Research+Question+(point+form)


 * Research Question: **
 * “What are teachers’ experiences with induction?”
 * Hypothesis: **
 * New teacher find mentoring programs inaccessible.
 * They (teachers, mentors, mentees) found value in their teacher induction program
 * Terms of reference: **
 * Teacher - someone holding a BC College of Teachers Certificate
 * Experience - involvement which leads to struggles and/or successes in teaching
 * Induction – Induction is the support and guidance provided to new [|teachers] in the early stages of their careers. Induction encompasses orientation to the workplace, socialization, [|mentoring], and guidance through beginning teacher practice.
 * Mentor – an experience educator involved with in induction with a less experienced educator
 * Why did we choose this question?: **
 * Recognize the struggles of student teachers which continue through the initial years of in-service experience
 * There is a variation in experience within and between school districts
 * As educational leaders, we wanted to see how we can effectively support new teachers in their first years of teaching
 * To gain a better understanding of the issue of teacher induction
 * Educational resources are becoming scarce and we are wondering whether teacher induction is being implemented in an efficient manner and whether the implications produce and effective use of resources
 * Who is this research for? **
 * new (beginning) teachers - for beginning teachers to understand the support systems that are available/unavailable
 * veterans teachers/mentors (formal/informal) - for experienced teachers to understand how to support beginning teachers at their schools
 * school district because they are putting time/money/staffing into it - given limited resources, districts want to ensure that the people that they hire are feeling supported, will learn the best skills and stay on with the school districts
 * Administrators - to gain a better understanding of how to best support beggining teachers
 * Teachers - Poorly trained teachers are requiring more resources that is taking away from the classroom

OLD STUFF BELOW:


 * "What are new teachers experiences with induction programs" **

"How does the availability/implemented of mentoring affect the new teacher teacher experience"

"What motivates a teacher to participate in areas beyond teaching."

From discussion in class on Oct. 17:

Question: What is the relationship between job satisfaction and extracurricular participation?


 * __Terms of reference__:**

-engagement -enjoys going to work
 * Job Satisfaction:** -happiness


 * Extracurricular**: According to the Collective Agreement - Darren is this from the VSB collective agreement or BCTF?

Article 20.9.2

In this agreement, extracurricular programs and activities include all those that are beyond the provincially prescribed and locally determined curricular of the school.

Defining "beyond teaching" (narrowing our scope):

-Agata
 * coaching a sports team (soccer, basketball, gymnastics, cheer, wrestling)
 * leading a club (poetry, debate, social justice, scrabble)
 * ...does this include not necessarily extra-curricular in the traditional sense, but additional activities such as teacher leadership (department heads) or professional development opportunities that some teachers take on (for example, I am part of an Assessment For Learning study team, and I report back to the staff after I attend monthly meetings)? In other words, are we focusing specifically on areas beyond teaching that involve students only??

I agree we need to include the non-traditional participation - ie. study groups or network What about teachers who participate in union, PSA councils or presenting at conferences?

Roz

I would include ANYTHING that is done outside of classroom teaching or curriculum delivery. i.e. Anything that is part of "School", but not necessarily part of "Education".

Defining what is "beyond" will be definately part of our research and finding, but should the //focus// remain as the motivating factors to going "beyond". For the "How others can further our research" bit of the final product we can talk about how one can look into cultivating and encouraging those aspects that we discover that motivate teachers to go "beyond."

I think it's a great idea to look into the cultivating/encouraging for our final product. I think this will tie into what keeps teachers IN the profession (a spin from teacher attrition rates).

I also think we should look at the Education Act or some similar document to see if extra-curricular activities are required in our job descriptions. As a personal example, every teacher at my school is required to partake in 2 extra-curricular activities per year. How about you guys?