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Category: New Teacher

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Surviving the first few years of teaching is huge! New teachers are busy during those years getting a handle on all the teaching things -- management, planning, teaming and data diving, improving engagement strategies, surviving their evaluation...the list goes on! As they get to the end of the provisional years and see all their growth, some new teachers ask the question, “Now what? What can I do to continue to grow?”

Jordan School District has some great opportunities available for teachers to continue their education and learning. There are several endorsements that are offered through the district. Some of these endorsements even tie into master’s programs. One perk of these credits is they can help you advance on the pay scale!

If you are interested in endorsements that are offered through our district, here’s a list and some contact information. 

  • ESL Endorsement: The ESL Endorsement is offered through Southern Utah University. Teachers can use credits from the class towards a master’s degree. For more information about this endorsement, contact Sheri Sample: sheri.sample@jordandistrict.org
  • Technology Endorsement: The technology endorsement is offered through Utah Valley University. This endorsement can be used towards a master’s program. For more information on this program, contact Deanna Taylor: dtaylor@jordandistrict.org
  • Gifted and Talented Endorsement: The GT Endorsement is offered through Southern Utah University and can be tied to a masters program. For more information on the GT endorsement, contact Rebecca Smith: rebecca.smith@jordandistrict.org

Elementary Endorsements:

  • Math Endorsement: The math endorsement is offered through Utah Valley University. The credits earned can be used towards a master’s program. For more information on the math endorsement, contact Melissa Garber: melissa.garber@jordandistrict.org
  • Reading Endorsement: The reading endorsement is offered through Utah Valley University and can also be used towards a master’s program. For more information on the reading endorsement, contact Laury Finch: laurene.finch@jordandistrict.org

Many universities around the area offer endorsement programs as well. Check their course catalogs for more information.

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Teaching can be a wonderfully rewarding occupation as change and growth are observed in students. However, teaching can exact a high price if teachers suffer anxiety, exhaustion, and even depression through the school year. Instead of struggling with the ability to maintain good mental health, new teachers need to incorporate strategies which help them feel the joy of the profession rather than suffer in silence.

Here a few tips to help maintain your mental health:

  • Put it in perspective. Recognize the good aspects of life and retain hope for the future.
  • Get time away. If you feel the stress building, take a break. Walk away from the situation or take some deep breaths.
  • Engage in activities such as physical exercise, sports, or hobbies that can relieve stress and anxiety.
  • Strengthen connections with family and friends who can provide emotional support.
  • Talk it out. Sometimes the best stress-reducer is simply sharing your stress with someone close to you. The act of talking it out and getting support and empathy from someone else is often an excellent way of blowing off steam and reducing stress. Have a support system of trusted people.
  • Cultivate allies at work. Just knowing you have one or more co-workers who are willing to assist you in times of stress will reduce your stress level. Just remember to reciprocate and help them when they are in need.
  • Find humor in the situation. When you or the people around you start taking things too seriously, find a way to break through with laughter. Share a joke or funny story.
  • Have realistic expectations for yourself and those around you.
  • Realize nobody is perfect. We learn from overcoming obstacles.
  • Maintain a positive attitude and learn to reward yourself for little accomplishments.

If you find yourself sinking into depression or you need help with mental health issues, JSD insurance in partnership with Blomquist Hale is your professional resource. Call them for confidential and professional help. It is free of charge for you and eligible dependents.

Bloomquist Hale Employee Assistance

Contact Information: What They Can Help With:
Salt Lake City: 801-262-9619
Provo/Orem: 801-225-9222
Ogden: 801-392-6833
Other Locations 801-926-9619
or 24/7 Crisis Services		 Stress, Anxiety or Depression
Relationship & Family Problems
Grief or Loss
Work-Related Issues
Personal & Emotional Changes
Senior Care, Planning & Support
Substance Abuse & Addictions
Financial or Legal Challenges

 

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You’ve survived the craziness of the holidays and have had some time to relax. It’s a new year and with it comes new hopes, new dreams, and new possibilities.

