Biggest Areas of Growth for Today’s Teachers
Over the past 6 months I have had the joy of coaching over a dozen administrators around the U.S. In our coaching we always focus on a goal that will result in improving student learning. In nearly all coaching sessions, the school leader has chosen a theme that involved helping their teachers to grow. Below are the categories that have repeatedly come up as the biggest areas of growth for their educators. I recognize that this is not exhaustive, but does represent a trend for educators in the U.S.
Classroom management
Student behaviors have always been a challenge. Taking a group of 15-35 peers, whether they are 7 or 17, will typically result in distracting conversations, difficult actions, and disruptions. Many adults themselves have a hard time of being quiet and sitting for long periods of time, how much more difficult is it for younger people?
When two more elements are added to this situation, you have a recipe for a very difficult learning environment to manage. The first is shrinking attention spans. While it seems very normal for kids of all ages to have access to their own electronic devices, this has severely lowered attention spans for young people. Now, we all have a desire to be entertained, being a student in the classroom is no exception. Supporting kids in being focused is an uphill battle, but some of the best teachers I have observed are able to divide their classes into 10 minute lessons and activities. This not only keeps students engaged, but also interested in learning.
The second element is a change in public decency. Teachers were once much more revered in, but bad publicity, politicians using educators as scape goats, and a lack of respect have all damaged the value of the profession. If we mix in how poor behaving people often are in the media, it is no surprise that people are not treating our teachers with respect.
When combining these social issues with a classroom context and a profession that is seeing massive turnover, it should be no surprise that classroom management is such a big issue. The behaviors of parents, students, and teachers are shifting, making the learning environment a more challenging place to actually learn.
Innovative teaching and best practices
In many schools there seems to be a split in generations of our teachers. Many staff are either in their 50s or 20s. Having a diversity of ages in a profession is a great thing, but there seems to be not nearly as many teachers who are in between.
This can sometimes lead to stagnate practices. Over and over I hear about teachers using lectures, slides, and “sit and get” approaches to instructing. The result is less authentic learning, and just less learning overall.
In order for our students to learn, our teachers must first be learners. To accomplish this, leaders must create an environment and culture where utilizing best practices is a part of the school’s DNA. This means setting time and funding for teacher training, celebrating examples of best practices, and modeling the behaviors that you want to see in your staff as an administrator.
Yes, lecturing can be a strategy for keeping students quiet and in their seats, but that does not always equate learning. When teachers can implement best practices for instruction and hands-on learning, you will also see a marked improvement in classroom management. The students are simply too caught up in the lesson to be messing around. Is this view idealistic? Maybe. However, administrators have reported over and over again that these two things are best when they go hand in hand.
Teacher retention
As noted in this post, retention has been a massive problem, and the problem is only growing. Teacher turnover is at unprecedented levels and it is not slowing down. The rate of teacher turnover has increased since 2018 by 4% to about 16% nationwide. That’s incredible!
We know the power of income, leadership, and opportunity on teacher turnover, but there is a new factor we must consider - maturity.
Age is not necessarily the issue here, but of course it plays a factor. But, experience in the profession and with life play a huge role in teacher turnover. Some admin that I have coached have a staff that are mostly on 1 year teacher licenses as they are all emergency hires and career changers. This is an incredibly difficult position to be in as a teacher and a leader. From my experience, it takes at least 3 years for a teacher to really have their own footing and feeling comfortable in the profession. When most teachers are staying less than 3 years, turnover only increases.
How can we help lower teacher retention rates? This is the billion dollar question. In many cases, administrators are limited in what they can actually do. However, helping teachers to mature through the profession can play a very large role.
What can be done about this?
These issues can feel overwhelming and insurmountable. Staff keep getting younger and so do the admin. This is not necessarily bad, but when it is due to turnover, it can lead to lower skilled educators in schools.
The most effective practice that I have seen to address these issues is Peer-Group Mentoring. It is a program that calls on the collective wisdom and experience of a group to help all of its members grow and mature. Think of it as collective upskilling that also develops the right mindsets of all staff members involved.
The next post will be on Peer-Group Mentoring, how to implement it, and its impact on schools. Teaching and leading is not getting any easier, but it can be much improved when the culture and the group are moving together in the same direction.