Problem description
The teaching profession is a challenging, fascinating and varied job. It is important that beginning teachers (starters) are adequately supported in the versatility of this job. All the more so because research shows that beginning teachers experience a so-called 'practical shock'. Starters are confronted with problems and situations for which they feel inadequately prepared. They experience particular difficulty with classroom management, planning, evaluations, parent contacts, work-life balance, as well as with administration and cooperation with colleagues.
The figures on teacher drop-out rates do not lie. About a quarter of starting teachers in kindergarten and primary education leave the teaching profession early in their career (i.e. less than five years of service). In secondary education this is even more than 40% of the starters.
The StartOn project focuses on two methodologies, namely Lesson Study and GRROW, to strengthen starting teachers in their pedagogical and didactic skills. These methodologies strive for equal communication on didactic and pedagogical problems by designing lessons together, thinking together, adjusting together,... in order to increase the starters' sense of competence. StartOn wants to create an openness where learning from and with each other is possible in a structured way.
Research questions
The following research questions are central:
- What are the concrete learning questions of starters in the pedagogical/didactical field?
- How can Lesson Study be used to meet the pedagogical/didactical needs of starters?
- What is the impact of using the GRROW methodology to support Lesson Study?
- What are the pedagogical and didactical results of the Lesson Study and GRROW sessions for newcomers?