Lynn Marentette, M.A., Sp.A.
K-12 Technology Specialist at NUITEQ®
Every August, many school districts face a race to hire teachers, despite well-laid plans. A robust teacher induction program, working in concert with meaningful professional development opportunities throughout the school year, will help to ensure that great teachers, new and experienced, will continue on with your school district for many years to follow.
Although many of the new hires stepping into the classroom will be teachers fresh out of university, many will be experienced teachers, but new to the region and unfamiliar with “how things are done”. A good handful of new hires will be principals and administrators, all in need of well-planned support to get up and running as soon as possible.
Induction and professional development programs no longer are limited to review of policies, procedures, and expected teaching practices. With the influx of new devices, interactive displays, and technology initiatives, it is crucial that these efforts include exactly what is needed – not only is it good practice, it will go a long way to ensure that the school district’s investment in technology is not wasted.
Stats and Facts
- Replacing teachers can cost up to $18,000.00 per teacher, in the U.S., this translated into a cost of over $7 billion a year. (1)
- 50% of new principals leave after their third year in a school. The cost to recruit and retain a principal can cost up to $75,000.00 (5)
- New teachers benefit from strong mentoring programs, from teachers who have formal training in coaching. Positive outcomes for the school district include better employee retention, academic gains, and a reduction in expenditures associated with higher turnover rates. (1, 2)
- New and experienced teachers are likely to stay if they have meaningful professional development opportunities. This is also true for principals. (2, 3, 5)
If you are concerned about attracting and keeping great teachers and leaders, Nodes, NUITEQ®’s latest addition to the Snowflake MultiTeach® suite of collaborative educational apps, can help.
Here’s how:
- The Nodes app, a collaborative concept mapping and presentation software, can be used to organize and present much of the content needed for teacher induction and professional development sessions over the course of a school year.
- Teams of educators, such as curriculum specialists, principals, and teachers, can work together to re-purpose existing professional development documents and related digital content are well supported by the collaborative planning features of the Node app.
- Snowflake MultiTeach® suite of apps, including the Lessons app, can be used to create interactive lessons that can make training events more engaging, enjoyable, and memorable.
- Snowflake MultiTeach® apps and features can be fine-tuned for use by 1:1 mentors and coaches, as well as group sessions. For example, videos of teaching-learning sessions in the classroom can be imported and viewed and used as content for the training session.
- Snowflake MultiTeach® is well suited for tech-integration training sessions. For example, training sessions topics or programming concepts, such as Scratch.
If you want to see Nodes in action, you can now download the Snowflake MultiTeach® 14 days free trial!
REFERENCES
1. Linda Darling-Hammond, Robert Furger, Patrick M. Shields, and Leib Sutcher. “Addressing California’s Emerging Teacher’s Shortage: An Analysis of Sources and Solutions,” (2016) Learning Policy Institute
2. Researchers Say U.S. Schools Could Learn from Other Countries on Teacher PD
Ross Brenneman, Education Week, 1/16/16
3. Full Cost of Professional Development is Hidden
Stephen Sawchuk, Education Week, 11/10/10
4. Richard M. Ingersoll and Michael Strong, “The Impact of Induction and Mentoring Programs for Beginning Teachers: Critical Review of the Research,” Review of Educational Research 81, no. 2 (2011): 201-233; Susan Headden, Beginners in the Classroom: What Challenging Demographics of Teaching Mean for Schools, Students, and Society (Stanford: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 2014).
5. CHURN: The High Cost of Principal Turnover
School Leader’s Network, 2016