As
doors open for another academic year, schools are welcoming not just new
students, but also new teachers, into their classrooms. About 322,000 new teachers were hired this
year,* and mentors and instructional coaches play an important role in keeping
these new teachers in the profession and in helping them achieve success in
their first year and beyond.
How
do these novice teachers’ needs differ from others you are coaching? As you
support early-career teachers, developing empathy
is key. Take a trip down memory lane and
revisit your own first years as a teacher.
What were your own struggles and successes? How did those early experiences lead you to
the teacher you are today? I found that
writing a Letter to My
First-Year Teacher Self helped me remember and understand what these new
teachers may be going through. Teaching is mentally, physically, and
emotionally-demanding – even more so in the early years. Reminding ourselves of our own previous experiences
can help us respond with authentic empathy.
And there may be a time and place for mentioning these experiences to
your novice-teacher friends. But when an
early-career teacher vents her concerns, keep the focus on her. As you listen, temporarily set aside judgment
and listen with your heart. Don’t
dismiss her concerns, but avoid letting them spiral into a negative hole.
When
the venting has abated and some pressure is relieved, help the early-career
teacher set measurable, achievable goals. Small successes bolster confidence and,
accumulated, lead to big improvements.
Some folks talk of setting “aspirational goals,” saying that reaching
for the stars and missing is better than aiming too low. However, when a teachers’ confidence is
strained, a goal achieved, no matter how small, is a step in the right
direction. Let the teacher choose the
focus and the type of feedback she needs.
A sense of control is important to adult learners, and there are probably
other situations in an early-career teacher’s day that feel out of her
control.
Observations provide shared experiences for
dialogue. One option, of course, is for
you to observe the new teacher in her classroom. But a less-threatening option, early on, may
be for both of you to observe a more veteran teacher. This common experience will provide for discussion
that is more fruitful than simply hearing her impressions of a lesson she has
observed on her own. Valuing
description over evaluation during dialogue enhances instruction and
results in improved student learning Although
such observations were likely part of her student-teaching experience, a
first-year teacher is seeing with new eyes.
As
a colleague, model continuous
learning. It is appropriate, at
times, to share your own current struggles and frustrations with early-career
friends. Knowing that even veteran
teachers aren’t perfect can be a huge relief! Good mentors are transparent about their problems
of practice and their own search for better answers. It models the stance that we are always
looking for ways to make our instruction more effective and that instruction
must be responsive to the ever-changing needs of our students. Demonstrate that you are open to learning
from colleagues (even the newest ones!).
Describing struggles also demonstrates your own vulnerability, and your openness
helps to build a relationship of trust.
Perhaps
most importantly, communicate optimism
and confidence that the new teacher you are working with can overcome
challenges and provide effective instruction for her students. Coaching a new teacher can help her discover
the joys you have found in this challenging but satisfying profession.
*https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=28
This week, you might want to
take a look at:
Mentoring for new teachers:
Supporting successful classroom
conversations:
How
to talk so teachers will listen:
Poetry lesson ideas
(great for short, shared experiences at the beginning of the year):
Pinterest
board for building classroom community:
That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!
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