Where would you prefer to teach?

What if...?

Where would you prefer to teach?

School System A:
• What if a district department made all of the decisions regarding your NESS/Induction support?
• What if the teacher leader coordinating new educator support was omitted from the hiring process?
• What if only new teachers hired before the first day of school were provided a comprehensive orientation experience?
• What if only one coach supported a teacher in need?
• What if teachers met only once a month to listen to other teachers talk?
• What if professional learning was dependent entirely on outside human resources?
• What if participant attendance was the only factor used to assess the effectiveness of professional development?

School System B:
• What if the teachers and leaders at your school made the decisions regarding your NESS/Induction support?
• What if the teacher leader coordinating new educator support was involved in the hiring process?
• What if all teachers new to the school were provided a comprehensive orientation experience?
• What if teams supported teachers in need?
• What if teachers met regularly to study more effective teaching practices?
• What if professional learning utilized the expertise of the school staff?
• What if a continuous improvement process was used to monitor the effectiveness of professional development?

Advice From My Coach

First year teachers in the Broward County Public Schools shared the best advice their coaches gave them during their first semester on the job. If you are a new teacher and have any additional advice you received please post it in the comments.

The best advice my Instructional Coach gave me was...

Take one thing at a time. My coach noticed that I tend to take on too much, so he told me to pace myself. He gave me some great ideas on how to be more effective and use time more efficiently. This way I can help the students but still have time to plan other interesting activities instead of doing work that will not be as beneficial to the students.
Irene, Second Grade, Colbert Elementary

Review the Florida Performance Measurement System (FPMS) observation tool used by my AP when doing his formal observation. She explained each category in depth so I understood what I would be observed on.
Megan, First Grade Teacher, Palm Cove Elementary

Do not take on too many things. Its new and exciting, but I cannot do everything. Learn to say no and take time to complete my steps towards my professional certification.
Rachelle, World Languages, West Broward High School

Believe in myself and my abilities to change children's lives for the better!
Lauren, Davie Elementary

Take it one day at a time with a peek at the following day.
Dayana, Kindergarten teacher, Silver Shores Elementary

Don’t be afraid to ask questions!!
Nicole, ESE Teacher, Pembroke Pines Elementary

Don’t worry about things that I cannot control.
Savannah, Pembroke Pines Elementary

To always ask a lot of questions. It is better to ask a lot of questions then to be unclear.

Jenna, 3rd Grade Teacher, Silver Shores Elementary

Plan, Do Study Act

An earlier Induction e-newsletter article described the PLAN phase of the Continuous Improvement Process (CIP). The step after Plan in the CIP is DO. The Do phase usually involves the client’s learning and integrating a new behavior in his/her practice. For example, if the area that needs strengthening is students are off task, a teacher will implement a new strategy or modify an existing one that will encourage student involvement in the lesson. In the DO phase the data found during the planning stage is used to identify the goal and the appropriate intervention(s) needed to improve the clients current reality.

The DO consists of meeting with your client to:

• generate potential interventions/solutions that will address the root causes of the problem (i.e. were student off task because materials were not ready, directions were inaccurate, lesson was not relevant to students, or it was a procedure problem)
• select an intervention/solution that will likely lead to a successful implementation of a more effective teacher behavior, and
• integrate the intervention/solution into practice.

The next step will involve measuring the impact of the new behavior in the classroom and that will be the next installment.