Making the Grade

Top: Mentor teacher Lee Mahavier (right) at Cross Keys High School works with Wilkinson (center) to explain a math problem to student Jin Bai, an English language learner. Middle: Bernard takes the reins of the class from her mentor teacher to explain algebraic equations to students. As the residency progresses, Bernard will get more time teaching on her own. Bottom: Bernard (left) and teacher mentor Alvin Todd (right) together help student aliyah mcdaniel with a math problem at McNair Middle School.

For the uninitiated, walking into a middle school math class might seem no less hectic than merging into rush hour traffic.

One boy wants a pass to the bathroom, two girls are talking to each other and not paying attention while another girl, hand in the air, wants to be called on, all while the person in the driver's seat - the teacher - is trying to explain the difference between equations and expressions.

But Nia Bernard, 22, a Georgia State University graduate student, has it under control. She is one of the first teacher residents in a groundbreaking new College of Education training program.

"Remember, this is an expression, so the answer is going to be a number plus a variable," Bernard says to the students. "An equation has what? I want you to yell it out."

"An equal sign," the class replies in unison.

"That's right! Say it again," Bernard commands.

Even though Bernard has been teaching at McNair Middle School in College Park, Ga., for less than two months, she already seems to have the necessary mix of enthusiasm, patience and authority to handle the 8th grade math class.

And if she falters, she has her assigned mentor, Alvin Todd, right by her side.

A middle school teacher with 12 years' experience and a commanding presence, Todd stresses a two-fold approach to good teaching.

"I've been explaining to Ms. Bernard that in addition to knowing the content, good classroom management skills are essential; you must make sure students stay on task," says Todd. "At the end of the school year, I know she'll be ready."

A new model for training teachers

Thanks to a five-year, $13.5 million Teacher Quality Partnership grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Georgia State's College of Education this year launched this innovative teacher training program, which is helping to make sure that new teachers have the skills they need for success in the classroom.

Similar to the residency programs that medical students go through, Georgia State master's students are working full-time under the supervision of an experienced teacher mentor for an entire academic year. Residents are placed in high-need schools, typically those where 45 percent or more of the school's population receives free or reduced lunch.

Georgia State's teacher residents are paid a living stipend of $25,000 to teach "in-demand" content areas such as math or science. Residents also can gain instructional experience with students with special needs or students who are learning English along with the subject matter.

This year, 10 GSU graduate students are teaching math full-time in schools in the university's partner districts, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties. Next year, that number will double to 20, with 10 teacher residents in science classes and 10 in special education classes.

Top: Quinyana Blue, an 8th grader in Todd's and Bernard's class at McNair Middle School, completes an equation for her classmates to see. Middle: Cross Keys High School student Carmen Ayala Lopez works on a math problem in Mahavier's and Wilkinson's class. Bottom: Chancey Johnson and Christopher Mack, two students from McNair Middle School, collaborate on an assignment.

The residency program goes far beyond the traditional half-day student teaching experience, and time spent in the classroom is invaluable to a teacher's development, advocates of the residency model say.

"The important difference between teacher residences and regular student teaching experiences is higher levels of mentoring and more time in schools," says Joseph Feinberg, assistant professor of social studies education and coordinator of the teacher residency program at GSU. "The mentor teachers are handpicked by their principals and gradually ease the resident into the teaching role." 

What better way to learn a teacher's daily tasks, from managing the classroom and planning lessons to grading tests and dealing with disciplinary problems, than to watch an experienced educator or try it yourself?

"This is the only way you should train teachers," says Lee Mahavier, an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) math teacher at Cross Keys High School in DeKalb County, who is mentoring GSU graduate student Josh Wilkinson. "You can't tell someone how to teach. You have to show them."

The graduate students emerge from the 14-month master's program with Georgia's initial certification to teach math and science at the middle and secondary grade levels. Upon completion of the 45 credits of coursework, students earn a Master of Arts in Teaching degree. Residents make a commitment to teach for at least three years in a high-need school, hopefully the same one where they have been doing their residency.

