Giving Compass' Take:

• The University of Michigan is developing a mentor approach to teaching similar to the style that medical professions undertake when becoming doctors. 

• How effective will this be? There is evidence that high-quality mentors will help significantly with teacher development, but can the education system emulate medical training and development programs? 

• Read about why mentoring matters and how good teaching can be passed down. 

After studying how doctors are trained, Elizabeth Moje, dean of the School of Education at the University of Michigan, is developing a similar three-year, on-the-job training approach for teachers that she hopes to implement by the fall of 2019, Chalkbeat reports. The new approach involves a K-12 teaching school where student teachers or “interns” would train together in one building with intense supervision.

Though this model of teacher training seems more intensive than most, the mentoring aspect is based on research. The value of mentoring is being increasingly recognized in corporate and professional circles.

We shared earlier that over 79% of Millennials see mentoring as crucial to their career success. According to Chronus Corporation, over 71% of Fortune 500 companies offer mentoring programs, showing that mentoring programs are becoming a standard in many workplaces.”

Though intensive support programs for beginning teachers may be costlier, a report by the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future stated that “the costs of such programs could be offset by the savings achieved through decreases in the costs of turnover. “

The need for supporting beginning teachers is widely recognized and recent studies have shown a clear correlation between the quality of a teaching mentor and the effectiveness of a beginning teacher.

Some school districts have already implemented year-long residency programs, while others have teachers teach on a part-time basis at the beginning of their career. Some schools look at changing the culture of their schools to focus on multi-levels of support, while others simply use professional learning communities or personalized professional development to address the situation.

Read the full article about mentoring teachers by Amelia Harper at Education Dive