EARLY GRADE READING STUDY Ms Dorothy Molapo Instructional Reading Coach 24 October 2018

COACHING HISTORY A highly experienced, confident, adaptable, motivated coach, a specialist in Foundation Phase Coaching of teachers in EFAL and Setswana. Been in the teaching field from 1982 to 2006. 2012 – 2014 GPLMS coach 2015-2016 EGRS 1 coach 2017 to date EGRS 2 coach An excellent coach must have an intense knowledge of content teaching experience coupled with passion, patience, creativity, ability to convey knowledge, consistency and must be self-driven.

COACHING CONTEXT Province Mpumalanga District(s) Ehlanzeni District Subject (s) coached English First Additional Language Grades Supported 2017 : Grade 1 2018 : Grade 2 Number of Schools 2017 : 16 2018 : 16 Number of Teachers 2017 : 33 2018 : 29

COACHING RATIONALE Coaching specifically aligned to a programme comprised of: Daily and weekly routines Core methodologies for all content areas CAPS aligned lesson plans Assessments and rubrics Reading materials (Big Books & Graded Readers)

MODALITIES OF EMPLEMENTATION AVERAGE COACHING HOURS PER TERM School Approximately 5 hours per teacher per term Individual teachers in a school Approximately 90 minutes per teacher per day (including a short feedback) 2 – 3 visits per term (Good to Average Teacher) 3 – 5 visits per term (Average to Struggling Teacher) Groups of teachers in a school Approximately 2-3 hours in the afternoon after every visit (6 – 9 hours per term) Start of term workshops Term 1: Teacher and SMT training for 2 days at a central training venue. The training is based on the core methodologies in the lesson pans Terms 2 – 4: 1 day training, based on sustainability and being able to master core methodologies

AVERAGE COACHING HOURS PER TERM COACHING DOSAGE AVERAGE COACHING HOURS PER TERM Afternoon workshops 6 – 9 hours per term per school (School-based Workshops) Other communication WhatsApp messages per cluster: 2 – 3 messages per week WhatsApp messages for SMTs : About 1 in 2 weeks

COACHING PROTOCOLS- What is unique? What the coach does during school visits. Meet the principal, HOD and observe a Grade 2 EFAL lesson. Ask for relevant books and records, including a short summary of lesson preparation, tracker, personal file and a few learners’ books. Check the walls (especially display boards) in relation to the lesson conduced. Carefully watch the teacher conduct the lesson and refer to Core Methodologies Check and sign learners’ work.

COACHING PROTOCOLS- What is unique? How does a coach help monitor teacher progress. The coach writes remarks in the Evaluation Form The coach and the teacher discuss the remarks. The coach gives advice, makes suggestions and recommendations. The teacher writes her own remarks and her way-forward. They both go through the remarks made at the previous lesson to check improvement. Each teacher has a personal observation book wherein the coach pastes a copy of the Evaluation Form. The coach conducts demos at the school-based workshop after each visit.

COACHING RECORDS What records do I keep? - Names of schools allocated to me - Names of teachers’ and statistics per school, including SMTs - Learners’ statistics (in a particular grade) - Teachers’ scheduled and follow-up visits - Observation Books - Curriculum coverage records How do I know if teachers are progressing or not? - I use the Observation book to check the teachers’ progress. - Learners’ response during the lesson - Performance during Assessments - Learners’ books also give a true reflection.

COACHING OUTCOMES ‘Critical friend’ relationship firmly established and operational Coach recognised as professional presence in schools Teachers more skilled at teaching reading Teachers know how to manage their classrooms (including reading resources)

Display boards

COACH COMPETENCY AND TRAINING How do you improve as a coach? Review all Train the Trainer sessions Be well-acquainted with the lesson plans and core methodologies Hold discussions on classroom application Keep the teachers and SMTs abreast of new developments Manage and institute remedial procedures where necessary What professional development are you provided with? Attend Train the Trainer sessions at the beginning of every term Relevant resources Hold monthly meetings with the Quality Assurance Manager

Multi-modal forms of coaching (combining the two) RESEARCH GAPS Replicating coaching excellence at scale Multi-modal forms of coaching (combining the two) Developing professional coaching cadre Capacitating HOD’s to take over the support role