Teaching Profession Blog

The New Teacher Chat: Advice, Tips, and Support

In this blog, an early-career teacher and an expert on new teachers engaged in a series of chats on the challenges and joys of starting a career in teaching. Teacher Amanda Austin Becker and educational consultant Lisa Dabbs also shared tips and lessons learned for those important first years in the classroom. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: new teachers, teaching strategies.

Education Opinion Setting Up My First Classroom
First year teacher Amanda Becker shares the process of setting up her first classroom.
Amanda Austin Becker, November 2, 2018
3 min read
Education Opinion Can the 'Unteachable' Be Taught?
New teacher, Amanda Becker, asks mentor teacher, Lisa Dabbs, how to reach students who persistently struggle academically and emotionally.
Amanda Austin Becker, October 21, 2018
3 min read
Education Opinion Four Tips to Strengthen Partnerships with Parents
New teacher mentor Lisa Dabbs shares four tips on working with parents that acknowledge the ease of using digital communication but stress the importance of real-time connection to strengthen classroom community.
Lisa Dabbs, October 12, 2018
4 min read
Education Opinion Cultivating a Strong Parent-Teacher Partnership
New teacher Amanda Becker asks Lisa Dabbs for advice on cultivating strong parent-teacher partnerships.
Amanda Austin Becker, October 4, 2018
4 min read
Education Opinion Tips for Seeking Work-Life Balance
Lisa Dabbs, New Teacher Mentor shares some simple tips on achieving work-life balance with new teacher Amanda Becker.
Lisa Dabbs, October 1, 2018
3 min read
Education Opinion Achieving Work-Life Balance
Amanda Becker shares her challenges on achieving work / life balance and asks Lisa for advice on being more efficient at school.
Amanda Austin Becker, September 19, 2018
2 min read
Education Opinion Transform Your Classroom Culture Using the Morning Meeting
Lisa Dabbs new teacher mentor shares her idea with Amanda Becker about using the morning meeting model to build a positive classroom culture and positive personal relationships with students.
Lisa Dabbs, September 13, 2018
5 min read
Education Opinion Building a Positive Classroom Culture
Amanda Becker shares her ideas about building a positive classroom culture and asks Lisa Dabbs for advice on building positive personal relationships with students.
Amanda Austin Becker, August 30, 2018
2 min read
Education Opinion The New Teacher Chat Is Back!
Lisa Dabbs and Amanda Becker share an introduction to themselves and the vision for their new teacher blog--a place for an ongoing conversation about the challenges, successes, and lessons learned in the first years of teaching.
Lisa Dabbs, August 23, 2018
3 min read
Education Opinion Reflections of a 2nd Year Teacher
Second year teacher Christine Pinto reflects on her takeaways of her teaching career thus far.
Christine Pinto, May 13, 2018
3 min read
Education Opinion Engage, Inspire, and Motivate Students to Finish Strong
New Teacher Mentor Lisa Dabbs is joined by guest bloggers Michele Hill, Debra Campbell and Jennifer Hogan this week as they share ideas that new teachers can use to engage, inspire and motivate students to finish the school year strong and celebrate learning.
Lisa Dabbs, May 5, 2018
3 min read
Education Opinion The End of the School Year Crunch
Second year teacher Christine Pinto shares two tips for staying strong for the rest of the school year.
Christine Pinto, April 29, 2018
3 min read
Education Opinion What's the Best Professional Development for New Teachers?
New teacher mentor Lisa Dabbs shares three suggestions for the best kind of professional development that a new teacher can experience.
Lisa Dabbs, April 23, 2018
4 min read
Education Opinion The Importance of Mentors and Meaningful Professional Development
New teacher Christine Pinto shares her input on the role mentors and professional development have played in her teaching career thus far.
Christine Pinto, April 15, 2018
4 min read