Episode 280: Episode 280: What These Five Countries Are Doing to Support Their Teachers (Share This with Your Principal!)

On this episode of the Teaching Middle School ELA podcast, join your hosts Caitlin, Jessica, and Megan as they delve into the diverse approaches of teacher development programs across the globe. Drawing from conversations from a recent article titled, What the World Can Teach Us by Harry K. Wong, Ted Britton, and Tom Ganser, they uncover intriguing insights into how different countries support and nurture their educators.

They discuss how the approaches found in countries like China, New Zealand, Japan, and France, are used for continuous improvement of their teachers and should inspire similar initiatives in US schools.

Throughout the episode, your hosts identify three key themes: structured and comprehensive induction programs, a focus on lifelong learning, and the importance of collaboration among educators. You'll be encouraged to consider how these international models could even be incorporated into teacher support systems in your schools.

Tune in to gain fresh perspectives on teacher development and discover practical insights for enhancing professional growth in education.

You may even feel motivated to share this episode with your administrator!

Are you enjoying the podcast?

Make sure to subscribe to our channel and leave us a review!  To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE by scrolling down our show page, selecting a star rating, and tapping “Write a review.” Let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

All right, you guys, welcome back to another episode. So this one actually came from an idea from Megan. So Megan had recently read through a very interesting article that was focused on the various ways that different cultures and countries nurture and grow their new classroom teachers. So she found it so fascinating that she brought it to just Ken Mishis, like we gotta talk about this on the podcast. So what we did is we went through that article, we broke down some of our favorite observations from five different countries and then we reflected together on ways that schools in the US could learn from these methods. Now, while these methods apply to new teachers and for our new typically new teacher induction programs, we absolutely still think a lot of these different things could be taken back to your classroom with veteran teachers, with your colleagues. Maybe it's something that you even wanna share with your administrator. So really hope that this conversation sparks some ideas for you, get your wheels turning and just really has an impact on you.

Speaker 1: 1:00

All right, you guys, let's go ahead and dive into today's episode. Hi there, caitlin here. Our mission at EB academics is simple Help middle school ELA teachers take back their time outside of the classroom by providing them with engaging lessons, planning frameworks and genuine support so that you can become the best version of yourself, both inside and outside of the classroom. So if you think you might be ready to try something new, because you know you simply cannot continue the way that you have been that, I'd invite you to take a moment to check out the EB Teachers Club, the EB Writing Program or the EB Grammar Program by visiting the links in the description of the podcast. We hope to continue to support you within one of our programs in the future and in the meantime, we look forward to serving you right here on the podcast each week. All right, everybody, welcome back to another episode, today's episode. Hopefully. You clicked on it and you were like, ooh, that sounds like it's going to be interesting. We're gonna be talking about what five countries do to support their teachers and, like I said last week at the end of the podcast, this might be one of those episodes that you consider sharing with your principal or sharing with somebody in administration at your school, because a lot of these things, while we don't necessarily do it as a whole country, you could absolutely take some of these back to your specific site. So, whether you're in your first year or two as a teacher, or you're listening to this episode with 15 plus years of teaching experience under your belt. I know some of our listeners have been teaching for like 30 years, which is absolutely remarkable.

Speaker 1: 2:41

We can all agree on the importance and serious need of support for teachers in order to make teaching a sustainable profession in which teachers can grow both personally and professionally, and unfortunately, we know that this isn't really the case in a lot of schools within the US In terms of support, if you're lucky, maybe as a new teacher you were given a mentor teacher at your school to go to for questions or advice, but that might be it. I mean, I had a pretty good experience and I kind of had a mentor teacher-ish, and we'll get into talking about that in just a little bit but it seems to be really the exception and not the norm that teachers are really given the support that they need from a mentor in those first couple of years and also as you move on in the profession and you've been a teacher for 15, 20, 25 plus years, you might occasionally get a professional development flyer emailed to you or you might have to pick and choose which PD you get to go to, and then sometimes it's not approved by your admin or something that you really actually think is gonna be beneficial, and then you end up at a PD that's not beneficial at all. Let's just call this bait-a-spade. So it's just one of those things that the support that we maybe feel like we should be getting as professionals in the profession just really aren't happening. And look, it's great that a few times of the year we get a note of gratitude from our admin and treats or whatever it is, but at the end of the day, we want a different kind of support as teachers in order to keep amazing teachers in the classroom, and when it comes to that, the US has a lot to learn from other countries. And it's really interesting.

