The Preparation and Education of First-Year Teachers: A Case Study

The purpose of this case study was to provide a policy analysis of the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) standard that requires teacher preparation programs to follow their recent graduates during their first years of teaching to demonstrate their positive impact on student growth, satisfaction with their preparation, and effective teaching practices. Using the Colorado Teacher Quality Standards as a conceptual framework, this qualitative study used interviews and observations at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year to discover five first-year teachers’ perceptions of their preparation, needs, level of confidence in all areas of teaching, and the ways in which they could have been better or more prepared for the classroom. Their annual teacher evaluations provided insight to their evidence of effective teaching and impact on student growth. Overall, the first-year teachers felt prepared for their first year of teaching and demonstrated effective teaching strategies, but they needed more training on meeting the needs of students with diverse abilities, as well as how to successfully implement curriculum. Their greatest success during the year was experiencing student growth

The Need for Collaboration: Experiences and Perceptions of Preservice Principals and School Counselors

While professional collaboration between school counselors and principals has the potential to enhance the educational environment for students, preparation programs typically do not provide collaborative opportunities to preservice candidates. In response to concerns expressed by preservice school counselors and principals regarding this lack of opportunity, researchers designed and implemented a collaboration workshop. Following the workshop, a multiple-case study research design was utilized to explore the value of collaboration from the perspectives of both groups through participant interviews grounded by the Five Elements of a Professional Community. Findings indicate educators in these preparation programs have the opportunity to institutionalize a collaboration culture in their preservice candidates by providing cross-training to limit school counseling and principal role disconnect. Preservice training can ensure professional collegiality in school counselor and principal practice

Put on Your Oxygen Mask First

School leaders can use these three strategies to promote the social-emotional health of new teachers in a stressed out world

Comida em redes transacionais: construindo a identidade macaense

As festas do Partido dos Comes e Bebes (PCB) constituem-se como uma forma de integração, funcionamento e manutenção da comunidade macaense em Portugal. Este grupo informal organizado com o propósito de juntar os macaenses em reuniões de comensalidade, proporciona aos convivas o nostálgico regresso a um passado em Macau, através dos amigos que se reveem, do ambiente que se vive e, sobretudo, através da saudosa comida macaense que se identifica, cheira e saboreia, de resto, a principal atração destes encontros. Apresentada como um atestado das origens macaenses, este tipo de comida remete para as mais antigas tradições da cozinha portuguesa com influências e combinações muitíssimo variadas que a convertem numa das mais antigas cozinhas de fusão do mundo; a comida consumida nos eventos do PCB, assume um lugar de memória para a construção de uma identidade étnica e cultural macaense. A partir da descrição etnográfica da Festa da Lua 2010 – festividade emblemática celebrada pelo grupo do PCB – procurarei demonstrar como, constituída pela prática ao longo do tempo, a formulação da identidade macaense em termos comunitários (re) adapta-se e (re) produz-se, usando para tal, um conjunto de memórias individuais que se projetam no grupo que com elas constrói um imaginário coletivo acerca da própria ideia de comunidade macaense

Exploring the Mentoring Needs of Early- and Mid-Career URM Engineering Faculty: A Phenomenological Study

While mentoring has been identified as a valuable resource in recruiting and retaining underrepresented minority (URM) faculty, little research has examined the difference in mentoring needs of early- and mid-career engineering URM faculty members. As these needs can change as they navigate academia and the tenure process, mentors can effectively provide guidance and support only when they have been identified. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to determine the mentoring needs and activities of early- and mid-career URM engineering faculty who participated in the IMPACT mentoring program and how their needs were met (Moustakas, 1994). The IMPACT program and the associated research were supported by a National Science Foundation Office for Broadening Participation in Engineering award (15-42728 and 15-42524). The Ideal Mentoring Model for URM Faculty served as the theoretical framework and the study included interviews with 11 early- to mid-career faculty who provided an in-depth understanding of the participants’ needs and activities. Findings indicate all faculty members seek career development support in navigating the engineering promotion and tenure process. However, mid-career faculty display greater interest in receiving sponsorship and coaching from their mentors, as well as an awareness of the importance of having a network of mentors