Report on the 2004-2005 Beginning Teacher Induction program in New Brunswick

COLLEGIAL PARTNERSHIPS: A REPORT ON THE 2004-2005 BEGINNING TEACHER INDUCTION PROGRAM IN NEW BRUNSWICK

This report is dedicated to Mark Holland, former chair of the Beginning Teacher Induction Program, and the retired District Supervisors, Principals and Mentors who worked with the program over the years.

Collegial Partnerships: a Report on the 2004-2005 Beginning Teacher Induction Program in New Brunswick

For the tenth consecutive year the Department of Education, in cooperation with the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association and the University of New Brunswick, organized the Beginning Teacher Induction Program (BTIP) in all nine Anglophone districts in the province. Three hundred and thirty-six (FTE) beginning teachers in 153 schools worked with experienced teachers who acted as mentors for the school year. This is the highest number of beginning teachers since the program’s inception with more than twice the number from the 1995-1996 program. The database for this report consists of survey responses from four groups of participants, (percentage returns in brackets): beginning teachers (59.9%), mentors (58.2%), principals (62%) and district coordinators (100%). Percentage return rates were lower than previous years. Contract negotiations delayed the distribution of the surveys and no surveys were distributed in one district.

Thirty-four percent of beginning teachers responding to the survey had previous teaching experience of ten months or more. This figure represents a slight decline over 2003-2004.

Four of the nine district coordinators were able to recruit more mentors after the program started, but four found the task difficult. Close to 25% of the principals also experienced difficulty recruiting mentors. Recruiting mentors is becoming a problem as more experienced teachers retire and more new teachers enter the system. Close to 90% of this year’s mentors indicated they would be willing to serve again but others commented they needed a break as they had served for a number of years.

Each district held a number of meetings for beginning teachers and mentors. Topics varied from district to district but most coordinators held an orientation meeting and a training session for mentors. Some planned closing celebrations were cancelled because of contract negotiations. The NBTA held a province-wide “Welcome to New Teachers” workshop in September 2004 and a number of sessions in school districts around the province. These workshops were well received.

The report analyses data on the participation of beginning teachers in “low-risk” and “high-risk” activities. There has been some improvement in participation in some areas and there is variation from district to district. This report also analyzes the relationship between non-participation in high-risk activities and whether these beginning teachers taught a different subject area or grade level than their mentors or identified “lack of time” as a problem.

All four participant groups supported the continuation of BTIP. Ninety-eight percent of beginning teachers responded positively to this statement, a five percent increase over the previous year. Ninety-six percent of mentors, ninety-nine percent of principals and all district coordinators indicated their support. Ninety-two percent of the beginning teachers felt they benefited from the program and ninety-two percent of their mentors agreed. Both beginning teachers and mentors identified a number of positive features of the program. Beginning teachers identified mentors, other teachers and district coordinators as supportive and expressed appreciation for the various program activities. Mentors indicated they had benefited from the program by sharing ideas and teaming, helping other professionals, having the chance to get to know another teacher and having the opportunity for reflection and rejuvenation. The ongoing problems of lack of time and differing teaching assignments from the mentors appeared again this year. Beginning teachers, mentors and principals identified lack of resources as a significant problem.

Principals responding to the survey supported the continuing of BTIP. Ninety percent felt they had received clear, comprehensive and timely information about BTIP and seventy-three percent felt recruiting mentors had been easy, though additional comments indicated the increase in the number of new teachers and the number of experienced teachers retiring could lead to problems in the future. Principals listed a number of ways they had been involved in the program including matching mentors and beginning teachers, providing overall support for the program, arranging for school visits, observing the beginning teacher and being available for consultation.

All the district coordinators felt they had received adequate professional support from the Department of Education, the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association, district offices and principals. One district coordinator pointed out how stretched the financial resources were and the need for more money to support the program. District coordinators listed a number of positive aspects of the program and identified concerns that needed to be addressed in the future. One district coordinator piloted an alternative delivery model in a small rural school where there were a large number of beginning teachers and few experienced teachers.

The report concludes by noting the many positive aspects of the program and identifying a number of issues that need to be addressed. The report also noted that a number of recommendations from the 2003-2004 report had been acted upon by the Department of Education.