Speaker 1: 4:26

I can't remember exactly where it was, but I think I was on a flight on my way to LA and I was sitting next to this young man years ago and I was telling him that I was a teacher and I was talking about teaching in the US and all that stuff, because he wasn't from here, he was from China, and he was saying, oh, my father is a teacher and it is such a revered and honorable profession in our country and it doesn't seem like it's that way in the United States and we got into a whole very interesting conversation about that and it is.

Speaker 1: 4:58

I've read Teach Like Finland and a bunch of other books just about what teaching looks like in other countries, and we all know this. There's a lot that we can learn as a school system entity in the US as we know it, and I think that this conversation that we're gonna have is gonna be really helpful for at least taking some of these ideas from other countries that are working and hopefully being able to use them with your school. So we wanna talk to you kind of about the support that we did or didn't have over our first couple of years, because the three of us all have kind of different stories and maybe you can relate to one of ours in particular.

Speaker 2: 5:33

So, jessica, if you wanna share kind of what kind of support you had as a new teacher in the classroom, yeah, so when I started teaching it was a fourth grade class and I had turned 22 in May and in August I got my students and I had pretty much zero support, Like the one piece of advice my principal gave me was don't grade everything. I mean it's a great piece of advice and I love that, but that was truly it. I did not have a mentor teacher. I was the only fourth grade teacher at the school, right. So it's new school, new grade, new everything. And I think maybe teachers would be like oh, jessica, here's where your class stands when we have a fire drill. It was like that level of support.

Speaker 2: 6:12

Nothing with academics or standards, and that was never even in the cards, and so anything I did was like on my own time, I had to find a conference I wanted to go to, or I had to be an advocate for myself and ask for help. The one saving grace with one of my roommates at the time. I had gone to college with her. She was also a teacher at a different school and like thank God for Carrie, you know like she was my support system and I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have her. So I come from the perspective of like there was nothing in place at my school.

Speaker 1: 6:41

Yeah, and I think you are like not alone.

Speaker 1: 6:46

Right At all, you know my story is is not quite the same, and I know Megan had has a different experience too. But when I first started teaching same thing I was 22, just graduated from LMU. I was a communications major. Never took a teaching class in my life. I was hired as a grant writer at a high school and it was 2008. So I was like I'll just take any job, like it doesn't matter, I just need a job. You know what I mean.

Speaker 1: 7:12

And five days before school started, the junior English teacher left to go to a public school instead. And they gave me the keys, they gave me the right anthology books, so, like you have juniors, good luck. And it was literally like I'm sorry, I'm 22 years old, I look like a student, you know, like I should not be allowed to be teaching them. And granted, they did kind of have a little bit of a mentorship thing in place for me with some other teachers there. But what was the saving grace for me was I decided to go get my master's degree. Like as soon as I got hired as a grant writer, I was like, well, I'm just going to go back to school and get a master's in education because I know I want to be a teacher and at some point I'm going to get offered a teaching job.

Speaker 1: 7:52

So I was taking classes at Loyola Marymount at the same time that I was in my first year teaching, and so I had somebody from LMU come observe me every single week in my classroom and it was I mean, looking back on it now like what a gift, that was such a blessing, and I think that really helped me become a great teacher.

Speaker 1: 8:10

So she would come observe me every single week and then she would sit with me for an hour after each observation and she would go over all of the things that I did well, all of the things that I didn't do well, areas that I could have enhanced this specific thing and how I could have supported these students. So it was such a great debrief. I think, too, just even have that practice of sitting down and like analyzing what you just did so that you can get better at it, and so that was just ingrained in me from the beginning. And it wasn't an observation of like hey, I came in and observed you and you like met the mark here and you didn't meet the mark here. It was in depth, like very much scrutinizing what I was doing in the classroom.

Speaker 2: 8:48

So that was something though, caitlin, because I think this will come up later on in our discussion. When you met with her right, was that like after school hours, like you were done for the day and you went and met with her like or as part of the? Was it during the way in?

Speaker 1: 9:00

which we structured it is. It was during my lunch period, so she came butted up against my like class that led into lunch and then we would stay and so we were on like a block schedule. It's high school. It was different than being at a middle school. I know middle school class lunches are like 25 minutes, but it was a part of my day and then at the same time I was also doing a BITSA program which I don't even know if that stands for, and that was one of those things that it was like I get what they were trying to do in like accountability and being helpful, but that was not.

Speaker 1: 9:34

that was more paperwork and kind of like BS stuff that they wanted me to complete, compared to this mentor, professor coming in.

