PK-16 ~ A University and School District Partnership Model for Advanced Beginner Teacher Mentoring and Support
Research consistently demonstrates the importance of support during the first years to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers. This UW-Stout PK-16 partnership model expands that support by providing systematic training and support for initial educators in their second through fifth years. The project involves a learning community of initial educators, their mentors, and faculty from the UW-Stout School of Education and College of Arts and Sciences. A summer institute for second year educators provides participants with the opportunity to utilize a variety of inputs to analyze their own teaching and to construct professional development plans (PDP). University faculty are matched with participants based on the initial educator’s PDP goals and individualized consultation plans are developed to support the activities specified in participant’s PDPs. Support is provided throughout the academic year, including a minimum of four on-site consultations between the consultant, initial educator, and district mentor and a web-based discussion board. Beginning in project year two, a second summer institute will provide initial educators in their third-fifth training and support to review and revise their PDP and design strategies to assess their professional development and the impact on student learning. UW-Stout IHE faculty serve as the participant’s Institute of Higher Education (IHE) PDP reviewers.
This project involves authentic involvement of IHE faculty/staff from education, arts, and sciences, in collaboration with local education agencies in initial educator Professional Development planning and implementation, and evaluation of the impact on student learning.