Mentoring vs Induction Essay

Submitted By kate810
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Pages: 5

Mentoring vs. Induction Programs

Mentoring vs. Induction Programs Working through the challenges that is placed upon new teachers, is a common issue that is faced by new teachers. New teachers will be working diligently to provide curriculums and lesson plans that will interact and appropriately meet the needs of all the students. The goal of a teacher is to see that their students are all successful and thriving. Not only does the new teacher need to meet the challenges of their students but the students ‘parents, faculty and administration. It is not at all surprising that new teachers for some reason, because of seniority are given the most difficult assignments such as classes requiring multiple preparation, remedial classes, or students with the most diverse and challenging needs (DePaul,2000).
The combination of these challenges can become a bit overwhelming to a new teacher. To ensure that these new teachers are successful, they need and should have the support from the school as well as the school administration. These challenges can pose a negative attitude towards teaching for these newcomers; it leads to many deciding that they are not right for the teaching position. Another reason the teachers decide to leave the teaching field is the low pay that the new teachers receive. Teachers within the first few years will get a sense of whether or not they will continue to teach.
One way to help retain teachers is to provide them with professional development trainings, if they feel that the schools that they want the teacher to be successful, the teacher may feel confident in the support and continue to teach. Programs such as mentoring and induction have been created to help these new teachers in their beginning years when it is most important. Induction is a comprehensive development process that is created by a school district to train, show support and hopefully retain the teachers while creating an atmosphere where they can grow professionally.
Mentoring is where the new teacher is paired with a “seasoned” teacher where they can receive guidance regularly when needed throughout the school day. This mentoring program is to be able to provide the new teacher with support they need to take full advantage of their effectiveness within the classroom. Both mentoring and induction programs have similar objective which is to provide support and to retain teachers.
With the Induction program usually helps new teachers make the transition from student to teachers of the students (Moskowitz & Stephens, 1997). The induction program is not just about familiarizing themselves with teaching techniques and school policies, but also the many other aspects that are associated with the teaching field. With the many different needs and of the teachers, support and guidance is provided with the induction program to help them to adopt their new roles as well as responsibilities. An induction program is geared to meet the needs to the new teacher, which is important at the beginning of their teaching career. Included in the induction includes within the first few years of teaching; mentoring, evaluation, support and professional development. This is a good solid foundation for the thriving new teachers.
The difference between Induction and Mentoring is that induction covers a larger range of teaching, where mentoring is geared towards the new teacher and the relationship of their “mentor”. Mentoring programs can work well alone, or it can necessitate additional aspects of those that may be covered by the induction program for more effectiveness. Depending on how they are applied, they can be just as effective but usually the induction program has more advantages than the mentoring program.
With these programs, these inspiring teachers will get a sense of the educational guidelines and the expectations of their curriculum. These programs also provide for the new teachers peer support, which will give the new teachers