Speaker 2: 9:46

Just looking at it now from a perspective of like we've been out of the classroom and like our involvement in education in a way that's still not a ton of support, Like there's no in your lunch period, Like it's wonderful.

Speaker 2: 9:57

Yes but it's like when we will get into our discussion of other countries, you'll see what they do in terms of observations and it's like, oh my gosh, that makes so much more sense, Instead of Caitlin, you know, never having been in the classroom before now getting up for a lunch period to go talk about, oh, here's how I could improve as a teacher.

Speaker 1: 10:12

That's actually really interesting that you say that. So that it's it's all. It all puts it into perspective that my reflection on this experience, with this professor coming in and observing me, is like, man, I was so fortunate, I was so lucky compared to what is just the norm in other countries that we're going to get to. That would be like, really, that's all you're doing, that's all you got, that's all you guys structure it, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3: 10:37

And that's I am super passionate. You guys know I'm super passionate about this topic in general, like getting new teachers, support and induction. That's appropriate because, to your point, jessica, I feel like I had an incredible experience in my first year teaching. But when I was reading this article it came from my master's program. Actually I was like, oh, this is just so much more normal in other places and it's done even better than what I experienced. And I think my experience totally changed my entrance into the profession. Like I loved teaching from the get go because I had so much support. So I'll give you an idea, I got into teaching later in life, so as a second career, and I came from corporate America. Like I kind of shut the door on corporate America and I was like I'm going to go teach. So it was right.

Speaker 3: 11:17

After COVID, so there were a lot of teacher openings and so they were willing to hire people without, you know, certification, experience, and so I took over a fourth grade classroom for a veteran teacher who had decided to go part time. Well, she became my mentor and so I was literally stepping into her classroom. And when I say mentor, like we met Crier's the beginning of school, we met every single week during school. It was during my plan time, but it was just one day a week, so it did fit into the day. And she did the same thing observations with direct feedback, and like I could write down questions throughout the week for her, email her at any time.

Speaker 3: 11:52

Like it was just an incredible experience. Plus, she had taught with the other fourth grade teacher for years and so she was there and we ended up co-planning everything. So we shared the planning burden, which I actually kind of learned batch planning we didn't call it that, but that first year of teaching, so I was already kind of rolled into that process as well. And then just my personality I, when I interviewed and they offered me the job, I asked both the principal and vice principal, like what are you most worried about with me? And they said classroom management. So I found a PD before I even started. That the principal bought for me and like got myself set up and so I had to advocate a little bit for myself in that way. But truly, like my experience in the classroom, I it was magic, it was absolutely magic, and so I think if we are intentional about setting teachers up, it can be that way in America too.

Speaker 1: 12:36

And I think too, megan, that just made me think about like there are so many nuances within, just like how you speak, the way in which you show up as a teacher. That can't be taught in PD, that doesn't happen in a classroom, that really happens just with like this type of observation. I'll give you a perfect example.

Speaker 1: 12:53

I went in to speak at the principal to entrepreneurship institute at Marin Catholic at my former high school. I'm on the board there and they have me come in every so often and speak and the teacher of that class is a former entrepreneur, former business owner, is not a teacher. And so the first time that I came in there and I presented to the kids, I'm a teacher, you know what I mean Like I'm going to have just like my teaching, things that I just do. And he's like it was so fascinating watching you speak to them as a teacher, even though you were coming to speak about entrepreneurship. I picked up on so many little things that you did that changed like this student's experience and the whole classroom structure and the way in which the conversation went, that I've never been taught. And he's like I was taking notes on how to be a better teacher just by watching you speak to these kids for an hour, you know, and I think that piece is so missing for so many teachers, so true.

Speaker 2: 13:47

So, to bring this all back to like the topic of our episode right, we're talking about these five different countries, that's. What we're going to break down is how Switzerland, Japan, France, New Zealand and China not only assist their new teachers as they adapt to classroom life, but how do they help them grow personally and professionally. And Megan alluded to this, but this idea came from an article that she got in her master's program, and it's called what the World Can Teach Us About New Teacher Induction, and it's written by Harry Wong, Ted Brittney and- no, harry Wong, we know him.

Speaker 1: 14:17

Harry's back, harry's back. The first day is a cool.

Speaker 2: 14:20

Yes, that's exactly what I was going to say. I'm sure you've read the first days of school Like I can picture the cover so perfectly right now, like he's a staple in education, right, totally so. Overall, the five countries that we'll be discussing they provide extensive support for their new teachers, typically more in-depth for those first few years, but then it's continued support in different ways. So we're going to walk you through different things these countries do and again, share this with your principal. You might walk away with a whole brand new way of supporting teachers to help them feel confident, to help them feel proficient in the classroom. Yes, so good.

