Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/931645
- Title
- Collaborative teaching partnerships: towards cycles for success in supporting new teachers
- Author/Creator
-
McGrath, Jason David
- Institution
- University of Newcastle. Faculty of Education and Arts, School of Education
- Description
- Masters Research - Master of Educational Studies (MEdSt)
- Description
- New teachers enter the profession facing all the challenges of learning to teach (Feiman-Nemser, 2001) at a time when teaching is becoming more complex and is under significant reform (Istance, 2001; Brooks and Scott, 2000; Dinham, 2000; Hargreaves, 1997, 1994). In response, educational systems are looking at ways to better support new teachers which can increase their retention within the profession (eg. Johnson 2006; OECD, 2005; Smith and Ingersoll, 2004; Ramsey, 2000) and sustain positive views about their work (eg. Wang, Odell and Schwille, 2008; Goddard and Goddard, 2006; Feiman-Nemser, 2001). There is an increasing focus on professional development and teacher collaboration in general (eg. Thomas, 2005; MEXT, 2004; McLaughlin, 1997), with some researchers highlighting the particular benefits of mentoring for new teachers and supporting renewal of teaching practice across the profession (Le Cornu and Peters, 2005; Hargreaves and Fullan, 2000). An extensive review of the literature regarding induction, mentoring and team teaching underpins my theoretical development of a concept I term „Collaborative Teaching Partnerships‟ or CTPs as a way of supporting new professionals as they enter teaching. CTPs provide an opportunity for an experienced and new teacher to work on at least one shared class in a team teaching situation. Rather than the “sit, listen and reflect” (Long, 1997, p.115) approach of traditional mentoring processes, CTPs promote a process of joint planning, teaching and reflection. In addition to the conceptual development of CTPs, I also test them in practice using case study research. The hypothesis is that mentoring which takes place in the setting of the classroom utilising team teaching can: first, deepen and extend the potential benefits of mentoring that have been articulated in the literature and; second, address the some of the concerns which have also been raised about the limitations of mentoring. While team teaching has generally been investigated within the literature as a way of supporting improved student outcomes, or in pre-service training for teachers, this project seeks to specifically investigate the advantages for teachers during their induction into the profession. Through the review of literature, case study research, and by analysing questionnaire data collected from the same district as the case study school I identify a number of “negative spirals” or factors that were found to combine in a way that can compound the challenges for new teachers. Most importantly, findings from the research project demonstrate the potential to utilise effective support processes, including CTPs, to create “cycles for success”, a term I use to describe factors which can combine in a positive manner to create compounding benefits for new teachers. In a practical sense my research seeks to benefit individuals who have or might be involved in a CTP process. Academically, my research can influence the theoretical development of models for supporting new teachers. At a policy level, my research demonstrates how support for new teachers could be enhanced in a form that can be delivered in practice.
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Date
- 2012
- Keyword(s)
-
mentoring;
teachers
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Rights
- Copyright 2012 Jason David McGrath
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/931645
- Language
- eng
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