this paper will be tailored to fit the needs of teachers who must transition
from college or another employment setting to a high school in
Abstract..................................................................................................................................................... ii
Table of Contents..................................................................................................................................... iii
Introduction.......................................................................................................................................... 1
Classroom Management........................................................................................................................ 1
Procedures......................................................................................................................................... 2
Programs............................................................................................................................................ 3
Strategies........................................................................................................................................... 4
H. Wong........................................................................................................................................ 4
N. Boehm...................................................................................................................................... 5
Causes for Misbehavior..................................................................................................................... 5
Documents........................................................................................................................................ 6
Helpful Information.............................................................................................................................. 6
Notable People.................................................................................................................................. 6
Notable Locations............................................................................................................................. 7
Survival Strategies................................................................................................................................. 8
Interviewee 1: Jason Alexander, Math Teacher Tinley Park H.S...................................................... 8
Interviewee 2: Jill Alexander, Science Dept. Chair Argo H.S........................................................ 10
Interviewee 3: Bill Kink, Science Teacher, V.P. Teachers Union................................................... 10
Interviewee 4: James Dobrzanski, Math Teacher............................................................................ 10
Current Trends in Teaching and Learning........................................................................................... 11
Small Schools.................................................................................................................................. 11
Interdisciplinary Lessons................................................................................................................. 11
Team Teaching................................................................................................................................ 12
Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships................................................................................................... 12
Rigor................................................................................................................................................ 13
Relevance........................................................................................................................................ 13
Rigor vs. Relevance......................................................................................................................... 13
Quadrant Overview..................................................................................................................... 13
Purpose of the Plane.................................................................................................................... 14
Relationships................................................................................................................................... 15
U.S. Department of Education................................................................................................... 15
The International Center for Leadership in Education............................................................... 15
Instructional Media............................................................................................................................. 16
Minimization of Fatigue.................................................................................................................. 17
Integration of Visuals and Text...................................................................................................... 17
Advance Organizers........................................................................................................................ 17
Introductory Problems.................................................................................................................... 18
Memory Support............................................................................................................................. 18
Worked Examples........................................................................................................................... 18
Practice Exercises............................................................................................................................ 19
Graphics.......................................................................................................................................... 19
Evaluation in Accordance with Standards...................................................................................... 19
Staying Healthy................................................................................................................................... 20
Conclusion........................................................................................................................................... 21
Resources............................................................................................................................................ 21
Within five years of teaching, a teacher is 46% likely to entirely leave the field of education (Ingersoll, 2003). Teachers leave the field because they feel overwhelmed by the expectations and scope of the job, they feel isolated and unsupported in their classrooms, or that expectations are unclear (NEA, n.d.). What is clear is that there needs to be an emphasis placed on retaining new teachers to retain high quality schools.
This paper will provide information deemed valuable to new teachers. It will help teachers directly by providing them with information that is crucial for their success. It may also help administrators build quality new teacher programs in their schools by shedding light on research that indicates critical information for the success of new teachers.
Key elements that are crucial for building a healthy foundation for success in teaching will comprise the bulk of this paper. Those elements include classroom management, getting accustomed to key locations and people within the school, survival strategies from veteran teachers in the school, and information regarding the school’s current educational practices. Information will also be provided regarding the school’s current educational practices, the three R’s, the importance of instructional media, examples of instructional media, and helpful advice about staying healthy.
The results found within this paper will be synthesized into an online tutorial so that new teachers and administrators whom instruct new teachers can aid them with the use of asynchronous independent study materials. Once completed, circa September of 2006, the tutorial will be available at http://www.mathguide.com/services/Teacher.html.
Classroom management is much more than discipline. It is a mistake made by new teachers to assume that management equates discipline. Discipline is a facet of management (ASCD, 1998). It is certainly not to be ignored but discipline strategies need not always be instituted when the broader aspect of management is addressed.
To address classroom management, the sections below on procedures, discipline philosophies, strategies, and documents will assist teachers in gaining helpful ideas to personalize their own management style.
