Teacher mentoring has proven to be an effective form of professional learning that has positive results on student performance. But too often, mentoring programs are loosely designed and fall short of desired outcomes. In Core Education’s September issue brief, we explore teacher mentoring and coaching, including the research base for this form of professional development, Read more about September Issue Brief: Teacher Mentoring[…]
Most states have been struggling to address teacher shortages for several years now, often filling the vacuum with underprepared teachers who aren’t able to give children the high-quality learning they need and who leave at two to three times the rate of well-prepared teachers. Most often, these teachers are hired in schools serving students of Read more about State Efforts to Solve Teacher Shortages by Strengthening the Profession[…]
Teachers need helpful feedback and support to improve their instruction and own their professional growth. But what kinds of feedback translate into improved teaching practice? In Core Education’s August issue brief, we explore the research on teacher feedback, including teacher perceptions of feedback systems, characteristics of feedback that may influence teacher response, tools and resources Read more about August Issue Brief: Effective Feedback for Educators[…]
Writing for Chalkbeat, Matt Barnum explores the research on the value of being mentored by an expert teacher. Excerpts from the piece appear below: Studies released this year offer real evidence that good teaching can be passed down, in a sense, from mentor teacher to student teacher. In several cases, they find that the performance Read more about Mentors matter: Good teaching really can be passed down to student teachers, new research finds[…]
Principals and districts benefit when principal supervisors move beyond the role of administrator to coach and mentor, according to a new Vanderbilt University report. The report, “A New Role Emerges for Principal Supervisors: Evidence from Six Districts in the Principal Supervisor Initiative,” details the implementation of five key components to reshape the supervisor position in Read more about Revisioning the Principal Supervisor Role[…]
One-on-one teacher coaching generates meaningful improvements to both classroom instruction and student achievement, according to a newly published meta-analysis of existing research. But there’s a tricky caveat: Efforts to expand coaching programs on a wider scale might only dilute their value, the authors find. Key takeaways from this study include the following: Coaching programs tend Read more about Teacher Coaching Can Boost Instruction and Student Achievement. But Can It Be Scaled Up?[…]
The National Association of State Boards of Education has released a policy brief exploring state mentoring policies related to the support of novice teachers and the research on effective mentoring programs. Policy recommendations as well as state exemplar programs are offered. The brief finds that although there is evidence that formal induction programs lasting at Read more about State Mentoring Policies Key to Supporting Novice Teachers[…]
Writing for The 74, Kate Stringer reviews a new randomized controlled trial that finds that one-on-one, in-person mentoring that starts in high school and continues through university study can have a significant effect on college persistence rates for low-income students. Excerpts from the article appear below: A college mentoring program aimed at getting low-income and Read more about Mentoring Program Posts 81% College Persistence Rate[…]
The final results from a U.S. Department of Education Investing in Innovation (i3) analysis has found that the New Teacher Center’s teacher induction model increases student learning by up to five months. These third-party evaluation results show that the NTC induction model yields statistically significant gains in student learning. The teacher induction model increases student Read more about Mentors for New Teachers Found to Boost Student Achievement—by a Lot[…]
The Center on Great Teachers and Leaders has released a new Ask the Team Brief, Teachers Supporting Teachers: State Policies for Non-Classroom-Based Instructors. Across the United States, non-classroom-based positions have been added in districts and schools to provide instructional support to teachers. They go by various names–coach, mentor, teacher leader–but typically they help classroom teachers Read more about Teachers Supporting Teachers: State Policies for Non-Classroom-Based Instructors[…]
A new study finds that using retired educators to mentor and support new teachers can be a cost effective strategy to improve math achievement. Regional Educational Laboratory Central worked with Aurora Public Schools in Colorado to conduct a randomized controlled trial study in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years during implementation of the district’s innovative Read more about Study Finds Positive Impacts of Retired Educators to Support New Teachers[…]
Despite decades of efforts to support teachers with coaching, most teachers still do not get the support they need in their own classrooms. Yet many teachers, including experienced ones, need support to continue to evolve professionally, hone their practice, and use new tools. Based on experience, the research base on coaching, and a forward-looking analysis, Read more about Coaching Roles That Achieve Their Potential to Improve Teaching and Learning[…]
In Education Week Teacher, Elena Aguilar writes an insightful piece about the promise of transformational coaching. Excerpts appear below: I believe new-teacher support programs must be linked to schools’ moral imperative to meet the social, emotional, and academic needs of every child, every day. To that end, the overarching objective of a teacher-support program should Read more about Developing Resilient, Equity-Conscious Teachers[…]
New data show that new teachers make up a significant segment of the U.S. teaching force, making their ability to thrive (and stay) in the classroom an increasingly critical issue for schools. A new special report from Education Week explores the challenges facing new teachers and the ways schools, colleagues, and other stakeholders can better Read more about How Can Schools Help New Teachers?[…]
Karin Klein writes in the Los Angeles Times about a new initiative funded by the Cotsen Foundation for the Art of Teaching that seeks to improve teaching and learning through intensive mentoring by master teachers. She writes: Creating better teachers is more complicated — and more expensive — than claiming we can drastically improve education Read more about The Art of Teaching[…]
The National Commission on Teaching & America’s Future (NCTAF), the author of the seminal “What Matters Most” report of 1996, is calling for a new compact with teachers in order to capitalize on this moment in time when policy and practice are shifting toward more engaging and relevant teaching and learning for all students. “What Matters Read more about What Matters Now: A New Compact for Teaching and Learning[…]