Induction:
The Best form of Professional Development
The article starts mentioning that to redesign
professional mentoring is not enough to have mentors but to have effective
induction processes.
The main message of the article is that new teachers
need more than just mentors who they try to reach whenever trouble arises and
that institutions need to create a culture of professional growth and lifelong
learning before beginning teachers ever see their first class.
Some
of the characteristics of effective induction programmes are:
- They should help new teachers establish effective classroom management procedures, routines and instructional practices.
- They should promote unity and teamwork.
- They should train and support new teachers engaging them in the fulfillment of the institution´s mission.
- They should start with 4 or 5 days of workshops before school begins.
- They should integrate a mentoring component and some
kind of framework for modeling effective teaching.
- They should provide opportunities for inductees to visit demonstration classrooms
Demonstration
classrooms: Experienced teachers set up their rooms to model the
first day of school in an effective classroom. Afterwards, observers discuss
the strategies that new teachers found useful.
- They could provide a SPA Day.
A
SPA (Special Professional Assistance)Day is for
mentees to spend a day with a mentor observing each other and then having lunch
together to exchange ideas on what they have observed.
- There could be monthly support meetings and Curriculum facilitators
Curriculum
facilitators: teachers to whom mentors and teachers can go to and
who provide support, teach demonstration lessons, conduct informal teacher
observation and offer sugestions for improvement.
According to Mr. Wong, what is needed is a sustained
training programme to keep new teachers, nurture them and take them
step-by-step through the year and beyond.