Proper management means having a procedure in place. These procedures include activities in the classroom. How students should conduct themselves concerning testing, cooperative learning, questions and answers, and various other classroom activities must be addressed. It includes how teachers should handle students who are behaving outside the pre-stated guidelines. In general, it is about knowing how to handle events as they arise before they arise.
Cotton (2001) declares the following list of behaviors that comprise effective classroom management:
Cotton’s research places a considerable amount of emphasis on teachers as it does students. Cotton’s findings are consistent with the role of teachers as leaders. Within leadership is an ability to manage complex situations, making them run efficiently.
There are a number of philosophies that enable educators to deal with students and their behaviors. They can be instituted at the classroom level or at the school level. Here is a list of those philosophies along with a brief explanation, taken from Cotton (2001).
Regardless of the program or programs being implemented, they all depend upon educators whom make a concerted effort to build a relationship with their students. To synthesize Cotton (2001), the communication is centered on authentic empathy, persistence in holding students to high standards, and a willingness to teach students preventatively and through difficult moments as they occur.
H. Wong (Model Schools Conference, 2006), writer of The First Days of School, informed a conference audience of a number of practical strategies for classroom management. Here are some of those items:
N. Boehm (Model Schools Conference, 2006), special education teacher at Matthys Elementary School, reported the following strategies, which were successful for her and the teachers at her school, mainstream and special education teachers alike:
According to Public Agenda (2004), common reasons for misbehavior include:
By examining the many programs and strategies that are available, creating an environment for effective education is a challenge whether it be for an entire school or a specific classroom. To assist educators in developing effective programs and strategies, numerous documents have been prepared.
In order for new teachers to become familiar with [a certain high school], it will be important for them to know certain essential elements of the school. Since it is an educational facility, people play an important role. Also, there are locations in the building that are used for crucial duties. The rest of this section will be broken down into two parts, notable people and notable locations. Including this type of information within a tutorial relates to the third ‘R’ in rigor, relevance, and relationships.
The people who are essential to new teachers are the people below. There names, pictures, and reasons for their noteworthy status will be briefly explained.
Content Area Coordinators (Area) – Brian White (History), Kathy Kucia (Arts), Mike Sheridan (English), Ron Bangert (CTE), Barbara Kane (Math), Ann Banazak (Science): These people have a great deal of knowledge in their respective subject areas and those who teach in their areas.
Deans (Secretaries) – Mark Karadimos (Marta), Luis Salto (Veronica), Sergio Rodriguez (Sylvia), Jose Gamboa (?): These people have an intimate knowledge of classroom management strategies and students who may be having problems in other teachers’ classes.
Assistant Principals (Secretaries) – Erin Kelly (Jeanette), Luis Illa (Mari), Dave Peterson (Jody), Burke (Donna), Rich Rutkowski (Luz, Alex, Zuleka, Angelica): These people are excellent resources for instructional strategies and can help new teachers become superb teachers. They also know very well how the building functions.
Counselors – Brown, Mike Weber, Sue Speulda, Adrianna McCormack, Matt Smith, Mike Kennedy, Patricia Menges, Carole Wojcik, Ryan Starr, Cutean: They form intimate bonds with their students over the years, making them good problem solving resources. Keep them informed of problematic situations.
Truant Officer – Mark Rybarski: He handles students who have an excessive number of absences.
The Principal (Secretaries) – Frank Zarate (Sharon & Olivia)
There are other individuals who provide outstanding service to the school; but, the people above compose a list that will benefit most new teachers. Security (Linda, Alex, Daniel, Salomon, Jaime, Jasmine, Denise, Rich, Teresa, Rene), maintenance, custodial, and kitchen staff (Sheri, Zaga & Maria) are also great people to know and befriend.
There are locations within the building that are used to conduct critical services. Those places are listed below.
Copy Room (108), AP/Dean Offices (217, 306B, 310), Greeter’s Desk (Entrance 9), Computer Labs (124, 343, 353), Principal’s Office (316), Truant Officer (217), Counselors’ Offices (respective AP offices and 217), Maintenance Office (116), Security Office (253), Nurses’ Office (211).
