The overarching purpose of the UTeach Blended Learning New Teacher Support Program is to support teachers in the first critical years of teaching. An integral part of the program is its emphasis on providing one-on-one and small group intensive support to first-year teachers since the first three years are critical for teacher retention. Teacher recruitment and retention are ever-growing issues, so to address this difficult problem and increase retention rates, the UTeach Blended Learning New Teacher Support Program provides extensive “on-demand” induction support to new teachers.
UTeach Blended Learning New Teacher Support makes the following assumptions:
- Teachers new to the teaching profession need from one to three years of support to develop expertise in the teaching field.
- New teacher support should include a variety of synchronous and asynchronous opportunities to accommodate teacher schedules.
- Sufficient resources and experience with blended learning are needed to deliver appropriate, personalized induction support to novice teachers.
Support elements embedded throughout the UTeach Blended Learning New Teacher Support Program:
Canvas Interaction (4 hours/month x 10 months)
- Blended Learning Activities/Artifacts embedded within Interactive Journal
- Teacher Wellness
- Classroom Management for Blended Learning
- Brainstorming
- Interactive Journal Reflections
- Discussions
- Teacher Data Collection for Blended Learning
- Blended Learning Models and Implementation of Best Practices
Collaborative Support Meetings
- Zoom Meetings (1 hour/month x 10 months)
Coaching
- Blended Learning Observations using the UTeach Blended Learning Checklist: One pre-conference/observation/post-conference (POP) cycle per semester (3 hours/semester x 2)
- Small group check-ins (2 hours/month x 10 months)
- Office Hours
- Mentorship and Induction Support Specialist
- T-TESS evaluation including Blended Learning components will be woven into support mechanisms
Additional Optional Support with Mentoring
- Mentor Training and Support
- Training over POP cycle for Mentor Teachers