Tools for Principals

Cultivating a school culture that supports induction:

• Tool: School culture & the purpose of schooling
• Tool: Organizing time and resources for professional learning
• Tool: Identifying a supportive environment
• Tool: Beginning the year
• Tool: Articulating a school vision
• Tool: Building school capacity to support teaching and learning.
• Tool: Self test about the process of change
• Tool: Associating initiatives with familiar patterns of practice.
• Tool: Frustrations about the process of change

Working with beginning teachers

• Tool: Monitoring teacher commitment and abstraction
• Tool: What the new generation of teachers seek for job satisfaction (where is it?)
• Tool: Meet the challenges of induction
• Tool: What beginning teachers value in the principal
• Tool: Make the IDP worthwhile
• Tool: Is developmental supervision working?
• Tool: Direct assistance to improve instruction
• Tool: Helping Beginning Teachers in the Classroom

Knowing myself as a leader

• Tool: What is my philosophy and how does it relate to my platform and supervising ap
• Tool: My beliefs about teaching and learning related to induction
• Tool: Preparing to work with beginning teachers: What are my motives?
• Tool: Am I doing the right work?

Tools for Mentor Teachers

Should I be a mentor?

• Tool: Self-evaluation: Should I be a mentor?
• Tool: Components of support for mentor teachers
• Tool: What do we know about mentor selection?
• Tool: How mentors and beginning teachers “matched”?

What can I offer a beginning teacher and be responsive to their needs?

• Tool: Moving toward educative mentoring
• Tool: Creating an orientation handbook for beginning teachers
• Tool: Meeting the challenges beginning teachers face
• Tool: Making the IDP worthwhile
• Tool: Initiate and model professional conversations
• Tool: Managing classes.
• Tool: Engaging communities.
• Tool: Planning student activities.
• Tool: Leading discussions.
• Tool: Assessing learning.

How can I work with beginning teachers to foster their professional growth?

• Tool: Read stories of new and mentor teachers working together
• Tool: Explore strategies for forming partnerships
• Tool: Sample observation techniques
• Tool: Paraphrasing
• Tool: Reflective questioning
• Tool: Working together - sharing and modeling

I’ve decided to become a mentor; where should I go from here?

• Tool: Mentor self-assessment

Tools for Beginning Teachers

For making a good start in the classroom

• List of tools for managing classes.
• List of tools for engaging communities.
• List of tools for planning student activities.
• List of tools for leading discussions.
• List of tools for assessing learning.

Understanding the phases of a first year teacher

• Anticipation: Before the school year begins
• Survival: Beginning of the school year
• Disillusionment: End of the first semester
• Rejuvenation: ~ January
• Reflection: End of the year

Establishing routines and organizing a management plan

• Tool: Creating an orientation handbook for beginning teachers
• Tool: Balanced strategies for forming relationships with students
• Tool: Balanced strategies for forming relationships among students
• Tool: Balanced strategies for motivating students to learn
• Tool: Defining and teaching routines that save time and focus attention
• Tool: Establishing and teaching rules for a classroom learning community
• Tool: Restrained use of options for dealing with inattention and misbehavior
• Tool: Critical Incident Technique

Planning activities for students

• Unit planning: Exploring content expectations
• Chunk and pace: Tools for year-long planning
• Tackle important ideas: Tools for unit planning
• Make it work: Tools for daily planning
• Tool: Preparing for Student-led Conferences

Starting and sustaining the work

• Tool: Set the agenda
• Tool: Set norms
• Tool: Sustain the work     
• Tool: Learn through conflict
• Tool: Assess our learning

Professional learning communities

• Tool: Learning from problems of practice
• Tool: Analysis of Student Work Samples
• Tool: Learning from our successes
• Tool: Connecting to Community Resources
• Tool:  Community Resources Worksheet
• (For beginning mentor study groups)
• Tool: Developing a Shared Vision of Teaching
• Tool: Strengthen Conferencing Skills
• Tool: Strengthen Observation Skills
• Tool: Assess Our Learning (this is an attachment)

Learning Together

• Tool: Starting & sustaining the work
• Tool: Standards-based planning
• Tool: Analyzing student work tools
• Tool: Analysis protocols
• Tool: Getting started
• Tool: Classroom applications
• Tool: General guidelines
• Tool: Analysis of student work samples (in the classroom section)

Tools for Central Office Administration

What is induction?

