Category: First Year Teachers

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For Pre-Service Teachers: What You Need to Know About the Praxis Exam

While on the pathway to becoming a teacher, “Praxis” is a word you’ll hear a lot. But what is it? Is it a certification? A methodology? An evaluation? What is this thing that seems to bear so much weight on your future as a teacher?

“Praxis” is the shorthand for the “Professional Assessments for Beginning Teachers.” These assessments come in the form of a series of tests – an unsurprising thing to find in the field of education. Whether you are considering a traditional teacher education program or an alternate-route program, it’s important to understand the Praxis series of tests. Praxis was developed by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) as a means of putting theory into practice. These tests are taken at different points in the certification process. Most states require a prospective teacher to take some form of standardized test in order to obtain a certification. The Praxis series of tests is the most commonly administered test. Forty-three states require the completion of an assessment in the teacher certification process, and 35 of the 43 use the Praxis series. The Praxis tests include the following:

Praxis I measures basic skills like writing, reading, and mathematics.

Praxis II measures subject-specific knowledge and skills that are required for teaching. It also includes the Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT) test, which is a performance- based test completed during or after student teaching.

Praxis III measures classroom performance during the first year of teaching. The candidate is directly observed and participates in structured interviews.

Each state has its own testing requirements and specifies which test or combination of tests should be taken for licensure and certification purposes. However, the most common combination is passage of the Praxis I and II, which can be taken on paper or on the computer.

Most teacher education programs provide test prep materials for the Praxis exams. Some may even provide prep classes or other forms of support. Check with your classmates to see if anyone’s created a Praxis study group, and check online for any resources available to you locally or on the Internet. There are very few “make or break” tests in life, but the Praxis series is one of them. You want to make sure that you understand what each will test and that you are as prepared as possible for the evaluation!

Check out all our posts for First Year Teachers here. 

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Finding Support in Your First Year of Teaching

In any profession you’ll find professional groups and networks to support and encourage new professionals, as well as groups of experienced professionals seeking to advance in their profession. This 
is known in the corporate world as networking. The teaching profession has several support groups 
that provide information, consultation, and much-needed encouragement for the new teacher. Especially during your first year of teaching, it’s incredibly important to have an adequate support network. Good people to incorporate into your network include:

1. Counselors

Students often have to cope with difficulties, such as death, divorce, and mental and physical abuse, which can affect their academic performance. When a teacher notices signs indicating that a student is suffering from any difficulty, whether personal or physiological, it’s wise to consult with a school nurse or a school counselor who can assist in uncovering the underlying problem in a sensitive and appropriate way. Teachers normally receive plenty of support when dealing with various student problems.

2. Administrative Staff

The principal of a school often provides wonderful support and assistance to teachers, especially when disciplining misbehaving children in middle grades and high school. The principal also guides a teacher in getting to know the support staff through formal or informal meetings.

3. School Secretary

The school secretary helps the new teacher understand the school policies and assists in getting to know the rules concerning photocopying, borrowing LCD or overhead projectors, knowing where to get school supplies, and maintaining attendance records.

4. Colleagues

Fellow teachers are an important part of the support network and are very important to the new teacher. They provide mentoring, counsel, and general information about classroom management, and they help familiarize the new teacher with the rules of the school. They also help new teachers locate teaching resources in the school.

5. Professional and Specialty Organizations

Apart from school support staff, the new teacher can benefit from the many professional and specialty organizations that support the teaching profession. Professional organizations provide information, networking opportunities, and research. Specialty organizations are those that represent specific areas of interest within the profession. For example, the Association for Childhood Education International is a forum for elementary and middle-grade teachers. The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and the American Association of Physics Teachers are examples of excellent forums for teachers at the secondary level.

6. International Organizations

Several international organizations serve the field of education. Phi Delta Kappa International (PDK), for example, publishes professional materials, such as research reports and results of surveys and newsletters, and also sponsors workshops and educational meetings that enhance the entire field of education.

