Lucy WestEducation Consultant

email: lucy@lucywestpd.comhttp://lucywestpd.com

phone: 212-766-2120

cell: 917-494-1606

Content CoachingPower point available from:

Lucy West lucy@lucywestpd.com

lucywestpd.com (under construction)

Content- Coaching:Big Picture/Small Picture

What is the purpose of coaching?What is the role of the coach?What is content coaching?What is the landscape of coaching?

Establishing our own learning goalsEnemies of learningSelf-management of learningGoals for this seminar

What do you think is the purpose of coaching in educational settings?

PurposeThe purpose of coaching is to cultivate a learning culture among adults that results in classroom environments that foster robust and enthusiastic learners.

To connect individual practitioners with colleagues for systemic, sustainable growth.

To professionalize teaching.

PurposeTo develop the professional judgment and skill set of individual practitioners as evidenced in student learning.

Improved instruction has been identified as the number one key variable for improving student learning.

Coaching focuses on instruction that generates evidence of student learning.

What is the Purpose of Content-Focused Coaching?

To cultivate the specific skill set of practitioners to empower every student to understand important and relevant content and engage in academic habits of reasoning and discourse associated with the academic domain.

Catchall position/role definition/idiosyncratic

Qualifications/selection processOn the job learning opportunitiesIsolation/Support NetworkRelationship to administrators--school/district

Selection of Teachers/DifferentiationTime Formats: One-on-one, groupsFocus/shared visionMeasuring SuccessAttrition/new recruits

What are the issues in coaching?

Infusing a new role into the system is a complex endeavor and an enormous opportunity

Finding the “essence” is of primary importance

What is your role?

Purpose: To improve student learning by profoundly influencing adult thinking, behavior and practice.

Coaching as a strategy for transforming the system from a testing factory to a multi-generational learning organization

How do we do this?

Purpose Determines Role

Conversation across roles, levels, content areas focused on reciprocal responsibility, values, and images

Communication is the currency in interdependent organic, living, systems--the flow of information--feedback loops

Conversations

Start with conversations focused on systems, strategy, long-term goal, first steps, emotional intelligence and necessary support for coaching

Pair these conversations with on-site work providing common, focused, experiences around instruction and learning to build toward collective vision and implementation

ConversationsBig Picture/Small Picture

When, With Whom, WhyOne-on-oneSmall groupLarge group

Content CoachesBring out the genius in each educator.Create as many opportunities for educators across roles and content areas to engage in professional conversation to generate innovation and collective genius.

Content-Focused CoachingOngoing, on-site, job embedded professional conversations that:Delve into content and ways to teach it

Engender lesson plans, strategies and methods designed to enable student learning of a particular subject

Keep guiding principles in mind:Work with what is working and build from there--systemically

Build capacity of home teamCreate feedback loops--communicate across roles, groups, meetings, teams

Adjust as you go, but stay the course

Keep your eye on student learning/instruction

Customize

Principals, coaches, teachers, district level staff, co-create the model, the role definition, raise issues, question, view video examples or classes to develop common lenses and solve issues as they emerge.

Big Picture Work

Differentiation of learning through coaching practices for Principals, Coaches, Teachers, Students

Vision--a coaching culture to facilitate individualized learning, collaborative practice, and collective wisdom

Differentiated Learning At All Levels

Clarity of purpose--improve instructionCoach as leverage position--systems-- working with networks of schools

Coach as member of leadership team--cultivating culture of partnership

Purposeful, regular meetings focused on planning lessons--content, visuals, predictions

Co-teaching model of coaching

Content CoachingBig Picture Focus

Improve instruction by focusing PD on:

Teacher content knowledgeTeacher pedagogical and PCK knowledge

Capacity to assess, diagnose, intervene in student learning

Principal capacity to assess and support instruction

Principal and teacher beliefs and philosophical perspective

What is the History of Content-Focused Coaching?

An attempt to identify and make explicit the moves and strategies of effective coaches A video study of coaching sessions and lessons of both expert and novice coaches.

A model for developing the expertise of teachers--building capacity for sustainable capacity building.

Coaches Offer AssistanceIt is not enough for coaches to limit themselves to eliciting teacher reflection and offer no direct assistance

Coaches need to provide substantive contributions that will impact the quality of the lessons and create opportunities for teachers to learn from practice.

