Great Teaching and Leading Fund Final Annual Report

Nevada Department of Education Superintendent of Public Instruction

A Collaborative Pyramid Supporting Professional Development, Teacher Leadership and Teacher Retention:

Phase 2

September 2017-June 2018

Submitted, October 31, 2018

by

Linda F. Quinn & Lois Paretti

for

University of Nevada, Las Vegas,

Clark County School District

Sierra Nevada College

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National University

Table of ContentsI. Summary…………………………………………………………………………………..…2-5

Program Name and Overall Goals/Objectives of Program………………………………2

Abstract and Results Overview…………………………………………………………..4

Next Steps………………………………………………………………………… …4-5

II. Grant Funded Activities……………………………………………………………… ….6-7

III. Budget Summary…………………………………………………………………………….8

Appendix A—Seminar Agenda and Activities……………………………………………….9-17

Appendix B Data Analysis of Surveys and Content Analysis of Coaching Visits………......18-24

Appendix C—Budget Expenditure Summary…………………………………………………...25

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I. SummaryA Collaborative Pyramid Supporting Professional Development, Teacher Leadership and

Teacher Retention: Phase 2

Goals/Objectives: To Increase the retention rate of teachers in Nevada

To establish a process for inducting first-year teachers into the profession who will ultimately become effective educators and teacher leaders of the future.

At the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year, twenty first-year teachers and forty-seven second year teachers participated in the Collaborative Pyramid. These teachers were recruited from teacher licensure programs at Sierra Nevada College (SNC), National University (NU), Clark County School District (CCSD) and University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). The coordinators of the program attributed the low number of first-year teacher participants to the overwhelming requirements for teachers at the beginning of the school year. These requirements are specifically daunting for new Alternative Route to Licensure (ARL) new teachers who have little or no experience in classrooms and in schools at the beginning of the year. The coordinators were, however, extremely pleased with the number of second-year teachers who signed up to participate in the project. Many of the teachers chose to remain as teachers and continue their professional growth. This second-year participation indicated that teachers found the seminars in the previous year helpful and that they were still in the teaching force in Nevada.

To create teacher professional learning communities

Fifteen experienced teachers were recruited to serve as teacher leaders for first-and second-year teachers. Many of these teacher leaders had served in the previous year of the grant and brought experience and expertise to their rolls as teacher leaders. Each teacher leader worked with a cohort of first- and second-year teachers. The group members communicated in face-to -face small groups during four Saturday seminars, and through web-based observations of practice. Through dialogue with their small groups, teacher leaders encouraged best teaching practices, offered ways to improve practice, and provided emotional understanding.

During the spring semester 24 beginning teachers requested specific help in their individual placements. Request for support came from kindergarten through high school teachers. Nine university supervisors were enlisted to visit these teachers’ classrooms for demonstration and consultation purposes. Supervisors met with their assigned teachers over a period of three weeks and submitted written reports of their visits. A content analysis of these visits is provided in Appendix B.

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During ongoing attention to their professional practice by teacher leaders, and college faculty, first-year teachers experienced timely and critical support on current classroom issues and instruction.

To Measure the success of the program

Measurement of the success of the program took place through collection of data from questionnaires directed toward perceptions of professional growth by participants. Before the start of the project and following each seminar, participants responded to survey questions through a Qualtrics survey. Teacher leaders provided follow-up data on program success through surveys and conversations with coordinators. Supervisors provided written feedback of participant performance in their respective classrooms. Grant coordinators of program activities met monthly to discuss program progress. An ultimate measure of the program will be the retention rate of the participants over a five-year period. An analysis of survey results is provided in Appendix B.

Abstract and Results OverviewNew teacher and teacher leader participants for this project were recruited through the teacher preparation programs (TTP) at four institutions (Clark County School District, National University, Sierra College of Nevada, and University of Nevada, Las Vegas). Coordinators for each of the representative institutions met monthly to plan seminars and to review survey data. Small learning community groups were formed of both first-year and second-year ARL teachers, and an experienced teacher leader. These groups represented grade level, content area, and special education areas. Twenty first-year teachers, 47 second-year teachers, 15 teacher leaders, and nine university supervisors completed the project.

