Training Teachers to Be Effective

The Best at What They Do They produce more state teachers-of-the-year than any other school district in Arizona. They take novice teachers and turn them into expert teachers. They have an eight-year new teacher induction and professional development program. They excel in building human capacity. They're the Flowing Wells School District in Tucson, Arizona.   Kevin Stoltzfus, director of the Flowing Wells professional development program

Notice the words “effectively trained.”  That’s what the Flowing Wells School District has been doing with its new teachers for over 25 years.  And now the government’s education initiative, Race to the Top, suddenly realizes that it’s effective teachers that are the key to improving student learning and achievement.

Instead of teaching teachers how to be effective and how to improve student learning and achievement, the history of education has shown that we have spent at least 75 years jumping from one fad or ideology to another, while recycling the same programs year after year, decade after decade.  

Tucson is the Spring Training home of the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team along with 14 other professional teams that bask in the sunshine to train and get ready for the season ahead. 

• Can you image if none of the teams had an organized, comprehensive Spring training program to bring out the best in each player and mold them into a team? 
• Instead, they give each player a mentor and tell the mentors to have a “reflective conversation” with the player assigned to them. 

Yet, that’s exactly what many schools and school districts do to the new teachers that are hired and completely ignore the research that overwhelming states:

One-on-one mentoring does not improve student learning.

Click here for more research on the efficacy of mentoring. 

Successful Induction Programs

Successful new teacher induction programs are organized the same as baseball training camps and all other new employee training programs found in successful businesses.

• They are varied with different activities all tied to the organization’s
  goals and vision.
• There are instructors and coaches with defined responsibilities.

It should be self-evident that to simply give a new teacher a mentor will not produce an effective teacher.  According to Richard Ingersoll, a good induction program has seven components.

1. Begin with an initial four or five days of training (in classroom management and effective teaching techniques) before school begins.
2. Offer a continuum of professional development through systematic training over a period of two or three years.
3. Provide study groups where new teachers can network and build support, commitment, and leadership in a learning community.
4. Incorporate a strong sense of administrative support.
5. Integrate a mentoring or coaching component into the induction process.
6. Present a structure for modeling effective teaching.
7. Provide opportunities for inductees to visit demonstration classrooms.

Unfortunately, districts continue to pour millions of dollars into one-on-one mentoring programs.  The mentoring program at each school and even between each mentor varies and there is absolutely no consistency.  

What works in producing effective teachers is an induction process designed to train and acculturate new teachers and teachers new to the district.  The process emphasizes the academic standards, vision, and culture of the district. 

The induction process is comprehensive, coherent, and sustained.

1. Comprehensive.  There is an organized program consisting of many activities and components that involves many people, including the school-site principal.
2. Coherent.  The various components, activities, and people are logically connected to each other—including the school-site principal.
3. Sustained.  The comprehensive and coherent program continues for many years.

The goal of an induction program is to produce teachers who can

1. teach to established standards;
2. evaluate the effects of their instruction on student performance;
3. use student achievement data for planning and curriculum;
4. tailor instruction to address specific learning needs; and
5. thrive in the culture of the school. 

Induction Focuses on the District’s Vision

Our introduction to the concept of induction began when we visited the Flowing Wells School District in Tucson, Arizona, in the early 80s.  It was a phenomenally successful school district even though the students came from the challenging side of Tucson.  Through the years, the Flowing Wells Schools have produced more award-winning teachers than any other school district in Arizona.

Flowing Wells does this with a well-organized, eight-year, new teacher induction process that takes a beginning teacher through incremental stages, from novice, competent, and proficient to expert, which then seamlessly flows into a life-long professional development program they call an Institute for Teacher Renewal and Growth.

Click here to read the details of their eight-year induction process.

The Flowing Wells Induction Program emphasizes five critical attributes that are the cornerstones of the district’s vision:

1. Effective instructional practices
2. Effective classroom management procedures and routines
3. A sensitivity to and understanding of the Flowing Wells community
4. Teaching as a reflection of lifelong learning and ongoing professional growth
5. Unity and teamwork among administration, teachers, support staff, and community members

Suffice to say, the Flowing Wells District induction program is able to achieve these outcomes:

• 100% of all new teachers to Flowing Wells attend the Induction Program during their first year in the district.
• Approximately 70% of all Flowing Wells teachers attend staff development training each year on a voluntary basis.
• Based on feedback from school principals, the quality of teaching performance has improved significantly.
• "Proficient" and "Expert" teachers design individual growth plans based on increased awareness of teaching research and methodology.  These teachers are the Instructional Coordinators that provide the new teacher support.
• An increased ability for teachers to reflect on their instructional practices has promoted professional dialogue among teachers, support staff, and community.
• An attitude that "professional growth" is the norm for a Flowing Wells educator is evidenced by participation in after school and summer workshops.

Building Human Capacity

The greatest asset of a school district is its teachers.  As a school district, Flowing Wells knows to train and teach its teachers to perform at their highest capacity.  For a quarter of a century, Flowing Wells has been improving the instructional practices of its teachers and creating effective schools.  It seems logical and simple, but the impact it produces is astounding.

The success of the Flowing Wells induction program speaks a clear message to any school district—to any country’s government—training, supporting, and retaining highly qualified teachers is a must.  Induction is a must!

Programs do not produce student achievement; teachers produce student achievement.  The “Race to the Top” initiative is misnamed.  Being the best for students is not a race.  A race implies someone will win and the rest will be forgotten.  At Flowing Wells, all of its teachers are winners.  They train and nurture their teachers to “Be at the Top.”  Every moment, every day for teachers is an opportunity to grow and learn and be at the top of their profession—for children. 

Effective teachers—children deserve nothing less.

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