The work of mentoring matters. Whether one is looking at the broad-scale enactment of induction programming or the individualized attention focused on new teachers' learning and development, mentors play a pivotal role in new teacher retention and development. As a result, mentors are in a good position to interpret and enact induction policy at…

Reviewing the research, Feiman-Nemser identifies distinct shifts in thinking about teacher induction over the last 50 years. Early advocates viewed induction as a temporary bridge designed to provide support to beginning teachers and ease their entry into teaching. Next came an induction model that combines support with ongoing mentoring and…

Ample research demonstrates the power of comprehensive induction to develop and retain new teachers. Education scholars generally agree on what powerful systems of induction include, yet few tools exist for guiding schools in creating such systems. Drawing on theory and practice, we have created such a tool. This article introduces the "Continuum…

Effective school-based induction for new teachers involves much more than mentoring; it requires a comprehensive array of supports buttressed by a collaborative professional culture. Yet few schools are able to offer such a nourishing environment to their new hires. What would it take to bridge the gap between the real and the ideal? In 2005 team…

To understand the relationship between induction policies, programs, and practices, we conducted case studies of three long-standing induction programs. Drawing on interviews, observations, and policy documents, we asked the following: (a) What policy tools operate in these contexts, and how do they effect local induction practices? (b) What can…

Background/Context: Although the induction literature has traditionally recommended separating assistance and assessment, there has been growing recognition that assessment is integral to promoting and gauging teacher quality. This has led to increased interest in approaches to new teacher induction that meld support, development, assessment and…

Examines the on-the-job learning needs of beginning teachers. Discusses research on teacher learning curve and enculturation process. Describes elements of a quality beginning-teacher induction program that involves mentoring and the use of standards. Views induction as an enculturation process. (Contains 11 references.) (PKP)

Describes how one exemplary support teacher defines and enacts his role with beginning teachers. Based on interview and observation data, the article illustrates specific principles and strategies that shape his mentoring practice and discusses how he learned to do this kind of work, offering a vision of educative mentoring and some ideas about…

This paper reports the results of a literature review on the subject of beginning teacher induction, presenting a conceptually oriented discussion of the induction literature. It examines the multiple meanings associated with induction as a phase in learning to teach, a process of teacher socialization, and a program for beginning teachers. The…

Drawing on personal anecdotes and findings from a comparative, cross-cultural study of mentored learning to teach, the paper examines why teachers in mentor-type roles do not see themselves as school-based teacher educators. Also examines what educative mentoring looks like and discusses how to help teachers become thoughtful, serious mentors for…

Conversations between four mentor and four novice teachers were analyzed to discover how they discussed issues about teaching and learning of content. Analysis of conversations revealed several ways that mentors dealt with novices' understanding of subject matter. Conversations are discussed in relation to four aspects of learning to teach…

This study investigates beginning teacher induction programs; what is known about experienced teachers acting as mentors; what mentors do and how they think about their work; and what novices learn from their interactions with them. This case study describes how one support teacher, Pete Frazer, a 30-year veteran, defines and enacts his role with…

This study describes how the contexts of mentoring shape the perspectives and practices of mentors in the Teacher Trainee Program in Los Angeles (California), an effort to recruit candidates to teach in inner city secondary schools by providing on-the-job training to college graduates, and in the Graduate Intern Program in Albuquerque (New…

The Los Angeles Teacher Trainee program is designed to help recruit talented people into teaching; the Mentor Teacher component of that program is designed to help retain capable teachers by expanding their rewards and opportunities. Requirements of the Teacher Trainee Program intersect with the inducements of the Mentor Teacher Program to form a…

The Mentor Teacher Program in the state of California is designed to retain capable teachers by expanding their rewards and opportunities. This report focuses on the character and quality of mentoring in an alternate route program sponsored by a large urban school district. A 30-hour required training course for mentors introduces them to their…