• Tool: Components of strong induction programs
• Tool: Characteristics of strong induction programs
• Tool: Benefits of strong induction programs
• Tool: Examples of strong induction programs
• Tool: Questions to Ask as You Research Induction Programs
• Tool: Descriptions of Strong Induction Programs
• Tool: Induction Programs in Michigan
• Tool: Assessing our schools’ culture and its capacity for induction
• Tool: School culture and induction assessment
• Tool: Planning for a strong induction program

Organizing time and resources for professional learning

• Tool: Allocating Teaching Staff
• Tool: Finding Time to Support PLC’s
• Tool: Using Time to Support PLC’s
• Tool: Assessing School Beliefs About Time
• Tool: Guidelines for Success

Cultivating a school culture that supports induction

• Tool: School culture & the purpose of schooling
• Tool: Organizing time and resources for professional learning
• Tool: Identifying a supportive environment
• Tool: Beginning the year
• Tool: Articulating a school vision
• Tool: Building school capacity to support teaching and learning.
• Tool: Self test about the process of change
• Tool: Associating initiatives with familiar patterns of practice.
• Tool: Frustrations about the process of change

Working with beginning teachers

• Tool: Monitoring teacher commitment and abstraction
• Tool: What the new generation of teachers seek for job satisfaction (where is it?)
• Tool: Meet the challenges of induction
• Tool: What beginning teachers value in the principal
• Tool: Make the IDP worthwhile
• Tool: Is developmental supervision working?
• Tool: Direct assistance to improve instruction
• Tool: Helping Beginning Teachers in the Classroom

Understanding the phases of a first year teacher

• Anticipation: Before the school year begins
• Survival: Beginning of the school year
• Disillusionment: End of the first semester
• Rejuvenation: January
• Reflection: End of the year

Tools for Working Together

What is induction? 

• Tool: Components of strong induction programs
• Tool: Characteristics of strong induction programs
• Tool: Benefits of strong induction programs
• Tool: Examples of strong induction programs
• Tool: Questions to Ask as You Research Induction Programs
• Tool: Descriptions of Strong Induction Programs
• Tool: Induction Programs in Michigan
• Tool: Assessing our schools’ culture and its capacity for induction
• Tool: School culture and induction assessment
• Tool: Planning for a strong induction program

Organizing time and resources for professional learning  

• Tool: Allocating Teaching Staff
• Tool: Finding Time to Support PLC’s
• Tool: Using Time to Support PLC’s
• Tool: Assessing School Beliefs About Time
• Tool: Guidelines for Success

Beginning teacher study groups 

• Tool: Set the agenda
• Tool: Set norms
• Tool: Sustain the work
• Tool: Learning through conflict
• Tool: Assessing Our Learning, Beginning Teacher Study Group
• Tool: Learning from problems of practice
• Tool: Analysis of Student Work Samples
• Tool: Learning from our successes
• Tool: Connecting to Community Resources
• Tool: Community Resources Worksheet
• Tool: Making community to classroom connections

Mentor study groups 

• Tool: Set the agenda
• Tool: Set norms
• Tool: Sustain the work
• Tool: Learning through conflict
• Tool: Assessing Our Learning, Beginning Teacher Study Group
• Tool: Developing a Shared Vision of Teaching
• Tool: Strengthen Conferencing Skills
• Tool: Strengthen Observation Skills

Learning Together 

• Tool: Starting and sustaining the work
• Tool: Standards-based Planning
• Tool: Analysis Protocol
• Tool: Getting started
• Tool: Classroom applications of learning from analyzing student work
• Tool: General guidelines for analyzing student work together
• Tool: Analysis of Student Work Samples