1. Continue to explore alternatives to one on one mentoring for school sites where there are insufficient experienced teachers to provide a mentor for every beginning teacher. Assess the effectiveness of these initiatives and make successful models available to other districts.

2. Address the issue of mentor recruitment as a number one priority. Encourage teachers with five or more years of teaching experience to consider training as mentors for the future. Identify potential mentors and encourage them to participate in mentor training.

3. Hold face to face Steering Committee meetings at least twice a year, Fall and Spring with possible additional video/audio conferences at other times.

4. Encourage beginning teachers and mentors to make visits to other classrooms early in the year.

5. Make sure all principals are aware of what is needed to support beginning teachers. In-servicing of principals on what is needed to support beginning teachers.

6. Promote the recognition that beginning teacher induction is the responsibility of the whole school staff and every teacher plays a role in welcoming new teachers to the school. Consider what is needed to ensure a smooth beginning to a teacher in a new school environment.

Collegial Partnerships: A Report on the 2004-2005 Beginning Teacher Induction Program in New Brunswick

For the past ten years, since September 1995, the New Brunswick Beginning Teacher Induction Program (BTIP) has existed in all Anglophone districts of the province. This report is the tenth annual report prepared for the Department of Education in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Previous reports are available from the Department of Education. In addition, the 1995-2002 reports (Scott, Smith & Grobe, 1995; Scott & Compton, 1996; Scott, 1997; Scott, 1998; Scott & Surette, 1999; Scott & Doherty, 2000; Scott & Mirchandani, 2001; Scott & Mirchandani, 2002) are available from the ERIC Database (Resources in Education). The reports since 2003 (Gill & Betts, 2003; Gill, 2004) are available online at www.unb.ca/centres/nbcea/publicas.html.

The purpose of this report is to present the results from the 2004-2005 survey of the Beginning Teacher Induction Program. The survey collected both quantitative and qualitative data from District Coordinators, Beginning Teachers, Mentors and School Principals involved in the program from eight of the nine Anglophone school districts in New Brunswick. This report includes comparisons with former years.

The New Brunswick Beginning Teacher Induction Program is coordinated by a Steering Committee, co-chaired in 2004-2005 by Mark Holland, a curriculum supervisor from the New Brunswick Department of Education and Nancy Roach, a representative from the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association (NBTA). The remainder of the committee consists of a member of the Faculty of Education from the University of New Brunswick and representatives from each of the nine Anglophone school districts, usually supervisors, who coordinate the program in their districts.

Funding for the program comes from two sources, the Department of Education and the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association. The Department of Education provides $500.00 for each pair of participants based on full-time equivalent (FTE beginning teachers). This money must be spent by March 31, the end of the budgetary year. District Coordinators allocate this money to beginning teacher/mentor pairs. This money is intended for the professional development of beginning teachers so they can participate in activities that focus on the skills, knowledge and attitudes required of them as teachers. Such activities might include release time to observe other teachers, for meeting with a mentor, for joint planning or preparing for upcoming events like parent interviews or report cards. This money is not intended for the purchase of school supplies.

The New Brunswick Teachers’ Association provides a fixed sum of money, $30,000, to be divided among each beginning teacher/mentor pair, based on FTE beginning teachers. The amount available to each pair varies from year to year. For 2004-2005 the NBTA supported 316.48 (FTE) beginning teachers so the allocation per pair was $94.79. These funds were sent directly to the district coordinators. (Personal communication, Nancy Roach, September 7, 2005).