Speaker 3: 14:56

Okay, we're going to start with Switzerland. So teachers in Switzerland are viewed as lifelong learners and their induction into the classroom actually focuses both on professional and personal development. Right, we're not separating these two things, we're using them together. So it starts when they are student teachers, actually, and they're placed in teams of three so that they can network with each other, so that collaboration piece starts immediately. Then these new teachers participate in practice groups where the goal is to learn effective problem solving. So each practice group has about six teachers in them and they're actually encouraged to participate in classroom observations where they get to learn from veteran teachers. Then those veteran teachers turn around and get to observe them as well. So these practice groups contain teachers from different schools, which is amazing to me because they're learning about different ideas that come from different schools. Every school I've ever walked into is different, right? So those ideas, bringing those together is just huge. So each practice group then also has a leader who is also a classroom teacher, and that leader helps facilitate these classroom visits and observations and that leader also provides kind of like is a counselor to these new teachers to help them navigate the first few years in the profession. So then, if you're a practice group leader, you don't have the same teaching duties and responsibilities as other teachers, because they take into account the amount of time it's going to require you to really be a good mentor and a good leader to these new teachers, something we don't do in the US, and I think it's a huge thing that Switzerland does so. For example, you're expected to, as a leader of these practice groups, you're expected to participate in a range of professional development opportunities to actually strengthen yourself as a teacher and then share that knowledge with the team you're leading. But, key, you're also getting paid extra for taking on this role, so your time is compensated for. So support for new teachers in Switzerland really begins again during their student teaching. Then they get to transition easily into those first few years in the classroom and then it continues throughout professional development later in their career as well. So there's really a structure in place in Switzerland and from our different personal experiences, we really need structure in the United States, because there is none.

Speaker 3: 17:10

So let's think about what schools in the US can learn based on what Switzerland does to support their teachers. So the first is that they have an established structured induction program. Schools here in the United States can implement more structured induction programs for new teachers that actually prioritize professional development and personal growth. Along with that, these programs could include team-based experiences because again, we've talked about that collaboration piece being so important where teachers are able to problem solve with each other and then also learn from experienced educators. Next thing we could learn from Switzerland we could provide mentorship and leadership opportunities for teachers. So schools in the US could provide better mentorship programs where experienced teachers those veteran teachers are serving as the mentors to new educators.

Speaker 3: 17:56

That's what I had, that's why my experience was so unique and so special. So those veteran teachers are able to guide the new teachers through their first years in the profession. Additionally, we could create opportunities for teacher leadership roles, where teachers in those leadership roles are given the time, the resources and they're compensating for taking on those roles within their schools. This last part is key that compensation. Actually, I had to create a whole new teacher induction plan for one of my courses. This was one of the keys that I put into that new teacher induction plan that if we want veteran teachers to be mentors, we need to be compensating for that time, absolutely.

Speaker 3: 18:34

So the third thing we can learn from Switzerland is promoting cross-school collaboration. So we just really think about if your school district allowed you to collaborate with teachers from other schools. You could bring educators together from different schools and different backgrounds, bringing their diverse perspective and then sharing each other's best practices. So this could include observation opportunities in different schools and then you could also just do collaborative projects between teachers or also students. Think about collaborating with different classes would be so amazing. So much learned from Switzerland.

Speaker 1: 19:06

That's one thing that we did once, one thing that we did one time in the 10 years that I was in the classroom when I was at a Catholic school, we had a denary of like 10 schools in the area. So all of the middle school English teachers from each of those schools met, because typically there was either only one or two of us at each school site, so we don't even have colleagues to brainstorm ideas with. So we did do that one time and that was actually pretty cool and really beneficial. I can't imagine just having that baked into a part of the process, and this is just what we do on a consistent basis.

Speaker 2: 19:41

I was thinking like with what Switzerland does. I mentioned my roommate Carrie at the time. I remember going to observe her. She taught at a completely different school and the culture, the environment was very different. It was so beneficial for me to go there, but again I had to advocate for that myself. Find the sub, all the things. It was worth it, but what I went and given. If my principal said, hey, how about going to see these other fourth or fifth grade teachers in the area? Check out what they're doing?

