Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008
Sheila Perkins leads a role playing session during a recent class at Henry A. Wise, Jr. High School in Upper Marlboro, in which she poses a question to her students and four of them raise their hands.
Suddenly, another student yells out the answer without raising her hand.
What should the teacher do?
Ignore the student who yelled out and call on one of the students who raised their hand, Perkins told the class.
"I'm going to model for that student what's appropriate," Perkins said.
These and other scenarios are the types of situations veteran teachers and instructional coaches are trying to prepare first-year Prince George's County teachers for at the Professional Educator Induction Program, which uses veteran teachers to prepare novice teachers on issues such as curriculum, classroom management and discipline the summer before their first year of school.
Perkins' disruptive student was a fellow teacher who yelled out an answer to demonstrate how students can sometimes disrupt a class.
In Perkins' class on behavior, she said she wanted teachers to take away ideas on how to handle student discipline issues, without disrupting the class.
"We want students to maximize their learning while teachers are maximizing their teaching," said Perkins, who serves as an instructional coach at Arrowhead Elementary in Upper Marlboro.
Throughout July and August, teachers have been visiting high schools in the county to take lessons from veterans in the profession on curriculum and subject areas as well as issues such as classroom management, student behavior and promoting parental involvement in schools. The teachers are required to complete seven courses – most of which are three-and-a-half hours long. The program also includes a welcome from Superintendent John E. Deasy and a meeting with the new teachers' mentors –veteran teachers at their own schools.
Previously, all new teacher training was held in late August, just before school started. The new sessions allow teachers to have training throughout the summer.
Patricia Smith, a specialist in the Department of Professional Development in the county schools, said the goal of the program is to get teachers ready for what they will face in their first year – and their first few days—at school.
"They want to know how they can make sure they maximize instruction and part of that is classroom management," Smith said of what teachers are interested in learning in the program.
Miriam Palasi, who came to Prince George's County from the Philippines, said the training has helped her understand American accents and culture and to prepare for school.
"It was very, very helpful for us," she said.
Palasi, who will teach first-grade special education at James H. Harrison Elementary in Laurel this year, said she is a bit anxious about getting used to younger students. Last year, she taught for part of the school year in a fifth-grade class.
Michael Shannon, who will be a special education resource teacher at Kenmoor Elementary in Landover, completed the school system's Resident Teacher Program, which helps those who are going into teaching without a background in education. Shannon previously worked in accounting and finance and spent several years as a substitute teacher.
"Every year it seemed like more and more of a calling," he said of teaching.
He said he was looking forward to the school year.
"We're getting the tools we'll need to be successful in our first year," Shannon said.
E-mail Megan King at mking@gazette.net.
