Effective Teacher Induction Programs

Kenneth Wilson, a Nobel-laureate physicist at The Ohio State University, co-author of Redesigning Education uses the analogy of climbing a mountain when describing what teaching means for new teachers. “There are two ways to get into it,” observes Kenneth Wilson, “You could take a practice run with somebody who has lots of experience and the ability to share it. The other way is to be taken to the base of Everest, dropped off, and told to get to the top or quit. If you don’t make it, your enthusiasm disappears, and you seek ways to avoid similar challenges in the future.” (1)

Role of Supervision and Evaluation in Education

The process by which most teachers are supervised and evaluated in our schools is inefficient, ineffective, and a poor use of principals’ time. It’s based on a flawed theory of action: that supervision and evaluation will improve teachers’ effectiveness and therefore boost student achievement. I think the process drastically needs to be streamlined and be linked a more effective strategy for improving teaching and learning. I have not seen any teacher who told me that a formal summative evaluation changed his teaching style or improved her/his instruction.