People Not ProgramsFocus on teaching important content well

The real work is learning how to plan (at all levels) very, very well (collaboration helps)

Evidence of more robust student learning is the primary criteria for success (this can include higher test scores)

Coaching Is an Iterative ProcessObserving teacher before

coaching

Pre-conference (planning the lesson)

Teaching the Lesson (teach, co-teach, or observe)

Post-conference

Pre ConferenceDevelops capacity to design lessons Develops habits of collaborative planning

Broadens pedagogical content knowledgeBuilds differentiation into the planBuilds repertoire of instructional strategies

Focuses on evidence of student learning

Sample Coach Schedule

Period Monday Tuesday1 Meet with Teacher A to plan Gr 4 common prep: grade

level meeting

2 Co-teach in Teacher A (spec ed. teacher observes)

Teach in Teacher B classroom (2 grade level colleagues observe)

3 Debrief with Teacher A Debrief with Teacher B and colleagues

4 Gr. 3 common prep: grade level meeting

Voluntary Lunch Meeting: Variations on Routines

5 Lunch Co-teach with Teacher C (observers?)

6 Meet with Teacher B to plan Debrief with Teacher C

7 Meet with Teacher C to plan Small group intervention

8 Prep for after-school study group

Meet with principal

Coaching and Student LearningWhat are we looking for that would be evidence that students are learning?

What might coaches need to focus on during conferences in order to ensure that lessons are worthwhile and will result in teacher/student learning?

Where does content fit in the picture?What evidence of impact of coaching sessions would we look for in teacher practice?

What do you look for?Make a list at your table of the specific things you would look for in a (math) (lit) class that would show evidence that the class was an effective one. (3 min.)

Be prepared to read your list or items from your list to contribute to a whole group list.

Prioritize and FocusWhich items on your list directly focus on evidence of learning?

Which items focus on structures, programs, formats, mechanics?

Which items focus on specific instructional strategies, moves, or practices?

VideoWhat is significant, surprising, in this clip?

What is the one thing?If you had to choose only one (or two) vital behaviors for improving student learning, what would you choose?

Positive deviantsVital Behaviors

Coach as DiagnosticianTaskClimate/cultureContent knowledgeAssessing student understandingInstructional repertoire, orientationBeliefs about learning/teaching

The TaskRename the number 1000 in interesting ways. Examples:10,000/10 0 x 10 + 900 1001 - 1

What’s the math?What were your strategies?

Visiting a 5th Grade LessonWhat do you predict students might write in relation to this task?

What errors if any might you foresee?What evidence might you collect to determine what students know?

What might be done with that information once it is collected?

Welcome to Tennessee5th Grade Class about 15 students16 adults observingJamelie, site-based math coach and teacher leader

Lucy, visiting consultant facilitating a combination study lesson, content coaching session to build the professional learning community among the coaches and to enhance their coaching skills

View Excerpt from PreconferenceUnpacking the launch activity

SequencingClarifying content

Preparing to uncover what students are thinkingQuestioning, probing, listening

View Excerpt-PreconferenceWhat specifically is being talked about in relation to content and student learning?

How does this image of coaching resonate with your image of coaching?

What questions do you have?

View Video-Lesson SegmentHow did coaching session impact lesson?

Read transcript looking for evidence of student learning and/or misconceptions, partial knowledge, fragile knowledge and mark transcript.

What concepts are being discussed?What is the role of the coach in this dialogue?

View Video-Post ConferenceWhat did Jamelie learn about her students during the lesson?

What are the complexities in teaching?How well do you expect teachers to implement new practices when they are trying them on?

How might lessons be effected when teachers are attempting new behaviors?

What specific practices are worth cultivating?

What is the coach’s responsibility in terms of the success of a lesson?

The Role of DiscourseHow does the coach use discourse to assist the teacher?

How does the teacher use discourse to understand student thinking?

How does discourse reveal learning and how do we distinguish learning from already knowing?

Is discourse worth the time?When do adults talk about teaching and learning?

To what depth and specificity are people discussing the content?

To what degree are people inquiring into student thinking?

To what degree are coaches inquiring into teacher thinking?

Can we afford 20 minutes?What is the most important idea students might walk away from this lesson thinking about?

Is this idea the one all students must be thinking about? Or might there be a network of related ideas that are responded to based on prior knowledge?

What’s my role?What is the ultimate goal of coaching?What can educators at every level of the system (e.g. teachers, principals, district level leaders) do to support coaching to ensure its full potential as an improvement strategy?

Principles of Learning JigsawSelect one of the following:

Socializing Intelligence/Instructional Environments for Socializing Intelligence

Academic Rigor in a Thinking Curriculum/Clear Expectations

Accountable Talk/Accountability to Knowledge/Accountability to Rigorous Thinking

Self-Management of Learning/Clear Expectations

Read the sections you have selected.Make sure every section is read by at least 2 people at your table.