Connect and Collaborate:Connect and Collaborate:A Career Continuum A Career Continuum

ApproachApproach

Utah Mentor Academy

Sydnee DicksonDirector, Teaching and Learning

USOE

Multi-State ConsortiumMulti-State Consortium

Our HypothesisOur Hypothesis

Defining career pathways of educators as a continuum of educator development and opportunity will help to resolve the issues of :

Educators exiting at both the beginning and experienced ends of continuum, often for similar reasons

Difficulty in attracting and keeping Millennial educators in classrooms

Inconsistent opportunities for educators to grow and develop in practice, which results in good educators leaving the profession

Negative impact on student learning as a result of educator turnover.

Consortium’s ChargeConsortium’s Charge

Define a working model of a continuum of practice

Redefine how we prepare 21st century teachers to work with 21st century students

Clearly identify characteristics of practice at each level

Envision how each level of practice might be changed with innovative, 21st century thinking

Create and implement such a model across the states

Learning Task 1:

Think about 21st Century learners (today’s students). • What unique circumstances do they bring to the classroom that teachers need to understand and attend to?

• How should we be preparing teachers to meet these needs?

Take 5 minutes at your table to discuss these issues and be prepared to share out one idea for each question with the group.

Preparatory PractitionerPreparatory Practitioner

Early field experiences in a variety of settings

Performance assessments tied to program completion and initial licensure

Build individual growth plans based on assessments

Novice PractitionerNovice Practitioner

Release time to meet with mentor

Release time to observe experienced teachers practicing

Serve as co-teacher with experienced teachers

Teacher as researcher model

Developing PractitionerDeveloping Practitioner

• Release time for career advancement including shadowing, observation, etc.

• Distributed leadership opportunities (i.e. learning teams)

• Authentic & reflective participation in teacher evaluation

• Meaningful observations of practice conducted with constructive feedback provided to move to next level

Experienced PractitionersExperienced Practitioners

• Differentiated staffing options and compensation

• Release time for mentors/experienced & novice teachers to work together

• Distributed leadership opportunities (i.e. leading learning teams, community liaison, pre-service instructor)

• Partners with individuals/organizations to expand content knowledge and improve instructional skills

Learning Task 2:

Think about 21st Century teachers (today’s adult learners). • What do mentors and administrators need to know in order to help teachers succeed?

• How do the stages of a person’s career impact adult learning?

Take 5 minutes at your table to discuss these issues and be prepared to share out one idea for each question with the group.

USOE InitiativesUSOE Initiatives

Update Utah Professional Teaching Standards (using Model Core Teaching Standards)

Develop Teacher and Administrator Preparation Program Standards

Support LEAs with a framework for Teacher and Administrator Effectiveness

Develop Teacher Leader License

Provide tools and technical assistance for instructional excellence

Approaches to CollaborationApproaches to Collaboration

Personal Improvement

Program Improvement

School Improvement