Effective Tools for Supporting Struggling Teachers

Abstract

When a district hires a teacher, the district has a responsibility to provide resources, dialogue, professional learning opportunities, and peer support to ensure that the teacher will be fully prepared to engage and inspire students in the classroom (Liesveld, 2005). When a teacher’s struggles are not related to instruction in the classroom, but are more about unacceptable behavior, the principal or supervisor might need to consider a level of corrective action that will help the teacher be successful both in and out of the classroom. Both new and experienced teachers need the tools to create engaging lessons, a grasp of the best teaching strategies common to all successful teachers, and the ability to understand what separates good teacher conduct from bad (Robinson, 2009). In this paper, we explore some practical tools designed to aid administrators as they manage and support teachers navigating the 21^st century classroom.