Session Information
Contribution
The induction year, the first year of work at school, is the year of learning for a novice teacher. It is the time of discovering more about self, one's abilities, strengths and weaknesses as teacher. It is also the time of becoming familiar with the school as organization as well as the colleagues and school administration. By the end of the year, a novice teacher will know who to turn to for help and advice, how information is exchanged in the school, and what are the traditions, overt and covert norms of behavior, and customs in the organization. Becoming familiar with the students is not less important. The more we know about their interests, abilities and possibilities, the better we can tailor our teaching to their needs, support their learning, and motivate them. In addition, a teacher needs to learn to cooperate with parents.Several studies focus on novice teachers' development and learning (such as Fuller and Brown 1975; Kagan 1992; Lidstone & Hollingsworth, 1992; Levin 2003), but it is not very often that researcher ask from the novice teachers what they think they have learned during the first year of professional practice.The material presented is a part of a substantial longitudinal study on novice teachers' professional growth throughout the induction year. This presentation focuses on five open questions, which novices were asked to answer in the middle and at the end of their induction year. These questions were included in order to get additional information about what novice teachers themselves think they have learnt while doing their everyday job. The questions also led novice teachers to analyze their experience as teachers. All questions were transcribed for use in the data analysis process. The five questions the teachers answered and the results of which are analyzed in the presentation are as follows:1. What have you learned about self as teacher? 2. What have you learned from your colleagues? 3. What have you learned from the administration? 4. What have you learned about the students you teach? 5. What have you learned about parents? Analysis of the responses to these questions helps us to understand which experiences novice teachers value most and what they have learned from the experiences. Asking the same questions both in the middle and at the end of a school year enables to compare the answers and analyze the changes that took place during the year. In total, there were 47 novice teachers who filled in the questionnaires in the middle and end of a school year. According to the research of Clement and Vandenberghe (2000), learning experiences are crucial for teachers' professional development. Even though the content and manner of learning depends to a large extent on the novice teacher, it is also influenced by the organization that employs the novice teacher, because learning opportunities arise in the relationship among teachers (Clement & Vandenberghe 2000). Values and attitudes represented by the members of the organization influence the future professional development of the novice teacher. In other words, most teacher learning is situated in everyday activities or the so-called community of practice (Wenger 2004). A novice's first year of professional practice is a year of establishing oneself as a teacher and creating one's self-concept as a teacher. Therefore, the environment of practicing and the effect of experience gained make a substantial impact on a teacher's further professional growth. The presentation analyses novices' learning experience and changes in teachers' responses during the year. Based on the study we may state that novice teachers tend to have problems and negative experiences in connection with parents, as well as school administration, and to a small extent also with colleagues. Positive experiences are related mainly to the students and the sense of self-efficacy as a teacher.Clement, M. & Vandenberghe, R. (2000) Teachers´ professional development: a solitary or collegial (ad)venture? - Teaching and Teacher Education (16) p 81-101 Fuller,F.F. & Brown, O.H. (1975). Becoming a Teacher. In K.Ryan (Ed.), Teacher education. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp 25-52 Kagan, D. (1992) Professional Growth Among Preservice and Beginning Teachers. - Review of Educational Research, 62 (2), 129-169 Levin, B.B. (2003) Case Studies of Teacher Development: An In-Depth Look at How Thinking About Pedagogy Develops Over Time .-Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers Mahwah, New Jersey Lidstone, M. & Hollingsworth, S.(1992) . A Longitudinal study of cognitive change in beginning teachers: Two patterns of learning to teach. Teacher Education Quarterly, 19 (3), 39-57 Wenger, E. (2004). Communities of practice : learning, meaning, and identity.- Cambridge : Cambridge University Press
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