Bridges to Success-Early Career Educator Page

“The first few years of teaching are indeed vital ones. During these years the novice emerges from the status of a student responsible for his or her own learning to that of a teacher responsible for promoting learning in others.”
Cooke & Pang, 1991

During the first three years in the teaching profession, educators:

May experience challenges transfering theory derived from preservice to practice in the school setting
May be unprepared for the demands of teaching
May be reluctant to ask questions
May have unrealistic self-expectations
May experience a loss of sense of efficacy.

Click on the links at left for information that will assist you and your mentor while going through the model activities.

The Core Components of the Bridges to Success Model

In order to address these specific needs, the Bridges model incorporates the following three core components to support the beginning educator.

The Orientation component provides activities to help beginning educators feel comfortable with their new profession and provides the knowledge required to function effectively.

The Mentoring component provides the early career special educator with both the technical and emotional support needed to feel confident and effective in their new profession

The Professional Development component provides the both information and the opportunity to apply new knowledge in the field. Under the guidance of the mentor, the beginning educator will develop follow-up activities that take skills learned during professional development and apply them in the classroom.