Instructional Coaching for ERWC Fidelity

Kathleen D. Rowlands

ERWC i3 Advisory Board

Broad Definition of Coaching

• A process thorough which professional educators work together:• to reflect on current practices; • to expand, refine, and build new skills; • to share ideas and teach one another; • to conduct classroom research; • to solve workplace problems

How to Plan and Implement a Peer Coaching Program

Pam Robbins, 1991, ASCD p. 1

Coaching Purposes

• “To improve the instructional practices of teachers in order to increase student learning” (163);

• To develop teacher potential; and• To support teachers.

Professional Development: What Works

Sally J. Zepeda 2008

What Are We Trying to Accomplish?

• To help experienced ERWC teachers teach the revised curriculum.• New modules• CCCSS alignment• Clarified theoretical base

• To support the implementation of the ERWC with FIDELITY in the core i3 research classrooms.

Contents of Your Packet

• Copy of this PPT for Taking Notes• Instructional Coaching Toolkit

• Copy of the Critical Friends Coaching PPT (available on Wiki)

• Useful Coaching Questions• Digital Coaching Resources• Sample Protocols for Classroom Observation• Sample Protocols for Looking at Student Work• Reference List

• Information about ERWC Instructional Coaching Wiki at http://erwcinstructionalcoaches.wikispaces.com/home

Types of Coaching

• Collegial coaching• Instructional coaching• Literacy coaching• Mentor coaching• Peer coaching

Professional Development: What Works

--Sally J. Zepeda 2008

Critical Friends

• Assume many of the roles of peer coaches

Taking Coaching to Scale

• Number of Districts: ?• Number of Schools: ?• Number of Teachers: ?

Two ERWC Coaching Models

Critical Friends Coaching• For colleagues in a

building to use together for support, to improve instruction, and to address grant issues.

Instructional Coaching• For the Advisory

Board member or the ERWC Professional Developer to use with individual teachers or a school.

Both ERWC Models

• Solid professional development models.• CLEAR separation of coaching and evaluation.• Focus on fidelity of implementation and

student learning.

Instructional Coaches

• Will train their teachers in Critical Friends and encourage them to find critical friends at their schools.

Bridging the Gaps

What the teachers know and can do…and what we NEED them to know and be able to do—with

FIDELITY!.

EFFECTIVE ADULT LEARNING

Difficulties for Adult Learners

Adults face specific difficulties when learning. These include the following:

1. Their knowledge may not be systematic;

2. They have little time;

3. Their awareness may be slow and they may be afraid of learning theory;

4. Their listening and observation skills may be weak;

Difficulties for Adult Learners

5. They may be shy in group situations;

6. They may be highly conservative and often disregard the views of others;

7. They may lack self-confidence and want to avoid making mistakes; and

8. Their attitude toward learning is affected by their past experiences, positively or negatively.

Eight Adult Learning Principles

1. Adults like to learn in a self-conscious way. By contrast, children learn something as requested by adults, even if the subject is not interesting. Adults decide what they want to learn for themselves.

2. Adults learn best if the subject meets their needs.

Eight Adult Learning Principles

3. Adults learn best by doing. This idea is expressed in the proverb: “What I hear is what I forget; what I see is what I remember; what I do is what I understand”.

4. Adults learn through experiences. When learning, adults bring along their own experiences. It is therefore necessary to respect and incorporate their experiences in the learning process.

5. Adults bring their own opinions to the learning environment. Those opinions affect their learning and awareness.

Eight Adult Learning Principles

6. Adults learn best in a non-formal atmosphere where they can feel accepted and supported by the trainers and other trainees.

7. Adults learn by solving the problems relevant to their lives. Solutions must be based on their practical understanding and analysis drawing on in their experiences.

8. Adults can easily adapt to different teaching methods. They prefer not to receive grades.

In Summary…

• Adult learning is most effective when it is based on experiences, reflection, addressing immediate needs, self-responsibility, participation, feedback, empathy and takes place in a safe and comfortable environment.

TRANSLATING THEORY INTO PRACTICE

Effective Professional Learning

• It is interactive (shows AND tells!), using active learning strategies such as demonstration, practice, and feedback.

• It takes place over time (“one shots” are ineffective).

Effective Professional Learning

• It is embedded throughout the school year.

• It is integrated into existing instruction.

Effective Professional Learning

• It provides needed resources, particularly time to process and discuss new ideas, and allows teachers to explore how new ideas will work in their classrooms with their students!

