Sites and articles listed here are not necessarily endorsed by the CMMR, they are listed for informational purposes only.

BTSA Programs,

Additional BTSA Resources and Websites for New Teachers,

Full-text Resources,

Abstracts from the ERIC Database,

Electronic Discussion Forum on Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment,

Resources for Beginning Teachers,

Available Books for New Teachers.

If you would like to suggest a site to be added to these listings please visit our "Submit a Site" page. If you have further suggestions, additions or issues that may enhance the Clearinghouse effort you are encouraged to forward your comments to our webmaster.

BEGINNING TEACHER SUPPORT

AND ASSESSMENT (BTSA) PROGRAMS

California State Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program (BTSA)

To keep you informed and in touch with others who are interested in new teacher induction, we have created the BTSA Web Page. Check back, regularly to see what's new!

Folsom/Cordova Unified School District BTSA Beginning Teacher Support & Assessment

New teachers participating in BTSA will experience enhanced professional growth and development, and become increasingly attached to teaching through a rich and thoughtful induction process. Each will gain a professional voice by working in close concert with experienced colleagues and trained assessors to chart their own progress through the continuum of skills, knowledge, and abilities associated with each domain of the profession. Folsom/Cordova BTSA goals are to: Improve student performance through enhanced training, information and assistance for new teachers; Enable beginning teachers to be effective in teaching students who are culturally, linguistically, and academically diverse; Ensure professional success and retention of promising new teachers; Establish a system of performance assessments based on a framework of common expectations for new teachers.

Inland Empire Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment

IE-BTSA stands for the Inland Empire - Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment. The goal of the program is to support and mentor participating beginning teachers during their first year in the teaching profession.

Kern County Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA)

An updated draft (3/1/99) of this grant is available. The draft includes:

Standard 1: Sponsorship and Administration of the Program

Standard 2: Program Rationale, Goals, and Design

Standard 3: Collaboration

Standard 4: School Context and Working Conditions

Standard 5: Roles and Responsibilities of Site Administrators

Standard 6: Selection of Support Providers

Standard 7: Provision of Professional Development for Support Providers/Assessors

Standard 8: Formative Assessment of Beginning Teacher Performance

Standard 9: Development and Use of Individualized Induction Plans

Standard 10: Provision of Individualized Assistance and Support by Support Providers/Assessors

Standard 11: Design and Content of Formal Professional Development Activities for Beginning Teachers

Standard 12: Allocation and Use of Resources

Standard 13: Program Evaluation, Development and Accountability

Monterey County Office of Education Beginning Teacher Support & Assessment (BTSA)

Novice Teacher Support Project - Champaign, Ford, and Vermilion Counties, and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

The activities of the project are specifically tailored to help meet the needs of beginning teachers while fitting into the schedule of that demanding first year. Designed with opportunities for continued professional development. Workshops are led by teams of experienced teachers, staff, and university educators, held in various locations throughout the three counties the project serves. Through these workshops beginning teachers have the opportunity to form support groups.

Ontario-Montclair School District Beginning Teacher Support & Assessment Program

The goals of the Ontario-Montclair BTSA Program are (1) to ensure the success and retention of promising professionals, (2) extend the knowledge, skills, and abilities of new professionals through support and assessment activities, and (3) to foster a collegial learning community. Through joint grant sponsorship from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) and the California Department of Education, the Ontario-Montclair BTSA Program currently serves 128 beginning teachers from all 31 school sites. Participation in BTSA is expected to become a part of the state credential system. Locally, the Ontario Montcliar BTSA Program represents a joint effort between the school district, the Ontario-Montclair Teachers Association (OMTA), and local universities.

Sacramento County Office of Education Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment

Sacramento Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) is a program that supports individuals in their first and second years of teaching through mentoring and coaching, professional development and training activities, and assessment of professional growth. The Sacramento Consortium, serving 190 teachers in nine local districts, is one of 30 programs statewide.

