Six Steps to Induction

1. Identify your Induction Team

2. Self-assess

3. Write the plan

4. Expand the lines of ownership and leadership

5. Monitor the process

6. Focus on results

Phillip Schlecty defines induction as All social processes associated with ensuring that members are aware of and embrace the norms and values of the group or organization and that they possess the skills, attitudes and habits of mind necessary to fulfill the roles they are assigned in the group or organization.

Below are six steps for developing an effective induction system.

Step 1: Identify your Induction Team. Membership may include anyone on your staff interested in his/her own professional growth and the professional growth of colleagues, including new educators. Consider inviting your NESS School Liaison, Instructional Coaches, and National Board Certified Teachers and candidates, as well as any other teachers and administrators committed to professional development. The development of this team as a Professional Learning Community is recommended.

Step 2: Self-Assess. Arrange a block of time for your Induction Team to meet and critically analyze the current state of induction at your site. Provide the team with HRD’s Induction Rubric to determine strengths and gaps related to each of the three induction components, Orientation, Collaboration and Support, and Accountability and Assessment. A question to consider after completing the self-assessment is, “What did we learn about our school’s priorities and beliefs regarding professional development and induction?”

Step 3: Write the Plan. Provide substantial block(s) of time for your Induction Team to write the plan. The key to writing an effective plan is generating reflective, collaborative conversations about the current reality and desired state of each induction component. The electronic Induction Systems Planning Tool is designed to provide structure for these conversations and to facilitate future revisions, so that the Induction Plan becomes a living, evolving record of the school’s continuous improvement process. Decide together which component(s) to address first; consider the self-assessment and discussions from Step 2 in making this choice. Then use the guiding questions/statements provided in the Planning Tool to continue the dialogue, taking the time necessary to develop a clear understanding of where you are and where you want to be.

Step 4: Expand the lines of ownership and leadership.

With your Induction Team in place, your self-assessment completed, and the first draft of the Induction Plan written, it is time to begin transitioning ownership of induction at your site to the stakeholders who will be involved and impacted. The work of supporting and developing teachers must move from being the responsibility of the team to that of the school. How to achieve this step will be determined by the Induction Team. The questions below are designed to facilitate this process.

How will we share the plan with the staff?

Where are our largest gaps between current reality and desired state?

In order to reduce the gaps, whose voluntary support is needed, what barriers can we foresee, and how might the barriers be limited or eliminated?

Who knows about, understands, and is committed to the implementation of the Induction Plan?

What systemic changes might be required to support the implementation of the Induction Plan?

What new skills and knowledge will be required to implement the Induction Plan, and to what extent are these available within the existing staff?

Step 5: Monitor the Process

Monitoring any continuous improvement process can be a challenge. Measuring where we begin and where we end is common practice and comfortably fits our paradigm of pre and post testing. However, in order to determine whether growth is, in fact, continuous, frequent monitoring of the small steps along the way is essential.

In Step 4, you identified gaps in the current reality and desired state of your induction processes, as well as the changes that need to be made to close those gaps.

Guiding questions for Step 5 are:

How are we doing?

What indicators will we use to determine our progress?

How often will these be addressed?

Using the Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP) at this point will help you answer those questions and provide structure for your work. Listen to how a CIP can be used to monitor induction work.

Step 6: Focus on Results

Focusing on Results brings attention to the big picture - the overall health and impact of Induction at your school. It is possible that the individual processes of your induction system are moving toward their desired states, but the “patient” is still not doing as well as expected. Is there evidence that your Induction System is producing positive results in the five areas below?

1. New Educator SatisfactionAre new hires satisfied with the type and level of support?

2. Teacher RetentionAre more teachers remaining at your school, since the implementation of your Induction Plan?Are there links between certain types of induction experiences and longevity?

3. Job SatisfactionIs there evidence that your induction system increases confidence and job satisfaction among faculty members?

4. Teacher Learning Is there a connection between induction processes and improved pedagogy? Have teachers changed their instructional practices as a result of induction?

5. Student Learning Has induction at your site led to increased student achievement?

After careful analysis of your data on job satisfaction, learning, and retention, consider setting a SMART goal for each of these areas. With these goals in mind, review the Induction Rubric and reassess your school’s Induction Plan. Continue the six step cycle, modifying the design or sequence as needed to ensure the continuous improvement of induction at your site.