Category Archives: Professional Development

Best Practices to Train and Retain Early Childhood Teachers

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Written by Tarah Beduze

Best practices to train and retain early childhood teachers

Early childhood education is as important now as it has ever been. Parents in the workforce need care for their children and evidence shows that approximately 76% of children are enrolled in a form of preschool or childcare prior to attending Kindergarten (Green et. al., 2012). This influx of children leads to a growing demand for early childhood teachers. However, despite the great need, there is a generally high teacher turnover rate in the field of early childhood education. This issue of turnover results in a predicament for many early childhood centers and schools offering early childhood programs, as they are often not well staffed (Bridges & Carlat, 2003).

How do we best train and retain high-quality early childhood teachers in our ECM programs?

The predicament of poorly staffed early childhood programs caused by significant teacher turnover must be addressed to offer high quality programs for the children in those programs. Addressing the state of early childhood must begin with the current teachers in these programs. The theme found in research related to early childhood staffing is that supporting the teachers in early childhood programs is essential to their success and retainment. Some supports that are highlighted in research include ongoing teacher training, encouraging the pursuit of a degree, continuing education initiatives, mentoring programs, and creation of a strong sense of community within the program (Mims & Scott-Little, 2008; Bridges & Carlat, 2003; Blank, 2010; Lipscomb et. al., 2021). Each of these supports has lasting effects for the teachers and the early childhood programs in which they are serving. If the goal of a program is to develop high quality care and education and to retain high quality teachers, it is necessary that teachers are equipped with the appropriate tools for success—both as new teachers and as veterans.

In which ways can we support the novice and veteran staff working within our WELS ECM programs?

WELS early childhood ministry programs that were identified as having low teacher turnover rates describe in a recent study that there are key processes in place to support new and existing staff which lead to increased retention rates and higher program quality. One example of this support is a robust onboarding program that includes time for orientation in which new staff will be placed in classrooms without the responsibility of direct supervision of children. This allows these new staff members to observe practices and routines established in the classrooms and to build a sense of community allowing them to comfortably learn from and ask questions of their peers. Additionally, as staff are hired and continue in their education, many WELS early childhood programs require and develop trainings that exceed the requirements for training that have been set by the state. These trainings can include many topics and may take various forms depending on the unique circumstances of an early childhood program.

Continued education is an emphasis for WELS early childhood programs with high retention rates. Support for teachers must not stop after the orientation and onboarding period. Instead, early childhood program directors who find success in maintaining low teacher turnover rates often encourage and assist teachers in the advancement of their careers in the field of early childhood education. Throughout the WELS, hands-on trainings, encouraging and supporting teachers through the WELS ministry certification program, and online training programs are utilized to support existing teachers. A valuable resource available to early childhood program leaders as they provide support for their staff is the four-tiered training offered by MLC. The training modules in this program were designed to support teachers new to the field of early childhood education through those looking to receive an Associate of Science in Early Childhood Education degree (https://mlc-wels.edu/continuing-education/four-tiers/).

Internally, these early childhood programs also set time and effort aside for mentoring programs, peer and/or director coaching opportunities, and regular opportunities for staff to work together so that they can learn from each other and grow professionally. For more information about how WELS early childhood ministries are supporting staff, please refer to the full study Best Practices of Teacher Training on Teacher Retention in Early Childhood Education (Beduze, 2024).

References:

Beduze, T. J. (2024). Best Practices of Teacher Training on Teacher Retention in Early Childhood Education (Master’s thesis). March.

Blank, J. (2010). Early childhood teacher education: Historical themes and contemporary issues. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 31, 391-405.

Bridges, M., & Carlat, J. (2003). Training and retaining early care and education staff. Bay area child-care retention incentive programs: evaluation. PACE.

Green, B. L., Malsch, A. M., Kothari, B. H., Busse, J., & Brenna, E. (2012). An intervention to increase early childhood staff capacity for promoting children’s social-emotional development in preschool settings. Early Childhood Education Journal, 40(1), 123-132.

Lipscomb, S. T., Chandler, K. D., Abshire, C., Jaramillo, J., & Kothari, B. (2021). Early childhood teachers’ self-efficacy and professional support predict work engagement. Early Childhood Education Journal, 50(4), 675-685.

Mims, S. U., Sott-Little, C., Lower, J. K., Cassidy, D. J., & Hestenes, L. L. (2008). Education level and stability as it relates to early childhood classroom quality: a survey of early childhood program directors and teachers. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 23(2), 227-237.

Academic and Career Planning: The School Mission Implementation Plan

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Part 2

Written by Grey Davis

Putting ACP into Practice

Post-secondary readiness has undergone significant changes over the past decade. The traditional model of providing a college preparatory education is no longer sufficient. This outdated approach limits the potential of young adults and does not align with the modern-day need to prepare students comprehensively for life beyond high school.