• It is collaborative and supports teachers developing new knowledge and new skills.

Effective Professional Learning

• It should be seen by participants as purposeful, meaningful, useful, and doable.

• It has administrative support.

Experiential Learning Cycle

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE COACHING (BOTH MODELS)

4 C’s of Effective Coaching

• Collaboration• Communication• Consistency• Clarity of Vision

Key Coaching Components• Collaboration, NOT evaluation• Trust• Friendly, supportive, and interactive

learning environment.

INSTRUCTIONAL COACHING

Instructional Coaching

• Coaching tied to a specific strategy or curricular approach.

• Purpose of instructional coaching is to facilitate skill transfer from the workshop to the classroom.

• Observation is NOT steered by the teacher being coached, but is linked to the concept or curriculum.

How to Plan and Implement a Peer Coaching Program

Pam Robbins 1991 ASCD

Instructional Coaching• Is as much about building

relationships with teachers as it is about instruction.

• Partnership philosophy: authentic respect for teacher’s professionalism.

• Collaborative work between the coach and the teacher.

• Start by working one-to-one with teachers.

“The Coach and the Evaluator”Bob Tschannen-Moran and Megan Tsechannen-Moran

• What coaching needs to be:• Teacher-centered• No-fault• Strengths-based

Understanding the Relationship

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY75MQte4RU

Clarity Essential• Clarity concerning the differences between evaluation

and professional development is crucial (11).• Coaches foster increased self awareness and

mindfulness in teachers• Encourage teachers to clarify what they want and

need, build on strengths and experiment in the service of mutually agreed-on goals.

• Coaching space needs to be a “no-fault playing field” (15).

“The Coach and the Evaluator”

Bob Tschannen-Moran and Megan Tsechannen-Moran

Coaches Wear Many Hats

• Teacher• Mentor• Partner• Facilitator• Supporter• Resource Provider• Problem Solver• Sounding Board• Consultant• Leader

Effective Coaches…

• Take a partnership approach;• Identify teacher’s goals;• Listen attentively;• Ask questions;• Explain teaching practices; and• Provide feedback.

Jim Knight’s 7 Principles of Effective Coaching

• Equality: Take a partnership approach to collaboration; coaches and teachers are partners and the teachers bring a lot to any interaction.

• Choice: Teachers must have choice on what and how they learn. They have to be the final decision makers and decide which practices to adopt and how to interpret data.

• Voice: The conversations are as open and candid as conversations with a trusted friend.

• Reflection: This is an integral part of instructional learning; both coach and teacher should reflect on what is being learned.

Jim Knight’s 7 Principles of Effective Coaching

• Dialogue: In an authentic dialogue, nobody is pushing for one point-of-view.

• Praxis: Teachers should apply new knowledge and skills to real life practice as they are learning.

• Reciprocity: In each learning interaction there is an opportunity for everyone to learn. Coaches should expect the get as much as they give.

Tasks of the Coach

• Help with setting goals• Encouraging action• Acting as a sounding board• Giving feedback• Prompting• Questioning

David Ginsburg Instructional Coaching: Classroom Procedures (A Model of a Debriefing Session)

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN_4VP3gBWY

• As you watch: what do you notice about the relationship?

• What roles does the coach assume?• Who does most of the talking?• What kinds of questions does the coach ask?

Effective Conferencing(separating the person from the practice)

• Common language• Specific focus• Hard evidence-objective data• Interaction• Predictability • Reciprocity

Mentored Teachers

• Experienced ERWC teachers need:• Big picture of what we hope to

accomplish;• Clear picture of the ERWC instructional

coaching model (differentiating it from others they may be familiar with);

Mentored Teachers

• Experienced ERWC teachers need:• Clear understanding of the PEER

coaching model (differentiating it from others they may be familiar with);

• Clear understanding of their role, rights, and the role, rights, and responsibilities of the coach in BOTH models.

CRITICAL FRIENDS COACHING…is different…

Critical Friends Coaching

• Helps ensure the transfer of newly learned skills from an in-service learning opportunity into practice.

• “In-class training by a supportive partner who helps a teacher correctly apply skills learned in a workshop” (Joyce and Showers 1982, p. 5).

Critical Friends Coaching

• THINKING PARTNERS: we are thinking through this and learning together as a team.

• Less formal than instructional coaching• Teachers should select their own partners.• Should have a rule: peer coaches can get a divorce.

