Online support environment for the induction and probation year of newly appointed teachers and teachers changing their categories

Since the 2014/2015 school year, on the instructions of MIUR’s Directorate-general for school staff, Indire is in charge of the Induction programme for newly appointed teachers and for those changing categories. In particular, the institute is in charge of developing and supporting the online environment including digital portfolios and monitoring questionnaires. This year, the model experimented in the two preceding school years was consolidated, as provided for by ministerial decree 850/2015 and law 107/2015 (paragraph 115-120). Since 2014, there have been more than 160,000 newly appointed teachers and teachers changing their categories, involved in the different phases of the induction and probation year, who relied on the support of more than 80.000 tutors: tenured teachers who supported them through the training pathway.

In the 2017/18 school year, despite the main characteristics of the training model remaining unchanged, breakthroughs have been introduced, which can further enhance the training experience of newly appointed teachers.

The induction period is confirmed for a duration of 50 hours, of which 20 per week are carried out online and is organised in the following steps:

• Initial meeting;
• Signing of the educational pact;
• Training workshops (or visits to innovative schools for 2000 teachers on a voluntary basis);
• Peer to peer activities, mutual observation in the class between the tutor and the newly appointed teacher;
• Online activity in order to compile the training portfolio (initial and final assessment of competencies; training curriculum; planning; documentation and reflection on two didactic activities; documentation of training laboratories or visits to innovative schools) and filling out monitoring questionnaires;
• Feedback meeting.

The main breakthroughs are about:

• Inclusion of sustainable development among the core themes of the training laboratories, considered an issue of great social and educational relevance as foreseen by the guidance documents of the United Nations and the European Union. This activity is sustained by online contents created by AsVis and made available through the portal;
• The experimental inclusion of study visits to schools carrying out projects characterised by strong elements of didactical and organisational innovation where the attitude to research and continuous improvement can be stimulated and pursued.

The portal is organised in two parts: one public section dedicated to the news and another reserved to the teachers, to carry out online activities. It is also foreseen a new area for a guided reflection on training laboratories and guided visits to innovative schools, and a streamlined area for planning, documentation and reflection on didactic activities.

The online environment will be available until the end of July.