In late May 2005 district coordinators received questionnaires to be distributed to all beginning teachers, mentors and principals involved in the Beginning Teacher Induction Program asking for feedback on their experiences. Contract negotiations between the New Brunswick Board of Management and the New Brunswick Teachers’ Federation lead to a delay in distributing the questionnaires for 2004-2005 and the cancellation of the Spring meeting of the BTIP Steering Committee. A number of planned activities at the district level were cancelled. These factors affected the distribution and return of the questionnaires overall. In one district the survey was not distributed. Table 1 shows the number and percentage returns for the survey. The Department of Education provided the numbers used to compile this table and these numbers differ slightly from those provided by District Coordinators. Not all beginning teachers were full time teachers and the Department of Education numbers are based on FTE. The number of mentors differs from the number of beginning teachers because these numbers are based on actual individuals involved and because at one rural school site the district coordinator initiated a pilot project to address the fact that there were more beginning teachers and insufficient experienced teachers to provide each new teacher with a mentor. A description of this pilot project appears later in the report.

beginning teachers mentors principals coordinators

# of participants 336.5 338 153 9

# of survey returns 202 197 95 9

% of returns 59.9% 58.2% 62% 100%

Table 2, based on the table presented in the 2002 report (Scott & Mirchandani, 2002, p.3), provides a comparison of the number of participants in each year since the Beginning Teacher Induction program became a province-wide initiative in 1995.

Table 2

A ten-year comparison of BTIP participant numbers

Beginning Teachers Mentors Principals/Schools Coordinators

1995-1996 156 147 96 12

1996-1997 125 125 78 12

1996-1998 210 210 108 12

1998-1999 240 240 130 12

1999-2000 266 263 150 11

2000-2001 300 300 134 9

2001-2002 261 261 130 9

2002-2003 260 260 125 9

2003-2004 278 278 131 9

2004-2005 336.5 338 153 9

Table 3 shows the distribution of beginning teachers in the program as reported by district coordinators.

Table 3

Distribution of beginning teachers among the Anglophone school districts

District Region # of participants

2 Moncton, Sackville, Salisbury 72

6 Rothesay, Hampton, Sussex 23

8 Saint John, St. Martins, Westfield 58

10 St. Stephen, St. Andrews, Grand Manan 29

14 Nackawic, Woodstock, Hartland, Perth-Andover 37

15 Bathurst, Dalhousie, Campbellton 17

16 Miramichi City, Rexton, Richibucto, Blackville 43.5

17 Oromocto, Chipman, Minto, Cambridge Narrows 29

18 Fredericton, Harvey Station, Keswick Ridge, Doaktown 28

Defining Beginning Teachers

The Beginning Teacher Induction Program is designed for teachers new to the profession. In responding to the question, “Have you taught previously for a continuous ten-month period?” 70 (34.7%) indicated they had. It is not possible to make meaningful comparisons with previous years because numbers for one district were not available. The largest numbers of beginning teachers indicating they had previous teaching experience were in District 8 (15: 31.9%), District 16 (13: 56.5%) and District 17 (14: 66.7%). Comments from participants who claimed previous teaching experience indicated they had experience as supply teachers or long term supply teachers, or they had taught several years ago, or they had taught in another province and one participant mentioned 26 years in an alternative education setting.

Mentor Recruitment

A Guide to the New Brunswick Beginning Teacher Induction Program: A Partnership That Builds Success assigns the responsibility for recruiting mentors to school principals in consultation with district coordinators. Sixty-nine (73.4%) principals indicated it was easy or very easy to recruit competent mentors in their schools. This number represents a solid percentage of principals who can recruit competent mentors in the province but in every district there were between two and four principals who found the task difficult or very difficult. Comments made by principals related to mentor recruitment indicated that in schools where teacher turnover was high from year to year, where there were a large number of teachers on “D” contracts or where most teachers had less than five years experience the problem was significant. This is a problem that must be addressed on an ongoing basis by the BTIP Steering Committee.

Due to teacher turn over. Staff of more than 5 years are few at the present [Principal, District 18].

It can be hard to find a teacher with the proper years of experience and interests in a small school [Principal, District 16].