Speaker 1: 20:06

Yeah, it's like it's that's where it's like you're a great teacher, right? So of course we're going to go do that Right. And so how do we support teachers who don't, maybe and so I mean you also had initiative, right, and not to say that other great teachers don't have initiative. Wait, hold on. Let me back up what I'm trying to say, not that you have to have initiative to be a great teacher. There are great teachers who might not just be initiative takers like that. They might be more reserved or might feel bad asking that question, and so they're just never given this opportunity because they don't feel confident raising their hand and saying, hey, put me in and let me go do that Right, and as opposed to if it was just like baked into, like this is just what we do, then everybody is given this opportunity to go do something like what you just said.

Speaker 1: 20:51

Yeah, ok, we're going to move into China now as another example, particularly the city of Shanghai, and in China, in this particular city, it's all about creating a culture in which teachers participate in collaborative work that supports themselves as teachers, their personal lives and their students learning, and I just think about the team at EB, right, how close we are as like a team, the collaborative culture that exists with our company, how much we care about each other's personal lives, how much we care about everybody's personal development not just their professional development, but like who they are as people and what a great culture we've been able to create at this team. Imagine if that was just a part of your team at your school and I know most people don't have that, and in fact that's why I did the admin workshop on March 19th. All about this because this is something that's so important. So, like Switzerland, in Shanghai the induction process for new teachers is structured not just at a school level, but this is structured district wide. So this process includes welcoming ceremonies at school.

Speaker 3: 21:59

Can you imagine that in and of itself?

Speaker 1: 22:01

So fun that in and of itself Amazing right Workshops and courses that are offered throughout the district. They have teaching competitions where teachers submit lessons that they've developed. They have mentoring. They have a dedicated district helpline, tailored for new teachers. Like hello, I know, it's amazing, it's like it's amazing, yes, and like so it's. It's tailored for new teachers to link them directly with subject matter experts. So if I have a question, I'm going to be linked with somebody who's going to help me with my specific subject matter issue. Awards for both new teachers and mentor teachers. They have half day workshops at colleges and the schools of education offered most weeks of the year and observation opportunities at other schools. Like that's remarkable to me. I mean, I think about when I was a kid, my mom was a teacher for years and she'd always say like, oh, I'm going to a workshop to go like learn, I'm going into the city to go to a workshop, and I just imagined her like being like I don't know, like a Bay Area Discovery Museum with like a table of like you know, so not what it was like which is not what it is right, but I'm like oh, workshop, like that sounds fun and it's like not like that at all, more like the cafeteria where, like the lights are working in a damn room

Speaker 1: 23:22

listening to somebody talk for two hours oh my gosh. So so cool. Right Just off the bat, it's already like mind blowing. Teachers in Shanghai also participate in lesson preparation groups, so these groups include both new and veteran teachers and they discuss and analyze the lessons that they are teaching. So think about this in terms of being similar like what we do at Batch Planning Live right. So we have hundreds of EB teachers who come together, we collaborate, we plan lessons together, we engage in professional development during these two days. Teachers in Shanghai are doing this on a consistent basis in these lesson preparation groups. New teachers in Shanghai also belong to teaching research groups, which provides them with opportunities to discuss teaching techniques and check this out.

Speaker 1: 24:11

Whether you are a new or experienced teacher in Shanghai, you must observe this is going to blow your mind at least eight lessons a semester, and most teachers do more than that and these observations become the norm, and having conversations about one's own teaching or what they observe in other classrooms becomes just second nature, and that eliminates that stress that one formal observation can bring. I think that is so, so important, because if we're only getting observed one time, they think it's like testing for our students. It's one snippet of one day that shows one iota of the capability of our students. Same thing with being observed once and having like a huge observation relying on that one day. It just seems wild to me that we are not just that, we just don't have coaches. The best athletes have coaches on a consistent basis.

Speaker 1: 25:08

Why are we not teaching, treating teachers like professional athletes? You know, like God, it just drives me crazy. Anyways. So a big takeaway that schools in the US could adopt is to emphasize regular classroom observation. You can totally do this at your school. So how can you make this even more commonplace at your school level? So, Jess, can I do this at our school, where we talk together? We're like, look, we're just going to start observing people. Like screw it, Our principal was on board.

Speaker 1: 25:33

I'm like we're coming in, like we're going in first grade we're in third grade, like I'm going into the eighth grade history teachers class, who scares everybody. But I'm coming in and I'm observing you, right, and we just did it because we were initiative takers, we were action takers and we really wanted to see everybody succeed at our school with this new comic or ELA standards at that time. So could you do that at your school? Yeah, you probably could. I bet you. Your principal would appreciate that type of initiative from a great teacher like you. So can you ask your teacher? You know, can you figure out class coverage for me? You know it was sub sorted, shortages and things like this.

