Online video repository and supportive community for beginning teachers

Nearly half of public school teachers leave in their first five years of teaching, and the inadequacy of their preparation is a significant challenge to their success. Teacher attrition results in part from frustration caused by inadequate preparation and lack of a professional development support system. Beginning teachers lack access to exemplars of effective teaching practices. This paper proposes a design framework addressing these problems via a free Internet-based resource for teachers to share videos of their teaching practices and exchange ideas through a supportive online community. This resource would present easily accessible videos of model practices, problem representations, problem solutions. The website would provide a supportive community for beginning teachers; enable them to: form groups centered on common interests, exchange messages, and offer one another feedback on teaching practices; facilitate sharing of classroom materials and best practices; and allow teachers to post profiles of professional and personal information.