Hello Everybody! Good to "see" you again! :) Thanks for visiting this blog! As you may have heard, the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics(ICTM) is looking to build bridges with young math teachers across the state of Illinois. ICTM leaders are wanting to try and help better meet the needs of young teachers because they know how difficult and crucial the first few years of the profession can be.  One of the board members, John Benson, is looking to collect some data from young teachers on what they feel are their biggest needs.  Join the discussion! Your feedback will also help me continue to modify our program at UIUC to better address these needs as well. So... what would you say have been your biggest needs as a new teacher? What support do you wish you had more of?  What knowledge & training are you yearning for? We look forward to hearing from you!!!! Please pass on the address for this Blog to other new math teachers you are in contact with. Click the Comments link Above to get started :)
 


Comments

Adam Poetzel
11/04/2010 14:50

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Katie B.
11/07/2010 07:12

Needs of a new teacher:

I really feel the biggest need of a new teacher is making and maintaining positive relationships with supportive colleagues. The intimate feel of the education cohort did a very nice job training us about the importance of maintaining good relationships with our peers and professors. In fact, I still keep in touch with many from my cohort, as we need each other now more than ever. We often create mass emails to one another to exchange ideas on lesson planning and classroom management.

Another huge need of a new teacher is to be able to create effective lesson plans quickly and efficiently. For me, my first year teaching has been the busiest year of my life, and I often feel like I do not know when it is approporate to "quit" for the day. I know that the lesson plans I create for example, could always be better or more interesting for the kids, but I also need to do things like sleep and eat in order to, you know, survive!


What support I wish I had more of:

-So I was thinking... what if in the future cohorts create google docs with a link to each class members e-port (or at least each class member that does not mind sharting)? Then, we would have access to each others best work to use in our own classrooms, or to take ideas from to incorportate into our own projects and lesson plans. We could even make other google docs with links to useful resources. We could continue adding to these lists even after graduation. I would add things even as simple as kutasoftware.com, which has a surplus of free math worksheets that I have found to be very good.

Also, is it possible for some of the Education classrooms at U of I to get SMARTboards? I really feel that being able to get comfortable with a SMARTboard during classtime/for class projects would be very beneficial. This would not only be to practice using SMARTtools, but also to start thinking about ways to enhance a lesson using an electronic projector. What types of internet apps and movies could be used to enhance different types of lessons?


Another thought: I really enjoyed the time we took at the end of the year to compare resumes and talk to each other on ways to improve them. This was a big step in getting ready to apply for jobs...I think we could have done more to prepare in this way. For example, getting students to think about writing all those essays! And maybe making it mandatory to write a few for class. The types of essay topics I came across were:

-What experience do you have with inclusion?
-Explain any past or present experience that would make you a valuable candidate for this position.
-What are the three most important pieces of imformation you would like to know about your students, and how/why does this information impact your instruction?
-What would you want a former student to share about what he or she has learned about your class ten years later?
-In your career as an educator, how have you used technology?
-How would you address a wide range of skills in your classroom?
-Describe the skills and attributes you believe are necessary to be an outstanding teacher.

Knowledge and training I yearn for:

- I would have liked at least one of my classes to talk about graduate school options for teachers. Although most new teachers do not go to grad school right away, it is something we start thinking about very quickly after getting into "the real world". Almost all of the 20-something year-old teachers I work with are working towards a masters or already have one. It would be nice to have some background on concentration options (counseling, administration, math, education, etc.). For example, which Illinois schools offer adult programs for these? What types of classes do you end up taking for each? What kind of time commitment are we looking at for each option?

I also think that more classroom management training could be helpful. For example, I find myself thinking back to that "Love and Logic" workshop that Poetzel and Guitierrez provided for us last year very frequently. I think often times experienced teachers forget how hard it is to learn to keep a "poker face" when dealing with a tough situation; that there is some training involved in taking a deep breath before reacting to a students' actions or words. More workshops and/or lectures related to this would be good...

More specifically, maybe some sort of "sensativity training", or "working with tough students" training would be helpful. Right now I work in a school where 80% of kids qualify for Free and Reduced lunch. The culture shock alone is enough to make you crazy sometimes...