Professional Activities Supporting the BTIP

District Coordinators take responsibility for organizing professional activities within each district. A Guide for the New Brunswick Beginning Teacher Induction Program lists six general goals for the program: orientation, support, acquisition and refinement of teaching skills, developing a philosophy of education, self-assessment and self-evaluation, and retention of beginning teachers. The district coordinators plan workshops and other activities to meet these goals. In addition, district coordinators are expected to conduct mentor training. The New Brunswick Teachers’ Association held a “Welcome to New Teachers” provincial workshop in September 2004, several sessions on Professionalism and the Teachers’ Association to BTIP groups in a number of school districts and a full day workshop for school administrators on “Supporting Beginning Teachers” in one district. The planned “Classroom Management Institute for Early Career Teachers” had to be rescheduled due to contract talks and will be held in October 2005. The NBTA also develops and distributes The Beginning Teachers’ Handbook to all beginning teachers. This handbook addresses such topics as becoming a professional, preparing for the first days of school, classroom management, the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association and the New Brunswick Teachers’ Federation and various contract and legal issues. Mentor training materials were also shared with a school district (Nancy Roach, personal communication, September 7, 2005).

Mentor Training and Initial Orientation

Seven of the nine district coordinators responding to the questionnaire specifically listed some form of mentor training session. Of the 140 mentors who attended these sessions 129 (92.9%) rated the workshops as either “useful” or “very useful”. Of the 196 mentors responding to the survey, 89 (45.4%) had served as mentors before and 107 (54.6%) were new mentors. Experienced mentors had experience ranging from one to twelve years. 175 (89.7%) mentors indicated they would be willing to serve as mentors again. Sixty-three mentors added comments to these questions. Thirty-four comments were positive, indicating how much they had enjoyed being mentors, for example:

Teaching for the first time is an overwhelming experience. I enjoy providing practical knowledge that might help the mentee’s experience be more positive. [Mentor, District 2].

Yes, I remember how many questions I had when I was a beginning teacher. I always felt comfortable asking my mentor. It was very helpful! [Mentor, District 14].

Mentors not wishing to serve again wrote comments indicating they had already been mentors a number of times before and wanted a break, were retiring, or had too many family commitments. One mentor found this year’s experience less than positive and would be reluctant to serve again. Eight respondents were ambivalent and stated they would only mentor a beginning teacher in a compatible teaching assignment.

There has been a trend over the past few years for a majority of mentors serving in the program in any given year to be new mentors. As more experienced teachers retire finding sufficient mentors for new teachers will be a continuing challenge, particularly in small schools and rural schools. Some of this year’s mentors indicated they had participated in the BTIP program as beginning teachers themselves some years earlier.

District Organized Activities for Beginning Teachers

District coordinators arranged a number of activities for the beginning teachers, mentors and principals in their districts. Topics varied from district to district but most coordinators held an orientation meeting. Other topics covered included cooperative discipline, classroom management, conferencing skills, use of technology, Department of Education policies and wellness. Not all district coordinators were able to hold their final celebration meeting because of contract negotiations.

Activities Organized at the Local School Level

The Beginning Teacher questionnaire listed fourteen different activities including meeting the mentor in formal and informal settings, student assessment, curriculum concerns, assistance with school policies, discipline issues, being observed while teaching and observing the mentor and other teachers. Beginning teachers were asked to indicate the frequency with which they participated in these activities. Tables 4, 5 and 6 show percentage participation rates in these activities. Percentages for the years 2001 and 2002 are listed as reported in the 2002 report (Scott & Mirchandani, 2002, p. 9) and percentages for 2003 and 2004 as reported in the 2004 report (Gill, 2004, 12).

Lower-risk Activities

Following the strategy used in previous reports, these activities have been divided into “lower-risk” and “higher risk” activities so comparisons can be made with previous years. It is disappointing to see there are still beginning teachers not participating in these lower-risk activities. In some areas, such as “making informal contacts with mentor”, “discussing teaching ideas and strategies” and “discuss classroom management techniques” there has been some improvement over the previous year. In other areas the percentage has risen. There has been a rise in the percentage of beginning teachers in the “0” column for “Discuss administrative policies or procedures”. This result could indicate that schools and school districts are doing an effective job of explaining policies and procedures in staff meetings and district workshops.