Participants viewed their involvement in the project as valuable and wanted to continue the dialogue among teachers. The focus on the professional development of beginning teachers, teacher leadership and teacher retention emerging from this program appears to meet the professional needs of teachers at all levels. The non-evaluative approach to improving teaching practice was embraced by the beginning teachers who were free to admit mistakes and ask meaningful questions without the fear of negative evaluations. The one part of this project that was limited by the amount of funds awarded was the time to visit one another in their respective classrooms for real-time examples of best-practices in teaching and the coaching of beginning teachers

Next Steps Funding for the Collaborative Pyramid project was granted for a two-year period. Coordinators of the grant met during June 2018, to review the activities and results following the 2017-2018 iteration of the grant and to plan for the following year. It was determined at this time to provide the teachers more time for collaboration, to spend time practicing using the Acclaim software as a group, and for teacher leaders to have a wider influence by presenting instructional strategies and professional growth topics to all

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participants. A schedule was set for the 2018-2019 year and the decision was made to give the first-year teachers more time to adjust to the demands at the beginning of the school year by delaying recruitment of participants until mid-September.

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II. Grant Funded ActivitiesFirst Saturday Seminar in 2017

An initial Saturday morning seminar was held on September 16, 2017 at CCSD’s Northwest Career and Technical Academy. First-and second-year teachers met with their teacher leaders in small groups. All attendees were informed of the requirements for participation in the program. Each participant was provided with a license to access Acclaim and become part of a small group of educators for the purpose of exchanging videos of teaching.

Sixty-seven first-and second-year teachers and 15 teacher leaders attended this initial seminar.

Effectiveness in assisting teachers was documented through results to a Qualtrics survey. Questions on this survey included the participants’ personal interest in participating in the program and their current concerns and ideas regarding their practice. Throughout the project participants were also able to share digital recordings of their practice and to receive constructive comments from their peers and the teacher leaders of their groups.

Participants engaged in building posters for a gallery walk. The posters represented goals for the seminars. These goals are descripted in Appendix A

In the future, it is anticipated that participants will become more comfortable using the Acclaim digital platform for sharing and improving teaching practice.

See Attachment A for the agenda for all seminars, and results from the Qualtrics surveys.

Second Saturday Seminar The second seminar on November 4, was held at CCSD’s East Career and Technical

Academy. Teacher leaders had been previously asked to choose a topic from a list of topics

generated from the first-and second-year teacher comments on the poster building gallery walk held during the first seminar. The teacher leaders then planned for 35-minute round table instruction on a specific topic that they would present three times to three different groups of beginning teachers.

Beginning teachers had signed up for three table topics prior to the seminar and during the seminar switched tables every 35 minutes. The time for the round table sessions followed a schedule that left time for the small professional learning groups to meet at the end of the seminar. 9:10-9:50, Round table session 1; 9:55-10:35-Round table session 2;10:40-11:20- Round table session 3; 11:25-11:55-Small group meeting and discussion.

All Participants completed a Qualtrics survey at the end of the second seminar.

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Third Saturday Seminar A third seminar was held on January 20, at CCSD’s West Career and Technical

Academy. Participants were asked to inform the coordinators if they would like to have a teacher coach visit their classroom for one-on-one support and guidance. Linda Quinn collected the names and contacted teachers who might serve as coaches for these participants.

Participants volunteered to share videos of their teaching with the whole group as well as their reflections on what they learned from watching the video. There were two video presentations from elementary teachers, two from secondary teachers and two from special education teachers. Jennifer Varrato facilitated these presentations.

First-year elementary teachers met at tables with the second-year elementary teachers who were using Harmony kits to share ways the program could be used in classrooms. National University donated Harmony kits to all elementary teachers in the Collaborative Pyramid project.