Speaker 1: 26:07

This could be challenging, but at least you can get the discussion going with your principal that you want to observe other people. You want other people to come and observe you. You want to be able to create this community and this culture of collaboration at your school. Maybe your principal comes in for 20 minutes while you go to another class for 20 minutes, like that's it, just to be able to be there.

Speaker 1: 26:27

I think it's cool, too, to show our students this type of collaboration, because what they're witnessing is that in action, right, that we are role models for what it looks like to be okay with feedback, to be able to give feedback to other people, to be able to utilize it to help me be better in my profession, because, at the end of the day, that's what they're going to have to do and whatever job they go into is like they're going to be able to.

Speaker 1: 26:51

They're going to need to be able to give and receive feedback openly if they're in a good, you know, culture in which their profession, that they choose, is. So if it seems daunting to bring this up to your principal, maybe just share this podcast episode with them, you know, and point out that making classroom observations as a standard part of your professional development as a teacher is going to just take a lot of that pressure of formal observations off your shoulders. It's going to create just a positive, open culture at your school, just continuous learning, like that's really what it is is. It's continuous learning, which we should all, quite frankly, be doing anyways. So that's that's China, shanghai.

Speaker 2: 27:28

Okay, now we get to move on to our next country, new Zealand, and actually I think this one is pretty cool. I mean, they're all cool, but I like what New Zealand is doing. So New Zealand has an advice and guidance or an AG program in place to introduce new teachers to what will become life long professional development. So this is where my like mind is literally blown by this. All new teachers get 20% released time from teaching to participate in the advice and guidance program. So I was thinking about this and you guys have to correct me if I'm wrong, because math is not my strong suit that's like one day a week, right, yeah, 20%, okay, yeah, that's huge. And I love this concept because the reality of teaching, like once you're in the classroom, is so different than the methods, classes you took in college. So when do you really need that professional development and that advice and that guidance? It's right when you start teaching and it's kind of like having a baby. Right, you can read all the books by all the newest gear, the gadgets, you can have the best nursery setup and think like, okay, I'm ready for the baby, and then, once the baby comes, it's like wait what? Like, this is not how I thought it was going to be right. You have no idea what it's actually like. Same thing in teaching. You can do student teaching, you can take your methods classes, you can read the book the first day of school, all the things but until you're actually in your own classroom you don't know what type of advice or what type of guidance you're going to need and in reality, like it's probably going to change from Tuesday to Wednesday to week one to week four, it's going to be different. So I think it's so brilliant that New Zealand has this consistent built-in PD to help teachers grow and, just like the other countries that Megan and Caitlin were talking about, new Zealand provides observation opportunities. They make that a paramount part of their support for teachers.

Speaker 2: 29:18

So again, what can US schools do? Well, schools can start to see how can we take some things off our teachers' plates and provide them with designated time for advice and guidance when teachers need it most, whether you're new to the profession or whether you're a veteran teacher and I get it like that is easier said than done Just take things off a teacher's plate, right? Well, yeah, we get it. That's hard, that's challenging, but the very first step is going to be speaking to your principal about that. What can we do to make this more sustainable? You know, show them you are a great teacher. They don't want to lose you in the classroom. So at least start the discussion of how can we take some things off our plates and help me grow as a teacher.

Speaker 2: 30:01

So next step is Japan and Japan. It's really interesting, caitlin, you mentioned this earlier. You were talking about China with the person you met on the plane, but Japan is another country where teaching is really considered a prestigious and honorable profession. Like you're really valued in society when you're a teacher, and like that would be amazing if that was the case in the US, but unfortunately, like it isn't always that way. Like I mean, I'm sure you two can relate, but like how many times have people said, oh, will you get summers off? Or like, oh, do you color with your students? And it's like, no, I don't. You know like I'm really busy in the classroom. We're doing a lot of hard things.

Speaker 1: 30:39

Although that would be fun, it would be fun.

Speaker 2: 30:43

But when you're in Japan and you're a new teacher, you actually get a reduced workload and again you're assigned a guiding teacher to support you as you get started in the classroom. So here they are taking things off your plate, like again going back to that baby example. How amazing would it have been those first few weeks of having a newborn to have someone in your house saying Let me help with the cleaning, let me help prepare dinners, what can I do to take some things off your plate so that you can get like your footing? So if you're a new teacher in Japan, it's also standard for you to teach two or more lessons in your first year that are observed by admin, a guiding teacher, the principal and a whole bunch of other teachers. And I find this really interesting that in Japan teaching is really it's seen as a public activity. So teachers get observed, they go observe others, people are invited into your classroom and it's kind of just the norm. So there isn't this like heavy weight again on like this one observation or like, oh my gosh, my principal's coming tomorrow, like what kind of lesson should I teach? No, you're just teaching like normal. And then, yes, for some of the times you are preparing something special for teachers or other teachers to watch, but you're used to it, it's just a part of the job. Additionally and this is kind of cool all Japanese teachers participate in a sponsored in-service program.

