ARI Coaching Module for Elementary

47 Pages·2017·1.44 MB·English

Final 4/14/15

Alabama Reading Initiative

Professional Learning Module
for
Coaching

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page

Outcomes ................................................................................................................. 3

Role of Coaches ....................................................................................................... 4

Emphasized Coaching Responsibilities .................................................................... 5

What is Coaching? ................................................................................................... 6

Why is Coaching Important? ................................................................................... 7

Prerequisites for Successful Coaches ...................................................................... 8

Principles for Effective Coaches ......................................................................... 9-10

Topics That Help Us Understand the Role of the Coach
 What Can We Learn from the Athletic Coach? ................................................... 11
 What Can We Learn from Great Leaders? ................................................... 12-13
 What Can We Learn About WINsome Human Relations? .................................... 14
 What are Some Tips for Effective Communication Skills? ................................... 15

Essential Skills of Coaches
 Getting into the Coaching Cycle with Colleagues .......................................... 16-17
(Always Begin with Data)
 Pre-Planning ............................................................................................ 18-19
 Planning .................................................................................................. 20-21
 Observing Student Learning ...................................................................... 22-23
 Reflecting ................................................................................................ 24-25
 Debriefing ............................................................................................... 26-27
 Facilitating A Professional Conversation ........................................................... 28
 Facilitating Professional Learning ............................................................... 29-30
 Teaching the Lesson ................................................................................. 31-32
 Listening ................................................................................................. 33-34

Appendices
 Appendix A: ARI Coach Job Description ...................................................... 36-37
 Appendix B: Characteristics of Skillful Readers .................................................. 38
 Appendix C: Factors that Influence Reading Comprehension .............................. 39
 Appendix D: WINsome Human Relations Rating Scale ....................................... 40
 Appendix E: Flaherty’s Flow of Coaching (modified) ........................................... 41
 Appendix F: Coaching Cycle ............................................................................ 42
 Appendix G: Four Planning Questions .............................................................. 43
 Appendix H: EQuIP Tri-State Rubric for K-2nd .................................................... 44
 Appendix I: EQuIP Tri-State Rubric for 3rd-12th ................................................ 45
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OUTCOMES

Purpose of the (ARI) Coach: As stated in the Alabama Reading
Initiative (ARI) Coach Job Description, the purpose of the coach is to
improve teacher practice so that all students learn and achieve at the
highest levels.
(Refer to Appendix A)

Coaching Outcomes: Coaches will gain knowledge and skills
related to effective coaching in:

 Implementing the coaching cycle

 Refining WINsome human relations skills

 Facilitating professional conversations

“Coaching requires the very best from all aspects of our humanity.
It is not a path for the weak-hearted or for people who are afraid to grow.
It is a path for the courageous and for people who are committed to making a
difference in the lives of those they touch through coaching.”

Thomas G. Crane
The Heart of Coaching, 2002
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Role of Coaches

Supporting Supporting
Learners Professionals
Supporting
Schools/Systems

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Emphasized Coaching
Responsibilities

EMPHASIS ON COACHING

 Beginning With Data
 Pre-planning
 Planning
 Observing

 Reflecting
 Debriefing
 Facilitating Professional

Learning
 Teaching
 Facilitating Professional
Conversations
 Listening

Supporting
Professionals
Supporting
Learners

Supporting

Schools/Systems

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WHAT IS COACHING?

“Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their performance. It is
helping them to learn rather than teaching them.” (John Whitmore)

 Coaching fosters a community of learners working together toward a common goal:
improved student achievement in all content areas.

 “Coaching exists in name only unless the coach and the person being coached share a
continuing trust and sense of purpose.” (Caccia)

 Coaching “provides professional development and support to teachers to improve
classroom instruction. This typically involves organizing school-wide professional
development and then structuring in-class training, which includes demonstrations,
modeling, support for teacher trials of new instruction, and feedback.” (Blachowicz,
Obrochta, and Fogelberg)

 “Coaching provides ongoing consistent support for the implementation and instruction
components. It is non-threatening and supportive – not evaluative. It gives a sense of
how good professional development is. It also affords the opportunity to see it work
with students.” (Poglinco, Back, Hovde, Rosenblum, Suanders, and Supovitz)

 “Coaching is a professional development delivery model that has been shown to
improve instruction. In this model, professional development begins with
reading-specific training that focuses on theory and instructional practice. Coaching
extends this training by providing on-site support and guidance.” (National Center for
Reading First Technical Assistance)

 Coaching provides opportunities for teachers to learn and refine instructional practices,
develop their abilities to reflect on and learn from their own teaching and the teaching
of others, and incorporate new practices into their teaching routines.

