Chapter 1: Faculty Mentoring Through The Preservice To In-Service Teacher Pipeline

The transition period for new teacher candidates between graduation day and the first day in their own classrooms can be a bit daunting. Newly graduated and hired educators suddenly find themselves in need of support as they approach their inaugural year. To address this situation, one teacher education program developed the New Teacher Academy (NTA) to bridge the transition between preservice and in-service teaching.

This study highlights the importance of mentoring initiatives and programs that start before graduates enter their first year of teaching. The summer between the preservice and in-service year is an opportunity where faculty can provide support and guidance to increase candidates’ self confidence in their ability to teach and take on the demands of their new role. Mentoring programs and initiatives, such as the NTA, provide a pipeline for mentoring opportunities to transform and ultimately foster higher confidence levels in the pedagogical process that could lead to increased teacher retention rates.

Survey data collected from participants suggested that faculty support and the continued professional development workshops of the NTA were valuable in terms of support and morale for participants entering into the first year of teaching. Thus, data implied that support and mentorship received both during and after completion of the degree left a positive belief among session participants that faculty were valuable assets to beginning teachers’ development.

The literature on teacher turnover and attrition is plentiful. It is well publicized that over 50% of beginning teachers leave the profession within the first 5 years (Ingersoll & Smith, 2004; Ingersoll & Strong, 2009; Ingersoll, 2012). This statistic is not just a recent trend as over 30 years of investigative studies have confirmed that beginning teachers are indeed at a high risk for such levels of attrition (Ingersoll & Smith, 2004). In an attempt to positively influence retention rates among beginning educators, many school districts across the United States have implemented mentoring programs created specifically for teachers in their first 5 years of the profession (Ingersoll & Smith, 2004; Kelly, 2004; Parker, Ndoye, & Imig, 2009). Studies, such as the aforementioned, suggest that mentoring beginning teachers positively influences retention; therefore, support and guidance of the newly graduated teacher candidate during their time of transition from preservice to in-service teacher may also have a substantial impact on the success of the transition.

The teaching profession has been plagued with finding efficient programs and initiatives to understand and combat the high levels of teacher attrition (Clandinin et al., 2015). Both at the state and school district levels, induction programs have been implemented to assist, support, and encourage beginning teachers to continue in the profession. Indeed, to “fix” the problem of high levels of teacher turnover, some policy makers and stakeholders have required that a mentoring program be created as a viable solution (Ensign & Woods, 2016; Jimerson, Choate, & Dietz, 2015).

The power of mentoring within induction programs has been well documented (Feiman-Nemser, 1996; McMahan & Piro, 2013; Mullen, 2002; So-rensen, 2012). Mentoring is often highlighted as the most valuable form of professional development beginning teachers may receive. Mentors play a vital role in their mentees’ overall development of knowledge and skills (Mullen, 2002; Wang & Paine, 2001). In the past two decades, it has become more common for beginning teachers to be assigned a mentor teacher. The mentors are often selected by the school administrator, lead teacher, or department head. The criteria for selection as a mentor teacher may include having (a) successfully completed at least 3 years in the profession; (b) received solid teaching evaluations; and/or (c) maintained strong relationships with students in the school (Mullen, 2002). Mentors stereotypically tend to be veteran teachers who use innovative strategies in the classroom to help students achieve and learn (Martin, Buelow, & Hoffman, 2016). This seasoned educator will most likely have multiple years of experience working with students within a definite grade or content area as this helps to make certain he/she can competently serve as a resource for curriculum, instructional assistance, classroom management advisement, or any other school related policies and procedures.

While most mentoring programs are successful, there are occasions where this is not the reality (Johnson, 2016). For example, some mentors may feel they do not have the time, expertise, or knowledge necessary to support beginning educators. Others may have simply been assigned the mentor role and view the situation as more work; one more thing to pile on top of their already taxed time and limited resources. Assigning a mentor teacher to a beginning educator is sometimes the result of close proximity to classrooms and availability rather than a quality indicator (Carter & Doyle, 2006). The result of this practice is often detrimental for both the beginning teacher and mentor. The mentor teacher may not be motivated to help his or her apprentice develop the skills necessary to achieve success in the classroom. To be successful, it is imperative that mentoring teachers desire to serve and wish to enhance the skills of his or her apprentice. Un-fortunately, there are also mentors that are assigned to a new teacher and have no interest in supporting him/her through the induction period. All of these matters may have a profound impact on the effectiveness of the mentoring program. There is not a “one size fits all” mentoring model that can meet and support every new teacher in a meaningful and purposeful way. This has created discrepancies in experiences for novice teachers and has had a profound impact on teacher attrition. While effective mentoring programs are highly successful in helping curtail the high attrition rates of new teachers, they are not the sole source of support for new teachers.

Teacher education preparation programs around the country have also joined in the battle to curb high levels of beginning teacher attrition. For years, educator preparation programs around the United States have restructured and implemented new practices to better prepare 21st century teachers (Potter, Hollas, & Coyne, 2015). Most recently North Carolina received federal funding to assist with induction efforts. These funds resulted in the creation of the New Teacher Support Program by a university based educator preparation program (Bastian & Marks, 2017). From revising coursework, implementing professional development schools, mentoring programs, to implementing “best practices” in student teaching experi-ences, teacher education programs are continually seeking/implementing new initiatives in order to better train beginning teachers for sustainability in schools (McMahan & Piro, 2013).

While all teacher education preparation programs are committed to implementing new measures to assist in preparing teachers, many have not yet examined the potential impact supportive mentoring may have on new educators who have yet to step foot in their own classroom. The responsibility for such guidance in this scenario, therefore, falls upon the school district that hires the new educator. It should be noted this structure may be beneficial and meaningful if novice teachers are mentored by veteran educators on their campus. However, if this is not the case, then a hole in the pipeline exists when teacher education preparation programs do not offer mentoring and coaching resources to support recent graduates as they transition into their first year of teaching (Smith, 2011).

The purpose of this study was to examine the importance of faculty mentoring beginning teachers as they transitioned from preservice teachers/re-cent graduates to in-service teachers through an avenue of authentic learning coined as the New Teacher Academy (NTA). In particular, this study examined whether or not engagement in a summer mentoring experience (NTA) held prior to one’s inaugural year in the classroom impacted novice teacher participants’ perceptions of self-confidence. The study was guided by two research questions:

RQ1:What impact does participating in the NTA have on beginning teachers’ levels of self-confidence as they enter into their own classroom?

RQ2:How does a summer bridge program, NTA, assist beginning teachers in their knowledge of instructional techniques and pedagogy?