Harvard Education PR Inspiring Teaching: Preparing Teachers to Succeed in Mission-Driven Schools

How can we best prepare pre-service teachers to succeed in the classroom - and to stay in teaching over time? The onesize-fits-all model of traditional teacher education programs has been widely criticized, yet the most popular alternative - fast-track programs - have at best a mixed record of success. An increasing number of districts and charter networks are trying to fill this void with a third option: “grow-your-own” teacher preparation programs tailored to specific school contexts and the needs of the populations they serve.In Inspiring Teaching, leading teacher educator Sharon Feiman-Nemser and her colleagues investigate this “contextspecific” approach to teacher education. They draw on the Choosing to Teach study, a detailed multiyear investigation ofthree selective, mission-driven teacher preparation programs - the Urban Teacher Education Program at the University of Chicago, the Alliance for Catholic Education at the University of Notre Dame, and the Day School Leadership through Teaching program at Brandeis University - that traces each program’s impact on graduates during their first few years of teaching.Feiman-Nemser and her colleagues show how teacher education programs like these can help teachers develop the understanding, commitment, tools, and strategies they need to teach in specific settings. By tracking the professional growth of teachers in these programs and documenting the challenges they encounter in their respective school sectors, the book explores and illustrates the ways in which these mission-driven programs select and prepare teachers for particular school environments. Review "This clearly written and well-organized book illustrates how partnerships between schools and teacher preparation programs that embrace a shared vision can enhance teacher education and induction." -- Wendy Gardiner, Teachers College Record"Inspiring Teaching should be read by volunteer leaders and educational leaders seeking to build a dynamic, mission-focused faculty that is ready for the next generation of young people at their schools." -- Judd Kruger Levingston, Jewish Book Council"The authors are thoughtful to remind readers that collaboration between schools and teacher education programs is also part of the critical equation in the preparation of new teachers." -- K. Layton, Choice Connect"Too many preparation programs follow a one-size-fits-all model. Inspiring Teaching offers an alternative paradigm--teacher education that prepares educators to serve particular groups of students or specific kinds of schools. Without them, 'we risk losing the gifts of bright, socially committed teachers from teaching in areas of great need or from teaching completely.'" -- Dominique Coote, Thomas B. Fordham Institute From the Back Cover In Inspiring Teaching, leading teacher educators and scholars investigate the "context-specific" approach to teacher education through a detailed comparative analysis of three selective, mission-driven teacher education programs serving urban, Catholic, and Jewish schools. The book follows the professional growth of teachers in these programs and documents the challenges they encounter as they make the transition into teaching. "Successful mission-driven schools are places of high purpose and deep learning. Inspiring Teaching richly depicts how three very different programs prepare and support teachers in their work. It offers valuable insights for any teacher educator or administrator who seeks to develop skilled, committed, and effective teachers." -- Susan Moore Johnson, Jerome T. Murphy Research Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education "This powerful comparative analysis of teacher education programs is both enlightening and inspiring. It provides the kind of perspective that only superb research can offer. Feiman-Nemser and her colleagues give readers a vantage point that sharpens our sense of the powerful role of context and the indispensab