The Greening of the Teacher Workforce: Implications for Special Educator Preparation Virginia L. McLaughlin, Chancellor Professor, William and Mary TED Conference - Tempe, Arizona November 7, 2015

Off to School! But is the setting as supportive of new teachers as we’d like to believe?

What’s happening in the educator workforce? Retirements Attrition More first-year teachers Lack of diversity Underprepared and unprepared novices Unequal distribution of effective teachers Recognition of importance of professional community Low morale of teachers

Why do these workforce trends matter? Fewer clinical faculty for student teachers Fewer mentors for beginning teachers Fewer colleagues and principals knowledgeable about special education More churn in “hard to staff” schools Less effective program implementation Less in-depth professional development Less opportunity for professional learning community

Why it Really Matters Both research and experience suggest that teachers learn much of what they know in schools (as opposed to preparation institutions) from more experienced teachers.(Mehta, et al, 2015)

Bottom Line: The capacity of schools to serve students requires a well-prepared and stable professional workforce

What can we do to ensure positive clinical experiences? Establish Professional Development Schools Develop Clinical Faculty Programs Place interns in clusters Promote co-teaching Expand geographical areas Make greater use of technologies Other?

Mentoring

What can we do to support induction? Teach candidates to use support networks while in the program Help them learn to find—and even create—their own support networks Support e-mentoring programs Use social media to keep alumni networks engaged Other?

How can we prepare our candidates for co-teaching with other novices? Seize the opportunity Revisit the purpose of co-teaching Clarify general and special education roles Emphasize co-planning as support Share responsibility for student achievement

Sending off our graduates well prepared for the “new realities” of the workplace!

References Billingsley, B.S. (2010). Practical considerations for improving new special educators’ experiences in schools. Journal of Special Education Leadership, 23(1), 41-49. Billingsley, B.S., Griffin, C.C., Smith, S.J., Kamman, M., & Israel, M. (2009). A review of teacher induction in special education: Research, practice, and technology solutions (Report No. RS-1). Retrieved from http://ncipp.org/reports/rs_1.pdf Carroll, T. G., & Foster, E. (2010). Who will teach? Experience matters. Retrieved from http://nctaf.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/NCTAF-Who-Will-Teach-Experience-Matters-2010-Report.pdf . Center on Great Teachers and Leaders. (2015). Ensuring the equitable distribution of teachers: Strategies for school, district, and state leaders. Retrieved from http://www.gtlcenter.org/sites/default/files/doc/EnsuringEquitableDistributionTechers.pdf.

Friend, M. (2014). Co-Teach! Building and sustaining effective classroom partnerships in inclusive schools (2nd ed.). Greensboro, NC: Marilyn Friend. Ingersoll, R., Merrill, L., & Stuckey, D. (2014). Seven trends: the transformation of the teaching force, updated April 2014. CPRE Report (#RR-80). Philadelphia: Consortium for Policy Research in Education, University of Pennsylvania. Mehta, J., Theisen-Homer, V., Braslow, D. & Lopatin, A. (2015). From Quicksand to solid ground: Building a foundation to support quality teaching. Retrieved fromhttp://www.totransformteaching.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/From-Quicksand-to-Solid-Ground-Building-a-Foundation-to-Support-Quality-Teaching.pdf. Murawski, W.W. & Dieker, L.A. (2013). Leading the co-teaching dance: Leadership strategies to enhance team outcomes. Arlington, VA: Council for Exceptional Children.

OECD. (2014). TALIS 2013 results: An international perspective on teaching and learning. Paris, France: OECD Publishing. doi: 10.1787/97892642196261-en. Pugach, M.C., Blanton, L.P., Correa, V.I., McLeskey, J., & Langley, L.K. (2009). The role of collaboration in supporting the induction and retention of new special education teachers (Report No. RS-2). Retrieved from http://www.ncipp.org/reports/rs_2.pdf Raue, K., Gray, L. & Westat. (2015) Career paths of beginning public school teachers. National Center for Educational Statistics. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2015/2015196.pdf Scruggs, T.E., Mastropieri, M.A., & McDuffie, K.A. (2007). Co-teaching in inclusive classrooms: A metasynthesis of qualitative research. Council for Exceptional Children, 73(4), 392-416.