ADDITIONAL BTSA RESOURCES

AND WEB SITES FOR NEW TEACHERS

Beginning Teachers' Tool Box

The Purpose of this website is to provide help to new teachers by providing the Resources they need. The site attempts to serve new teachers around the world, while inspiring all teachers

Homepage for New Math Teachers

This award winning homepage was created to give new math teachers ideas and suggestions to help with their teaching. Includes such useful subjects as: How to Start Making Connections; A Clear Lesson; Multicultural Mathematics; This Month's Problem; Last Month's Problem; Most Loved Problems; Math-Ties-Problem Solving Handbooks; Math Myths - A Survey for Your Students; Resources for New Math Teachers; Classroom Management; Other Professional Suggestions; Great Sites for Math Teachers; Great Sites for Elementary Teachers; Guidelines for Using the Internet.

I Love Teaching.com

This site is dedicated to encouraging teachers. It is particularly interested in helping those studying to be teachers and those who are just starting their first few years of teaching.

Information About School-to-Work Reforms for Prospective and Beginning Teachers

Camp & Heath-Camp, (1992) suggest the transition from novice to established teacher is too critical to be left to chance as it has been in the past. As demands for reforms and improvement in education continue, there is a need to find a productiv and effective way to assist the beginning teacher in making a smooth transition. What is needed is a structured, well-conceived, collaborative approach to induction assistance, based on research, educational theory, experience, and the best thinking that we can bring to bear on the problem. This site provides a useful reference index for pursuing these questions.

Kappa Delta Pi "New Teacher Advocate"

New Teacher Advocate, This quarterly newsletter from Kappa Delta Pi, an International Honor Society dedicated to Scholarship and excellence in education, focuses on topics and issues important to those entering the profession of teaching. It will provide practical articles on securing teaching positions, classroom methods and problem-solving, advice from experienced teachers on topics interest, and anecdotes from fellow beginning teachers. The audience of the New Teacher Advocate is preservice and beginning teachers.

Model Standards for Beginning Teacher Licensing and Development: A Resource for State Dialog

The Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC), a program of the Council of Chief State School Officers, has crafted model standards for licensing new teachers. Drafted by representatives of the teaching profession along with personnel from 17 state education agencies, these standards represent a common core of teaching knowledge and skills which may help all students acquire 21st century knowledge and skills. The standards were developed to be compatible with the advanced certification standards of the new National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

The National Association for Alternative Certification (NAAC)

The National Association for Alternative Certification (NAAC) seeks to expand the options available to individuals to achieve certification for teaching or administration at the elementary or secondary level. The goal of NAAC is to help improve these preparation programs by facilitating the entry into the education profession of persons who did not choose to prepare for teaching as their initial occupations, as well as, those individuals who have entered teacher preparation programs as part of their initial career training.

The National Association for Beginning Teachers

The National Association for Beginning Teachers is dedicated to giving new teachers the tools they need to complete their jobs, helping them develop the skills necessary to succeed in the classroom, and encouraging them to remain enthusiastic as they face the challenges of the future in the classrooms of today.

National Center for Research on Teacher Learning

Based in the College of Education at Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI. This site disseminate the research produced at this facility.

National Partnership for Excellence and Accountability in Teaching (NPEAT)

NPEAT engages in research-based collaborative action to ensure teaching excellence. NPEAT builds on the growing consensus about elements of policy and practice that enhance the quality of teaching. In addition, NPEAT focuses much of its attention on how best to attract, retain, educate, and support teachers who serve the nation's neediest students. While all children in the United States need excellent teachers, those who need them most are children placed at risk by the economic condition of their families and communities, their limited command of English, and their physical, emotional and mental disabilities.

Teachers Helping Teachers

The goal of this service is to provide basic teaching tips to inexperienced teachers; ideas that can be immediately implemented into the classroom. To provide new ideas in teaching methodologies for all teachers. To provide a forum for experienced teachers to share their expertise and tips with colleagues around the world.

BEGINNING TEACHER SUPPORT AND ASSESSMENT

FULL TEXT RESOURCES AND ARTICLES

APEC Teacher Induction Study: Introduction and Methodology

Teacher induction programs provide beginning teachers the support needed during the often difficult transition from preservice education to actual classroom teaching--from students of teaching to teachers of students. In Phase I of the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Teacher Preparation and Professional Development Study, members cited teacher induction as a major area of focus for future studies of education policy. Although widely perceived to have a positive impact on new teachers and the education system as a whole, such programs are relatively new, and members are seeking information with which to guide, refine, and justify this important endeavor. From Students of Teaching to Teachers of Students: Teacher Induction Around the Pacific Rim.

