What is Induction

Webster’s defines induction as “the act or an instance of inducting” and induct as “to admit as a member; receive,” and “to introduce, as to new experience or knowledge; initiate.”   Although we wouldn’t disagree with those definitions in the context of new teacher induction, we do give that term a meaning that is at once more nuanced and more specific in the context of teacher development.

For new teachers, we define induction by describing what it does:  provide professional learning opportunities for developing dispositions and practices that support student learning.  We include among these opportunities orientations to the workplace, a network of peer support, seminars and workshops, and mentoring focused on standards of professional practice and continual professional growth.   As such, induction isn’t an event but rather a process that takes place across a teacher’s first several years of practice (usually defined as the first three to five years) or, at later points in a teacher’s career, as part of a transition into a new position defined by grade level, subject area, course, or school.

The goal of any good induction system is to improve the quality of education for all students by improving the quality of teaching.  Induction does so, in part, by recognizing that teacher preparation isn’t something that is completed with the awarding of licensure; rather, it is on-going throughout a teacher’s career.  It recognizes that initial licensure is designed to ensure that a teacher has the knowledge, skills, and disposition to begin practice, with quality teaching, professional knowledge, and retention all enhanced by the learning opportunities and support provided by high quality induction systems.