As you reflect on your experiences so far this school year, are there things you would like to change? While all teachers can adjust their instruction, management, and teaching style at any point during the year, the beginning of a new year is always a great time to do this.

Take a few minutes to consider these tips to help you start 2018 as an even more effective and confident teacher:

  • Focus on curriculum development and teaching strategies using your newfound confidence and energy.
  • Try something new with your students and talk about the results with other teachers, even if it didn’t work out the way you had expected it to.  Now that you have made it through some difficult times, you have valuable experience to share.
  • Expand your professional network to include new and experienced teachers. Pooling ideas from multiple sources gives you many more ideas.
  • Go back and examine your vision of successful teaching.  Honestly evaluate your teaching efforts from the beginning of the school year to see how far you have come as an educator.

These questions can help you recognize your successes and determine your future actions:

  • What worked?
  • What didn't work?
  • What’s next?

Make the new year a fresh start in your classroom for you and your students.

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During their first year, new teachers experience some extreme phases of teaching. According to the New Teacher Center, teachers experience five phases.

This time of year, our new teachers may discover the disillusionment phase. They begin to realize the amount of time teaching takes, their management and planning may not be going the way they had envisioned, and they might question why they became a teacher in the first place. As a mentor or colleague, you may witness your provisional educator "express self-doubt, have lower self-esteem, and question their professional commitment" (New Teacher Center, 2017).

Disillusionment

Our department recently worked with lead mentors in Jordan District to illustrate the phases and share strategies to help teachers through them. Mentors and colleagues can provide emotional support for their teachers by genuinely listening to them, encouraging them, giving positive feedback and helping them with perspective.

Instructionally, mentors can help plan lessons, observe their teaching and model lesson ideas for them, and help provide ideas to help with management challenges.

Mentors can also help new educators with logistical items, such as making copies, offering advice on parent teacher conferences or evaluations, assisting them with grading, and finding books or materials that will help them with areas the new teacher is concerned with.

If we can support our new educators through the disillusionment phase, we have a better chance of retaining them. As mentors look to support their new teachers and provide the emotional, instructional and logistical support they need through the phases, they can make a huge difference for new teachers.

Resources:
New Teacher Center. (2017). From surviving to thriving: the phases of first-year teaching. 

Mentor Training New Teacher Phases document

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This is a suggested guide to help new teachers know how to map out their provisional years.

1st Year Teachers:
*Collaborate with your mentor
*JPAS Training
*Effective Teacher Training
*District Professional Development Classes (based on departments)
*Pass the Praxis PLT (if you feel ready!)

 

2nd Year Teachers:
*Pass the Praxis PLT (all level teachers--recommended to be done by this year)
*District Professional Development Classes (based on departments)
*UEN Classes/Endorsements (all level teachers--if you feel ready)
*ESL, Reading, Math, STEM, Ed Tech, Gifted and Talented

 

3rd Year Teachers
*Pass the Praxis PLT (should be completed by this year for license purposes)
*2 Hour Suicide Prevention Training (can be completed any time during the 3 years)
*Upgrade to Level 2 License (see http://mentor.jordandistrict.org/eye/licensing/)
*UEN Courses/Endorsements (all level teachers)
*ESL, Reading, Math, STEM, Ed Tech, Gifted and Talented
*University learning opportunities (BYU (CITES), UVU, USU, UofU, etc.)

For extra help with licensing, check out the EYE Brochure through USOE.

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At this time of year, when so many of our students are in the thick of test taking, it seems natural to think about our own year's growth. How high have we climbed in the last year on what John Hattie calls the "ladder of excellence?" Whatever role in which we are presently cast, we might ask the same question. Whether a seasoned veteran mentor or a wide-eyed newbie, we are each somewhere reaching ever higher.

One of the primary objectives of a new teacher and mentor program at a school ought to be a focus on accelerating this rate of climb for new teachers and mentors alike. If the relationship is truly collaborative, both are enriched through the mutual benefit of experiences and expertise.

