Inhabiting a Welcoming New Landscape: A First Year Teacher's Voyage of Discovery

Abstract

How does one successfully launch a teaching career? In what ways do teacher preparation programs, schools, and school districts support an individual's transition into the challenging world of teaching? These questions are addressed through the narrative of one new teacher's successful transition from the University of Calgary's BEd Master of Teaching Program into the teaching profession. The first year teacher, a district administrator, and a teacher preparation educator describe the structures, programs, and forms of learning that have enabled the teacher to "live well" as a novice educator. This successful induction into teaching began in a district with a self-described "mentoring culture." Recruitment, orientation, coaching, and evaluation processes are deliberately fashioned to provide a framework of supportive and learner-focused relationships. With these structures as launching points, the teacher's journey unfolds. Her explorations, discoveries, challenges. and questions encourage inquiry into best practices and foster the evolution as an innovative educator.