While preparing students for college remains important, there is a growing recognition that a holistic approach is necessary to equip students for various aspects of adult life. Schools across the United States are adapting to this trend by focusing on broader life skills and readiness (Redefining Ready, 2017). Continue reading →

Academic and Career Planning: The New Post-Secondary Plan

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Part 1

Written by Grey Davis

The Paradigm Shift

There is a change happening in the way young people and their parents in the United States view the purpose of education. Previous generations saw bachelor’s degrees as a means to economic achievement and a way to secure a better future than their parents. In that climate, a college prep focus in high school was coveted. From 1950 to 2010, the percentage of people in their twenties with a bachelor’s degree grew from 7.7% to 31.7% in the U.S. (Horowitz, 2018).

More recently, the proliferation of college degrees and the lack of practical application for many majors results in college graduates filling low-paying, unskilled positions or retraining for useful trades. At the same time, salaries in skilled trades are rising due to a shortage of workers in these fields. Critical skilled job hiring in the U.S. could be more than 20 times the projected annual increase in net new jobs from 2022-2032 (McKinsey and Company, 2024). Continue reading →

Make Your School More Effective

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Written by Steven Haag

The Case for Professional Learning Communities
The best way to make your school great is to empower teachers by boosting their collective efficacy. Hattie (2017) found this made schools four times more effective than typical schools. Professional learning communities (PLCs) create that kind of teacher empowerment. When teachers work together to further develop their craft, they are building their collective efficacy, and PLCs provide the structure for them to do just that.

A professional learning community is a structure in which supportive professional relationships foster a collaborative culture that continually drives for successful change. PLCs affect positive school outcomes, primarily in the form of improved teacher efficacy (Kruse & Seashore Louis, 2009; Hord, 1997) and increased student performance (DuFour, Eaker, & DuFour, 2005). Continue reading →

Is Everyone in Your School on the Same Page?

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Written by Dr. John Meyer

Is everyone in your school on the same page when it comes to what effective teaching looks like? I recently spoke with two teachers who were frustrated by their principals’ feedback after a classroom observation.

In one case, the principal had complimented the teacher on his enthusiasm and nicely organized lesson, but suggested the teacher should plan better lesson introductions. The teacher felt like the discussion focused on things that were not very important to student learning. In the other case, the principal left a completed checklist in his teacher mailbox of things observed during the lesson without any written or verbal feedback. Continue reading →

Foster Teacher Collaboration with Micro-Credentials

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Written by Dr. John Meyer

What are the teachers at your school talking about? Schools where teachers talk positively about ways to improve teaching and learning are more successful than those that complain about students and parents (Ronfeldt, Owens Farmer, McQueen, & Grissom, 2015; Gruenert, 2005). Principals and teachers can use micro-credentials as a tool to create the kind of positive, professional collaboration that improves student achievement (Crow & Pipkin, 2017).

Micro-Credentials: Formal Recognition for Informal Learning
Earning Micro-Credentials is a way that teachers can receive formal recognition for skills learned informally. After all, teachers are constantly reflecting on and improving their practice. They experiment with new approaches learned through books, articles, inservices, and conferences. These new skills become effective teaching strategies in a teacher’s toolbox. But such competencies don’t show up in credits or clock hours. Micro-credentials give teachers a way to receive formal recognition for their skills from a respected institution, including colleges like the University of Wisconsin, MIT, Penn State, and Martin Luther College. Continue reading →

Do You Value Physical Education?

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Written by Prof. Dan Gawrisch

What does your physical education (PE) program look like at your school? Does your PE classroom look the same as it would have looked 10, 20, or even 40 years ago? Classrooms in every other academic discipline have continued to change and adapt with time, yet often our gym or PE area has not changed. The days of teaching PE with one ball and a whistle in a gym without technological capabilities are gone. Continue reading →

Improving Instructional Coaching and Evaluation

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Written by Seth Fitzsimmons

We need a good evaluation system in our WELS schools. Multiple education researchers, however, agree that teacher evaluation systems are troubled. Most do not do a good job differentiating between effective and ineffective teachers, and they do not aid much in professional growth. The annual conversation that WELS principals and their teachers have using the synod’s Teacher Performance Assessment tool can be uncomfortable and accomplish little. A more productive model for encouraging conversation and fostering teacher growth exists via the Charlotte Danielson Framework for Teaching (FFT). The FFT is an excellent model for principals and staffs at WELS schools to consider because it focuses on teacher development rather than teacher evaluation. Continue reading →

A Case for Professional Development

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Written by Andrew Willems

The case for WELS teachers entering into ongoing professional development should be clear. As I’ve taken post-graduate classes, I appreciate those teachers who seek to stay current with readings and new technologies and modern pedagogy. As a parent, I have bad thoughts about my daughter having the same college professors I had–hoping they don’t use the same old strategies they taught me as a student! As a teacher, I know my students can instantly seek answers from the world wide web. Why can’t I? Continue reading →

Making Professional Development Count

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By Dr. John Meyer

The kinds of continuing education activities that most Lutheran teachers prefer are the least likely to help them grow in their skills.

Lutheran teachers prefer continuing their education in the summer through one-shot workshops or courses (figures 1 & 2). That’s not surprising since most Lutheran teachers also report having insufficient time (79%) and money (71%) (figure 3) for sustained continuing education during the academic year.

Recent research reveals, however, that one-shot trainings in the summer are the least effective (Darling-Hammond et al., 2009; Gulamhussein, 2013). Continue reading →