Just like with interviews, it may take practice to figure out how to best approach people you wish to incorporate into your personal and professional network. Be polite, be proactive, and you’ll populate your support group in no time!

Check out all our posts for First Year Teachers here. 

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6 Reasons to Respect Teaching as a Profession

Do you think teaching is a profession?

According to Webster’s Dictionary, a profession is defined as “a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation.” Ballantine and Spade list six characteristics that distinguish a profession from other occupations. These characteristics can help answer that question.

  1. Are there credential and licensing requirements for aspiring teachers? American teachers are required to have a teaching license. Credentialing is handled by individual states.

Granted, there are alternative certification programs, such as Teach for America. These types of programs allow graduates from various fields (including graduates from schools of education) to participate in intensive preparatory programs lasting several weeks to enable them to join the teaching workforce. Because of these programs, increased numbers of teachers are available. However, some of these teachers might lack much-needed pedagogical skills.

Every state has a process for conferring teaching credentials (licensure) to pre-service teachers who have completed the state requirements for teaching certification. The process may include graduating from an accredited teacher education program and passing teaching licensure exams. When states experience a shortage of teachers, they can issue emergency licensure to college graduates who want to educate students but haven’t met all of the state requirements for licensure. Emergency licensure or credentials are given on the assumption that these teachers will be able to pass the state licensure exam or complete the required coursework.

To find out more, you’ll need to research your state requirements for teacher licensure. Your state’s department of education Web site will have this information. The teacher licensure requirements vary from state to state, so a lot of states have reciprocity agreements that make it fairly easy for educators who hold licensure in one state to gain licensure in another state. Over 40 states have pledged to follow this process, and in many cases it’s as easy as filling out a few forms. In others, the process can be more tedious. To know whether your state has a reciprocity agreement, visit its department of education Web site.

  1. Do U.S. schools have induction and mentoring programs for new teachers? Several programs make it easier for new teachers to adjust to their careers. In the United States, the Improving Teacher Quality State Grants Program provides nearly $3 billion per year to states to train, recruit, and prepare new teachers. The main provisions of these funds are the implementation of teacher induction programs. The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 also provides grants that facilitate teacher induction and mentoring programs for new teachers.

Mentorship relationships are also common, with experienced teachers mentoring new or beginning teachers during their first year of teaching.

  1. Do U.S. schools offer professional development support and opportunities? In the United States, most schools provide their teachers with regular professional development opportunities. These opportunities include workshops and other activities organized internally by the school or externally by other professional organizations. Teachers may also choose to participate in professional development voluntarily by enrolling in courses at a local college or university.
  2. Are there specializations within the teaching profession? In the U.S. school system, specializations are determined by the grade level and the subjects teachers are certified to teach. An elementary teacher’s training differs significantly from a secondary school teacher’s. And at the secondary level, teachers are more specialized by subject matter; for example, a biology teacher’s training necessarily differs from a French teacher’s.
  3. Are teachers well compensated? There is ongoing debate about the adequacy of teacher salaries. The gap between starting salaries and end-of-career salaries for teachers is significant, so there is room for promotion and increase in salary for teachers who want to advance their careers.
  4. Do teachers enjoy prestige and high social standing? The teaching profession has average prestige and social standing when compared to other professions. Teachers are considered less prestigious than physicians, attorneys, and engineers, but have higher social standing than police, bank tellers, and social workers.

Note that all six criteria are satisfied to some extent. Whatever else you may think about teaching, it may certainly be considered a profession.

Check out all our posts for First Year Teachers here. 

 

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The First Year Teaching: Classroom rules and routines

Student defiance is a particularly unpleasant experience for all teachers, new and experienced. As a new teacher, you might be tempted to take the belligerent actions personally but it’s important to approach such situations with a rational, non-emotional stance. You want to avoid a chaotic classroom atmosphere where the actions of one (or a few) students lead the others to believe that defiant behavior is acceptable. It is common for new teachers to worry about defiant students, but by insisting students have control over their behaviors, you can avoid this unpleasantness. Here are some ways to approach the issue of classroom rules and routines and keep a peaceful classroom.