Table 4

A percentage comparison of beginning teachers’ participation for lower-risk professional activities during induction programs from 2001 to 2005

-------Frequency--------

Lower-risk Professional Activities		0	1-5	6-10	>10
1. Make informal contacts with mentor at school	2005	.5	14.4	14.9	70.2
	2004	1.1	9.5	12.6	76.8
	2003	0.6	10.1	11.2	78.1
	2002	3.1	10.2	22	74.5
	2001	0.5	6.5	10	83.5
2. Discuss teaching ideas or strategies	2005	1.5	20.9	27.4	50.2
	2004	2.6	16.9	27	53.4
	2003	1.2	21.9	26	50.9
	2002	2.6	21.2	27.5	48.7
	2001	1	16	24.5	58.8
3. Share or research teaching materials, books etc.	2005	5	28.4	23.4	43.3
	2004	7.4	27	19	46.6
	2003	4.1	30.8	23.1	42
	2002	8.2	31.4	20.1	40.2
	2001	6	28	18.5	47.8
4. Discuss curriculum or lesson planning	2005	7.5	28.4	26.4	37.8
	2004	6.3	24.2	26.3	43.2
	2003	7.2	26.3	24	42.5
	2002	7.8	32.6	20.7	38.9
	2001	5	24	28.4	42.8
5. Discuss student assessment or reporting	2005	7.5	33.8	24.9	33.8
	2004	6.3	31.1	21.6	41.1
	2003	8.3	29.6	25.4	36.7
	2002	4.1	39.4	25.4	31.1
	2001	3	29.9	26.4	40.8
6. Discuss classroom management techniques	2005	6.5	40.8	26.9	25.9
	2004	9.5	31.2	29.1	30.2
	2003	7.2	32.3	26.9	33.5
	2002	4.7	34.2	31.1	30.1
	2001	4.5	34	26.5	35
7. Discuss administrative policies or procedures	2005	11.4	40.8	22.4	25.4
	2004	8.7	36.8	22.1	32.1
	2003	8.4	34.8	28.1	28.7
	2002	9.3	41.5	28.5	20.7
	2001	6	36	28.4	29.1

Table 5 presents a district by district comparison of beginning teachers’ participation in lower-risk activities. The late Dr. Neil Scott designed this method of data reporting (Scott & Mirchandani, 2002) so districts could review specific data on frequency and percentages for their district and use the information as a guide for future planning and program development. The table is not intended for evaluative comparisons as the situation in each district is different.

Table 5

A district percentage comparison of beginning teachers’ participation in specific lower-risk professional activities during the 2004 BTIP

(Top numbers=individuals; bottom numbers=percent)

District #2 (N=42)

District #6 (N=12)

Activity Frequency

1-5

6-10

>10

1-5

6-10

>10

Make informal contact with mentor at school

2.4%

11.9%

21.4%

64.3%

16.7%

8.3%

75%

Discuss teaching ideas or strategies

35.7

33.3

8.3

16.7

58.3

Share or research teaching materials, books, resources etc.

2.4

28.6

35.7

33.3

8.3

41.7

Discuss curriculum or lesson planning

14.3

23.8

38.1

23.8

8.3

41.7

Discuss student assessment or reporting

9.5

35.7

23.8

16.7

41.7

16.7

Discuss classroom management techniques

11.9

40.5

28.6

8.3

66.7

16.7

8.3

Discuss administrative policies and procedures

16.7

35.7

23.8

8.3

16.7

(Top numbers=individuals; bottom numbers=percent)

District #8 (N=47)

District #10 (N=17)

Activity Frequency

1-5

6-10

>10

1-5

6-10

>10

Make informal contact with mentor at school

14.9%

21.3%

63.9%

23.5%

17.6%

58.8%

Discuss teaching ideas or strategies

12.8

27.7

59.6

35.3

29.4

35.3

Share or research teaching materials, books, resources etc.

4.3

31.9

10.6

53.2

47.1

35.3

16.9

Discuss curriculum or lesson planning

31.9

23.4

44.7

5.9

29.4

35.3

Discuss student assessment or reporting

4.3

31.9

46.8

5.9

29.4

35.3

29.4

Discuss classroom management techniques

2.1

27.7

36.2

5.9

29.4

41.2

23.5

Discuss administrative policies and procedures

12.8

38.3

23.4

25.5

11.8

47.1

29.4

11.8

(Top numbers=individuals; bottom numbers=percent)

District #14 (N=18)

District #16 (N=23)

Activity Frequency

1-5

6-10

>10

1-5

6-10

>10

Make informal contact with mentor at school

22.2%

77.8%

8.7%

4.3%

87%

Discuss teaching ideas or strategies

11.1

38.9

17.4

69.6

Share or research teaching materials, books, resources etc.