While elementary teachers were learning about Harmony kits, all secondary teachers attended a presentation from two technology teachers at WCTA. Monte Bay provided directions for secondary teachers.

The Teacher Leaders discussed the successes and challenges of their roles as small group leaders. Lois Paretti and Patricia Cooper facilitated these discussions.

Fourth Saturday Seminar The final seminar for the 2017-2018 grant period was held at CCSD’s Southwest

Career and Technical Academy. During this final seminar, teacher leaders presented examples of best practices in

teaching to the whole group. Small groups met to share ideas and experiences and to provide handouts they had

been prompted to create for their colleagues. Some participants shared their Acclaim videos to demonstrate how they used a specific idea or resource.

The posters created during the first seminar were revisited and the participants conducted another gallery walk to evaluate which goals were accomplished and which goals still required more information, effort and experience.

Participants responded to the final Qualtrics survey.

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III. Budget SummaryParticipants in the program were awarded a stipend for attending all four Saturday seminars, communicating bi-monthly with members in their small groups and posting videos of their teaching practice through the Acclaim digital recording website. Each participant received a license for the on-line platform for posting their videos. Project coordinators from each of the institutions involved also received a stipend. The PI received a salary for writing, implementing and organizing grant activities. A graduate assistant received a stipend for analyzing data.

The initial GTLF grant request for FY2018 was $450,509. Funds awarded were $181,000. Because of this reduction in funds, opportunities for observations and class visits were reduced. Funds were distributed for salaries, benefits, licenses for web-based activities, books and periodicals and general supplies. A copy of the revised budget and the narrative can be viewed in Appendix C.

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Appendix A

Seminar Agenda and Activities

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A Collaborative Pyramid Supporting Professional Development,

Teacher Leadership and Teacher Retention, Phase II

Seminar Agenda---September 16, 2017

Meeting Location, Northwest Career and Technical Academy

8200 W Tropical Pkwy, Las Vegas, NV 89149 (Banquet Room)We look forward to meeting you this Saturday.

In order for you to prepare for a successful day please plan to arrive on time. The seminar will begin promptly at 9:00 and will end at noon.

Sign in sheets will be available. Don’t forget to sign in. W9 U.S. Tax forms will be available. Please make sure to complete one of these forms

and return it to one of the coordinators. If you have not submitted a letter of “agreement to participate,” please make certain to

bring it to the seminar, and deliver it to Linda Quinn directly. 

Due to budget constraints, we invite you to bring your own light refreshments.

9:00-9:15—Welcome from the Project Coordinators (Monte Bay, Patricia Cooper, Lisa DenBleyker, Lois Paretti, Linda Quinn, and Jennifer Varrato)

9:15-10:00—Meet in Designated Small Groups: Share contact and personal information, Set goals for the small group collaboration

10:00-10:30—Mentors introduce their groups to the rest of the seminar participants

10:30-11:00—Learning to use Acclaim, capture short videos and share with small group members. Please bring your own devices (smart phones, tablets, laptops) for this part of the seminar. Presentation by Christina Wellendorf

11:00-11:30—Build Gallery Walk Posters

1st year teachers post: My Greatest challenge right now is ________

2nd year teachers post: Something that worked for me during my first year _______

Teacher Leaders post: A powerful strategy to engage students is __________

11:30-11:45—Gallery Walk and conversation

11:45-11:55—Complete Survey at Participant Survey Link

11:55-12:00—Closing Remarks and Adjourn

Gallery Walk Poster Topics Generated by Participants

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Responses to First-year teacher prompt: My greatest challenge right now is:

Differentiation (1st grade) Time management Organization Managing time to work with small groups Managing my work load Differentiating instruction Keeping track of all the extra things outside of the classroom Keeping students on task Differentiated instruction Time management Differentiating instruction Management Differentiation Lesson planning Professional time management

Responses to 2nd-year teacher prompt: Something that worked for me during my first year was:

Cooperative learning, timely grading, anchor charts, sentence frames (working smarter, not harder)

Collaborating with general education teachers Being ok with asking questions for help Positive reinforcement Alternative seating and prodigyMath.com ClassCraft instead of Dojo, Teaching multiple strategies for same concepts Building relationships with students and maintaining high expectations Set clear expectations Engage students based on their levels Share personal stories and experiences with students Shadowing grade level chair Movement during lessons Open communication with parents Use number talks at the beginning of math Technology and demonstrations Systems and routines School involvement Use NearPod Application Staying on top of grading Incorporating music and movement

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Build a safe and fun classroom climate Keeping a structured and predictable learning environment Establishing positive relationships with students’ family members and working with them

throughout the year Being aware that you are not alone Collaborating with fellow teachers Collaborate with colleagues and ask for help Build relationships with students Timely grading Use smart boxes Consistency in discipline, progressive discipline measures Frequent positive parent contact

Responses to Teacher Leader prompt: A powerful strategy to engage students is:

Table top blogs, number talks, quiz, quiz trade, shared writing Find something that is meaningful and purposeful Read aloud (possible in every content area) Provide opportunities for students to develop their own goals for learning Build relationships with students, understand more about them as people and how they learn Bring real world situations into learning To manage movement, I used Kagan strategy standup, hand up, pair up Kagan strategy Mix, Pair, Share Reflection after each lesson Provide students with choices through flexible seating and assignment menus—students take

control of their own learning Create meaningful relationships with students Build relationships Table top blogs Oral responses Quiz, quiz trade A powerful strategy is Kagan Showdown Kagan, round Robin and Pair Share

Analysis of Poster Walk ResponsesArea 1-Response to First-year teacher prompt: My Greatest challenge now

5/15 Differentiation

4/15 Time management

2/15 Management (unspecified)

2/15 Keeping students on track

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1/15 Lesson plan

1/15 Organization

Area 2- Response to 2nd year teacher post: this worked for me in my 1st year

8/32 Student Relationships*

7/32 Collaboration with colleagues

4/32 Positive Re-enforcement (discipline)*

4/32 Use of technology*

3/32 Parent involvement

3/32 Movements

3/32 Timely grading

3/32 Cooperative Learning*

1/32 Prior talks before class

Area 3- Response to teacher leader post: Strategy to engage students

4/17 Kagan use

2/17 Quiz/Quiz trade

2/17 Blogs

3/17 Oral responses

3/17 Build student relationships*

2/17 Give students choices/pick learning goals*

1/17 Reflections after lesson*

1/17 Use real life situations*

1/17 Read aloud

1/17 Teach with purpose

*Numerators may differ from denominator since some people listed several pieces of information in one selection. When that happened, the list was separated in one topic.

Student relationships are common in all areas.

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Letter to Teacher Leaders in planning for November 4, SeminarDear Teacher Leaders,

First, thank you for your terrific participation on September 16. The first- and second- year teachers you are coaching and the coordinators have nothing but the highest praise for you.

The next seminar will be on November 4, at CCSD’s East Career and Technical Academy located at 6705 Vegas Valley Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89142. The agenda for this seminar will consist of three round table sessions and one meeting of the original grade level and subject area small groups.

9:10-9:50 Round table session 19:55-10:35 Round table session 210:40-11:20 Round table session 311:25-11:55 Small group meeting and discussion

The first- and second-year teachers indicated that they would appreciate more information and guidance in the following areas: 

Behavior Management in elementary classrooms Behavior Management in secondary classrooms Behavior management in special education classrooms Personal time management and organization Collaboration with colleagues Student engagement Lesson planning for elementary  Lesson planning for secondary  Lesson planning for special education Building relationships with students in elementary classrooms Building relationships with students in secondary classrooms Pacing/ time management/establishing routines Using technology for student learning Parent involvement Grading

Please let me know which area you would like to address for the three round table sessions. Please choose two topics, one as your preferred and a possible alternative.