Be proactive

Don’t wait for the first defiant student to decide how you will handle the situation. Aim to start your teaching career by establishing defined routines and rules, which you can work on together with your students in the first few days of class. When your students are involved in defining these aspects of classroom life, they will be more likely to adhere to them as they will understand why each aspect is important.

Encourage collaboration in your classroom by helping students to work with and help each other. One example of good cooperation would be if you and your students work together on developing a reward system. Let us assume there are a maximum of 50 minutes in a school day which a student could have as free time. You and your students could make a chart to list “good” behaviors, focusing on how the 50 minutes of free time could be earned. “Helping a classmate in need” might be agreed to deserve 10 minutes, “organizing my desk” deserves five minutes, and so on. Alternatively, students could be divided into groups to discuss the matter, and come up with a poster outlining their ideas. Students could present their posters to other students and decide which ideas to include.

Active participation, including group work with other students and social environments, is essential when it comes to students’ learning. Avoid thinking that silence in the classroom means students are concentrating and perfectly absorbing the new materials.  Indeed, discussion and group work helps students delve deeper into their learning materials.  Some students might find it easier to ask questions to just a few of their classmates rather than speaking out in front of the whole class. An interactive classroom enhances learning for everyone, and you should be open to gaining new insights from your students. Active participation contributes to enhancing the thought process in students, since participation cannot arise without personal reflection on the topic.

Establish routine

It could be said that most classroom activities are governed by routines. From taking attendance to jumping out of seats at the last bell, students are to follow the routines made by the school, as well as individual teachers.  You should aim to find ways to cut down on time needed for simple routines, such as initially having your students grouped in alphabetical order early in the year to make taking attendance easier.  Although students might make changes regarding their seats after the first few days, consider distributing a seating chart diagram and having students write down their names on the corresponding spot. Have a seating chart on your desk and also a pocket size one which you can carry with you when moving around the classroom.

The earlier you set the routine and allow your students time to adjust to it, the more time you will save in the long run.  Before deciding on the routines, to save students from confusion, consult with other teachers or an official school handbook to know the basic protocols.  Most schools will have the basic set, so asking these questions is a good idea:

  1. How are attendance checks conducted and how should they be reported?
  2. What are the steps that need to be taken in the following cases: tardy students, sick and/or physically hurt students, students who cannot return home due to parents’ tardiness and/or missing the bus, students who have to be dismissed early, and seriously misbehaving students who need further discipline actions?
  3. How does the hall pass system work?
  4. How should failing grades be reported?
  5. What are the procedures for using common school items and/or booking special rooms?
  6. How should teachers deal with serious misbehavior such as cheating or stealing?
  7. How should individual parent visits and parent-teacher meetings be conducted?

Routines for checking attendance and collecting or distributing assignments need to be well established too. To get the students settled quickly at the beginning of the class, it is recommended that you give short tasks to students. One good way is to have a question on the board when students enter the room, then request that the students take their seats and start working on it quietly.

Why rules benefit students

Students appreciate knowing what actions and behaviors are allowed and which are not. Make consequences evident to your students so that they are able to appreciate the potential seriousness of their actions. Although these limits will prevent students from misbehaving, too many strict rules are unnecessary. Adjust your rules for each class to take into account the various characteristics of individuals.  Just like routines, teachers should discuss the limits with the students and make applicable changes when they make sense.

It is more convenient to have a several rules that are general, instead of making numerous detailed ones.  Some examples could include the following:

  • Teachers should ask students to be ready to learn, just as teachers are ready to teach. That includes actions from students like discontinuing talking when the class is about to begin and to always be prepared with their supplies.
  • When students come in, they should take their seats and start working on warm-up exercises.
  • Be polite and respectful to others.  This includes things such as not disturbing the class, not stealing other’s property, and not making fun of other students.

