The chronically high rate of special educator attrition across U.S. schools creates a dilemma for educational leaders because special educators provide direct services to students with special needs. Attrition exacerbates already high special educator shortages reported in most districts, and nearly one million schoolchildren with disabilities…

Novice teacher attrition has long been a concern among educators and policy makers who have responded with various types of induction and mentoring programs and increased efforts to recruit more teachers. Yet, these efforts have not created the stable work force needed to implement school reform efforts. The school staffing challenge is further…

Although novice special education teachers benefit from the same types of support and induction that their general education colleagues receive, certain aspects of their experience require attention. This Brief summarizes why a mentoring model is needed for special novice education teachers and what administrators can do to help these teachers…

Although novice special education teachers benefit from the same types of support and induction that their general education colleagues receive, certain aspects of their experience require attention. This Brief summarizes why a mentoring model is needed for novice special education teachers and what teacher educators can do to help establish a…

This document provides an overview of a faculty training and orientation program used for adjunct faculty at the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship at Nova Southeastern University. The model includes components for assessing, hiring, orienting, and providing initial training for a diverse cadre of part time faculty in many…

The objective of the course described here is to provide the teaching assistants (TAs) with help, encouragement, and constructive criticism. An orientation program lasts one week and follows the following schedule: (1) On the first day, a general introduction to general university and departmental policies is given, as well as to teaching methods…

Describes a cooperatively developed student teacher orientation program in the Morristown, Tennessee schools. This model is not a finished product in the form of a packaged orientation, but a process model providing for different types of school-student teacher-university communication and feedback to evolve the orientation system. (Author/SJL)

The Academy for Teacher Excellence (ATE) at the University of Texas at San Antonio and San Antonio College is proposed as a comprehensive model whose overarching goals include: (1) creating a learning ecology that values diversity and prepares teacher candidates for work in diverse communities; (2) increasing the number of Latino students pursuing…

California is field-testing a model to help new teachers become competent professionals via planning, teaching, reflecting, and applying. Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment/California Formative Assessment & Support System for Teachers acknowledges that teachers learn good practices gradually through consulting with colleagues and…

The Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools system, a large suburban school district, is in the process of developing a comprehensive teacher induction program for its new teachers. Training for new teachers takes place in the summer and after school, with teachers receiving a stipend for each 6-hour module completed. Feedback from teachers…

Examines college faculty development issues. The article discusses mechanisms for socializing faculty members to the dual model of teacher-scholar. These mechanisms include annual merit review, orientation of junior faculty members, mentoring, monetary awards, and a teaching colloquium. Systematic training of faculty prepares them for future…

A Missouri study involving performance-based teacher evaluation demonstrated that school personnel and university faculty members can collaborate to prepare beginning teachers to be more effective at designing and implementing teaching models. The keys to success are a shared professional knowledge base and common commitment to implementation…

This document describes a staff development and induction model used at Los Medanos College for the purpose of professionally preparing teachers as community college instructors. The model proposes a campus-based and managed program that involves a four-week, preservice seminar in August and regular meetings throughout the subsequent fall and…

In 1980, Vista College (a non-campus, public community college where part-time faculty teach 85% of the courses) received funding to develop an effective faculty development model for part-time instructors in postsecondary institutions. The project was designed to break down the isolation of part-time faculty, encourage a sense of college and…