"The benefit is that the teacher residents will be in a classroom and they will become part of the school's culture," says Gwendolyn Benson, the College of Education's associate dean of school and community partnerships. "They will know more about the student population they are working with, and they will be more confident in the first two years of teaching, when we typically lose teachers in the field."

The great education debate

For decades, politicians, school administrators, parents and advocacy organizations have been looking for the answer to America's lagging public education system. The statistics are alarming: Education spending in the U.S. has increased 40 percent since 1971, yet both math and reading scores have remained stagnant. America ranks 25th in math and 21st in science among 30 developed countries.

Recruiting good teachers and keeping them in the classroom is part of the issue, experts say. Nearly 40 percent of new teachers leave the profession within the first three years, and replacing them is costly for school districts. To compound the issue, teachers from the baby boomer generation will be retiring soon, and by 2014, the government estimates, an additional 1 million teachers will be needed in U.S. schools.

To meet this critical need, Georgia State's College of Education and other universities are focusing on new ways to bring highly qualified individuals into the teaching field and keep them there.

Georgia State is one of 28 universities in the U.S. to receive the federal government's Teacher Quality Partnership grant and start a teacher residency program. Georgia State has named its program Network for Enhancing Teacher Quality or NET-Q.

"Georgia State's College of Education is leading the way with its teacher residency program," says Dee Taylor, NET-Q program director at Georgia State. "We are looking forward to the significant impact that the first 10 teacher residency teams will make in our metro Atlanta district partner schools."

Top: Wilkinson (left) explains how to solve a math equation to Maria Balanos Gutierrez (center) as his teacher mentor Mahavier looks on with approval. Middle: Wilkinson instructs the class on how to solve a binomial problem as his teacher mentor observes from afar. "Josh is great and we're a great fit," said Lee Mahavier. "He's smart and has the right attitude. He listens to what I say and takes it in." Bottom: Bernard (right) helps McNair Middle School student akira brown-reynolds with a problem she's stuck on.

Seeing is teaching

Josh Wilkinson, 22, graduated from Georgia Tech in May with a degree in industrial engineering, but rather than head into business and industry like his peers, he sought out a career in the classroom.

"It's fresh and different from the previous day," Wilkinson says. "I don't perceive it as work. It's a duty, but it's also fun, and the kids are having fun too."

That's exactly what the NET-Q teacher residency program strives to do - make teaching appeal to career changers and raise the prestige of the profession.

The residency program doesn't just place teachers in the classroom after some training, like Teach for America does. Georgia State's teacher residents get unwavering support from their teacher mentors and university faculty members.

For instance, Wilkinson was assigned to Cross Keys High School Teacher Lee Mahavier's ESOL math class, which is filled with students speaking Mandarin, Bengali, Spanish, French, Ethiopian and other languages.

"Sometimes it overwhelms me," Wilkinson admits. "I think, 'How do I teach these kids if they don't speak English?'"

Luckily he has Mahavier, who comes from a family of math educators - her father spent his career as mathematics professor at Emory University. When Wilkinson tries to explain to the class the concept of "factoring completely," Mahavier sees where he goes wrong. 

"Who can explain why this answer is completely factored," Wilkinson asks the class. "Is there a number or letter that is still in common in the equation?"

The class looks at him blankly. That's when Mahavier jumps in to explain what the phrase "things in common" means to students.  She asks two girls what they have in common, and they agree they are both in her class and are wearing sweatshirts. The concept is explained and Wilkinson continues with the math lesson.

"I've had a lot of great teachers, but she is the best I've seen," Wilkinson says about Mahavier. "She is amazing. I could write a book about all the good things she does, and the kids would tell you the same thing."

Bernard, the teacher resident at McNair Middle School, has equal praise for her mentor, Alvin Todd. Todd runs his classroom by giving respect to students and requesting the same respect in return.

"His communication style syncs with me, and we get each other," Bernard said.

Program advocates hope early mentoring and a follow-up induction program can make the difference between a high-quality teacher leaving the profession or staying for a long-lasting career.

"We need more initiatives like this, particularly for math and science," Todd said. "This program lets [new teachers] ask themselves, 'Do I really want to teach?' and when they leave, they'll know whether they have the passion and knowledge to reap the rewards."