The type of growth hoped for in a mentoring relationship can only occur through a process of dialogue. As Paulo Freire describes it, dialogue is dependent on both members of the relationship having an equal voice and working together to construct an improved understanding. He says that "no one can say a true word alone—nor can she say it for another, in a prescriptive act which robs others of their words. Dialogue is the encounter between men, mediated by the world, in order to name the world."

In such a complex profession as education, if we are to advance, we must engage in a constant process of naming and renaming the world. At the core of the work of an educator is something like what Wallace Stevens describes as a "response to the daily necessity of getting the world right." And to really get it right, we will need to share in the expertise of others who are similarly engaged in the same process.

 

 

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One challenge of instructional coaching is to help teachers move from an academic understanding toward a practical and real-world implementation of best instructional practices. This challenge is complicated by at least two factors.

The first of these is context. In order to make feedback most meaningful to the teacher, it should be given within the context of his or her own classroom. Doing so increases the immediacy and relevance of the feedback as well as the likelihood that the feedback will lead to improvement of practice.  Perhaps the best way to give contextualized feedback about classroom instruction is through virtual coaching.  This is done by video recording a classroom activity and having a coach provide feedback through written comments.  If the comments are time-stamped, the level of specificity of the feedback increases.

The second factor is time.  The goal should be to decrease the time intervening between when the practice occurs and the feedback is given.  It would be best if coaching could occur in real-time.  This is similar to what a coach of a basketball team might do.  It is not uncommon for a coach to give instructions from the sideline.  In a similar way, an instructional coach can give instructions to the teacher in real-time from the sideline.  Of course, the obstacle to doing this is to not create a distraction to learning.

In the video produced by The Teaching Channel, they discuss ways to make these ideas take shape in the classroom.  With the potential benefits of improved classroom instruction, it might be worthwhile for instructional coaches to give these strategies a try.

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The return to work after an extended break is often accompanied with a mix of emotions.  During the time off, many remember that they enjoy spending time with family and friends.  In fact, the time of rediscovery is something more veteran teachers eagerly anticipate and plan for.  Looking forward to time off is nice.  The return to work/reality is not always as eagerly anticipated.  However, the question that must be raised is whether there could be another way.  Is there a way to enjoy life between the breaks?  Is it necessary to put family and self interests on hold with each return to work?  This is a problem that many new educators struggle to solve.  Striking an acceptable balance between work, home, and self interests is a tricky one.  One source suggests that there are some steps that teachers can take to more easily arrive at a sort of equilibrium of work and personal life.  Additionally, Andy Puddicombe makes a compelling case for regularly doing nothing.

Work

  • Work smarter, not harder

  • Make friends

  • Give yourself a break

  • Invest in your development

  • Celebrate accomplishments

Life

  • Draw a line between work and home

  • Cultivate a life outside the classroom

  • Schedule a time to do nothing

  • Get your ZZZZs

  • Practice reflective writing

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This time of year we may see new teachers looking haggard and feeling stressed and depressed. They might be saying, "Is this worth it?" and "This is so much harder than I thought!" If you are a mentor to a new teacher experiencing this phase of disillusionment, there are some things you can do to help your new teacher through this phase.

Emotional
Emotionally we can support new teachers by providing encouragement and listening. We can give positive feedback and help them keep perspective. Continuing to develop that trusting relationship and lifting their spirits can be one of the most powerful things you can do as a mentor. Find out their favorite treat (chocolate works wonders) and bring them an encouraging note.

Instructional
Teachers going through disillusionment may benefit from positive feedback on things you see them succeeding at. They may images-1need help/support with lesson planning. Sitting with them to reflect on their teaching highlighting positive things they have done may boost them back up. This may also be a good time to model lessons for them or video one another to observe teaching in both classrooms. Support them in planning and scheduling testing as they move forward.

Logistical
Parent-teacher conferences can cause some anxiety and stress for new teachers. Help them with planing for conferences and offer advice as needed. You can help with finding resources to help them and getting supplies ready for them. They may need a reminder of grading policies and help with copies. Be observant and you might see ways you can alleviate some extra stress from their life.

 

For more information on teacher phases, check out this article.