Drawing upon data from an Australian study, this book gives voice to beginning teachers navigating their way through their first year of teaching and discovering what it means to be professional learners. The chapters within provide rich insights into the ways in which beginning teachers make sense of the new and challenging experiences they face…

Most new teachers avoid exposing their vulnerabilities or having peers (or principals) witness their mistakes in teaching. But, France points out, "it's hard to be a great teacher if you can't make yourself vulnerable." Being willing to take risks, make mistakes, expose your own emotions, and hear constructive criticism is necessary if a…

Kate Hawkey and Helen Snelson, who have both worked for many years in initial teacher education, wanted to find ways of supporting recently qualified teachers in continuing to develop their practice. Working in two different parts of the country, they established different kinds of informal, but well-focused history-specific, support groups. Their…

Drawing on our experiences as teacher educators in two programs designed specifically to prepare teachers for particular contexts, this article illustrates how we design our courses to help new teachers link foundational understandings to specific teaching practices in particular school and classroom contexts. We describe our integrated approach,…

Established in 1992, Ofsted is championed by government ministers as the guardian of educational standards in schools and colleges. Ofsted has never produced any research on the validity of its inspection judgements. Ofsted has no evidence, other than rising percentages of schools being awarded positive Ofsted grades, to support its assertion that…

This paper discusses the challenges and lessons learned from conducting observations to measure the quality of classroom practice for a large-scale study of elementary teachers' mathematics instruction. Specifically, this paper shares our process for obtaining valid data for quality of elementary mathematics instruction; what we learned can inform…

Children who speak with nonmainstream American English (NMAE) dialects represent a growing population in the U.S. public school system. This article provides recommendations for how teacher educators can support novice teachers in addressing the needs of NMAE speakers with or at risk for learning disabilities. This article focuses on four core…

State and district leaders can use the GTL Center's Snapshot on Mentoring and Induction to make informed policy decisions that take into account the evidence base for mentoring and induction strategies to improve supports for and equitable access to great teachers and leaders. The snapshot describes mentoring and induction strategies, how states…

The possibility for enacting transformative practices in Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) is shaped by the social, political, and material landscape. However, it is vital we acknowledge our contributing role as PETE lecturers in this shaping process. This paper presents the authors study of their critical friendship aimed at making…

Consistently implementing meaningful assessment that supports student learning is challenging for any teacher (NCTM 2014) but especially for beginning teachers who already have so much on their plates! From the authors' collective experiences--which range from teaching eighth-grade students to supervising and teaching methods courses for…

Beginning teachers need strong support systems. In addition to adjusting to the demands of the teaching profession, beginning teachers are often required to teach heavy classloads, manage the most challenging classrooms, and take on non-teaching responsibilities in addition to their regular teaching assignments. Although beginning teachers face…

Teachers navigated a vast set of challenges during the 2019-20 school year when a pandemic shut down school and changed the face of classrooms. The challenges that emerged during this time were heaped upon the already full plates of the novice teachers featured in this study who were just gaining confidence in the classroom. This article…

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented upheaval of the traditional teaching context. Fortunately, disruptions can also catalyze innovations as they cause the field to re-examine its assumptions and practices. Re-thinking how we mentor pre-service and early-service teachers is one area that shows particular promise for improving…

This brief is one in a series aimed at providing K-12 education decision makers and advocates with an evidence base to ground discussions about how to best serve students during and following the novel coronavirus pandemic. Student teaching placements influence teacher effectiveness. If student teaching experiences are constrained by the pandemic,…

Many new political science faculty at teaching universities are recent PhD recipients, and are coming to these institutions from research-oriented universities. There are considerable differences between the training for graduate students received at research universities and the expectations for faculty at teaching universities. This essay…