National Teacher Recruitment Clearinghouse — Findteachers Induction
By Bastien Petrov · · 4 min read
How to Find and Keep TeachersExamples of Recruitment Efforts
Induction Programs
Importance of Diversity
Five Steps
This piece touches on http://www.recruitingteachers.org/findteachers/induction.html#model, with context drawn from prior reporting on the topic.
Induction Programs
Whether you are a job seeker or a school district representative, this page contains information about induction programs that may interest you.
If you are seeking a teaching job, the following page will provide you with basic information about induction programs that are offered by some districts to support new teachers. You may find the following sections helpful as you consider what to look for in potential employers:
What Is Induction?
Who Participates?
Why Are Induction Programs Needed?
What Makes a Good Induction Program?
Model Programs and Resources
If you represent a school district, this page will provide you with an overview of the importance of induction programs, what makes a good induction program, how to start an induction program, or how to enhance your existing one.
What Is Induction?
Who Participates?
Why Are Induction Programs Needed?
What Makes a Good Induction Program?
State Support
What Is Induction?
Medical residents, law associates, and even rookie baseball players receive extended training, development, and mentoring before taking on the responsibilities of full professionals. Yet, novice teachers are too often left to fend for themselves, with little or no initiation into the profession.
While an increasing number of school districts now offer induction programs to orient, support, assist, train, and assess new teachers in their first three years, these induction programs can take many forms. Unfortunately, too many programs are limited to short orientation sessions, rather than full mentoring relationships, staff development courses and workshops, or multi-year programs, all of which have proven far more effective in supporting new teachers.
Who Participates?
Inductees are teachers new to the profession, as well as teachers with experience but new to a district, grade level, or certification area.
Why Are Induction Programs Needed?
The first years of teaching can be overwhelming. Even experienced teachers in new assignments or in new cities can be sorely tested. This “reality shock” can take a terrible toll on teacher morale, school district recruitment, and student achievement.
Meanwhile, a good induction program can make a tremendous difference in the kinds of teachers produced and in the learning experiences students have. Quite simply, strong support systems for a novice teacher can mean the difference between a teacher staying or leaving, and schools cultivating good or bad teachers and classrooms.
What Makes A Good Induction Program?
Successful induction programs include:
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Orientation to familiarize teachers with paperwork and procedures, facilitate relationships, encourage development of knowledge and skills necessary for teaching, and integrate inductees into the culture.
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Training to assist with instructional methods, curricular requirements, classroom management, and assessment of students.
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Support from a mentor or other individual, via a one-on-one relationship. This attention and support from a veteran teacher can affect new teacher retention, attitudes, and instructional strategies. It also provides professional growth opportunities for the mentors.
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Assessment of inductees to track teaching performance, measured against district standards. Peer review and assessment is successful in some cases, but considered incompatible with mentoring in others.
State Support
According to a 1999 report conducted by Recruiting New Teachers (RNT), just over half of the states (including DC and Puerto Rico) address induction in some way. Of the 27 state-initiated induction programs:
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Seven (7) states have a mandate and funding
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Ten (10) states mandate without funding
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Ten (10) states provide funding but no mandate
Developing Or Strengthening Induction
Based on RNT’s 1999 national study of induction programs, reported in Learning the Ropes: Urban Teacher Induction Programs and Practices in the United States, school districts would do well to follow nine key principles in order to bring new hires up to speed and to hold on to them:
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View induction as a multi-year, developmental process.
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Ensure school site administrators understand how to orient inductees, create supportive working conditions, and effectively meet their professional needs.
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Provide a first-class mentoring program with quality selection/training, mentor release time and compensation, individual and program evaluation, and support, backed up by funding adequate to serve all eligible inductees.
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Link inductee evaluation to district- and state-level standards for what a beginning teacher should know and be able to do.
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Invest in technology to facilitate communication among inductees, their mentors, and university faculty.
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Provide sufficient funding for start-up and maintenance of quality programs.
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Evaluate program effectiveness and outcomes.
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Provide technical assistance and information on best practices.
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Encourage communication and cooperation between schools and institutions of higher education.
Getting Started
When creating an induction program, consider following these four steps:
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Form a planning team of site administrators, teachers, local teacher preparation institutions, central office personnel, union representatives, and others to determine how the program should be coordinated and integrated.
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Decide which teachers your program should serve, if participation is required, and how experienced teachers will be involved.
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Identify partners, such as unions, institutions of higher education, local school boards, parents, state educational agencies, business interests, and others.
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Coordinate program components (orientation, support systems, mentors, courses, workshops, evaluation) to ensure all aspects address your district’s needs.
Model Programs and Resources
To find out more about induction programs, check out the Induction Programs: Models page which includes examples of model programs and some benefits noted by one induction program.
Visit our Induction Resources page for relevant resources and publications.[top]