Advice for the First Year
Physics Teacher:

Future Lines of Inquiry

The following are some questions which I now have as a result of my inquiry.

  1. Vague definitions of key words that were used in some of the advice given in the interviews.

  2. What role does the mentor take, how do you find, work with, and have a positive mentor-mentee relationship?

  3. The interview did not discriminate clearly between the everyday experiences of a new teacher and what would be considered trying too many new things.

  4. The discussion also touched upon the contradiction between being conservative in the first year of teaching, in order to survive and not burn out, and the first year as the year that sets the mold for the type of teachers we will be.

  5. There was discussion over the meaning of the phrase, "change the world."

  6.Suggestions were made regarding mentoring programs as a resource, such as the MINT program, run by the Chicago Public Schools.

7.Would teachers who have just recently finished their first year of teaching offer drastically different advice that the veteran teachers?

8.What should a first year teacher do differently than more experienced teachers? What advice is solely for first year teachers?

9.What different advice would be collected from different sets of teachers, such as award-winners or those who achieve a certain other criteria?

  A contrast of the advice offered by teachers who have just finished their first year of teaching and teachers with many years of experience would isolate the differences between first year and experienced teacher's philosophies and teaching concerns.

  Further inquiry into resources and support that are already available to first year teachers would be purposeful. Future inquiry might incorporate more feedback, after the initial interview or survey in order to clarify and further elaborate on comments.

Please email comments to Julie-Peterson@nwu.edu Julie Peterson's home page.