What cohorts spent some time talking about the different "types" of students we come across, and how to effectively react to them? I have for example, quite a few students who are homeless. How can I be senstive to the fact that

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Ryan
11/07/2010 07:13

I personally would have benefited from a bit more time covering classroom management. We had that day where we acted out different scenarios, and I think that was really beneficial. I think it would be great if we had more "what would you do in this situation?" conversations or additional chances to practice discipline.

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Katie B. (cont.)
11/07/2010 07:16

What if cohorts spent some time talking about the different "types" of students we come across, and how to effectively react to them? I have for example, quite a few students who are homeless. How can I be senstive to the fact that they probably aren't getting basic needs met (like bathing, good sleep, stable enviornment, 3 meals a day...) and still motivate them to learn? And what about students with certain learning disorders who act out to distract their classmates from the fact that they can read, write, or add. Learning what to say and do for these kids to get them comfortable in your classroom gets tricky.

Even sharing ideas taking attendance, keeping a hand-written grade books, and other classroom organizational skills would I think be beneficial for many.

Hope this helps!

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Ryan
11/07/2010 07:24

Woah Katie has a lot of awesome points! I agree with all of them- especially the part about learning how to quickly plan for a lesson. The lessons that we learned how to make are awesome, and look really impressive, but it just isn't possible to do that every night. Maybe some sort of project where we were given a topic to teach a short lesson on, and we have like 10 minutes to prepare? I feel like we did something similar to this in the library, but maybe more of an emphasis could be placed on the essential pieces that should be addressed in every lesson.

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Jacqueline
11/07/2010 08:23

I would agree with Ryan and Katie and say that I wish I had more training on classroom management. It would be beneficial if we had an entire class on the subject. Acting out different scenarios with our cohort and trying to figure out how to best handle the situation as the teacher was very beneficial to us as new teachers, but we need more of it throughout our classes.

I also agree with Katie about information about graduate school programs for teachers. I feel like I have no idea where to begin. It would be helpful to know what each of the concentrations were all about.

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Mickenzie
11/07/2010 13:05

Hey Adam,

Hope all is well with you! Now that I am in my second year, I am finding myself trying to improve the lessons from last year and reach each student more effectively. Last year I was in survival mode. But as I try to adapt my lessons and differentiate more, I realize that I never had much practical application of how to differentiate. We discussed it frequently and tried to come up with ideas, but I wish I had seen more classroom examples of how to differentiate math lessons. This is coming into play more and more as RTI is being implemented in the regular education classrooms.

The other thing I find myself struggling with frequently is how to practice for the PSAE in an exciting way. It is so difficult to make those tests interesting and engaging. I would have loved some model lessons on how to teach them to take tests and reason effectively without boring them to death.

Hope this helps!

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Jenny S
11/07/2010 13:17

Right now I am in a unique situation as a first year teacher. I am at a brand new school and I am the only math teacher. I have been told several times that I am not having a typical first year of teaching.

There are a lot of basics I wish we had discussed. Many of these "basics" are already in place at established schools. But since I'm at a brand new school, I feel overwhelmed by creating everything on my own. One thing is creating a gradebook. How should we weight grades? Should we do points or by categories? During student teaching this was already in place by course, but its something to really think about when you have to freedom to create it yourself. Likewise, many established schools have a scope and sequence. I feel like I'm making mine as I go along. What factors should you consider when creating a scope and sequence? In addition, learning how to write a syllabus would have been helpful.

One thing my school gave me was a copy of "The First Days of School" by Harry Wong. I really wish we could have read this book in class. The first day of school is something we never get to observe. During our early field observations and student teacher, we come in during the middle of the semester/quarter. What things do we need to establish during the first day of school.

I have a lot more to say, but I got to go back to lesson planning. If I have the time I'll try to think of other things on my mind.

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Vanessa L.
11/07/2010 13:28

Now that I have taught Algebra 2 for a year and a half, I wish that I would have had more training in HOW to teach different math concepts. Since most of us want to because math teachers, understanding math concepts comes easy to us. However, most of our students struggle with math and would benefit greatly by being taught the material in defferent ways. I find a lot of my time being spent looking for different, creative ways to effectively EXPLAIN math concepts to my students.