If you have a specific topic you feel is important for this beginning teachers that was not mentioned above, please let us know.

All the best,Linda, Lois, Jennifer, Patricia, Lisa and Monte

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A Collaborative Pyramid Supporting Professional Development,

Teacher Leadership and Teacher Retention, Phase II

Seminar Agenda-November 4, 2017

East Career and Technical Academy

In order for you to prepare for a successful day please plan to arrive on time. The seminar will begin promptly at 9:00 and will end at noon.

Sign in sheets will be available. Don’t forget to sign in.

Find your beginning table for the round table sessions. You will be notified when there are five minutes remaining in each session.

The time for the round table sessions are below. A time is scheduled for the small professional learning groups to meet at the end of the seminar.

9:10-9:50 Round table session 19:55-10:35 Round table session 210:40-11:20 Round table session 3 11:25-11:55 Small group meeting and discussion

11:55-12:00 Don’t forget to complete the survey at Seminar Participant Survey

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A Collaborative Pyramid Supporting Professional Development,

Teacher Leadership and Teacher Retention, Phase II

Seminar Agenda---January 20, 2018

West Career and Technical Academy

9:00-9:15: Welcome/Sign-inAll first and second-year teachers are offered the opportunity to have an experienced coach/mentor visit your classroom and provide relevant and timely feedback and help regarding practices to your specific assignment. Should you like to receive a visit, please sign the Visiting Coach/Mentor sheet. Please provide your name, grade level, school and any specific practice you would like to have help with. See Lois Paretti regarding this sign-in sheet.

9:15-10:15: Acclaim Video Presentations/Discussions and ReflectionsSome of your colleagues have volunteered to show the videos they took of their teaching practices. They will share these with the entire group and explain what their objective was in choosing the particular segment of teaching. Once the video has been viewed, you will have the opportunity to discuss the video with your small group members and provide some positive shout outs or write some “Want to know more” comments on Pep Cards! To close each video presentation the individual teachers will share their reflections on what they learned from watching the video.

We are planning to have two video presentations from elementary teachers, two from secondary teachers and one or two from special education resource room teachers. Each presentation should take approximately 10 minutes. Jennifer Varrato will facilitate these presentations.

10:15-10:30: Break10:30-11:30: Elementary Teachers: Harmony presentation for elementary teachers. After a short presentation by Sue Hendricks, first-year elementary teachers will meet at tables with the second-year elementary Harmony users to share ways the program can be used in classrooms.

Secondary Teachers: All secondary teachers will break out for a classroom presentation from Chrissy Pavelich and Kristi Semmler, teachers at WCTA. Monte Bay will provide directions for secondary teachers.

Teacher Leaders: The Teacher Leaders will discuss the successes and challenges of their roles as small group leaders. Lois Paretti and Patricia Cooper will facilitate this discussion.

11:30-12:00: Teachers will reconvene with their small group colleagues and teacher leader.

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12:00: Adjourn. Don’t forget to complete the Qualtrics survey and sign up for a coach/mentor visit. Qualtrics survey

A Collaborative Pyramid Supporting Professional Development,

Teacher Leadership and Teacher Retention, Phase II

Agenda- March 3, 2018

Southwest Career and Technical Academy

9:00-9:10--Greetings, Announcements, and Housekeeping

9:10-10:15--Whole group presentations of best practices by Teacher Leaders

10:15-10:30—break

10:30-11:30--Meet in small-designated groups.

First and second-year teachers share ideas and experiences with group (What did you do? What were the steps to accomplish this?).

Provide handouts for small group members (include your name, grade, school, and your contact information for future questions or suggestions)

Show Acclaim video where applicable to demonstrate what you are sharing.

11:30-11:50—Gallery Walk to review goals identified at the September 16 seminar.

Post-it Notes will be used to evaluate which goals were accomplished and which goals still require more information, effort, and experience.

11:50-12:00 - Wrap-up. Respond to Qualtrics survey.