 During the coaching process, coaches work collaboratively with teachers to set
professional goals for developing, extending, and improving effective research-based
instructional skills, strategies, and practices.

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WHY IS COACHING IMPORTANT?

“Improving teachers’ learning – and, in turn, their own practice and their
students’ learning – requires professional development that is closely and
explicitly tied to teachers’ ongoing work. Coaching addresses that requirement.”
(Neufeld and Roper)

Joyce and Showers Coaching Research

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PREREQUISITES FOR SUCCESSFUL COACHES

Thorough Knowledge

Effective coaches must be knowledgeable of best instructional practices.

This knowledge must include a thorough understanding of:

 What it takes to be a skillful reader of content.
 What can interfere with students’ comprehension of content.
 What the research says is necessary to help all students read and comprehend
well.
 How to determine whether or not students have learned what was taught, how
much practice is needed for each student, when to move on, and when to reteach.
 The literacy standards and how to incorporate them into daily instruction.
 How to provide intervention to support student learning.
 How to determine the relative value of various activities outlined in a lesson plan;
when to require faithful implementation of the lesson; when to eliminate certain
activities; and when to substitute and/or add a more valuable instructional activity.
 Various types of assessment (i.e. formative assessment); the value of progress
monitoring assessments; and how to use student data to adjust instruction.
 Effective strategies that will engage students in their own learning.

As well as:

 The ability to anticipate problems that may arise during instruction and how to
resolve them.

Successful Experience Teaching Struggling Students

Coaches must have been successful teaching struggling students. Past success gives
coaches credibility with teachers, and equips coaches to be helpful with the students who
have the most difficulty learning. Coaches must have used most of the strategies and
practices that the research establishes as effective.

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PRINCIPLES FOR EFFECTIVE COACHES

1. Effective coaches must have been successful in using instructional practices,
implementing effective behavior management procedures, and using data to drive
instruction.

2. Effective coaches must have the ability to work with adults. Coaches must have
excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Coaches must be good listeners, be
able to empathize with teachers, and provide helpful feedback which impacts student
learning.

3. Effective coaches are trustworthy and credible. Effective coaches foster and maintain a
sense of trust and rapport. Coaches strive to develop relationships based on standards
of professional ethics and responsibility. Coaches also maintain confidentiality.
Effective coaches do not freely discuss or gossip about colleagues or students.

4. Effective coaches must know how to reflect or think thoughtfully about their own
instruction. They must be able to pinpoint what went well; acknowledge when things
did not go well, and determine next steps based on the reflection.

5. Effective coaches are proactive, taking initiative and making sure that best practices
are implemented in all classrooms. Effective coaches also possess strong managerial
skills as they coordinate a variety of tasks and determine priorities. Organization, time
management, and effective scheduling are essential to ensuring success.

6. Effective coaches must have keen observational skills. They must be adept at
identifying evidence in relation to the desired outcome. The degree to which the
desired learning is taking place is of primary importance.

7. Effective coaches have strong communication skills. They continuously monitor
teachers’ needs and concerns and are responsive by providing descriptive feedback
and avoiding condescending or evaluative responses.

8. Effective coaches support teachers while inspiring improvements in learning. Coaches
know how to motivate teachers to move out of their comfort zones to more advanced
stages of learning about effective teaching.

9. Effective coaches keep their sense of humor. They take seriously the challenge of
reaching all students and are able to discern when a dose of humor is needed.

10. Effective coaches must have a hunger for ongoing learning. A sense of urgency is
more often “caught” than “taught.” Coaches share enthusiastically when points are
clarified or understanding deepens. Likewise, they must be willing to admit and to
learn from mistakes.

11. Effective coaches must have a disposition toward serving rather than being served.

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12. Effective coaches exhibit a commitment to student learning through standards driven
instruction, student engagement, and research based practices.

13. Effective coaches realize that they help set the cultural climate for learning in their
school. This requires the capacity to form, withstand, and maintain a partnership with
all stakeholders.

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