Another aspect of teaching I struggle with is attempting to fit the required curriculum into the limited "teaching" days, and still make the lessons creative and fun. By the time the state teting, review & test days, quizzes and holidays are accounted for, there are limited days left for teaching curriculum. I feel like I try to fit a lot of material in a limited amount of time. It would have been helpful if I had learned possible ways to manage making a long-term calendar/schedule.

I also agree with the other posts about more hands-on traning with technology. I feel like we had limited opportunities to actually teach with the SmartBoard and Smart technology. Knowing how it can be used is great, but actually teaching a lesson with the SmartBoard is totally different.

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Susan A
11/07/2010 18:58

What would you say have been your biggest needs as a new teacher?
During my first year of teaching, my biggest issue was time management. It took me awhile to figure out what things I needed to spend time on and what things I just needed to complete and be done with.
I would say the biggest thing that I relied on in my first year was my fellow math teachers. I was very lucky to be in such an awesome department where everyone worked together. I feel like being in a cohort taught me the importance of working with other teachers and I made this one of my first priorities at the beginning of the school year.
What support do you wish you had more of?
I wish that I had some more training in working with students with special needs. (Not going to lie, our two SPED classes at U of I were a joke. I could list the tiers of RTI, but not really tell you what RTI is or what it looks like in a school. By all means, I can rattle off the types of disabilities since that was on every test, but I never gained much insight on HOW to work with these students with special needs. I was disappointed in this since that is an area where there is so much to learn about and so much great insight to gain for regular education teachers. Guest speakers were the most helpful thing in that class.)
One suggestion would be to require students in the education program to spend time with students with special needs. I think there is a requirement of 50 tutoring hours to apply to the school of ed, maybe make 5 or 10 of them in a co-taught class or with students with special needs.

What knowledge & training are you yearning for
Although I did well with it in my first year, I felt like I would have really benefitted from more training in classroom management. I understand this is something that is hard to teach though. One suggestion would be to have us do more classroom management in our observations. I know when I taught my couple of lessons in each classroom it seemed like the teacher was still doing the classroom management and would correct students before I got the chance.
Also, although I got a degree in mathematics, I feel like it would have been awesome to have a class that very quickly reviewed high school material. Since everyone comes from different schools and different backgrounds, I think this might have led to really good discussions on different ways to teach a lot of topics. We had one class that I think was aimed at this, but we would spend weeks on one topic and I think most students were frustrated more than anything. I would have liked a class that covered topics covered in almost every curriculum and to spend a little bit of time talking about different ways to teach a variety of topics. I feel like the class we had showed us the need for explaining things in different ways, but it did not really teach us how to do this.

I also wish that I had more training in helping students who come to me with problems. I think that as young teachers, students see us as someone that they can come to with problems (not necessarily school related). Last year, for example, I had 6 or 7 students share some pretty deep things with me about their lives. I love that they feel comfortable talking to me and look to me for advice, but I wish I had some more training in helping them. I am not really sure how much advice I should give them or exactly what to say. I know that I need to tell the counselors at school, but they were aware of many of the situations and the kids just felt more comfortable talking to me for some reason.
Along those lines, I did not feel fully prepared to help my students with all of their needs in Decatur. Although it ended up being such an awesome experience where I took away a ton of knowledge, I did not feel adequately prepared to deal with all of the aspects of their lives. I grew up in a small town where everything has always been provided, and then I was thrown into this school where kids wore the same clothes for 7 weeks, could not see the board or afford glasses, had parents in jail, etc. Although I feel like I did my best in helping these kids, I think it might be good if we had a little more training in dealing with these and similar issues.