Speaker 2: 32:07

But this is not just when you start teaching, it's when you've been in the classroom for five years, again in 10 years and again in 20 years, and I think this is awesome. It's like all the other countries we've been talking about. It shows that they value the ability to always learn, to improve, to grow as a teacher, and I think we can take away some of that from Japan. We can provide our teachers with more in-service opportunities, not just for new teachers but for our veteran teachers. Help them stay abreast with the new methodologies right, the new technologies or the best practices. Let them discuss and observe with one another so that our whole school becomes a culture of personal and professional growth. And then, if we're doing that right, we're staying on top of the educational trends, we're meeting our students' needs, and I just think it's beautiful when it's just built into the classroom culture again, not just for new teachers but for everyone who works with students.

Speaker 3: 33:03

The openness of Japan's classrooms. Remind me of what you experienced at Ron Clark. Yes, 100%, because there's just this culture of, like our classrooms are going to be observed, the teachers are going to be getting feedback, like this is something that happens every day and the students know it and the teachers know it, and I think we see that done well at Ron Clark in the United States and we could be doing that in other schools too.

Speaker 3: 33:24

So, sure, all right. The last country we're going to talk about is France, then. So if you are a new teacher in France, you are known and I looked up how to pronounce the word.

Speaker 1: 33:32

How to pronounce this All right, give us your best friends.

Speaker 3: 33:35

You gave Megan the hard word to say I don't speak French, but you're known as what's called a Stagiaire. Oh good, say it again I don't like Stagiaire.

Speaker 1: 33:46

I don't even know if that was correct, but it sounded great. It sounds good.

Speaker 3: 33:50

That's how the lady on Google said it, and I'm trying to like bring her tone in too. Oh, you did. The voice softened, it was like fresh.

Speaker 1: 33:57

And my brother used to speak French. We could go ask him. We would call him that would be great.

Speaker 3: 34:03

So this word basically means that you are someone who is in a stage of development. So these Stagiaires have access to advisors and so, like in other countries we've talked about, they participate in a ton of observation opportunities. So they also get to attend special learning sessions outside of school at this place called the IUFM, and this was an institution that was established in 1991 with the very purpose of handling teacher education and development, which I think is really cool. So, according again to this article that we read, a typical day for a new teacher in France might involve prepping several lessons, actual teaching, doing some grading, tutoring in small groups, observing other teachers, participating in and then discussing lessons taught by teacher in a different school in the area, and then also working on lessons for sessions they attend at the IUFM. So these teachers are not in the classroom every day. They're doing all kinds of different things, so it's definitely a continuance of their learning.

Speaker 3: 35:04

So new teachers are also expected to write a professional memoir.

Speaker 3: 35:07

This is my favorite part of what happens in France.

Speaker 3: 35:09

So they can do it alone or they can do it with another teacher, but this project basically allows them to explore an academic issue or some aspect of teaching in greater detail and like really relating it to their experience, which I think is just super cool.

Speaker 3: 35:24

So what stands out to me about new teachers in France is that, once again, they're taking part in a lot of observation opportunities and they're observing teachers in various roles as well as other new teachers and veteran teachers, and I think we've talked about before how, yes, we can learn so much more about veteran teachers, but new teachers bring fresh perspectives and we should be learning from each other in that capacity as well.

Speaker 3: 35:45

So they get to go to different schools and see lessons done in other subjects, teachers who work with small groups and even observe some admin, and so it's just. I appreciate so much how they're learning from such a diverse group of educators, and I also appreciate how new teachers in France aren't teaching all day. Like I mentioned, they're doing a variety of things to grow with educators and it's very much like they still get to be students themselves and take what they're learning and apply it to their own classrooms and to their students. So we've covered a ton of information in this episode, but I think there are three main similarities that we can really take away from these five countries and what they include in their teacher induction programs, and Caitlin's going to share that with us.

