Rural Teachers in Project Launch

Mary M Harris,Linda Holdman,Robin Clark,T Robert Harris

doi:10.35608/ruraled.v26i2.513

Mary M Harris, Linda Holdman + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.35608/ruraled.v26i2.513

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Abstract

The success of Project Launch, a teacher induction program sponsored by a regional teacher center and a consortium of universities, is compared for rural and non-rural participants. Indicators of success include teacher accomplishment of action plan goals, teacher self and mentor assessment of teaching strengths related to action plan goals, profiles of teaching strengths, and retention in teaching. Measures of teaching strength are related to INTASC standards. Rural participants differed significantly from non-rural participants in their lower self-perceived accomplishment of action plan goals. Rural participants were significantly more likely to move from their 1st positions after 1 year, but their attrition was not significantly different in later years. Ways to structure induction programs more effectively for rural participants are proposed.

Highlights

MethodsUndertaken with Goals 2000 funding, Project Launch aimed to improve standards-based teaching and learning
Focusing on the success of Project Launch for rural participants, this study examined several indicators
There was a tendency for fewer rural teachers to view the areas of their action plan goals as areas of strength at the end of the school year, and this trend was supported by the observations of their mentors

Summary

Methods

Undertaken with Goals 2000 funding, Project Launch aimed to improve standards-based teaching and learning. In a state with strong traditions of voluntary assessment, the introduction of standards into Project Launch was unobtrusive. The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction had recently developed curriculum frameworks for voluntary adoption by school districts. These were made available to participants whose action plans involved lesson or curriculum development. We introduced the INTASC standards, modified slightly by the planning group to the format reported, the Project Launch Framework for Teaching, a tool for thinking about teacher performance. Before developing an action plan, teacher partnerships are asked to consider the framework for teaching endorsed by the project planners. We are committed to a complex vision of teaching and encourage you, in your work together, to seek to develop your teaching in ways that show that new (and experienced) teachers

Results

Discussion

Conclusion