On a positive note though, I think it is awesome that we do all of our observations and 2 students teaching experiences in different schools. During my observations, I spent time in rough neighborhoods, small farm towns, big schools, affluent towns, and places that I never thought I would enjoy. I feel like this is such an awesome experience to see all of these different types of schools and that it helped us to discover things about ourselves. If someone had asked me if I wanted to student teach in Decatur I would have asked if they were crazy. Although it was very strenuous at times, those 7 weeks ended up being 7 of the best weeks of my life and I learned more abou

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Susan A
11/07/2010 19:00

and I learned more about teaching then I did in my 4 years of college. I still catch myself thinking back about my experiences and kids in Decatur. As my time came to an end, I was really sad about leaving and wished I could have done all of my student teaching there.
Other suggestions:
-I think that it would be a good thing to make student teachers have the responsibilities of dealing with parents. I feel like there were some situations where the teachers felt like we should not have to deal with that, but at the same time that is a great time for us to gain experience.

I would also have liked some training in writing grants. A few have been written in my school, but I have always been a little leery to do this since I do not really know how.

Another thing that I think I would have liked to cover more was state testing. I mean we talking about some parts of state testing over and over, but maybe talk about more aspects of it?
I liked when we did the mock interviews in class. I feel like this was really useful, and such an important aspect of getting a job!
Looking at other people’s posts… I agree with Mickenzie that we talked about differentiation a lot, but it would have been good to see some more examples of it. Also, looking at Jenny’s post, I think it would be great to read a book about the first day of school. I understand it is not really feasible to see a first day of school because of scheduling, but it is true that the first “first day” that we see is in our own classroom!! Eeeek! That was sooooooooo nerve wrecking!!! I think I can safely say that I will never be that nervous about anything again in my life. Maybe have students read that over a Christmas break instead of that book about Zero 
My biggest suggestion: I am not just saying this because Adam is the one asking for suggestions, BUT HIRE ENERGETIC TEACHERS WHO LOVE TEACHING US! Adam, you really were the best teacher I have had in my 16 years of school and made me feel so confident about my decision to become a teacher. I learned so much from the advice and experiences that you shared with us, but I also learned a TON from watching YOU teach US. You did not just tell us what a good teacher should do, but you showed us in everything that you did. You showed us that you were not just there to teach us and collect a pay check, but you were there because you cared about us and the kids that we would teach in the future. After all, this is what teaching is all about! You showed us exactly how much we should care about and love our job. I know you did not understand why we were so upset when you split our cohort senior year, but it did not have as much to do with splitting us up as it did with the fact that half of us would not have you as a teacher. You were the one that excited us about what we were doing and gave us the confidence to push our own boundaries and grow into the teachers you saw deep down inside of us.

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Jen O
11/07/2010 19:30

Everyone brings up a lot of great points!

To add a new topic, one of the things I would have appreciated more knowledge of coming in to my first year of teaching was how to best keep, organize, analyze and use the data that schools so much depend on - from standardized testing to individual classrooms. I haven't really had time to sit down and figure out the alignment of our most recent standardized test and what the scores can tell me or mean. On the other hand, I know other teachers that have come out of the Teach for America Corps who have been trained to show that they are personally being effective with their data, aligning scores to their own objectives and to state/national standards. I feel like being able to have this data at a moment's notice to back up what I "feel" is effective would be beneficial and more convincing.

I feel like this should have been part of our EPSY class, and maybe it was and I just didn't realize how much schools depend on these scores for students at the time. But maybe having access to a template to keep personal data would help starting out teachers. (Although slightly adding more work to our desks)

On that note - stress management/time management would also be great topics. A course titled "Being a first year teacher but still trying to have a life" perhaps? Pardon my sarcasm. :-)

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Jeff C
11/07/2010 20:43

I would like to ditto classroom management and differentiation. I'm not sure if this falls into the category of input you were looking for, but I do remember the stress of the actual job search. We discussed many aspects of the job search, but I think if we could've dedicated time to typical interview questions, more practice interviews, etc., that would be very beneficial.

I also think the special education classes we took could've been more useful. From what I remember about them...well...I don't really remember anything about them, which tells me I didn't learn much from them. Since we all have kids with IEPs and 504s, and they affect our classroom in so many ways, it would've been nice to have a little more practical experience or understanding in these areas.

Just a few ideas. If I think of anything else, I'll post more!

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Nick A
11/08/2010 04:21

Forgive me if I repeat anything someone else has said, I didn't read this whole thread.

