By Tashi Kirincic, Coordinator of Teacher Mentorship
In mid-October, I had the opportunity to spend a morning working with thirty newly hired Delta teachers. The room was filled with teachers from diverse backgrounds and experiences but what connected them all was their irrepressible enthusiasm and passion for teaching and for learning.
In reflecting on my time with Delta’s early career teachers, I am struck by what valuable learning partners they would make.
They are eager.
They are open and have a desire to learn.
They are willing to take risks and try new things.
They have fresh eyes.
They want to talk about teaching.
In a 2012 article titled “What New Teachers Want From Colleagues,” Deborah Bieler points out that new teachers want to work with their colleagues; they want to feel connected to and a part of the school community. She identifies five ways experienced teachers can foster this sense of community with early career teachers.
I think that experienced teachers have just as much to gain from these learning-focused interactions as their early career counterparts. The next time I have the opportunity to work in a school with an early career teacher, I am going to try to foster a reciprocal-learning relationship using Bieler’s five ways to “craft community”.
Share friendship and ideas
- by connecting personally and professionally with early career teachers. This personal connection will cultivate the comfort and trust necessary for us to be open to share our struggles as well as our victories.
Navigate curriculum together
- by sharing my resources. But I won’t just hand them over; I’ll talk about them. I’ll invite questions and suggestions on how to improve what I have created. I’ll suggest that we work together to create new resources .
Grade together
- by discussing assessment tools I use and why I use them. I will ask what assessment tools they are using and to assess student work with me. I will share my concerns regarding my assessment practices and ask them to help me come up with solutions.
Discipline together
- by talking about discipline issues as they arise. I will share my thinking around discipline and I will ask what they would have done in my situation.
Observe and reflect together
- by inviting them into my classroom to watch me teach. I will make the time to have a discussion about my intentions and plans for the lesson beforehand and for a reflective conversation after the lesson. I will ask what they thought of the lesson: what worked, what didn’t work and what they would do differently. I will ask them if they want to co-plan and co-teach a lesson.
Engaging in conversations about teaching with early career teachers provides a lens through which more experienced teachers can examine their own practice in order to continue to learn and grow as educators. Although we often think of conversations with early career teachers as mainly benefiting the newer teacher, experienced teachers have much to gain from connecting with their early career colleagues.
References:
Deborah Bieler, Educational Leadership
May 2012 | Volume 69 | Number 8
Supporting Beginning Teachers Pages 46-49