This article shares innovative practices from a workshop series called Teach and Thrive Learning Circles (TTLCs) offered to pre-service and recent graduates from the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program at Colorado College (CC). TTLCs aim to proactively prime pre-service and early career teachers to navigate the pressures that can contribute…

The purpose of the study was to gain a deeper understanding of teacher induction in the state of Colorado. The guiding question for the study was "What components do Colorado school districts include as part of their beginning teacher induction?" The study examined the implementation of nine teacher induction components: orientation,…

A well developed mentoring program should not be just considered another faculty activity but rather a significant program that can define a preeminent academic institution. A Faculty Learning Community (FLC) at Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver) was charged with determining whether the needs of new faculty members and the…

Policy shapes practice, and the increasingly important realm of professional development is no exception. To identify effective professional development policies and strategies, a Stanford University research team examined the policy frameworks supporting high levels of professional development activity in four states--(1) Colorado; (2) Missouri;…

This qualitative research study examined teacher induction in the military undergraduate education context. The U.S. Air Force Academy relies on approximately 520 military and civilian instructors to educate nearly 4000 future military officers each year. It is imperative to our nation's security that these educators be highly skilled and…

Building a stronger teacher workforce requires the thoughtful orchestration of multiple processes working together in a human capital system. This white paper presents a framework that can be used to take stock of current efforts to enhance the teacher workforce in school districts or educational organizations, as well as their underlying theories…

This report is the third of a three-phase research study of teacher professional learning opportunities in the United States. In this third phase of the research, the authors conducted case studies of four professionally active states to get a deeper look at the policy frameworks that support professional development in those states. These…

A public school district in Colorado initiated a study which addressed the issue of how to insure good beginnings for new teachers and provide direct assistance and intervention to develop the skills of competent professionals. The approach discussed here is a beginning teacher induction program, which includes a Professional Development Seminar.…

One Colorado school district implemented a teacher induction seminar throughout the school year to promote professional development and facilitate the transition of new teachers into the district. The seminar encouraged questions, sharing, and mutual support. The article describes the structure of the seminar and the evaluation results. (SM)

The Office of Educational Research and Improvement funded nine projects exploring whether partnerships could help improve teacher education and induction. It created consortia of state education agencies, state agencies of higher education, teacher education colleges, and local school districts to collaborate on improving teacher education and…