Early Career Teachers’ Perceptions of Initial Teacher Education

2018 ◽  
pp. 243-254
Author(s):  
Alex Kostogriz
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Initial Teacher Education ◽  
Early Career Teachers ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Career Teachers

Mentorship in Technology-Rich, 21st-Century Classrooms

2018 ◽  
pp. 2248-2262
Author(s):  
Doug Reid ◽  
Erin Reid
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Classroom Management ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Appropriate Technology ◽  
Early Career Teachers ◽  
School Cultures ◽  
Mentorship Program ◽  
Career Teachers

A mentorship program was established to support early career teachers in a technology-rich K-6 school. This program included scaffolding for inexperienced teachers in school cultures, pedagogically appropriate technology use, and classroom management. The program assisted early career teachers to thrive at the beginning of their career and to address perceived weaknesses in teacher education programs. As a result of this research, several early career teachers received mentorship support and successfully began their teaching careers. Additionally, many pre-service teachers were able to make decisions about their school careers through engagement in a practical and realistic teacher-training program. In theory, this research informs the literature regarding the realities of 21st-century classroom experiences and demonstrates the importance of having experienced educators provide training to the next generation of teachers. In practice, this research provides an example of how university teacher education can better prepare pre-service teachers to be successful in their future classrooms.

scholarly journals Early Career Teachers’ Evolving Content-Area Literacy Practices

in education ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-86
Author(s):  
Anne Murray-Orr ◽  
Jennifer Mitton-Kukner
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Content Area Literacy ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Content Area ◽  
First Year ◽  
Early Career Teachers ◽  
Content Areas ◽  
Career Teachers

Becoming effective teachers is dependent upon a variety of factors intersecting with early career teachers’ beginning teaching experiences. This paper provides a glimpse into ways in which four early career secondary school teachers began to embed literacies into their teaching practices in content areas and how their approaches shifted between the final term of their teacher education program in 2013 and their first year of teaching in 2014. The authors explore three factors that may shape the practices of early career teachers, with disciplinary specialties in science, math, social studies, and other content areas, as they persist in infusing their teaching practice with literacy strategies over the first year of teaching, or alternatively discontinue using these strategies. These factors are coursework in a Literacy in the Content Areas course during their teacher education program, teaching context, and disciplinary specialty.Keywords: early-career teachers; secondary teachers; content-area literacy; disciplinary literacy; pedagogical content knowledge

“I believe in home language, but the tests don't”: Addressing Linguistic Diversity within Assessment Practices across Literacy Teacher Preparation and Classroom Practice

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (7) ◽  
pp. 1-42
Author(s):  
Katrina Bartow Jacobs
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Literacy Assessment ◽  
Early Career Teachers ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Career Teachers ◽  
K 12

Background/Context Issues of policy, practice, and assessment and the relationships between them have been a persistent focus in the practice and research of teacher preparation. However, the field has also long appreciated the tensions that persist between assessment approaches espoused in most teacher education programs and the realities of practices in K–12 schools. These issues are of particular importance and consideration in the current climate of increasing standardization and accountability measures. There is a need to consider how teacher preparation programs prepare candidates to handle these pressures. Additional research following early-career teachers into the field is also needed to better understand the challenges and possibilities they face within their own literacy assessment approaches. Focus of Study Building on linguistic diversity work and issues of epistemic privilege and inequality related to literacy assessment in schools, the author theorizes practice within teacher education as inextricably linked to K–12 practices and policies, calling for a shift in teacher education to directly explore, and prepare teachers to navigate and circumnavigate, current policies and contexts. Focusing on linguistic diversity and assessment, I trace the tensions between the teachers’ asset-based beliefs and their practices within the current accountability climate. Research Design This study followed 10 early-career literacy teachers from their teacher preparation program into their first year of teaching. All the candidates completed their studies having strongly demonstrated beliefs in asset-based assessment practices and the need for clear links between assessment and practice. Through survey data—both qualitative and quantitative—and in-depth interview data gathered over a year, the study investigated shifts in the teachers’ beliefs and practices as well as the role of their school context in mediating the relationship between the two. Findings My focus in my analysis of the findings was understanding the impact of linguistic diversity as it relates to equitable assessment practices. These findings indicated that early-career teachers had differing degrees of difficulty implementing even strongly held beliefs. The early-career teachers described tensions between their goals and school expectations, increasing frustrations with standardized assessment measures, and disempowerment regarding their ability to support diverse students in the classroom through assessment measures. Conclusion Although teacher preparation programs can have a strong impact on candidates’ mindsets, simply focusing on shifting beliefs is not enough. I conclude by offering specific suggestions for how to better meet these needs through both pedagogical and theoretical changes within the field of literacy teacher education. “I believe in home language, but the tests don't. So, I'm—I'm stuck, you know? Because when I make assignments where the kids can use AAVE, or Spanglish, or whatever feels comfortable for them, then I worry I'm not preparing them. And my principal worries too, because our charter requires us to do as well or better than public schools on the [state test]. He suggested that I only do that when it's an in-class activity, and not for a grade, you know? But then—what am I saying to the kids? What message is that really sending? It seemed so easy when we talked about it in class.” —Kallie1

Mentorship in Technology-Rich, 21st-Century Classrooms

2016 ◽  
pp. 246-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doug Reid ◽  
Erin Reid
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Classroom Management ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Appropriate Technology ◽  
Early Career Teachers ◽  
School Cultures ◽  
Mentorship Program ◽  
Career Teachers

A mentorship program was established to support early career teachers in a technology-rich K-6 school. This program included scaffolding for inexperienced teachers in school cultures, pedagogically appropriate technology use, and classroom management. The program assisted early career teachers to thrive at the beginning of their career and to address perceived weaknesses in teacher education programs. As a result of this research, several early career teachers received mentorship support and successfully began their teaching careers. Additionally, many pre-service teachers were able to make decisions about their school careers through engagement in a practical and realistic teacher-training program. In theory, this research informs the literature regarding the realities of 21st-century classroom experiences and demonstrates the importance of having experienced educators provide training to the next generation of teachers. In practice, this research provides an example of how university teacher education can better prepare pre-service teachers to be successful in their future classrooms.

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