A number of experienced teachers from various districts were asked, “What strategies or advice would you give new teachers?” Their responses were recorded and can be found below.
“Don't forget the support staff. After school, you can introduce
yourself to your custodian who cleans your room. Ask for a couple of rags/old towels and a can
of their desk cleaner so you can maintain a clean room. If you catch a student marking the desk, make
them clean it off after class. Also,
don't forget the secretary who handles your substitutes and/or paycheck
distribution. A nice card at the winter
break and maybe a gift certificate for a restaurant goes a long way. Because you never know when you might get a
flat tire on the way to school and call on them to find a last-minute sub for
your classes!
“Keep an extra 3-ring
binder in the room for each class and add any handouts or worksheets to it
along the way. If a student transfers in
during the middle of the term, you instantly have a resource to hand them to
help them catch on. They can at least
take it home and look it over to get a handle on what their classmates just
learned.
“Eat lunch in the
faculty cafeteria or in your department office instead of "holed up in
your own room" (even if you brown-bag it). This is a time to socialize and get to know
your new co-workers better. You can learn a lot about the building and other departments
from the veteran teachers.
“If your department head
or evaluator mentions any "constructive criticism" during your early
informal evaluations, take the advice to heart. They usually have very good intentions and
this indicates areas that they will look for improvement at the next
evaluation. Don't just ignore the
advice!
“Buy the school yearbook
each year. It supports a very worthy club and you'll need to glance through it
before the start of the next fall semester to remember most of your students'
names. It's always an awkward moment if
you come back next fall and there are students walking by saying "Hi"
on the first day and you can't remember them by name!
“If you can, try to call
students' parents once in a while to let them know a good thing that happened
in school that day. Too many parents
only hear the bad news. Most will be
overjoyed to receive a positive phone call and some might even be awestruck,
having never expected one before.
“Try your best to use
good grammar and proof-read your handouts and notes to maintain
professionalism. In this day of
spell-checking software, there is no excuse for bad spelling or punctuation. When possible, try to expand your students' vocabulary
each day. They definitely need it!
“Attend sporting events
when possible, but also plays and recitals. Students always remember a teacher who takes
an interest in their extra-curriculars.
“Treat students how you would want a teacher to treat your own kids.”
“Model the kind of learning that you want your students to follow. Show them that you’re a life-long learner: Inform them of new strategies you picked up from a seminar; show them how to take notes during a guest lecture; tell them about an exciting article you read or an exhibit you saw at a museum; maybe pass around a notebook you kept from college as an example of notes taken from an advanced class. They need to see that you don’t have all the answers and that that is normal. We all can grow and keep learning and we should.”
“New teachers should focus on classroom management. They
should get this in line otherwise they will not be effective teachers.
“I check for dress code
and ID compliance in order to set tone. It lets kids know that rules will
be followed whether they are school-wide rules or classroom rules.
“To develop a
comprehensive discipline strategy, teachers should see their mentors and other
teachers.”
“Male teachers should wear a dress shirt and tie. They
should also strive for perfect attendance. This will help especially
young new teachers gain a degree of separation and also speak to the
professional nature of the job. It can prevent problems by setting the
proper tone.
“Work out a problem with
a student before sending him/her to a dean. Dean consequences could set
an animosity between a teacher and a student.
“Be mindful of the
challenge of striving for high standards while also not allowing students to
fail.”
To allow new teachers to fully engage themselves within the school, they must understand the guiding educational trends that are currently being utilized. Knowledge of the trends will help new teachers adopt appropriate teaching strategies and further the efforts of the entire school. The three main trends are small schools, integrated lessons, and team teaching.
A certain suburban school, as well as many other large urban
high schools, is moving toward a small school model. According to Sokolwski (2004), “…the theory is that the small school atmosphere is far more
equipped to facilitate meaningful student/teacher relationships and a
curriculum that caters to the needs of the students instead of the monolithic urban
school systems that presently exist.”
The small school
model dovetails elegantly with another framework called rigor, relevance, and
relationships, which will be explained in its own section later within this
paper.
