Date of Award
2004
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
Mary Ann Ratliff
Committee Member
Jodi Lamb
Committee Member
Maryellen Maher
Keywords
beginning teacher induction, beginning teachers, data gathering, development research, districtwide training, education, evaluation, field of education, first year teachers, formative committee, induction program, interviews, mentor selection, mentor training, mentors, monitoring, needs assessment, Orange County, ongoing monitoring, pairing mentors, procedures, product development, program coordinator, program effectiveness, questionnaires, school district, staff development, summative committee, teacher induction, teacher mentoring, training component, training program, veteran teachers, validation process
Abstract
The problem addressed in this applied dissertation was that the Orange County Induction Program did not provide districtwide training, nor was there a method to select and pair mentors with teachers. The purpose of this applied dissertation was to enhance the Orange County Induction Program by developing a training component that would prepare veteran teachers to be mentors for beginning teachers. This component contains criteria not only for training mentors, but also for selecting and pairing mentors with beginning teachers based upon their areas of need in the field of education. The development research methodology was used for this applied dissertation to create procedures including essential criteria, data gathering, and product development.
In order to initiate the applied dissertation, a formative committee was selected to define the scope and depth of the project accurately, and a summative committee was formed to validate the final product. The formative committee reviewed and approved the interview process, questionnaires, training program, and the method of evaluation. The interviews and questionnaires were designed to elicit information as to how mentors should be selected and paired with beginning teachers and determine the types of training needed by veteran teachers in order to meet the needs of beginning teachers. After the formative committee concluded its final review, the program coordinator made the necessary revisions. The summative committee then approved the final program.
Further research in the area of mentoring should be conducted. In addition, ongoing monitoring of the program is needed to determine its effectiveness.