Mentor Vs. Induction Programs

Mentor vs. Induction Programs

When an individual takes on the role of teaching, this person also accepts has the responsibility of teaching children, and becoming an important part of instilling positive qualities in the identity of each student. It is imperative that future educators consider the many variables that come into play with teaching as a profession. These must be considered before making the decision as these variables can either attract or deter individuals from continuing in the teaching profession.

Mentor and induction programs play an instrumental role in helping to develop successful Teachers. Mentor and Induction programs are also very useful in helping to retain Teachers in the profession. Many Teachers that are new to the profession do not make it past the second year in the classroom; there are a variety of factors that come into play for individuals choosing to leave the profession, such as the stress of teaching with limited resources. Induction programs offer teachers a variety of development based programs and workshops that will help new educators develop successful teaching strategies. Induction programs help teachers to become all-around of better educators. A recent study by the National Education Association, (NEA), shows that nearly 50 percent teachers leave the profession after five years in the classroom. The availability of professional development and support play a large role in the effectiveness of teachers, as well as helping to improve student learning. High quality, comprehensive programs are imperative to teacher success. ("Good Teacher Mentoring Programs Lead To Successful Student Outcomes ", 2011). Because of the many challenges new teachers face every day, induction programs are key to their success. Induction programs help to strengthen the skills of new educators. Structured ,sustained, intensive professional development programs that allow new teachers to observe others, to be observed by others, and to be part of networks or study group where all teachers share together, grow together, and learn to respect each other's work (Wong, 2004).

There are several different types of induction programs including; mentoring relationships, which allow new teachers to work closely and learn from veteran teachers. Within the mentoring induction program there are support teams linked to the new teacher, veteran teachers offer their support to the new educators by providing guidance and assistance to answer questions or concerns that the new teachers may have. Ongoing training and professional development workshops for new educators help to introduce first year teachers to important new information. There are also teacher evaluation programs, these programs were developed so that new teachers can have an understanding of their strengths and weaknesses as professionals in the classroom, these programs also give the teacher an opportunity to grow as a professional. Each of these programs are unique, however they each play an imperative role in the development of new teaching professionals. Develop countries are using formal mentoring and induction programs more often to help improve the success of new teachers and reduce the rate of teachers whom choose to leave the profession. This trend is consistent with research literature that shows positive benefits not only for new teachers but for the mentors as well. (Ladd, 2007).

The use of induction programs can help teacher to learn about their professional responsibilities, they can help to teach the new educator how to effectively plan their student's learning environments, induction programs can help new teacher become the best teacher they can be. The use of the mentor based induction program helps to develop the new teacher; however they also help to develop the veteran teacher into a leader with the opportunity to work as a coach or a model of development. Induction programs help to create a positive work environment for the new teachers, these programs can help lead teachers to create a collaborative learning environment with other teachers

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