The small school
model as it is put into practice at a certain high school has the school
subdivided into four smaller schools, each having its own assistant principal,
dean, counselors, and other personnel.
Teachers within these schools will be collaborating and consequently
building interdisciplinary lessons.
Interdisciplinary learning rests within constructivist educational theory. Essentially, teachers who employ this instructional method engage students with real-world, practical situations and problems involving multiple disciplines. This authentic style of learning facilitates student exploration and further development Murphy (1997).
Teachers within small schools will be creating lessons that utilize many disciplines around themes, such as arts and communication or math, science and technology. It is believed that involvement within these thematic schools under interdisciplinary situations will allow more students to learn.
There are teachers within the school who work together to create and execute lesson plans. They build lessons from multiple disciplines, similar to interdisciplinary lessons, but these teachers work either within the same learning areas at the same time or with the same students at different times during the day. Two or more teachers work together to create rich educational experiences for their students.
Advantages of team teaching for educators are teachers do not operate in isolation and collegial lesson planning leads to enhanced learning products. The advantages for students are students typically receive relevant lessons that are inviting and retention is elevated. Students also receive realistic learning experiences where issues are not always precise and clear and improved interpersonal skills and an increase in regard for group work for both students and teachers (Goetz, 2000).
The
Within the two-dimensional plane used by The International Center for Leadership in Education (n.d.), the vertical direction represents rigor, traditionally understood to be knowledge under Bloom’s Taxonomy of learning. The lower part of the six-stage scale starts out with knowledge and the ability to recall it. The higher end of the scale involves a creative manner in which a person can arrange and synthesize information.
The horizontal direction within the two-dimensional plane represents relevance. This scale quantifies the application of knowledge. At the lower end of the scale, knowledge is acquired simply for the purpose of learning. At the higher end of the five-point scale, knowledge is applied on complex, real-world problems. It involves creating projects, designs, and works to solve real life situations (The International Center for Leadership in Education, n.d.).
The
The information below was obtained from The International Center for Leadership in Education (n.d.). It describes the four quadrants within the Rigor vs. Relevance Framework.
The purpose of the Rigor vs. Relevance Framework is multifaceted. The framework provides three benefits. It broadens the perspective of educators, drives schools and districts to manage curricula, and most importantly assists student learning.
Broadening
Perspectives
It is crucial for both new and veteran teachers alike to understand the complete strata of instruction and learning. Educators who focus solely on the acquisition of knowledge without applying it are operating entirely within one-fourth of the available learning space and creating a lackluster learning environment (Daggett, 2005).
Driving
Schools to Manage Curricula
Schools that understand the benefits of the four-quadrant plane, The Rigor vs. Relevance Framework, will guide educators to create lessons that reflect the four-strata nature of instruction and learning. These districts will create enriching professional growth structures, meaningful feedback mechanisms within evaluations, and modify curricula to reflect effective instruction and learning.
Assist
Student Learning
When students are made to apply their knowledge in a practical setting, research shows students understand and retain knowledge. Instruction and learning opportunities that reflect The Rigor vs. Relevance Framework are consequentially good for students and can also positively impact on their motivation for learning (Daggett, 2005).
The latest movement within education is the encouragement to grow learning communities, as opposed to fragmented organizations. The U.S. Department of Education has targeted large high schools with its Smaller Learning Communities program (U.S. Department of Education, 2006). Within the Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships triad, relationships play an important role. Two senior consultants associated with The International Center for Leadership in Education routinely provide information related to the benefits of relationships (Model Schools Conference, 2006).
Research
reported by The U.S. Department of Education (2006) suggests schools that have
lower populations and higher connections with students benefit as follows:
Helen Branigan and Dick Jones, Senior Consultants, outlined Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships at the 14th Annual Model Schools Conference (2006). They reported the following benefits for fostering positive relationships:
Schools that actively seek to foster relationships perform the following duties, which have been organized into three sections:
I. Supportive Behaviors:
Use proper tone of voice, post class rules, take an interest in others’ activities, show respect, use active listening, avoid put-downs, display student work, write encouraging notes, identify unique talents, celebrate accomplishments, create student-of-the-month programs, create inviting classroom climates, exhibit enthusiasm, use positive humor and build a reward system.
