Novice Teacher Development in Residential Environmental Education Settings

This paper explores the first year development of three novice residential environmental educators in the Catskill region of New York State. The goal of the study was to reveal patterns in the participants' professional development over time and to better understand the factors that shaped these changes. Data gathering included three semi-structured interviews spaced throughout the year and weekly reflective journals. Results indicate that these novices moved through eight phases of development during their first year of teaching. These phases are introduced, discussed, and drawn upon for recommendations focused on seasonally oriented training programs. This study has implications for directors of residential environmental education centers and for researchers of novice classroom teachers. (Contains 10 references.) (Author/SM)