Beginning Teachers Programs: Analysis of State Actions During the Reform Era

by: Carol B. Furtwengler, Wichita State University. his article reports the findings from the conduct of a 50- state survey to determine the status of state requirements and state components of beginning teacher programs instituted from 1983 to 1992. The article discusses the implementation of beginning teacher programs during the 1980s reform movement and describes the methodology used for the study. An analysis of seven state policy issues derived from an interpretation of the information about beginning teacher programs is provided, and four major themes identified in beginning teacher programs are presented. Appendices include detailed state-by-state information about beginning teacher programs and an annotated reference list of state materials and publications related to these programs.

A Comparison of Beginning and Experienced Teachers' Responses to Textbooks

This paper reports a comparative analysis of beginning and experienced teachers' thinking about teaching subtraction with regrouping and the role that textbooks play in their deliberations. The teachers were asked to compare and appraise two contrasting textbook selections dealing with this topic and to describe how they would teach it. The analysis revealed both differences and similarities between the experienced and beginning teachers.

Developing the Professional Identity of First-Year Teachers Through a "Working Alliance"

by Pamela E. Brott and Lawrence T. Kajs. Mentor-teachers work with first-year teachers to develop their professional identity as teachers. Professional identity is a developmental process that can be nurtured through a "working alliance," a term borrowed from the counseling profession. The "working alliance" is a collaborative and flexible relationship used as a forum for learning. The skills of attending and listening, reflecting and clarifying, and challenging and confronting are essential to the mentoring experience.

First Year Teacher's Experience

by Yoneko Narita. The topic of this paper is a discussion of the unique needs of beginning teacher, specifically those of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers and how the profession might meet those needs.

From Students of Teaching to Teachers of Students: Teacher Induction Around the Pacific Rim

APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) is an organization of 18 economies that border the Pacific Ocean. Formed in 1989, APEC aims to sustain growth, development, and improved living standards in the Asia Pacific region and the world, and to promote free trade. The APEC Human Resources Development (HRD) working group is one of ten working groups that carry out projects in areas like trade, telecommunications, and marine resource conservation. Specifically, the HRD working group promotes APEC cooperation in education, training, business management practices, labor issues, and related policy areas. Within HRD, the Education Forum is responsible for initiating joint activities in the field of education. This publication is the result of the second phase of a study on teacher training and professional development in APEC members, originally proposed at the first Education Forum meeting in January 1993. Phase I of the study described teacher preparation systems across APEC members, to identify key issues and challenges for teacher preparation and professional development, and to identify promising practices for the future of teacher preparation. The findings are published in Teacher Preparation and Professional Development in APEC Members. The findings of Phase II, focusing on policy and practices of teacher induction in 11 participating APEC members, are presented here. This report is based on responses by member economies to an exploratory survey, and the work and coopertq0+Pt± d host reseatGprs who conducted a series of three case studies.

Great Expectations: Helpful Hints for Beginning Teachers

by Jane Bluestein, Ph.D. No one knows better than a first year teacher that the beginning of the school year bristles with anticipation-and not just for the kids. The weeks before school are often filled with unsettling visions: "When the door closes and all those faces are looking up at me, will I have something to say?" "Will I ever be able to fill all those hours until lunch?" "What if a parent comes to meet me and can only say, 'You're the teacher?!" "Am I going to be able to keep the vows I made to myself to treat my students in a fair and loving way?" Most beginning teachers want to be competent and creative in a classroom where students are inquisitive and on task. They envision themselves as flexible and fun, enjoying their job, respected by parents, and looked upon as a valuable addition by their school staff. These are great expectations-and important ones. This article suggests that it is also important not to let your expectations put undue pressure on you! Provided are suggestions to turn your beginning teacher's dreams into achievable goals.

Linguistic Coaching: Helping Beginning Teachers Defeat Discouragement

by Paul F. Caccia. A new slant on coaching--which focuses on partnership, open dialogue, and continuous learning--helps novices through those particularly challenging first days. It also helps seasoned teachers improve their performance. A novice teacher starts the school year full of enthusiasm and ambition. A few months, or even weeks, later that same teacher has sunk into discouragement about ever becoming successful in the profession. In developing this system of conversational analysis and communication (Flores 1982, Flores and Winogrand 1986), Fernando Flores drew on the Theory of Speech Acts pioneered by philosopher John Austin (1962) and later refined by his student John Searle (1969, 1979). The premise underlying their work is that all speaking and listening can be categorized as some kind of action--stating, promising, requesting, asserting, declaring, deciding, replying--in which the speaker makes a commitment with the listener.

