6 Things We Learned From the Spring Survey of Participating Teachers

Three teachers working together

According to the spring survey completed by ELP participants this year, we are doing a lot right - but there are a few areas we need to continue to improve on. We love getting feedback, and below we will share what we are doing to address those concerns.

But first, housekeeping.

The survey was sent to:

  • 41 Virtual Instructional Coaches (VICs), with a 100% response rate

  • 21 In-Person Mentors (IPMs), with an 86% response rate

  • 68 New Teachers (NTs), with a 60% response rate

Let’s start with the good news.

New Teachers became more competent and confident

Of the respondents,16 were first year teachers at their current school, 15 were second year, and six were third year. (Some had years of experience teaching at other schools.) Their overall experience with ELP was positive, and nearly all NTs said they enjoyed working with both their VIC and IPM.

We were also heartened by these statistics:

  • 92% said they were successful working on their “One Big Thing” (more on this below!)

  • 89% want to be a career long teacher

  • 89% learned a lot from working with their mentor

  • 82% said ELP support helped them get through the school year

  • 76% learned a lot working with their coach. One NT said, “I've had a great coach that has allowed me to grow in my specific position!”

NTs told us that the top three areas where ELP was most helpful were: 

  • Having a veteran teacher share knowledge and experience

  • Gaining subject specific support and resources

  • Having a safe person to vent or confide in 

Connecting with other educators, building relationships, and knowing you are not alone in your challenges were common themes, too. This was not surprising, as we heard this over and over again in the assessment of our two-year pilot program

Virtual Instructional Coaches and In-Person Mentors felt effective

ELP would not be successful without the dedication of our VICs and IPMs. In the survey, nearly all participating VICs and IPMs said ELP made them feel like Teacher Leaders. 

93% of VICs said they felt effective at supporting their NT (a few VICs had difficulty connecting with their NTs), while 94% of IPMs said the same. An IPM shared that “being able to make four people feel comfortable and confident in themselves as new teachers has been amazing.”

One coach reported, “I was able to bring a perspective of working with students with complex behavioral needs that helped my New Teacher feel competent in her work and relieved some of the anxiety about the work. I also feel that I helped validate her feelings when things were very hard and progress was very slow.”

78% of VICs agreed that the NTs they supported:

  • Had greater well-being and/or less stress than they would have without the ELP supports

  • Grew more as a teacher this year than they would have without the ELP supports

The numbers for IPMs were even higher:

  • 89% agreed that NTs they supported had greater well-being and/or less stress than they would have without the ELP supports

  • 83% agreed that the NTs they supported grew more as a teacher this year than they would have without the ELP supports

Veteran teachers offered practical advice

A lot of NTs wanted to talk to their IPMs about whether this was the right profession for them. These confidential conversations are extremely important, which is perfectly illustrated by this one anecdote an IPM shared, “[My NT] has not talked about leaving teaching in the last 4 months.”

NTs asked their VICs for advice on a broader range of topics:

  • Staying in the profession

  • Switching schools within their district or districts entirely

  • Curriculum and instruction planning

  • Managing student behavior

  • Working with administrators

A VIC noted, “I believe I was able to collaborate well in hearing of new teacher challenges, and celebrating successes. I was able to provide ideas, resources and suggestions, then time to apply it before reconnecting. I kept our sessions focused on the NT, to address their challenges, questions, and needs, which I think they appreciated.” 

VICs reported that the top three areas that were most important to their NTs were:

  1. Reflecting on teaching practice

  2. Discussing infrastructure concerns and problems

  3. Handling student behavior and discipline matters

And IPMs said:

  1. Venting/processing emotional aspect of teaching

  2. Feeling welcomed/supported in their school building

  3. Discussing instructional concerns/problems

An IPM told us, “The teacher I supported expressed that she felt she grew in the classroom. She also expressed to me how much our talks and work together made her feel supported and connected.” 

Working on “One Big Thing” was successful

At the beginning of the school year, IPMs asked their NTs to choose “One Big Thing” to work on during the school year. 

By far, the most popular “Thing” was classroom management, followed by time management. One IPM supported her NT by tracking “our time outside of the work day and [trying] to reduce that time monthly.” The third most popular topic was building relationships with parents, colleagues, and administrators. 

All IPMs reported that their NTs were either moderately or extremely successful at implementing their “One Big Thing”.

A big obstacle is finding time 

We all know that teachers have far too many demands piled on their plates. They work before and after the school day and on weekends. Until our teachers’ workloads are more manageable, this will always be an obstacle to participating in activities, no matter how beneficial.

All teachers also reported other time-related issues: conflicting time zones and schedules, workshops that were held during dinnertime, and balancing the demands of coaching after-school sports and being available for meetings and workshops.

However, we believe that ELP can help NTs regain time. One VIC told us, “I believe that I was able to take a significant workload off of my new teacher because of the lesson planning videos and documents I shared with her.” 

Participants need clearer communication 

A majority of all participating teachers said they need clearer, more streamlined communication. Using two platforms (TeachForward and Google Classroom) was one too many platforms for many teachers. 

We also heard that expectations around responsibilities and number of meetings were not clear, when assignments were due was confusing, and the differences between IPMs and VICs remained somewhat muddied.

VICs especially asked for more structure in their work with NTs, which they will be getting in the new Instructional Coaching Guide we created with TNTP.

Everyone wants more ways to connect and share

Both IPMs and VICs said they’d love to do more small group work/discussions during virtual meetings. One IPM said, “It is often overwhelming to have large groups sharing…. Sometimes we need a small group to work through things. Breakout rooms always felt more accomplished to me.”

NTs, meanwhile, said they’d love a place to communicate with each other outside of workshops and meetings. A NT explained, “It would be nice to have discussion boards where people can post things such as questions or strategies. This would allow us to hear from each other in a more consistent way than just over Zoom. It would also allow us to collaborate more with each other and gain new perspectives.”

ELP is a bold experiment with proven success. We will continue to listen to feedback and improve the model. Stay tuned!

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The Data Is In: ELP Continues to Support Teacher Retention

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Introducing a New Guide for Our Virtual Instructional Coaches