Book: A Better Beginning: Supporting and Mentoring New Teachers
This book provides help for any school or district that wants struggling first-year and beginning teachers to succeed. Written by seasoned administrators and teacher leaders and edited by Marge Scherer, this guide covers every aspect of the topic, including
- Best ways to support new teachers.
- Stages new teachers go through in their first year.
- Effective induction programs that last five days, all summer, or an entire year.
- Mentoring programs that benefit all teachers involved.
- Strategies for improving new teachers' teaching skills without damaging their morale.
- Systemwide solutions that combine induction and mentoring programs with ongoing assessment and professional development.
Case studies of successful programs and insights from veteran and novice teachers provide plenty of fresh ideas about how to maintain new teachers' confidence and encourage them to innovate and grow. Stock #199236; $21.95 ASCD members; $25.95 nonmembers.
Action Tool: Making Mentoring Work
This ASCD Action Tool outlines how to get a top-quality mentoring program up and running or how to improve a school or district's current approach to mentoring beginning teachers. The authors, Laura Lipton and Bruce Wellman, provide practical tools for guiding and evaluating a mentoring effort based on the latest theory and school-tested approaches. The tools support the following three mentoring goals:
- Mentoring to develop the professional capacities of new teachers.
- Mentoring to help new teachers start, structure, and sustain their thinking.
- Mentoring to develop teachers' flexibility in a classroom where constant interaction takes place.
Making Mentoring Work seeks to foster effective communication between the mentor and the new teacher. A series of self-guided tasks also extends the mentor's skills. Stock #703108; $89 ASCD members; $109 nonmembers.
Video Series: Mentoring to Improve Schools
The Mentoring to Improve Schools video series introduces a school or district to the benefits of effective mentoring programs. Two videotapes, “Successful Mentoring Programs” and “Effective Mentoring Practices,” and a facilitator's guide explain that mentoring programs are better than traditional orientations because they
- Capitalize on the valuable resource of experienced staff.
- Provide ongoing support.
- Contribute to a culture of continuous learning.
Interviews with experts and experienced mentors yield tips for effective mentoring. Stock #498323S25; $396 ASCD members; $496 nonmembers.
Professional Development Online: Surviving and Thriving in Your First Year of Teaching
This online course by Jamie Sawatzky helps new teachers gain solid footing at the start of the school year in a variety of ways, including creating a climate for success, learning how to talk with parents, and successfully managing the classroom. A lesson on mentoring reviews research about the value of a strong mentoring relationship and encourages new teachers to explore and gain the benefits of mentoring, even if a formal program doesn't exist. $89.95 ASCD members and nonmembers. For further information, go to http://pdonline.ascd.org/pd_online/new/course_description.cfm?sid=30.