There are a few things that I wish I knew how to do better. I struggle with moving on with curriculum while helping other students that may be starting to fall behind. Finding ways to differentiate my instruction and use other basic interventions for falling behind students would work well, but I think the majority of us as newer teachers struggle with the actual implementation of these types of interventions.

Something that would also be helpful for newer teachers are trainings on different math based activities that may be useful in their classroom. A variety of activities can help keep students engaged while helping with classroom management.

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Adam
11/08/2010 06:44

You guys are great. I really appreciate your thoughtful responses and will still love to hear more if others are hopping on this site.

Teaching is a demanding career. It is not easy, but the potential for impact is so great. I am trying to ask myself: "What experiences and training in pre-service education actually make a difference? Which activities/projects actually have the greatest potential to pay dividends for teachers later on?" ICTM is asking "What can we do as an organization to help new teachers continue to grow and feel supported in the profession?" We NEED great teachers...but the demands of the job in the early years can be too overwhelming for new teachers at times.

Here is one of my struggles...We learn best when we have a "have a reason or a need to know about it". Trying to incorporate so many things into a pre-service program seems hard b/c it is basically saying..."in the future, you may have students like this, so let's talk about it now"...Instead of real-time learning that takes place in the present..."I have a student who..., how can I...." Obviously this is why most of you report that you learned more in student teaching than the previous years in the program.

I hear a strong need for more specifics in general...more specific examples of differentiation and working with special education students, more specific examples of ways to teach specific math content, more specific exemplary activities, more specific ways to use assessment data,..

I also hear a strong need for more experiences with classroom management, more experiences planning lessons quickly, more experiences dealing with students with high needs, more experiences preparing for the job search,...

I in no way believe that a pre-service program will be able to train teachers to just head into their first years totally competent and equipped to deal with the realities of the job....but I do believe they can be "better" prepared...I will continue to strive for "better"...

I strongly believe that support networks for new teachers is vital...I feel for Jenny who is all alone in a new school...but Jenny, it sounds like you are keeping in touch with others, keep doing that!

Continue to seek professional development...reading books, attending conferences, talking with more experienced teachers.... Your journey has just begun.

So, I'd love to still hear more if people want to add more comments. This is an important discussion.

I will be thinking more and posting some additional thoughts later...

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Addi
11/08/2010 07:16

Things that I could have used more support in...

Grading. This is probably my least favorite aspect of the job. As the year has gone by though, I've learned to grade work more efficiently. Things like warm-ups and homework are completely graded before I leave on Friday and tests and quizzes now have specific directions on where to place answers and what work to show. I know we practiced grading the two students' quizzes and compared as a class, but I feel like we could have done more with that.

Parents. Keeping in touch with parents is difficult, but its something I try to keep up with. Fortunately for me, the parents at my school are all very nice a very helpful (99% of the time). But it might be good to discuss how we bring up issues with parents and when should we call or email, etc.

And I'd like to echo all the comments on technology and classroom management. I definitely think it would be worthwhile to read Harry Wong's book at some point. I found myself with a copy of brief hints and tips and have used a quite a few that have been incredibly helpful!

If I think of anything else I'll be sure to post again.

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JohnBensonMath
11/08/2010 10:27

Thank you so much for your comments. The ICTM board meets this weekend and we will discuss your needs and we will do something to help. If you have further comments about what we can do to help RIGHT NOW, please let us know, either by posting here or by sending me an email at j-benson2@comcast.net. We are particularly interested in how we can keep this conversation going. What format is going to be easiest for us to share suggestions and resources?
Again, thanks for you thoughts. You have chosen to do important work, but learning to do it well is very difficult.

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Bob U
11/09/2010 12:09

New teachers are coming into the profession better prepared than ever before. But because teaching is an Art and NOT a Science, it takes a lot of mentoring and PD to perfect ones craft. My district provides new teachers with monthly training meetings to go over curriculum and best teaching strategies. Teachers are also trained in CRISS and Cooperative Learning. We have had our own teachers do hand-held graphing calculator training. In addition, a department member is assigned as a mentor to help with pedagogical content knowledge. As a DC, I try to encourage PD through local professional organizations like ICTM and MMC.