II.
Supportive
Initiatives
Use character education, student orientation, team building, mentoring, incentives, student advocacy, advisement program, peer mediation, students as teachers, service learning, extra-curricular activities, and sports programs.
III.
Supportive
Structures
Use small learning communities, alternative scheduling, school-based enterprise, team teaching, teacher continuity, and professional learning communities.
In addition to reaping the potential rewards of effective classroom management, being a participating member with a school’s teaching trends, and utilizing the three ‘R’s described above, teachers are able to further help their students by using instructional media. Instructional media of the kind outlined within this paper reflect web pages, video, audio, graphics and other such devices typically delivered via the Internet or software programs. Even though instructional media are not exclusive to the Internet, their use therein are easily managed using computer labs or assignments that lead to similar use out of school. The Internet is also able to utilize all of the items mentioned in the subsections below.
Teachers who utilize instructional media will help their students through minimization of fatigue, integration of visuals and text, advance organizers, introductory problems, and memory support. Instructional media also provide worked examples, practice exercises, graphics, evaluation in accordance with standards, and metacognition.
Instructional
media help manage the strains of learning over extended periods of time (
Traditional
texts routinely place visuals within blocks of text, which causes divided
attention. The ability to integrate text
within graphics reduces this problem (
An
advance organizer is information delivered in words or pictures prior to the
lesson content. It either activates
relevant prior knowledge or provides prior knowledge that the learner can use
to integrate the new information included in the lesson (
Introductory problems are those that are presented at the beginning of a lesson to stimulate interest, interaction, and further study. They are used for individual development, team building, networking, and icebreaking (Barnes, n.d.). The non-sophisticated demands of this tool are easily gained via basic web page commands, making this tool easy for teachers to implement via the Internet.
Cognitive load and working memory is educational jargon that describes two facets of learning new information or skills. Cognitive load is the demand placed upon working memory to process a certain task or concept. Working memory is the space where learning occurs.
Instruction that reduces load on memory will have a beneficial affect upon learning. Here are four instructional strategies for reducing working memory load (Solomon, n.d.):
Worked
examples are problems that have already been completed. Providing worked examples is a way to manage
memory load in learners. Supplying
learners with worked problems consequently lowers their cognitive load. It enables learners to concentrate on
procedures or techniques without having to understand all steps at once (
Teachers
use practices exercises when they want to ensure students possess necessary
skills and/or knowledge. Practice
problems are used to reinforce learning goals, identify students who need
remediation, and provide students with confidence to proceed with further
lessons. It is not mandatory practice
exercises be geared toward basic understanding, but quite typically they are
used in such a manner, given that skills are tested in isolation (
The
appropriate use of graphics within instruction can lead to enhanced
learning. Factors for consideration
include relevancy to learning goals, activation of appropriate prior knowledge,
and the formation of new mental models.
As an additional part of considering graphics, instructors must choose
between six different types of graphics (
It is extremely important for students to receive timely feedback. Whether students obtain or do not obtain a skill or knowledge set is important for them to know. Call the skill or knowledge set a standard. Deubel (2003) and Locatis’ (2001) research rides either fully or in part on evaluating learners against a standard.
Certain programming languages akin to the Internet, like Flash or Perl, can be used to create dynamic web pages. These pages can present problems, wait for student responses, and provide immediate feedback to indicate correct and incorrect responses. This type of mechanism provides real-time, one-on-one feedback to students whenever they need it, in the case the pages are accessible outside the school 24 hours a day. Consequently, students can determine whether or not they possess and can demonstrate a skill or knowledge set without relying solely upon the teacher.
Educating children, whether as an administrator or as a teacher, is a challenge. There are many duties placed upon educators who also have to work with a variety of personality types. Consequently, stress is inevitable.
