The First Years Matter: Becoming an Effective Teacher: A Mentoring Guide for Novice Teachers / Edition 2

by Carol Pelletier Radford

Overview

Use this updated resource to prepare for your journey into teaching

This newly revised and updated 2nd edition of The First Years Matter provides key actions steps and a flexible twelve-month curriculum - including July for reflection and planning - to help you proactively prepare for your first few years in the classroom. Maximize your effectiveness in the classroom as you:

• Apply mentoring lessons to differentiate instruction
• Integrate student voice
• Prepare for teacher observations and standardized testing
• Gather evidence to document your progress

This updated version includes a robust companion website featuring videos, downloadable forms, and a journal for reflection.

Use with Mentoring in Action, the companion guide for mentors!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781506345062
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	07/29/2016
Series:	Corwin Teaching Essentials
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	296
Sales rank:	1,062,235
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Carol Pelletier Radford is the founder of Mentoring in Action, an organization dedicated to the success of novice teachers and their mentors. Before she established her own organization to support mentors and new teachers, she was a veteran elementary school teacher and a teacher preparation leader. Carol is the author of Corwin’s bestselling books Mentoring in Action: Guiding, Sharing, and Reflecting With Novice Teachers and The First Years Matter: Becoming an Effective Teacher.

Carol received her Education Doctorate from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, where she focused her studies on mentoring and teacher leadership. She is also a certified yoga teacher who practices meditation and shares mindfulness strategies with educators through her online courses and website. Her podcast Teaching With Light features the stories of teachers and inspirational leaders. Her next passion project is the creation of a Teacher Legacy Network, where retired teachers can share their wisdom with the next generation of teachers.

You can learn more about Carol, find free resources, videos, meditations, courses, and all of her books at mentoringinaction.com/.

Twitter: @Mentorin Action
Facebook: @Mentoringin Action4Teachers
Instagram: @cpradford

Table of Contents

Foreword: Peter M. De Witt
Preface
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Introduction
Part I Beginning Your Journey Into Teaching
The Purpose of Induction and Mentoring
Sustainable Mentoring
What is Mentoring in Action?
Building a Relationship With Your Mentor
Purposeful Mentoring Conversations
Part II Month-by-Month Mentoring: Being Mentored in Action
Why Do We Need a Mentoring Curriculum?
A Month-by-Month Cycle for Mentoring
The Transformation of a Teacher
August Orientation to the School and Community: Resources and Values
September Beginning the School Year Successfully: Creating a Community of Learners in the Classroom
October Teaching For Understanding: Planning and Delivering Effective Instruction
November Assessing Diverse Learners: How Do Teachers Know Students Have Learned?
December Maintaining Balance: Teaching and Keeping the Students Interested
January Beginning a New Calendar Year: Looking Back and Moving Forward
February Engaging Students in the Curriculum: Focus on Content through Active Inquiry
March With Your Mentor: Building a Trusting Relationship
April Standards: Creating Meaningful Standards-Based Learning Experiences for Students
May Assessing Students’ Progress: High-Stakes Tests and Teacher Assessment
June Completing the Year: Paperwork, Relationships, and Closing a Room
July Final Reflection and Planning For Next Year: Retreat, Reflect, Review

Editorial Reviews

"The Mentoring in Action and The First Years Matter books are critical resources that each mentor will need to provide support for becoming a qualified mentor."

Angela Downing

"The two texts, Mentoring in Action and The First Years Matter, are companion texts that give both participants a guide for discussions, suggestions for activities, and a place to track reflections. They also allow for targeted differentiation. "

Maureen Perkins

"Our district will use the Mentoring in Action and The First Years Matter texts to directly align with teacher evaluation standards and create a common language among our mentors and novice teachers. "

Bethany Botelho

I love the idea of having mentors and mentees work alongside each other with Mentoring in Action and The First Years Matter, sharing their thoughts about challenges and successes each month and opening up a reflective dialogue.

Karen Mayotte

"Mentoring in Action and The First Years Matter are so important to guide discussions between mentor and mentee and are also helpful when differentiating for a new teacher’s needs."

Elyse Hager

"With the Mentoring in Action and The First Years Matter books, training of mentors is consistent and comprehensive. The First Years Matter is structured enough to provide a clear path toward helping a new hire to achieve independence. "

John Radosta

"The Mentoring in Action and The First Years Matter books have given me so much knowledge and understanding of the mentoring process that I feel more than confident in my ability to direct a mentoring program. "

Adam Crawford Crombie

"Integrating teacher evaluation standards fits naturally into the reflection prompts and activities in The First Years Matter and Mentoring in Action texts. "

Caitlin Corrieri

"I will most definitely use the Mentoring in Action text paired with The First Years Matter text as a month-by-month curriculum to focus mentoring conversations."

Kristen Daly

"Carol Radford is the consummate professional educator. From the outset of my association with her, she has been a conscientious and dedicated administrator, a mentor, and a generous and supportive colleague. Readily able to foster constructive connections between course material and her own exemplary classroom experience, she has consistently provided innovative direction and support to classroom teachers by way of the books she has authored. Generations of educators have and will continue to use them.

Dr. Radford’s commitment to teaching in urban populations has distinguished her contribution to the education profession. I continue to be impressed by her command of relevant research and effective instructional techniques. Her skill is facilitating communication. She effectively addresses the interface between practice and education with the primary objective of identifying the relevant issues in support of human well-being. Dr. Radford is truly a reflective practitioner, and I always appreciate opportunities to learn from her as she continues to clarify the relevant issues in educational practice by way of her latest publications. "

Cameron Marzelli

"What amazes me about the Mentoring in Action and First Years Matter books is that every aspect of the teaching field is addressed."

Kerri Schoonover