The best way to ensure that every teacher, whether they are in traditional brick-and-mortar classrooms or part of online learning programs, refines their teaching skills and methods to the very best of their experience and gets used to providing multiple methods of practice to adapt to every type of learning ability is by practice.

 This is why it is so important for all new teachers to go through one year of supervised practice. One entire year of practice means that teachers are constantly evaluated and supported by an instructor who watches their technique, tells where they are strong and areas of improvement, and gives the practicing teacher a person to bounce off ideas and see what they could improve on in the future.

What is the Gold Star Method of Practice?

We at Ei360 feel that supervised practice is not the gold star method of practice. The best type of practice for any type of person practicing any skill at all is practice with immediate feedback (Markovic & Isidora, 2021). Now, we know it’s harder to implement this type of practice than other types of supervised practice, it is easily the most effective and the fastest way for any new teacher to learn how to support their classroom and teach on their own but what if there was a new way? What if we provided coaches for teachers for their final year of teaching and their first year in the classroom, wouldn’t that help with retention? Yes, we believe so… Currently at Ei360, we have a 98% teacher retention rate, a 1:1 coaching support for new teachers, and an expedited support system that provides expedited teacher growth.

Are your teachers getting immediate feedback?

Unlike traditional supervised teaching methods, where the supervisor watches a lesson and meets teachers at a later date. At Ei360 we utilize an e-coaching model, which takes place in three parts. First, the coach/instructor co-review a lesson that is going to be observed, next is the video observation and finally is the debrief. There is little to no delay in teaching sessions with immediate feedback and the ongoing cycle provides the teacher with necessary feedback throughout the year.

A traditional method is synchronous training;  As the coach/instructor in training supports their students using a certain teaching style, their assigned instructor can provide them with feedback and tell them and show them how to well they are doing and where they are going wrong as they do it (Regan, et al. 2017). Although this method, in theory, is great, many times when you are in the moment of teaching sometimes learning takes a back seat to the “reality of the classroom” and it’s challenging to change focuses.

So, if you are a University and you would like to support your next generation of teachers, reach out we can help your teachers thrive in an uncertain environment.

References

Markovic, Isidora. “Why Giving Instant Feedback Is Important for Effective Learning.” EduMe, EduMe, 26 Feb. 2021, edume.com/blog/role-of-feedback-in-improving-learning.  

Regan, K., Weiss, M. (Peggy), & Evmenova, A. (2017). Using eCoaching to Improve Practice of Novice Teacher Educators. Journal of Teaching and Learning With Technology, 6(1), 45–64. https://doi.org/10.14434/jotlt.v6.n1.21321