A survey of teachers reported two main causes of teacher stress. Those two causes were workload (planning/grading) and conflict with pupils (Johnstone, 1993). The classroom management section earlier within this paper addresses the latter, but general workload stress should be addressed, especially for new teachers
Dr. David B. Posen (1995) indicates that an excess of stress is important to recognize and treat and accounts as many as 70% of all visits to family doctors. He also offers ten strategies for managing stress:
The
Romans who constructed Western civilization understood the importance of
education.
This tutorial exists to help new educators to familiarize themselves with the latest trends and research with the needs of new teachers in mind. Classroom management, survival strategies, and current trends have been provided. An analysis of rigor, relevance, and relationships, the benefits of instructional media, and tips on how to stay healthy has been shared. Helpful information unique to a certain high school has been included as well.
If the NEA’s (n.d.) statistics are correct, the need for 2 million teachers in the course of ten years is an important consideration. This makes our current new teachers an extremely valuable resource. Helping them to become veteran teachers who stay in education must be a priority for parents, politicians, and educational leaders. May this tutorial be a small contribution toward that goal.
ASCD (1998) The Definition of Classroom Management. Online Resource Accessed on August 26th, 2006 at: http://www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/menuitem.8835d3e3fbb1b0cddeb3ffdb62108a0c/.
Barnes, R. (n.d.) Management Games: The Opener
and its Role in Training. The
Encyclopedia of Educational Technology,
Cotton, K. (2001) Schoolwide and Classroom Discipline. Retrieved on June 8th, 2005 at: http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/5/cu9.html.
Daggett, W. (2005) Achieving Academic Excellence through Rigor and Relevance. Online Resource Accessed on September 10th 2006 at: http://www.daggett.com/pdf/Academic_Excellence.pdf.
Deubel, P. (2003). An investigation of behaviorist and cognitive approaches to instructional multimedia design. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia,12(1), 63-90.
Goetz, K (2000) Perspectives on Team Teaching. Online Resource Accessed on August 18th 2006 at: http://www.ucalgary.ca/~egallery/goetz.html.
Ingersoll, R. (2003) Is There Really a Teacher Shortage? Online Resource Accessed on August 5th, 2006 at: http://depts.washington.edu/ctpmail/PDFs/Shortage-RI-09-2003.pdf.
Johnstone, M. (1993) Time and Tasks: Teacher Workload and Stress. Online Resource Accessed on August 26th, 2006 at: http://www.scre.ac.uk/pdf/spotlight/Spotlight44.pdf.
Karadimos, M. (2003) Behavior Identification
& Adjustment. Word Document Available at: http://www.mathguide.com/services/Discipline/BehaviorIDA.doc.
Karadimos, M. (2004) Assessing the Cognitive Basis of Instructional Media. Online Resource Accessed on August 18th, 2006 at: http://www.mathguide.com/research/Assessing.htm.
Karadimos, M. (2005) Guide to School
Discipline. Online Tutorial Accessed on August 18th, 2006
at: http://www.mathguide.com/services/Discipline/.
Karadimos, M. (2005) Guide to School Discipline. PowerPoint document available at: http://www.mathguide.com/services/Discipline/GuideDiscipline.ppt.
Locatis, C. (2001) Instructional Design Theory
and the Development of Multimedia Programs Online Resource Accessed on December 12th,
2004 at: http://lhncbc.nlm.nih.gov/lhc/docs/published/2001/pub2001048.pdf.
Murphy, E. (1997) Constructivism: From Philosophy to Practice. Characteristics of
Constructivist Learning & Teaching. Online Resource
Accessed on August 18th, 2006 at: http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/~elmurphy/emurphy/cle3.html.
NEA (n.d.) Attracting and Keeping Quality Teachers. Online Resource Accessed on August 5th, 2006 at: http://www.nea.org/teachershortage/index.html.
Posen, D. (1995) Stress Management for Patient and Physician. Online Resource Accessed on August 26th, 2006 at: http://www.mentalhealth.com/mag1/p51-str.html.
Public Agenda (2004) Teaching Interrupted. Online Resource Accessed on August 8th, 2006 at: http://cgood.org/assets/attachments/22.pdf.
Sokolwski, J. (2004)