33.3

22.2

44.4

21.7

56.5

Discuss curriculum or lesson planning

38.9

22.2

38.9

4.3

21.7

60.9

Discuss student assessment or reporting

27.8

22.2

4.3

30.4

52.2

Discuss classroom management techniques

27.8

22.2

8.7

34.8

26.1

30.4

Discuss administrative policies and procedures

5.6

55.6

22.2

16.7

4.3

30.4

21.7

43.5

(Top numbers=individuals; bottom numbers=percent)

District #17 (N=21)

District #18 (N=21)

Activity Frequency

1-5

6-10

>10

1-5

6-10

>10

Make informal contact with mentor at school

14.3%

85.7%

9.5%

28.6%

61.9%

Discuss teaching ideas or strategies

23.8

57.1

9.5

28.6

42.9

Share or research teaching materials, books, resources etc.

4.8

28.6

47.6

23.8

9.5

23.8

42.9

Discuss curriculum or lesson planning

4.8

42.9

14.3

38.1

23.8

14.3

28.6

33.3

Discuss student assessment or reporting

9.5

38.1

33.3

14.3

28.6

Discuss classroom management techniques

9.5

33.3

38.1

4.8

57.1

4.8

33.3

Discuss administrative policies and procedures

9.5

47.6

14.3

28.6

14.3

38.1

28.6

Higher-risk Activities

Table 6 presents participation rates in activities described in previous reports as higher risk. These activities are those that frequently make one or both of the participants uncomfortable (Scott & Mirchandani, 2002). However, these same activities are essential to the growth of teaching competence in beginning teachers. Observing other teachers teach and being observed and receiving feedback are important strategies for developing teaching skills and strategies. Yet there is still a large percentage of beginning teachers not participating in these activities. Ironically, in a follow-up study of participants in the 2003 Beginning Teacher Induction Program, Mugglestone (2004) learned that these former beginning teachers wished they had been observed more and been given more feedback.

Table 6

A percentage comparison of beginning teachers’ participation rates in specific higher-risk professional activities during the 2001-2005 BTI Program

Professional Activities		0	1-5	6-10	>10
1. Met mentor in scheduled (formal) setting	2005	16.4	51.2	17.9	14.4
	2004	10.5	60	13.7	15.8
	2003	6.6	58.7	18	16.8
	2002	11.9	56.5	16.1	15.5
	2001	10.8	55.9	19	15.9
2. Received feedback about my teaching from mentor	2005	28.9	47.3	13.9	10
	2004	30.5	47.4	8.9	13.2
	2003	20.4	50.9	15.6	13.2
	2002	27.7	44.5	15.7	12
	2001	23.5	47.5	16.5	12.5
3. Mentor observed me teach	2005	42.3	42.8	7	8
	2004	42.1	45.8	5.8	6.3
	2003	29.9	55.7	7.8	6.6
	2002	44	38.3	9.8	7.8
	2001	48	40	6	6
4. Observed other colleagues teaching (not mentor)	2005	22.9	61.7	11.4	4
	2004	27.5	51.3	15.3	5.8
	2003	19.9	63.9	9.6	6.6
	2002	30.2	60.9	6.3	2.6
	2001	35	51.5	7.5	6
5. Observed my mentor teach in his/her own classroom	2005	39	47	6.5	7.5
	2004	41.1	46.3	5.8	6.8
	2003	36.5	52.1	6	5.4
	2002	45.5	41.7	6.3	6.3
	2001	39.5	44	7.5	9

But the 2005 BTIP survey also asked beginning teachers to indicate whether they taught the same subject level and grade level as their mentors. Taking the province as a whole, 80 (43%) indicated they did not teach the same subject as their mentors or taught the same subject only part of the time and 79 (42.9%) did not teach the same grade level or only taught the same grade level part of the time. Table 6a shows the percentage of beginning teachers who did not participate at all in these higher-risk activities who also did not teach the same subject and grade level as their mentors. It can be seen from this table that a large percentage, close to half, fell into this category. Not teaching in the same subject area seemed to be the biggest factor.