Speaker 1: 36:25

Yeah. So first, the induction programs they're structured and they're comprehensive. I mean, I'm sure you guys were listening to this and like, oh my gosh, I cannot believe everything that goes into these programs for teachers in other countries. Right, they're organized, they're rigorous, they include administrators, mentors, instructors. They're also consistent and they don't just consist of a professional development day once a year or twice a year. You know, after I graduated with my master's degree from LMU, I never had that person come in and observe my classroom again. I never had that feedback on a consistent basis anymore, like it just kind of went like poof and that was it. Like two years are good, right?

Speaker 1: 37:05

Second, these countries view professional learning as a lifelong process and their induction programs are considered one phase of that. Right, this is just the beginning of your teaching journey and this really is in stark contrast to the mentoring system found in some schools in the US which, quite frankly, often lack structure, often lack purpose, often lack you know, even how does this even apply to what I'm doing in the classroom? Right? It's not even relevant. So here, mentor teachers are often assigned to new teachers. It's not very proactive. It's another thing that they don't get paid for, that they got to go. You know, do this additional workload and nothing has taken off of their plates to be able to go put that into practice. So instead, new teachers seem to go to mentors only when they're struggling and not before they need guidance and support. So we're not being proactive in any capacity at all.

Speaker 1: 37:56

And then, third, collaboration really is just this central theme to these induction programs in these five countries. Teachers are placed in groups, they're in teams, they learn from other new teachers, they learn from veteran teachers, both in and out of school and in the US. So much of teaching is done in isolation. It makes it really challenging for new teachers to experience success and wins early in their career. There's so many of our AB teachers who are like, yeah, I'm the only teacher at my school, like this community is the only place that I have collaboration with anybody, because they don't have anything at their schools. So it's very you know, it's not common here, it's not the norm, it's very much the exception to have that type of collaboration.

Speaker 2: 38:33

And I think, like, after reflecting all of this, like it comes down to like we all know good teachers make a huge difference in students learning right. So what can we do to support good teachers and help them grow professionally and personally? So we know they need that consistent support. Now how do we make it happen right? So hopefully this episode just inspired you, that it doesn't have to be the way it is just because it's always been done this way at our school. Right, let's look at other countries.

Speaker 2: 39:02

I know Caitlin mentioned the book Teach Like Finland. It's one I'm reading right now. I absolutely love it and in there it's saying you don't have to all of a sudden become like a finished school and like go outside every 15 minutes and do all the things like, but there are certain things that you absolutely can adapt, like having a brain break or whatever it is. My point is that what can you take away from these different countries and say, ok, it is practical to try this at my school. And again, if it's a little intimidating to start that conversation, share this episode and get the conversation going, or even that article.

Speaker 1: 39:33

We can post the links of the article in the show notes for you guys. You can show that article with your principal and just be like hey, I came across this Thought, you might be interested in reading it.

Speaker 3: 39:40

Yeah, and I think just encouraging new teachers to have the courage to just send the email. Send the email. It never hurts to ask to your principal to say, hey, I want to go observe and I guarantee you 90% of the time they're going to help you. Go do that because that's going to help you as a teacher.

Speaker 1: 39:54

Well, because, as the boss, as the principal, to me that says this person's an initiative taker.

Speaker 3: 40:00

Yeah, yeah, she wants to get better.

Speaker 1: 40:02

You know, I work as a person on my team. Yeah, yeah, all right you guys. Well, thank you so much for joining us. Hopefully this episode gave you guys something to think about Next week. On the podcast, jessica and Pat, our curriculum writer, interviewed a guest right who is speaking to us about effective adaptations for ELLs and special education.

Speaker 2: 40:22

Jane Watson works on Team EB. He's a special guest for us and he talked about all his specialty ideas that you can adapt in your classroom. And I was telling Megan this Kalen side note I had not met Jay on screen before Like I communicate with him a lot, but had not seen him, and he looks exactly like our former principal Chris.

Speaker 1: 40:41

And I was just like come on, are you serious?

Speaker 2: 40:43

Yes, like twins and they have the same last name, and it was just real. I was just going to say are they related? I don't know. I should have asked, but I doubt it.

Speaker 1: 40:49

But it was funny. And he has a wealth of knowledge.

Speaker 2: 40:51

He does, but it's not him, because I yeah, not him. Ok, that would be so crazy, right. Would have been full circle, but it was a really interesting interview and he shared a lot of insight and he and Pat used to teach together in the classroom, so very cool. Definitely tune in to that episode.

Speaker 1: 41:05

Awesome. Well, thank you guys so much for joining us today. Hopefully this was helpful for you and make sure that you give us a follow over on Instagram. Come like our silly memes and hopefully they make you laugh, sometimes at eBay Academics. And we will see you guys next week on the podcast. Bye everybody, bye, bye, bye, guys.