Looking at the Process of Mentoring for Beginning Teachers

by Lawrence T. Kajs et al. This article suggests that the national trend in the United States is to provide first-year teachers with mentors. This is especially true with first-year teachers in the Alternative Certification Program (ACP). On-the-job nurturing and support by mentors can accelerate success and effectiveness among beginning teachers as well as prevent some of them from dropping out of the teaching profession. Because of its importance, campus/district administrators and university educators need to examine the elements of a successful mentoring program. Elements include the development of a viable relationship between beginning teacher and mentor, the assignment of a mentor who possesses specific knowledge and skills, and the use of an accountability system. Mentoring programs may wish to adopt the support team approach to the mentoring process, providing opportunities for beginning teachers to work with a group of individuals instead of one person

The NAAC Journal Online

The National Association of Alternative Certification (NAAC) Journal Online. The NAAC Journal Online will continuously add articles of interest to researchers, practitioners, and policymakers on the topic of alternative teacher and administrator certification.

Networks: An On-Line Journal For Teacher Research

from the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education, University of Toronto. This on-line journal is dedicated to teacher research. With the help of readers and writers, this journal aims to provide a forum for teachers' voices, a place where teachers working in classrooms, from pre-school to university, can share their experiences and learn from each other. Join us as we embark on this exciting new venture! Share your classroom research with colleagues from around the world. In each issue, you will find feature-length articles, as well as short reports of work-in progress, book reviews, and discussions on current issues in teacher research. We welcome submissions on a wide variety of topics related to classroom research including: curriculum, methodology, ethics, collaboration, and community.

Rethinking School Online: An Urban Educational Journal

Rethinking Schools is a nonprofit, independent publisher of educational materials. They advocate the reform of elementary and secondary education, with a strong emphasis on issues of equity and social justice.

San Diego County Office of Education Notes from Research on Beginning Teacher Support

Decades ago, conventional wisdom among administrators dictated that "good teachers are born and not taught," and "we should hire good teachers and then let them teach." Professional development needs of new teachers were seldom acknowledged by previous generations of educators who believed that "good teachers will develop skills through experience." Fortunately, these attitudes and practices generally reflect the past, as new teacher induction needs are being recognized by the California Legislature, university teacher preparation programs, and individual school districts.

The Standards: What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is developing advanced standards for teachers in more than 30 certification fields. We already have developed standards in 21 fields. These certificates -- and the standards on which they are based -- are structured around student developmental levels (early childhood, middle childhood, early adolescence, adolescence and young adulthood) as well as by subject area. Standards grow out of the National Board's central policy statement, What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do. This statement describes a vision of teaching based on five core propositions, which outline what the National Board values and believes should be honored in teaching.

Teacher Induction in an Era of Educational Reform: The Case of New Zealand

by Jay Moskowitz and Shelley Kennedy. From Students of Teaching to Teachers of Students: Teacher Induction Around the Pacific Rim - January1997.

Teacher Mentoring: A Critical Review

by: Sharon Feiman-Nemser. Mentoring is a critical topic in education today and a favored strategy in U.S. policy initiatives focused on teacher induction. Besides creating new career opportunities for veteran teachers, assigning mentors to work with beginning teachers represents an improvement over the abrupt and unassisted entry into teaching that characterizes the experience of many novices. Still, the promise of mentoring goes beyond helping novices survive their first year of teaching. If mentoring is to function as a strategy of reform, it must be linked to a vision of good teaching, guided by an understanding of teacher learning, and supported by a professional culture that favors collaboration and inquiry. This Digest examines the spread of mentoring in the United States, obstacles to realizing the potential of mentoring as a vehicle of reform, needed research, and selected issues of policy and practice.

