Nearly 7 out of 10 early-career teachers leave or consider leaving the profession within the first five years, according to the Center for American Progress. That statistic is particularly sobering to me, as I only began teaching in 2025.
To help navigate my development as a teacher, I attended the Stanford Teacher Education Program (STEP). I had just graduated from STEP but wanted more professional development, so I signed up for a second round of workshops. To my surprise, most of our activities centered on an approach that initially felt out of place — improv.
Improv, or improvisational theater, is an artistic form where actors make up dialogue, settings and plotlines on the spot for an audience. While improv certainly has its place on the stage, it was challenging to see its connection to teaching, let alone my science classroom.
I found myself making up stories and acting out scenes with other teachers as if we had known each other for decades. But participating felt risky, as I opened myself to the judgment of others. And as I saw myself making mistakes in front of my peers, I noticed I hesitated to engage more. Through these exercises, I realized the level of risk-taking that comes with learning and how self-doubt and fear of embarrassment can stunt student engagement.
Source: EdSurge — Read the full article on the original site ↗