5 Ways to Help New Teachers Thrive

My first year of teaching occurred nearly 25 years ago, but it is still etched in my memory. I remember only too well the cringey mistakes I made on nearly a daily basis, not to mention my hesitation to ask for help when things were going sideways. No new teacher should have to navigate first-year challenges alone. School leaders can make a few key changes to help create a supportive environment for new teachers.

5 Ways to Support New Teachers 

1. Encourage a culture of inquiry. New teachers may be afraid to ask questions because they fear being perceived as unskilled or ignorant. When any teacher seeks clarity that will help them thrive, that should be celebrated, not shamed. Creating time and space for questions about practice reinforces that everyone is learning and that being curious is a clear sign of teacher engagement and dedication. 

There are several ways to set up structures for ongoing support. School leaders can grab their laptops and rotate throughout common teacher workspaces, spending a solid chunk of time doing their work among teachers. As people become accustomed to having a leader around, they will be more likely to open up and ask questions. For higher-pressure moments in the year when that kind of time isn’t available, leaders can create accessible avenues for inquiry. One streamlined method of communication is to provide a running Q&A document that is regularly checked and responded to, or a monthly optional meeting can be set aside just for Q&A. 

2. Prioritize peer support over monitoring. In their first year, teachers often feel like they are under a microscope, which makes them nervous and increases feelings of inadequacy. There is a difference between giving productive feedback through the cycle of observation and evaluation and ensuring that all teachers have a place where they can safely go for help. Teachers are not necessarily always comfortable being mentored by an administrator who will be evaluating them (not to mention that coaching appointments with leaders tend to get postponed because metaphorical fires are breaking out everywhere). 

Anyone new to a building can strongly benefit from meeting regularly with a designated, nonevaluative colleague who holds a similar job role. Ideally, new teachers should be matched with experienced colleagues whose schedules align with theirs (i.e., common planning time) and who they see often enough to build a trusting relationship. Someone in a supervisory role can then check in and ensure that the meetings are still occurring on a regular basis and going smoothly.

3. Be generous with resources and materials. It can be easy for veteran educators to forget what it was like to enter the profession without much in our tool kits. Instructional repertoire is built over time, so taking the lead by proactively offering materials and resources is extremely helpful—with the caveat to not overwhelm anyone or impose specific materials upon people that don’t fit the work they do. 

All teachers have certain elements of their practice they hold in common that leaders can focus on to encourage professional growth. Most notably, new teachers are typically anxious about classroom management. To allay common fears, administrators could provide a number of strategies for ensuring smoother instruction, including providing resources that demonstrate ideal practices from how to frame instruction clearly to how a classroom might be set up for success.

In addition, backing up the resources with open conversations that come from a place of servant leadership will help teachers apply what they learn without the stress of worrying that every interaction with a supervisor constitutes a high-risk “gotcha.”

4. Focus on one area for growth at a time. Being a new teacher is overwhelming, and school leaders often have a laundry list of areas for improvement. However, it is crucial to prioritize a few items that should be addressed based on their potential impact and urgency, and then focus on only one at a time. 

For example, many new teachers struggle with effective lesson planning, so zeroing in on the crucial elements of instruction will help focus their work. Rather than just expecting them to include components of an effective lesson, it is more helpful to coach teachers through the backward design process so they can understand why it is so important for students to fully comprehend their reasons for being in class and how their learning is connected to the bigger picture.

5. Provide positive feedback. If new teachers are only told what they need to fix (no matter how accurate it may be), they will never feel as though they are making progress. Whenever leaders provide feedback, the strategy of beginning with a positive, genuine thought puts the teacher in a better mindset to receive more critical feedback that points toward areas for growth. 

Where possible, start the feedback process with good news, both to set a proper tone and to ensure that the teacher sees their value up front. Otherwise, if positive feedback is pushed to the end of any conversation or document, it tends to be overlooked or not believed to the same degree. In addition, any feedback should be focused on practice. As Mary Burns writes, “Sharing positive reactions can be beneficial as long as they focus on the work, not the person. By objectively asking teachers, ‘Did you see what you did there,’ we validate teachers’ strengths and reinforce excellent performance.”

Being a new teacher is hard. More experienced educators might shy away from thinking back to that challenging first year because it can be painful, but if we want to be truly empathetic coaches and leaders, it is essential to hold on to memories of a time when the learning curve was a lot steeper. We are all still growing and learning, and approaching new teachers with that mindset is an essential part of making sure we give them the help they need, not just to become skilled teachers, but to remain so for years to come.