RUNNING START: AN ONGOING COMPREHENSIVE INDUCTION PROGRAM FOR

BRAND NEW UNLICENSED SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS AND THEIR

INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES

UTAH STATE PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT GRANT2010 OSEP PROJECT DIRECTORS’ CONFERENCE

WASHINGTON, D.C.JULY 19-21, 2010

UTAH’S BIG PROBLEM: TEACHER SHORTAGES

• 50% of new special education teachers hired in Utah are unlicensed.

• It’s been that way for most of the 21st century.

THE INEVITABLE DILEMNA

SINK SWIM

Running Start

Ready to Teach on Day 1

A PRACTICAL RESPONSE

THE PURPOSE OF RUNNING START

THE FOUR PHASES OF RUNNING START

RUNNING START’S REACH

A LOT OF COLLABORATIVE PLANNING

• Planning is continuous throughout the year

• School districts, IHEs, SEA, SPDG are all at the table

PLANNING IN A CIRCUS ATMOSPHERE!

FOCUS ON VITAL BEHAVIORS?

• High leverage behaviors that make a big difference

• “Discover a few vital behaviors, change those, and problems—no matter their size, topple.”

RUNNING START’S VITAL BEHAVIORS

• For Teachers– Reinforce appropriate

behavior and correct responses

– Use signals to gain and maintain student attention

– Elicit student response opportunities

– Correct/re-teach– Model/demonstrate/

guided practice– Monitor student progress

• For Coaches– Observe teacher– Collaboratively explore the

data collected– Demonstrate/teach

instructional behaviors– Provide feedback– Develop positive

relationship with teacher– Provide emotional support

and encouragement

VITAL BEHAVIORS MANTRA FOR TEACHERS AND COACHES

“To make sure the goal is achieved, I created eight laws of learning: explanation, demonstration, imitation, repetition, repetition, repetition,repetition, repetition.”

Coach John Wooden1910-2010

INSTRUCTIONAL COACHING AS PARTNERSHIP LEARNING*

The Partnership Principles• Equality• Choice• Voice• Dialogue• Reflection• Praxis• Reciprocity* University of Kansas, Center for Research on

Learning, Instructional Coaching Institute

Virtual Teach Me

• Developed at the University of Central Florida• Lisa Dieker and colleagues from education,

engineering, computer science, mathematics, and theater departments

• Utah State Personnel Development Grant (Running Start) and Utah State University’s Alternative Teacher Preparation Program have served as a field test site for the past year

Meet the Kids

Running Start Ready to Teach on Day 1

TeachMe™ During Running Start

• New teachers practiced vital teaching behaviors– Meet and greet students– Taught pre-written lesson for a academic skills– Taught rules

• Coaches practiced vital coaching behaviors– Observations– Modeling– Data collection– Feedback

Running Start Ready to Teach on Day 1

Current Uses of TeachMe

• Running Start– Instructional Coach training– Continued BSN training

• USU Alternative Teacher Preparation Program– Severe disabilities– Mild/moderate disabilities

Running Start Ready to Teach on Day 1

BASIC EVALUATION QUESTIONS• Do Running Start BSNs

– Demonstrate core vital teaching behaviors

– Report high levels of job satisfaction

– Receive high performance ratings from supervisors

– Report positive levels of support from coaches

– Have positive perceptions of the RS training experience

– Remain in teaching (i.e., retention)

• Do coaches…• Implement vital

coaching behaviors with fidelity• Positively influence

student achievement

Running Start Ready to Teach on Day 1

JOB SATISFACTION

Running Start Non-RS Running Start Non-RS

I get a lot of joy from my job

95% 93% 92% (70) 91% (58)

My school is a good place to work

86% 92% 86% 92%

Overall level of job satisfaction

91% (52) 89% (38) 86% (53) 86% (44)

2008-09 2009-10

RETENTION

• One year retention rates for 08/09 Utah BSN cohort– Overall: 90.2%– For licensed BSNs: 91%– For unlicensed BSNs: 90%– For BSNs who attended Running Start: 94%

COACH FIDELITY OF IMPLEMENTATION

Observe new teacher using a structured observation system 64%

Have a conversation with new teacher about what was observed 70%

Offer specific suggestions to improve teacher performance 88%

Offer encouragement and emotional support 98%

Review student progress data with new teacher 66%

Provide verbal feedback 92%

Provide written feedback 56%

Demonstrate an instructional procedure by modeling it 36%

Communicate with your new teacher via email or text message 92%

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• How do you get brand new unlicensed special education teachers ready to teach on Day One?

• What type of supports do new unlicensed special education teachers and their instructional coaches need at various points during the school year?

• What’s the best evidence of success?

http://www.runningstartutah.org/