Equipping Secondary New Teachers for Success

Every year, Madison City Schools welcomes many new middle and high school teachers to the district. Some teachers join our district with decades of classroom experience from other districts and states; some are recent college graduates; and some come from entirely different careers. We are so excited to welcome our new teachers, and our district and schools work hard to equip them for success in sharing our instructional priorities and best practices through our New Teacher Professional Learning. 

Our professional learning is focused on four main pillars of instruction: Strategic Teaching, Classroom Management, Quality Questioning, and Tiered (Differentiated) Instruction. In the Fall semester, we worked with teachers on Strategic Teaching and Classroom Management. In the Spring, we focused on Quality Questioning and Tiered Instruction. 

In our Fall learning, our teachers learned effective teaching practices, such as establishing clear learning goals, designing lessons using before, during, and after strategies, and helping students develop critical thinking skills during lessons. While strong lesson design is important, it is equally important to have classroom structures and protocols that create a learning environment where all students feel safe and supported to learn and do their best. The District Behavior Specialists visited this professional learning to share behavior prevention and de-escalation strategies aligned with our focus on classroom management, and provided very tangible examples of how to navigate challenging behavior or prevent it from happening in the first place. 

At our Spring session, teachers learned about the Quality Questioning process and how to differentiate instruction to reach all students effectively. Quality Questioning, from the work of Jackie Walsh, provided teachers with strategies for asking meaningful questions that elicit critical thinking in students and for using their responses to adjust instruction. That process led directly to our focus on Tiered Instruction, where teachers examined how formative assessment can drive differentiated instruction and inform next instructional steps, such as strategic and flexible grouping, based on current student understanding. 

Throughout our professional learning, teachers were exposed to a variety of practical strategies to support each of these instructional pillars. Our goal is not simply to share ideas, but to ensure teachers walk away with tangible tools they can apply immediately in their content areas and classrooms. When teachers leave these sessions, we hope they feel equipped, supported, and confident in implementing best practices and strategies that actively engage students in meaningful learning.