Peer Coaching: Strategies forSuccess

Kelly GardnerPARATESOL 2009

A Little Bit About Me

Teacher Advancement Program-- Eagle County, Colorado

Two CoachingRoles– Mentor teacher– Master teacher

Strengths– Time for ongoing

support– Clear teacher goals

Struggles– Coaches evaluate– Performance pay

Profesores ArticuladoresDepartamentales (PADs) -- Uruguay

Regional CoachesStrengths– More professional

development andfeedback forteachers

– Non-evaluativefeedback forteachers

Struggles– Many teachers/ coach– Funding

3 Steps to Becoming aSuccessful Coach

1. Establish Rapport and Goals2. Meet Regularly3. Encourage Reflection

What does the research sayabout peer mentors?

It is important to establish rapport -Center forCognitive Coaching (CCC)‏ Coaching should be focussed and ongoing– CCC, Sheltered Instruction Operational

Protocol (SIOP), Critical Friends Group(CFG)‏

It is important to encourage reflection– CCC, CFG

Part 1: Methods forEstablishing Rapport

Awareness ofBody Language– Mirroring:

• What is the affectof physical barriersin a conversation?

Mirroring Activity

Take a moment to mirror the bodylanguage of the person next to you.

What did you experience?

Methods for EstablishingRapport

Be aware ofyour role

Should you be afriend, asupervisor, aconfidant, or acounselor?

Quiz

Scenario:• You meet with an Englishteacher and she tells you allabout her problems with thedirector in her school and thestudents in her class. She isabout to start crying. Whatshould you do?

Quiz

A) Empathize – Tell her that youagree that her director is awful.B) Comfort – Tell her youunderstand and then take her out fora cup of coffee.C) Listen – Give her the opportunityto share how she feels.D) Direct – Lead her to find her ownsolution.

Establishing Goals

Teachers should always have in mindone area of instruction where they aredoing well and one area of instructionthey want to improve.

–How can you guide teachers increating these goals?

Goal Setting Criteria

Goals should be directly focused onstudent achievement– I want to be more organized (teacher

focused)‏– I want to use more comprehensible input to

make sure students understand the content(student focused)‏

Part 2:Improving Teacher Practice

There are a variety of models that canbe used to help teachers improve theirpractice. We will discuss examples of how eachmodel could be used.

Two Types of Coaching

Coaching Without Observations– Lesson Study– Strategy Focus Groups– Team planning

Coaching With Observation– Conference observation cycle

Lesson Study

The group watches a lesson togetherThey use pre-determined criteria toevaluate the lesson.They reflect as individuals and as agroup about what was successful andwhat was not successful.

Strategy Based

Coaches model a strategy for the groupEveryone develops a plan to implementthe strategyThe group analyzes work afterdeveloping the strategy

Team Planning

A team of teachers get together to plan alesson or a unit based on apredetermined criteria.

Conference ObservationCycle

The coach and the teacher meet before alesson to discuss, plan, and/ or create a newstrategy.The lesson is taught by the teacher, theteacher and the coach, or the coach.The teacher and the coach meet after thelesson to reflect on what went well, whatdidn’t, and what the next steps are.

Part 3:Encouraging Reflection

How can you encourage reflectionas a coach?

Conversations that EncourageReflection

Guiding teachings to reflect on theirpractice and set goals–Post Observation Coaching Map

Conversations that EncourageReflection

As you see the lesson unfolding, what willstudents be doing? (Predict)Describe the sequence in which the lesson willoccur. What will you be doing first? Next? Last?How will you close the lesson? (sequence)‏What will you see students doing or hear themsaying that will indicate to you that your lesson issuccessful? (set criteria)

– Adapted from Costa, A. L. & Garmston R. J. (2002) ‏

Conversations that EncourageReflection

As you reflect back on the lesson, how do youfeel it went? (Recall and Relate)What did you see students doing (or hear themsaying) that made you feel that way?(Recall)How did what you planned compare with what youdid? (compare) ‏As you reflect on the goals for this lesson, whatcan you say about your students' achievement ofthem? (evaluate)‏

– Adapted from Costa, A. L. & Garmston R. J. (2002) ‏

Reflective Teaching

Questions Coaches should askthemselves:– Who did most of the talking?– Did the teacher set goals?

• Were they student or teacher based?

Reflection: Think- Pair- Share

What questions do you still have aboutthese steps in peer coaching?

Which model do you envision working inyour institute?

Closing thoughts: Rememberwe´re here to collaborate

Resources

Costa, A. L. & Garmston R. J. (2002). Cognitive Coaching: A Foundation for Renaissance Schools. Norwood, MA.,Christopher-Cordon Publishers, Inc.