Podcasts
CSBT is pleased to announce that beginning August 2008, podcasts for beginning teachers, mentors, and principals will be posted on Western’s iTunes U website. Western was selected by Apple to be an iTunes University in 2007, one of about 100 institutions nationwide.
The podcasts, part of the CSBT Online Support Program, feature audio or video files that can be played in iTunes on both the Mac and the PC or downloaded to an iPod or MP3 player. Vdeo journals of Western North Carolina new teachers in their first year of teaching are also posted.
View a sampling of CSBT podcasts now.
Western North Carolina school systems are finding it difficult to maintain adequate staffing due to the retirement of the teaching force, higher student enrollment, and smaller class sizes. In addition, many qualified teachers who enter the profession fail to stay in the classroom due to the pressures of the job and lack of support.
Building upon the university's existing partnerships with the public schools, the Center for the Support of Beginning Teachers (CSBT), a unique and fast-growing resource, works to stem the tide of new teachers abandoning the profession before they have completed five years of service. WNC beginning teachers, their mentors, and administrators benefit from the Center.
The original idea for CSBTcame from Dr. Michael Dougherty, dean of the College of Education and Allied Professions. It was part of his vision for the College. "A large part of the teacher shortage we're experiencing in North Carolina is due to issues we are facing in retaining qualified teachers in the classroom," said Dougherty. "The Center is part of an effort to keep beginning teachers in the classroom and provide them support to persist and be successful in the teaching profession."
We invite you to learn more about CSBT and its research examining the effects of induction programs on teacher retention and new teacher development. Please contact us with your questions.
The Center for Support of Beginning Teachers has revisioned its activities for 2008–2009 and beyond to align itself with the Boyer Model of Scholarship, QEP, Stewards of Place, and the Millennial Initiative with Western Carolina University's UNC-Tomorrow Initiative as an overarching guide.
Photo: Thad Pickard, seventh grade teacher at Canton Middle School (Haywood County Schools).