The Impact of New Induction - Case Study Example

In an effective mentoring program, teachers receive formal and informal advice that will help them to develop pedagogy skills. For example, in order for a teacher who begins with a Standard Professional 1 license and wants to progress to the Standard Professional 2 license after three years, an enhancement plan, which includes planning amongst the principals, mentors (exemplary teachers), and beginners, is implemented. This plan is meant to establish goals and strategies and to assess the teacher’s knowledge and skills in his or her professional licensure area.

During the course of the year, the teacher’s skills are monitored and regular conferences are held that reflect and seek better pedagogical approaches. Areas that need improvement are addressed in conferences. These plans are dubbed as Individual Growth Plans and reviewed as per the NC Title II monitoring process (NC State Board of Education [NCSBE], 2006).Senior teachers who are designated by the No Child Left Behind Act 2001 as exemplary teachers assist new teachers.  This is only practical as more experienced colleagues should initiate support for new teachers.

 This allows for enhanced teaching methods and explanation on how to improve skills.  For practical reasons, NCLB allows administrators and high-ranking teachers to recommend and nominate mentors (Murphy, 2010).Although these plans appear sound, to understand them in scrutiny requires in-depth analysis.  First, beginning teachers should focus strictly on their assigned area and avoid other activities not related to the teachers’ profession. Even school-related activities are discouraged as they may allow unwanted conditions to emerge, such as distractions and exhaustion.

Such activities are known as non-instructional duties, efforts “that are not directly involved with the instructional program or the implementation of the standard course of study, but that all teachers are expected to do” (NCSBE, 2006, p. 2).