The three areas which come up a lot that sometimes do not get covered in all of the above mentioned training are:
How to improve classroom management to increase student engagement?
Which types of technology improves instruction?
How to motivate the unmotivated student?

We have a lot of brilliant minds in our local network. If all of the ideas could be collected into a single document it could be something quite special.




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Adam
11/09/2010 12:43

It seems like "trying to motivate the unmotivated student" is a topic I encounter again and again with both pre-service teachers and new in-service teachers.

I am curious as to what new teachers would like to learn more about here:

1. Building positive relationships
2. Motivating through engaging instruction and lesson plans
3. Tips and tricks to get students doing more math in class (games, practice strategies, Lists of creative ways to get students practicing math in a more fun context (Sue and Randy Pippen are great resources here)
4. Learning ways to try and have meaningful conversations with unmotivated students? (I guess this would fit under building positive relationships)

??????????

It seems like a neat opportunity would be to have a few one-day mini retreats(Saturday?) that new teachers could come, meet other new educators, and attend some workshops that were specifically targeted to some of their biggest needs. Those that attended each retreat would of course get an awesome T-shirt :)

It seems like some districts provide pretty good support, like Bob's above, while others employ the ol' sink or swim approach...



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John Benson
11/13/2010 08:19

Would you, as a new teacher, attend a day long, or two day long conference in Springfield that was aimed at new teachers? This would be next October.

If you would attend, what would you want to happen?

If not, what can ICTM do that would be of help?

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George Reese link
11/13/2010 11:14

Thank you for your terrific posts, we're talking about these issues now at the ICTM board meeting.

We hope to keep these discussions going. -George Reese

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KSmith
11/13/2010 11:43

Greetings All, I am at the ICTM Board meeting and have just finished reading your messages on this blog. It is wonderful to hear about all of you how are in the classroom. I hope you are all doing well and prospering. If the cohort ever meets on campus I would love to stop by and see you all.

I would love to respond to some of your questions and concerns, but at this moment I am suppose to be listening to the meeting....

I am more than happy to help any and all of you find and write grants. Email me. I also have lots of ways to think about setting up a gradebook.

My parting words are that you need to have at least one night a week (Monday-Thursday) where you leave ALL work and school and just veg at home.

Thanks for being teachers. Kathleen

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Angela D
01/07/2011 06:19

Things I learned really well from my teacher training program:
1. How to write differentiated and interesting lessons that contained strong openings and conclusions for the class.
2. How to address the needs of a wide variety of students.
3. The importance of enthusiasm for your job and your students.
4. How to work well with other teachers.
5. Various kinds of technology and how to incorporate it in the classroom.
6. Scaffolding
7. Writing good test questions

Things I wish we could have spent more time on:
1. Classroom management techniques.
2. Discussions about the pros and cons of various classroom policies and procedures.
3. Details that professional teachers need to know, like what are the college readiness standards, should I become involved in the union, am I allowed to give different students different assignments, how to prepare for formal observations...

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Adam Poetzel
01/10/2011 10:13

Thus far, here are some of the more pervasive "big topics" that are addressed in previous posts:

BIG TOPICS:

1.Classroom Management

a.Dealing with Tough Situations (not losing one’s cool)
b.Role Playing; What would you do if…. (pros & cons)
c.Grading Policies…weights? Best practices?
d.Preparing for the first day of School (Harry Wong)
e.Tips for dealing with parents

2.Differentiated Instruction

a.Specific classroom examples and strategies
b.Helping students who fall behind
c.Specific ways to explain math concepts in different, creative ways
d.Specific strategies for working with Special needs students
e.Making Test Prep more enjoyable & meaningful for all

3.Time/Stress Management

a.Create effective lesson plans quickly and efficiently
b.Have access to exemplary lessons, sharing
c."Being a first year teacher but still trying to have a life"

4.Technology

a.Teaching with SmartBoards in Math

5.Ongoing Professional Development

a.Graduate School Options
b.Writing Grants
c.Collecting, Organizing, and Using Classroom/School Data

6.Job Search

a.Practicing more Interview Questions
b.Preparing Essays for Job applications

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