New teacher-staffing model rethinks ‘one-teacher, one-classroom’
A new study by Penn GSE’s Richard Ingersoll evaluates a team-based model of organizing teaching staff in elementary and secondary schools that integrates teams of teaching staff in contrast to this traditional one-teacher, one-classroom approach.
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As schools across the nation grapple with the challenges of hiring and retaining teachers, a new study co-led by Graduate School of Education professor of education and sociology Richard Ingersoll sheds light on an innovative approach that could help address this crisis. The study focuses on teacher turnover rates of team-based staffing along with teacher decision-making authority in schools, and how these factors could offer solutions to the ongoing nationwide teacher shortage.
The traditional classroom model, where one teacher instructs a large group of students in isolation, has been a staple of the education system for over a century. However, this model has faced criticism for its inability to meet the diverse needs of students and the high levels of teacher dissatisfaction and turnover it often causes.
The Next Education Workforce (NEW) initiative replaces traditional classroom models with a new model of team-based staffing. NEW integrates teams of teaching staff who share a roster of students and multiple learning spaces. These teams collaboratively plan instruction, with each member taking on different roles and responsibilities. This model aims to enhance student engagement and learning by allowing for more personalized, student-centered teaching.
“Throughout my career, it has been clear that allowing teachers a professional-like authority in regard to school decisions that impact their work, can be crucial, and is often overlooked, for retaining teachers. We’ve learned that this authority, as part of a team-based approach, can have significant, and in this case, startling, benefits,” says Ingersoll. “The old single-teacher classroom model is conducted in isolation from colleagues, which creates a ‘sink or swim’ approach that is particularly hard on new teachers—who depart the profession in costly numbers in their early years. This rethinking of the classroom model shows enormous promise for teachers and students alike.”
One of the study’s most critical findings is that teachers working within these teams are far less likely to leave their positions, compared to those in traditional classrooms.
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