Qualtrics Participant survey

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Appendix B

Summary of Qualtrics Surveys and

Content Analysis of Coaches Visits to Classrooms

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Collaborative Pyramid Supporting Professional Development

Summary of Qualtrics Surveys

What is your primary motivation for participating in this project? (Survey 1 and 3)

Collaboration – widely cited across the two surveys (24, 20) Support – answers depended on whether it was a new teacher or a teacher leader. New teachers

said support from peers and leaders was great. Teacher Leaders mention that they enjoy supporting new teachers and often learn new skills. (18, 20)

Develop Practice – any mention of ideas, resources, strategies, techniques, skills (30, 37) Money – not a frequent response (7, 5) Other – responses included networking, communication, knowledge, community building (9, 7)

Has participation in this project helped you grow as a teacher? (Survey 2 and 4)

63 YES, 1 NO - With qualitative explanations ranging from what they learned and liked best about the seminars. One no response wanted better organization of small groups, wishing it would have been split into elementary and secondary. (Survey 2)

26 YES, 0 NO - qualitative answers talking about how ways in which the seminar has helped them grow (survey 4)

89 yes over two surveys (99%), 1 no (1%)

What is one idea from the seminar that you plan to use in your classroom? (1 and 3)

Cite at least one idea you took from each of the round table discussions. (2 and 4)

These two questions should perhaps be combined based on responses being similar.

Two categories:

1) Tangible resources (Kagan, white boards, Sanford Harmony), Resource (Kagan, readers theater, table top blogs, white boards, smart box, Acclaim), Classroom management technique (timer, behavior management technique, anchor chart)

2) Pedagogical techniques (management, skills, use of physical space, reinforcement); Professional development (peer collaboration, reflection, relationships)

In what ways were the exchanges in your small group beneficial to you?

General discussion - what is going well, what people are struggling with, comfortable place to communicate, and safe place to ask questions.

Certain people identified ideas, strategies or resources that will help them develop as a professional. Also, reflection and some sense of community. New teachers said it was nice to know they weren’t alone. Sharing and making connections. Same grade levels.

Suggest something that you would like to see included or addressed in future seminars

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Three areas:

1) Resources, techniques, ideas for the classroom (Harmony, Kagan, Smart Boards, etc.);

2) Professional development related to the role of a teacher (parent involvement, paperwork related to growth plans, classroom management strategies);

3) Seminar logistics (more time in small group, changing small group members, handouts, guest speakers)

Please rate the usefulness, benefit, or relevance of the seminar to you as a teacher by checking one of the choices below.

1. 66, 1, 0 (67 total)2. 58, 4, 1 (63 total)3. 62, 4, 0 (66 total)4. 24, 1, 0 (25 total)

Out of 221 total survey responses (across all four) - 210 useful responses (95%), 10 somewhat useful (4.5%), 1 not useful (.5%)

Content Analysis of Coaches Visits to First-and Second-year Teacher Classrooms

This analysis came from nine reflection journals from five elementary teachers and four

secondary teachers who had met with their assigned coaches. All nine teachers were first- or

second-year teachers in the ARL programs connected with the Collaborative Pyramid GTLF

grant and volunteered to work with coaches. Journals from the nine coaches who met with the

teachers were also analyzed. Analysis of the data is displayed in the following table.

Themes Categories Words/Phrases Quotes

Teacher Survival Lesson Creating/Implementing

Close ReadSmall group readingMath groupsInstructionPacingQuestioning techniquesFluency MaterialsLevel of student engagementBest practiceSummer school

“Consistency and pacing are key points I want to focus on and more student involvement.”

“Kara felt overwhelmed with her sixth hour class and was ready to change things.”

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“Steph shared that she returned this morning after an unplanned absence to attend an early morning meeting. As 3rd quarter grades are due within the next 24 hours, this could be a stressful day.

