Many first- and second-year teachers gathered at the DISC last week to take part in the New Teacher Support Program Seminar. Together they became students as mentor teachers from the Merced Unified School District helped lead them through scenarios, offered tips and strategies to bring back to their classroom.

 

The new teachers were also able to walk through a few classrooms at Merced High and observe veteran teachers in action. Thomas Flores, an Ag Mechanics and Agroscience teacher at Buhach Colony, found the seminar helpful.

 

“I think it shows us a lot of different pathways to engage a lot of different students, especially in the ag department,” Flores said. “We have students from all different walks of life, not necessarily just ag people, but this shows us how to better accommodate their situations and behaviors into a productive learning environment.”

 

During the seminar the teachers often worked in groups and were given certain scenarios to work out. How do you handle a student using his/her cell phone during class? What are the best ways to handle a disengaged student? How do you deal with a student who is constantly out of their seat?

 

The mentor teachers also role-played certain scenarios, showing the right and wrong way to deal with behavior issues that may come up in the classroom. “I learned trying to find a way or a common ground with that student to better engage them and want to help them want to stay in the classroom,” Flores said. “You have those students who want to escape and get out and not do the work, but finding that middle ground and enabling them may help them enjoy their learning environment better.”

 

There were approximately 30 first-year teachers on the second day of the seminar. The setting helped the teachers engage with other teachers who are also new to the classroom. 

 

“It makes me feel like I'm not alone, and I gain strategies that I can not only share with everybody else in my department, but also use them for myself in my classroom,” said Luz Soto, who is a first-year ag teacher at Buhach Colony. 

 

Soto says holding the seminar in October is beneficial because it helps her evaluate some of the strategies she has used so far in the school year and find ways to improve her approach. She said also seeing other teachers in action could be beneficial as well.

 

“I think it will definitely help out a lot, especially if it's a different subject,” Soto said. “I can see some strategies that they can use, and then I can implement that in the class. For example, phrases that they usually use in the classroom to redirect students to do their work.”

 

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.