Exciting! An article attesting to the value of TTE TSGs has been published!
In which I mark this historic moment
Guys, I have been running Teacher Support Groups for 20 years. About a third of my life. Never has formal research been done on the particular approach I take to teacher support. Until now!!!!
What is a TSG? It is a small group of teachers that meets weekly for 1.25 hours to talk about their teaching experiences. It’s a Professional Learning Community but with a twist: Our focus is on emotions and relationships, the stuff that causes pain in teachers’ hearts and keeps them up at night. The stuff no one talks formally about. The stuff of teacher lounge complaints. The stuff that leads to burnout.
This article, titled
Addressing educator emotion through a psychodynamic coaching support group
is by Kristabel Stark (with me, Brian Jones, and Parker Goss as co-authors). Kristabel is an assistant professor in the College of Education and Social Services at the University of Vermont in Burlington. She specializes in Special Education, and she has been interested in teacher emotion for years. She contacted me while she was still in her doctoral program, and we have been friends ever since.
Kristabel collected data from a total of 8 teachers who voluntarily formed TSGs with me in 2024 and 2025. She asked them questions about each support group meeting and surveyed them when the TSG “semester” of 8 weeks had ended. I had no access to the data, so the teachers could be honest (we hoped) about their experiences.
Here’s what Kristabel found:
TSGs changed teachers’ emotional states. For the better. Teachers used words like re-centered, energized, lighter, more positive, encouraged, hopeful, reflective and enlightened to describe their feelings after the TSG meetings. They also reported that they understood their classroom experiences better and could empathize with their colleagues’ experiences, which sometimes led to more emotions like sadness — which often comes with empathy.
TSGs increased emotional awareness and literacy. Teachers reported learning new terms and frames that helped them understand their teaching experiences. They also really benefited from being together. They validated each other’s emotions and discouraged negative self-judgment. As one participant put it, “We are often miserable but not alone.”
TSGs helped refine strategies for emotionally intense interpersonal interactions. Teachers gained valuable perspective on student and adult behavior, learning to see it as data conveying important information about the student or adult. This insight translated, they said, into changes in their own behaviors that allowed them to interact more mindfully, strategically, and effectively with their relational partners.
TSGs forged stronger collegial support networks. This is so important: Teachers felt connected to each other, more bonded. And the flip side: They felt less isolated and siloed. The validation they offered each other helped dispel self-doubt and second-guessing and strengthened their trust in their own instincts and decisions.
A great summative quote:
I feel strongly that this type of program should become standard practice for schools…I think integrating this type of practice into standard teaching practices would be remarkably beneficial.
Amen.
I want to end by thanking Kristabel, Brian Jones, and Parker Goss for their belief in the work of TTE and their excellent work on this article. It’s a really enjoyable read, which is not something I can say for most academic pieces!
I also want to thank the eight brave teachers who agreed to do this study. You know who you are. It was a pleasure to work with you.
Actually, running TSGs is always a pleasure for me. I always fall in love with the teachers who join, and I’m always — always always always — surprised and moved by their courage, vulnerability, and wisdom.
Oh! And by their stories of success! Because teachers’ discoveries in TSGs affect students for the better, too.
Want to join a TSG? Let me know.