Personal Feelings/Self-Motivation

Patience improvingExcited for new materialsExcited about new positionExploringLead other coursesOverwhelmedChanging thingsNot enough timeInfusing into leadership

Classroom Management

Keeping students on taskTransitionsManagementImplementing proceduresReplacement behaviorsManagement tips

“I was happy to have new ideas I can implement immediately to improve my management and instruction.”

“I have used many of the strategies we discussed previously and see the improvement in my teaching.”

Teaching Strategies Strategies to raise student levelsStrategies for classroomExploring strategiesAdditional strategies

Teacher Impact

Student Involvement

AccountabilityConsistencyEqualityWait timeStudents on taskStudents responseEngaging students in active participationUsing academic knowledgeI say, you sayPartner A/B listening and validatingStudent led discussionsReflect on new informationStudent generated problems/exercisesIncrease productivityTime on taskDisengaged during lesson

“Give three positives before correcting students, whole group answers, gestures, get all students to respond.”

“We talked about the importance of using academic language consistently and having the whole class repeat the rules, not just one student at a time.”

“Have you tried CHAMPS to reinforce class expectations?”

“Continue to develop a set of ‘non-negotiable’

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classroom management expectations-especially for early intervention (i.e., off task behavior).”Classroom

Management

Class expectationsCHAMPSTransitionsRecording BehaviorsPlacementsModeling politenessOral LanguageImmediate reinforcementBehavior ChartCalm & PatientNon-verbal cues “Nice job explaining hard

concepts to students- relating info to student’s prior knowledge.”

“Teacher continues to get familiar with new materials.”

“Find more materials for fluency practice and small groups.”

Curriculum/Materials

Modeled ReadingFamiliarity with MaterialsKAHOOTLiteracy Coach/learning strategistDRA InstructionK-5 Math WebsitesPhonics scope & sequenceSupplemental math instructionMasteryCreative approaches in curriculumAcross curriculum projects

Teacher SurvivalThe new teachers were concerned with creating and implementing lessons and their own

personal feelings about teaching, classroom management, and effective teaching strategies.

During visits, teachers commonly asked about exploring new strategies, additional strategies,

strategies for classroom management, and strategies to raise reading levels or for test reviews.

Since this was repeated frequently, it is evident that new teachers may need more assistance

when preparing lessons. Although they are experiencing daily routines, and issues of managing a

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classroom and students, they can see that there is more to learn about best practices in instruction

and would like additional help.

In addition, teachers frequently mentioned that they wanted help with daily procedures,

offering consistency to students, attention getters, replacement behaviors, transitions, and

keeping students on task. Classroom management came up several times and indicates that

teachers feel unprepared with classroom management. Students don’t always follow rules or

behave intrinsically. New teachers are seeing that due to so many diverse students, management

can prove challenging. Based on several of these concerns, the theme of Teacher Survival was

created.

The concerns that these teachers have indicate that they are looking for ways to help them

survive in the classroom. They are looking for tools to get through lesson planning, teaching,

management and their own feelings. In some of the last entries for these teachers, they used

phrases like “patience improving,” “wasn’t enough time to change things,” and “overwhelming.”

However, they also expressed feeling of excitement when using new materials and changing

grade levels. So, even though they are looking for survival techniques, they are also feeling that

they can accomplish the task of teaching students. In addition, the fact that they are asking these

questions for teacher survival is positive as it is an indicator that they want to stay in the

classroom.

Teacher ImpactThe coaches reflected on the classroom visits and what they saw as areas of concern.

These were coded into student involvement, classroom management, and curriculum. Coaches

made suggestions about student accountability, equally calling on students, wait time, keeping

students on task, and engaging students in discussion. While new teachers were concerned with

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teaching strategies, the coaches were more concerned with getting and keeping students

involved. Similar to the teacher concerns, coaches were concerned with classroom management

as well. They offered suggestions with transitions, modeling politeness, proximity, verbal cues,

and non-verbal cues. As might be expected with any new teacher, classroom management can

prove to be challenging.

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Appendix C

Budget Expenditure Summary

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