Teacher Quality: A Report on the Preparation and Qualifications of Public School Teachers

from the National Center For Education Statistics. In his 1997 State of the Union Address, President Clinton issued a "Call to Action" that included as a priority improving the quality of teachers in every American classroom. President Clinton's speech reflects growing concern over the condition of education and the nation's need for excellent teachers. In response to these concerns and expectations, this study, undertaken by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) provides a profile of the quality of the nation's teachers.

What Matters Most: Teaching For America's Future

This report from the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future offers what they believe is the single most important strategy for achieving America's educational goals: A blueprint for recruiting, preparing, and supporting excellent teachers in all of America's schools. The plan is aimed at ensuring that all communities have teachers with the knowledge and skills they need to teach so that all children can learn, and all school systems are organized to support teachers in this work. A caring, competent, and qualified teacher for every child is the most important ingredient in education reform.

ELECTRONIC DISCUSSION FORUM ON

BEGINNING TEACHER SUPPORT AND ASSESSMENT

LiveChat

Live meetings, events and chats for new and seasoned teachers. Well worth making a visit to explore the world of internet chat presented in a professional demeanor.

Beginning Teachers ChatBoard

Beginning Teachers ChatBoard. This discussion forum will serve new teachers as they dialogue about their endeavors to become "seasoned" professionals. The teaching stories you will share, the colleagues you will meet, and the advice you will give and receive, will all stand to confirm the excitement shared by teachers virtually everywhere.

The Teachers.Net Chatboard Network

The Teachers.Net Chatboard Network brings together hundreds of thousands of educators in an enviroment specially designed to foster peer support and development. Take advantage of this incredible panel of experts and friends. Provided by Teacher.Net website.

Education Index - An annotated guide to education-related sites on the Web.

Education World - Award winning K-12 educators resource site.

TeachersNet - An extensive online resource for teachers of all experience levels.

Educators Net - Over 6000 reviewed education listings.

StudyWeb - A comprehensive index reviewing educational and reference Web sites.

AVAILABLE BOOKS FOR NEW TEACHERS

Becoming a Teacher: A Practical and Political School Survival Guide, by Robin Grusko and Judy Kramer. This is an insightful guide for new teachers about to take the plunge into the real world of teaching. ERIC/EDINFO, fax (1-812-331-2776) or e-mail eeorder@indiana.edu.

The Beginning Teacher's Manual, a book full of advice and ideas for new teachers on all the things a new teacher has to master in the first few weeks, like classroom discipline. Available from NSDC. See NSDC info under "Organizations" elsewhere on this site.

The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher, by Harry Wong, 352 pages available from Harry K. Wong Publications, Sunnyvale, CA Fax (408) 732-2206

Handbook of Skills Essential to Beginning Teachers, M. Goethals & R. Howard, (1985). Lanham. MD; University Press of America.

Keys to the Classroom, is a great teacher guide for the first month of school. Includes setting the learning environment, establishing daily routines, sample letters in English & Spanish and activities & songs in English & Spanish. Paperback available from Corwin Press, e-mail: order@corwin.sagepub.com

The New Elementary Teacher's Handbook, this seems to deal with just about everything from maintaining discipline to organizational ideas, and assessment. Paperback available from Corwin Press, e-mail, order@corwin.sagepub.com

New Teachers Helping New Teachers: Preservice Peer Coaching, a book, looks great,

URL: <http://www.indiana.edu/~eric_rec/bks/newteach.html>

New Teacher's Survival Guide, by a new teacher. Includes traits of effective teachers, dealing with discipline, getting a job, picking a school, etc.

URL: <http://www.dun.org/sulan/teacher/default.htm>

Profile of a Beginning Teacher, by American Association. of Colleges for Teacher Educucation. Lists desired teacher characteristics.

URL:<http://www.ualr.edu/~coedept/STHNDBK/PROFILE.HTML>

Time-Saving Tips For Teachers. A book to help teachers to become more efficient in their use of time for communications, planning, assessment, etc. How to maximize help by volunteers, subs, and parents. Paperback available from Corwin Press, e mail, order@corwin.sagepub.com

If You Could Recommend One Book For a Beginning Teacher, What Would It Be?

This site provides a list of books that were suggested in response to the above question. Each title includeds a link to Amazon.com to provide more information or how to order the book.

RETURN TO HOME PAGE

Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 by Michael Genzuk. All rights reserved.