Table 6a

Percentages of beginning teachers not participating in higher-risk activities who taught different subject areas and/or grade levels than their mentors and/or were not located close to their mentors

Professional Activity

Different Subject Area

Different Grade Level

Location of Classroom

1. Met mentor in scheduled (formal) setting

58.6

34.5

2. Received feedback about my teaching from mentor

51.9

44.3

42.3

3. Mentor observed me teach

46.1

46.2

39.7

4. Observed other colleagues teaching (not mentor)

45.4

31.8

36.3

5. Observed my mentor teach in his/her own classroom

55.6

51.4

45.9

Table 6b shows the number of beginning teachers who did not participate in higher-risk activities who identified time as a problem or a significant problem. The percentages here are even higher. The issue of time will be discussed more fully later in the report.

Table 6b

Percentages of beginning teachers not participating in higher-risk activities who identified time as a problem or a significant problem

Professional Activity	Time a Problem or Significant Problem
1. Met mentor in scheduled (formal) setting	72.1
2. Received feedback about my teaching from mentor	72.4
3. Mentor observed me teach	73
4. Observed other colleagues teaching (not mentor)	69.5
5. Observed my mentor teach in his/her own classroom	73.1

Table 7 provides a district by district comparison of beginning teachers’ participation in higher-risk professional activities. This table follows the same format as Table 5. District coordinators can compare district percentages with provincial percentages and make adjustments accordingly.

Table 7

A district comparison of beginning teachers’ participation for specific higher-risk professional activities during the 2005 BTI Program

District # 2 (N=42)

District #6 (N=12)

Activity Frequency

1-5

6-10

>10

1-5

6-10

>10

1. Met mentor in scheduled (formal setting)

42.9%

38.1%

9.5%

16.7%

50%

25%

8.3%

2. Received feedback about my teaching from mentor

35.7%

42.9

14.3

7.1%

66.7

8.3

3. Mentor observed me teach

35.7

9.5

4.8

8.3

16.7

4. Observed other colleagues teaching (not mentor)

38.1

61.9

8.3

5. Observed my mentor teaching in his/her class

59.5

33.3

4.8

2.4

41.7

8.3

District # 8 (N=47)

District #10 (N=17)

Activity Frequency

1-5

6-10

>10

1-5

6-10

>10

1. Met mentor in scheduled (formal setting)

8.5%

48.9%

25.5%

17%

23.5%

41.2

23.5%

11.8%

2. Received feedback about my teaching from mentor

19.1

42.6

21.3

35.3

52.9

11.8

3. Mentor observed me teach

38.3

46.8

4.3

10.6

41.2

47.1

5.9

4. Observed other colleagues teaching (not mentor)

19.1

59.6

10.6

11.8

76.5

5.9

5. Observed my mentor teaching in his/her class

19.6

6.5

10.9

35.3

52.9

5.9

District # 14 (N=18)

District #16 (N=23)

Activity Frequency

1-5

6-10

>10

1-5

6-10

>10

1. Met mentor in scheduled (formal setting)

5.6%

61.1%

16.7%

4.3%

56.5%

13%

26.1%

2. Received feedback about my teaching from mentor

27.8

55.6

11.1

5.6

30.4

47.8

8.7

3. Mentor observed me teach

44.4

38.9

16.7

30.4

52.2

4.3

4. Observed other colleagues teaching (not mentor)

11.1

55.6

33.3

30.4

47.8

17.4

4.3

5. Observed my mentor teaching in his/her class

27.8

61.1

11.1

26.1

39.1

21.7

District # 17 (N=21)

District #18 (N=21)

Activity Frequency

1-5

6-10

>10

1-5

6-10

>10

1. Met mentor in scheduled (formal setting)

4.8%

52.4%

19%

23.8%

9.5%

76.2%

14.3%

2. Received feedback about my teaching from mentor

28.6

57.1

4.8

9.5

47.6

33.3

9.5

3. Mentor observed me teach

28.6

57.1

4.8

9.5

71.4