In their first year of teaching, new teachers often find themselves lifted by their own idealism but weighed down by real struggles with routines and practices around lesson planning, classroom management, collegiality, and mentorship. As the gulf between fantasy and reality widens, disillusionment can also mount over the course of the year, leading some newcomers to simply fall out of love with teaching, despite their deep investment. They, instead, look for a way out.
There’s a better way to help support new teachers, McREL CEO Bryan Goodwin writes in his latest Research Matters column for ASCD’s Educational Leadership magazine. Many studies of high-performing schools and satisfied teachers show that providing scaffolded supports for new teachers, such as classroom management resources, lesson plans, and mentoring or peer coaching, goes a long way toward building resilience, reducing teacher turnover, and keeping the love for teaching alive.
