Proactively Addressing New Teacher Retention and Attrition During the Senior Year: A Comprehensive Course Redesign
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33423/jhetp.v24i6.7061Keywords:
higher education, teacher burnout, attrition, teacher retention, educator preparation programsAbstract
After being named a 2022-2023 Georgia Governor’s Teaching Fellow, the author was asked to identify a course or a project that would be the focal point of his work during the year-long series of monthly symposia that constituted the program. The program enabled the author to conduct a comprehensive redesign of a relatively outdated course. The course, entitled EDEX 4334: Teachers as Leaders, was transformed into a relevant, real-world educational experience designed to address the issues of teacher attrition, retention, and burnout using activities designed to enhance the experience of undergraduate Special Education majors at Georgia College & State University. The result was a reimagined course that incorporated components addressing key issues facing new teachers such as navigating the hiring process, resume preparation, rehearsing the interview processes, handling Special Education IEPs and caseloads, managing paraprofessionals, supervisors, and colleagues, honing time management skills, and addressing self-care in order to prevent new teacher attrition and burnout.
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