Teachers have to make sure that students know and fully understand the rules and then teachers should give a clear explanation of the consequences.  In some cases, teachers may administer a test to check the student understanding of the rules.  To remind students of the rules, teachers could have a copy hanging in the classroom where every student can see it, and should give copies to students and/or their parents as well

When the rules and consequences are determined and understood by students, the first step to a well-managed classroom has been put in place.

Check out all our posts for First Year Teachers here. 

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The First Year Teaching: How do I involve parents and the community?

Teachers are often the first line of defense when it comes to their students overall well-being. Academics aside, teachers have a big responsibility to students, both legally and ethically. So how can teachers involve other people outside their profession to enrich the lives and academic success of their students?

Be aware of civic support. 

Ernst Boyer, a former U.S. Commissioner of Education, once said, “Perhaps the time has come to organize, in every community, not just a school board, but a children’s board.  The goal would be to integrate children’s services and build, in every community, a friendly, supportive environment for children.”  As his quote explains, to address the social problems prevalent in many areas of America, different parts of communities must come together for the good of students. The goal is not only to nurture the next generation, but also to keep children at risk out of trouble by using the community as a resource.

Civic organizations play a big role in helping with additional funding to improve the quality of education (i.e. in Pittsburgh, The American Jewish Committee and the Urban League work to raise funds).  Sponsors’ aid is not limited to funding, but extends to resources and services as well.

Some groups concentrate on specific demographics, not confined to a particular geographical region.  One example is Concerned Black Men (CBM), which is a group of mentors setting positive male role models for metropolitan African American male youth.  Based in Washington D.C., the CBM has 15 divisions and more than 500 African American volunteers from various fields. The CBM mentors go through training, assist teachers and run after-school programs for children. The program has been successful in motivating students to stay out of trouble, and has offered scholarships to more than 4,000 youth. This is just one example and there are surely more that address your particular students.

Tap your local business community.

The local business community can offer wide-ranging support: from funding for school materials, political lobbying for education reform, scholarships, job search help for underprivileged students, and even school building construction. Projects sponsored by business firms tend to be very specific to the local need. A good example is Minneapolis, where General Mills provided funding to create the Minneapolis Federation of Alternative Schools.  Businesses have a vested interest in the community where students are learning and are often willing to help with finances and resources.

Seek out parent volunteers.

Families influence children in many aspects, and academics are no exception. Every child’s first network is the family and even though  teachers are “second parents” to children, families and schools do not always work well together.

James P. Comer, a child psychiatrist has said, “In the most severely dysfunctional schools, parents, teachers and administrators don’t like, trust or respect one another.” This distrust leads to a school environment where no one takes the responsibility for the disturbed learning environment and students do not gain much from school. This failed environment will just worsen the situation where teachers and parents blame each other and show animosity.

Teachers need to first change their mindsets, from regarding parents as sources of frustration whom they merely have to tolerate to cooperative parties in all aspects of student education. When such attitudes are not changed, families can become very distant from the teachers. For a student to develop into a responsible citizen while receiving an education, teachers and parents are actually the natural allies. Parents may not be inclined to think of teachers in such way, especially when teachers already have low opinions of the students.

Instead of actively getting involved at school, some parents especially African-American, Asian and Mexican parents see their roles as helping a school by assisting children with school work at home.  Bear this in mind and do not be inclined to interpret this reluctance to get involved in their children’s school as disinterest in their child’s school life. Encourage these parents to be active in all aspects of the learning process.

Comer says that although teachers should encourage parents’ involvement, teachers need to learn to respect different types and different levels of parental involvement, and lack of parental involvement cannot ever be blamed for failure. Parental involvement can assist the learning atmosphere in taking a big leap forward and when the teachers and parents learn to work together, children are the beneficiaries.

Check out all our posts for First Year Teachers here.