Some Characteristics of the Relationship

• Critical Friends partnerships are voluntary.• Information shared within the relationship

is strictly confidential.• Each participant is responsible to complete

any work that both have deemed beneficial.

Critical Friends Coaching Model

• “Inviting teacher” steers the coaching process:• Observation focus;• Form of data collection;• Agreed upon guidelines for coach’s and

mentee’s behavior;• Discussion parameters;• Date and time of observation.

Focus on the Practical

• Effective coaching partnerships focus on the practical, not the abstract. (“It’s About the Questions” p. 76)

Data Collection Focus

• “One of most difficult aspects of peer coaching , after conquering feelings of discomfort abut teaching publically, is deciding on a focus for the observation” (29).• Inviting teacher might start with a safe focus—something

the teacher is confident about and does well.• Brainstorm menu of options

• Determining data collection method• Essential that inviting teacher and coach talk about data

collection instrument in detail so that data collected matches desired focus.

• Data collection must be manageable for the coach and relevant for the inviting teacher.

How To Be a Critical Friend Coach

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpfGFKcguV0

• As you watch:• What is the relationship between the

partners?• What are your key take-aways?

COACHING TOOLS

Coaching Tools

1. Observation and modeling• Pre-observation conference, extended

classroom observation, post-observation conference

• Discussions about teaching and learning…theirs and their students’ learning.

2. Questions to help them develop a habit of reflective practice.

3. Protocols: specific routines for observation, looking at student work, etc.

A Useful Model

Post-Conference

• Collaborative: characterized by a mutual discussion of the teaching observed. Coach asks teacher to reflect on what happened as expected or planned and what happened differently. Inviting teacher analyzes what teaching or student behaviors contributed to outcomes. The teacher determines what changes to make when teaching the lesson again.

Post-Conference

• Mirroring: “Here are the data you asked me to collect. If you have any questions, please let me know.”

Instructional vs. Critical Friends Post-Conferences

• Instructional conference differs from the collaborative (peer) conference in that the coach often teaches during the pre-and post-conferences.

• Instructional coach facilitates the teacher’s reflections and refection on other possible approaches.

• Post-conference strengthens the teacher’s ability to help him or herself.

• In both types of conference, the teacher has control over what happens and how the data are used.

• Trust is a critical factor in both types of conference.

Post Conference

• Critical friend asks the inviting teacher questions to promote reflection about the lesson.• Questions; what happened as expected?• What happened differently from expectations?• How would the inviting teacher teach this

lesson next time?

Good Questions

“It’s about the Questions”

• “A coaching relationship isn’t about providing a quick fix or a recipe for success. Rather the most powerful relationships focus on reflecting, exploring, analyzing, and digging deeper into good practice”

(Ronald R. Bearwald, p. 74).

Cognitive Coaching

• Good questions lead to teacher ownership.• When teachers talk about their thinking,

their decisions become clearer, and their awareness increases

Garmston, Linder, & Whitaker, 1993, p. 57

Cognitive Coaching Fundamentals

Costa and Garmston, 1994• Awareness of own thinking processes that foster

learning.• Metacognition.• Belief that everyone is capable of change.• Teaching performance is based on decision making

skills.• When teacher talk bout their thinking, their decisions

become clearer, and their awareness increases.

Useful Coaching Questions

• Ask questions about essential issues and behavior• In what ways did your planning succeed?• What were some of your specific contributions to its

success?

• Ask precise questions• “In what ways are you contributing to your students’

success?”

• Ask questions that generate specific and relevant information

PROTOCOLS

Useful ProtocolsNational Reform Faculty

• Atlas Looking at Student Work• Atlas Looking at Data• Collaborative Assessment Conference• Constructive Tuning Protocol• Debriefing Questions• Describing Student Work

Useful ProtocolsNational Reform Faculty

• First Visits• Focus Framing Questions• Learning from Student Work (several forms)• Looking at Patterns in Student Work• Methods for Learning from Student Work Chart

Useful ProtocolsNational Reform Faculty

• Principles for Looking at Student Work• Pocket Guide to Probing Questions• Quinn’s Six Questions (about practice)• The Coaching Protocol• Tuning Protocol• What? So What?

Consider Digital Tools

Consider Digital Tools

Skype

Consider Digital Tools

Facetime

Bad Coaching/Good Coaching

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82gVD0Vk7Rw

• As you watch, make a list of the characteristics of each coaching example.