How To Grow Teachers and Help Them Bloom

1
How To Grow Teachers and Help Them Bloom

• San Jacinto College North
• Child Development Family Studies
• Christine.Ortiz-Gatlin_at_sjcd.edu

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What Do Child Care Teachers Want?

• Make a list of the things that you think teachers
  want at their workplace
• Such as appreciation, recognition, inclusion,
  support, materials, resources, etc.

3
Clear Expectations

• Includes clear, direct guidelines, expectations,
  fairness, materials, resources and support staff
• Give staff enough time to ask questions during
  meetings
• Expectations should be put in writing in
  handbooks, memos, etc.

4
What Do Directors Want From Their Teaching Staff?

• Make a list of what you want from your teaching
  staff in order to have an effective program

5
Common Needs Of Teachers

• According to Leaders and Supervisors in Child
  Care Programs by Sciarra and Dorsey, 2002,
  teachers want
• clear expectations
• future certainty
• social interaction
• control over the work environment and work event
  ( to be included in major decisions)

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Future Certainty

• New jobs, security and promotions
• Reduce uncertainty by creating and implementing
  policies for teaching positions.
• Assure workers they will be given time, financial
  and/or educational support to meet any new
  requirements by the program.

7
Social Interaction

• Provide a break room
• Plan a brief time before staff meeting for
  refreshments and conversation
• Allow ideas for social events to come from staff,
  such as after-hour outings, weekends and possible
  outings
• Post news items about staff and their families on
  bulletin boards

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Control Over The Work Environment

• Do not micromanage competent workers
• Workers with little opportunity to make decisions
  feel controlled and dis-respected
• Controlling their own work is a benefit early
  childhood workers should expect even when
  financial benefits are low
• Provide personal storage space, and storage for
  teaching materials

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What Staff want

• According to Bennis (1994), staff members want
  three things from their directors
• 1. Direction
• 2. Trust
• 3. Hope

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Direction

• Employees must know and understand expectations
• Directors must provide the guidance employees
  need, and also additional training, support and
  encouragement as needed

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Trust

• Develops slowly
• Comes from informal analyses of situations, e.g..
  Does the director follow through with what she
  has stated?
• Empower workers to build confidence
• Trust is the most pivotal factor of a leaders
  success - Bennis (1994)

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Hope

• Workers expect a vision of the future
• Directors must recognize that workers are the
  organizations internal clients/customers
• Workers without hope will lack commitment and
  cooperation, causing loss to the entire
  organization

13
Current Research And Methods

• Staff professional development and retention
• -One of the most effective methods of staff
  development is mentoring
• -Intellectual vitality through teacher research
  projects which enables teachers to engage theirs
  hearts with their minds. Research indicates
  great promise for staff retention, (Margie
  Carter, Exchange July/Aug 2006)
• -Rethink interviewing process. Determine
  applicants teaching beliefs and attitudes

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Survey On Training Topics

• According to a survey, Exchange (June 2004),
  these are the topics most urgently needed to
  train your staff
• Children with challenging behavior................
  36
• Behavior management..32
• Being involved with children at free play....30
• Classroom management...22
• 4. Developmentally appropriate practice
  (tie)..22
• Enhancing teacher professional behavior..19
• Team building among staff...18
• Child assessment...15
• Conflicts among staff (tie).15
• Difficult parents...13

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Educational Options

• San Jacinto College North
• 5800 Uvalde Rd
• Houston,TX 77049
• www.sanjac.edu
• Recruitment Ideas
• High School Child Development Programs
• Community College Job Placement Office