The Induction Year - A Naturalistic Study Of Beginning Secondary Teachers Of Agriculture In Idaho

Abstract

Education in America is in a state of change at all levels. Beginning with the report A Nation at m, a myriad of national and state task forces and special committees have followed with their findings. The Carnegie and Holmes reports have significant implications for teacher education and preparation. Little has been done nor has there been any real focus on beginning teacher induction until recently. Yet, educational leaders at most levels confirm that the beginning year of teaching is critical to future success as a professional educator. lkodical/Iiteratre Base The ideal teacher is one who has or is working diligently toward a firm grasp of basic pedagogical skills (Griffin, 1984). Basic pedagogical skills include classroom organization, management and discipline; allowing for individual differences in learners; utilizing and selecting appropriate resources; and understanding and responding to curriculum requirements that are in place in the system, the school and the classroom.

Examining Oregon Agriculture Teachers’ Professional Development Needs by Career Phase

“…Research has identified beginning agriculture teachers perceive high professional development needs in managing an advisory board (Joerger, 2002;Myers et al, 2005). Facility management has also been identified as a professional development need for beginning agriculture teachers (Boone & Boone, 2007;Mundt, 1991). Additional programmatic concerns, including the management of young farmer groups and/or adult education programs (Farrington, 1980;Layfield & Dobbins, 2002;Miller & Scheid, 1982) and grant writing (Roberts & Dyer, 2004), have been identified.…”

“…Three of the most commonly identified early career agriculture teacher needs related to classroom instruction are managing the classroom (Boone & Boone, 2007;Mundt, 1991;Myers et al, 2005), motivating students and maintaining student interest (Farrington, 1980;Joerger, 2002), and the use of technology (Joerger, 2002;Layfield & Dobbins, 2002). Additionally, Farrington (1980) found adapting instruction for students with low academic ability as a need for beginning teachers, while later studies found a need for professional development related to instruction of students with special needs across experience levels (Sorensen, Tarpley, & Warnick, 2005).…”

“…Birkenholz and Harbstreit (1987) and Myers, Dyer, and Washburn (2005) recommended focused professional development programs should be used to meet the unique needs of beginning agriculture teachers. With his study of beginning agriculture teachers in Idaho, Mundt (1991) indicated that expecting a beginning teacher to perform as if they were a veteran was unrealistic and called for research to be done to determine what can reasonably be expected of beginning teachers. This research supports assessing the needs and providing professional development experiences unique to early career agriculture teachers.…”

“…Numerous studies have been conducted within agricultural education to specifically identify the needs of beginning teachers, with some of those conducted as needs assessments (Edwards & Briers, 1999;Garton & Chung, 1996;Joerger, 2002;Layfield & Dobbins, 2002), others being direct assessments (Birkenholz & Harbstreit, 1987;Claycomb & Petty, 1983;Kahler, 1974;Miller & Scheid, 1982), Delphi panels (Mundt & Connors, 1999;Myers et al, 2005) or qualitative studies (Boone & Boone, 2007;Mundt, 1991;Talbert, Camp, & Heath-Camp, 1994).…”

Novice Teachers’ Infusion into Pedagogical Activity at American Schools

“…lesson planning, working with students, teaching subjects. Moreover, they have to deal with syllabi, teach the subjects requiring those skills they do not possess yet and organize facultative lessons according to the needs of the community (Mundt, 1992;Андреева, 2000).…”