Coaching Suite of Tools Marcia Foster

Key Learning and Implications Learning  Move away from one-shot workshops to more hands-on, classroom-based support.  Use of coaches, mentors and other building-level staff to provide professional development for teachers.  Content should be proven effective.  TeacherLine’s courses useful, but want more customized solution that complements current model of professional development (PD). Implications  Use current content to meet local PD needs  Year 1 Instructional Coaching  Year 2 Mentoring  Year 3 Learning Communities

Grant Year 1:Inform Development  Build knowledge on coaching  Design Team  Surveyed TeacherLine facilitators/coaches  Literature Review  Needs Assessment

Key Learning: Coaching  Role varies  Provide onsite, job embedded, continuous professional development.  Instructional, peer, content, ELL  Focus on content and strategies  Facilitate development of study groups and professional learning communities  Support varies (time, compensation, training)  Funding varies from state to federal grant

Key Learning: Coaching  Model instructional practices  Co-teach  Co-plan lessons  Provide resources  Observe and provide feedback  Collaborate  Change Agent

Key Learning: Coaching Needs  Resource Needs  Research-based content  Relevant content-meets district initiatives  Ready for classroom use  Accessible  Videos with instructions for use  TL articles, videos and interactives found to be useful  Professional Development Needs  Generally lacking, not ongoing  Focused on district initiatives or school reform model not on “how to coach”  Treasure dialog

Implications for TeacherLine  Develop tool that facilitates delivery of research-based content to coaches and teachers  Provide content from deconstructed courses and offer it in smaller components  Videos, readings, interactives, lesson plans  Resource Sets  Tag and catalog content so that it is easily accessible  Build community  Provide professional development for coaches

Wireframe Assessment  Developed paper-based wireframes and shared them with teachers, coaches, and administrators in:  Rochester, NY  Austin, TX  Boston, MA  Memphis, TN

Key Learning  No need to make changes to basic functionality, make sure tool is:  Simple  Integrated  Accessible  Non-evaluative  Offer stand-alone resources to improve coaches’ skills

Coaching Tool Structure  Site Administrator  Enrolls Users  Views Statistics  Renews Subscription  Makes Announcements  Instructional Coach  Develops Groups  Searches for Resources  Makes “Suggestions”  Facilitates Group Discussions  Views Statistics  Teacher  Receives Suggestions  Searches for Resources  Participates in Group Discussions

Demonstration HTML Wireframe

Next Steps  One more round of research, 10/30  DT feedback, 11/13  Fine-tune wireframes, 11/13  Continue programming  Evaluation, January 07  Middle school mathematics  GPRA, March 07  Middle school mathematics, K-8 reading

Coaching Resource Sets Elizabeth Wolzak

Resource Sets  Contain a group selected assets from courses that are topic/subject related  Group of purposefully selected assets not just a “collection of assets”  Provide guidelines and suggestions on how coaches can use assets with teachers  Include guidelines categorized by coaching purpose  Allow coaches to assign assets directly to teachers

Resource Set Structure  Introduction, Expectations/Outcomes  Resources  Implementation (Coaching) Suggestions  Evidence of Understanding: Teacher  Evidence of Understanding: Student

Coaching Suggestions  Understanding national standards  Deepening teacher content knowledge  Understanding student thinking and how students learn  Understanding specific strategies for improving classroom practice  Selecting instructional materials  Building skills for integrating technology  Communicating with family

Mentoring Margaret Chmiel

Mentoring  Most states require new teachers to be mentored by an experienced teacher for the first 1-3 years in a district  Many districts require the mentor teacher to receive some sort of training prior to becoming a mentor  PBS TeacherLine is currently exploring how we can meet the needs of mentoring programs

Mentoring  Hezel will aid PBS TeacherLine in performing a literature review to gain a broader understanding of the needs and changes in mentoring programs  Hezel Associates will begin a needs assessment to better understand the diverse needs of mentoring programs on this fall  The overlapping roles of coaches and mentors in many school districts will add value to our current coaching tools as well as the professional development tools that will be built out of our research on mentoring

Group Discussion

New Course Development Margaret Chmiel

New Course Development  We are currently exploring partnerships with other grant funded programs to build new courses geared toward launching research-based professional development initiatives  Our new course initiatives are informed by our collaborations with stations and the needs identified by our stations  Our new course initiatives have also been informed via national surveys of our learners as well as current educational research  Our new course opportunities are currently in the exploration phase. Additional funding would be sought

New Course Development  Ready to Learn: In a partnership with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a leading early literacy expert from the University of Michigan, and support from the Department of Education, we are exploring the development of a course geared toward preschool teachers and day care providers to help them prepare our youngest learners for a lifetime of reading and learning  Texas Association for Administrators: We are exploring the possibility of repurposing courses so that they could fit the needs of school administrators

New Course Development  Sheltered Instruction techniques: With Rocky Mountain PBS, we are exploring these courses for all teachers who work with English Language Learners. Our content expert demonstrates techniques that have significantly raised math scores for English Language Learners  Special Education: Using the standards set by the Council of Chief State School Officers, the course seeks to build a common ground for special educators and mainstream teachers

New Course Development Online Facilitator Training OFT revision OFT was created in early 2001 for very first training and has only had one formatting refresh to bring it into line with our course template in Complete overhaul this summer; RFP was issued, contract awarded to the Concord Consortium.

New Course Development New OFT version will feature:  Co-developed by ISTE and meets a subset of Standards  3 credits/ 45 hrs.  Interactives to help illustrate the use of voice  Updated research and articles such as chapters from works of Palloff and Pratt of “Lessons from the Cyber Classroom” fame  Use of a case study as a final project (a hypothetical narrative about a facilitator)  New skills: art of the landscape post, and techniques for full spectrum questioning  A course elements field trip  Facilitator Handbook  Online Facilitator Training will continue to be provided as a national service by PBS to local TL providers.  New version will be added to PBS TeacherLine’s professional development offerings and marketed to school districts and virtual schools for the first time  Timeline for delivery is the beginning of January

New Course Development New refresher course  OFT II: Adjusting (or Dusting) Your Facilitator Hat (working title)  Shorter 3 week course  For facilitators that need or want a refresher  Features the landscape post and full spectrum questioning techniques  Expect a lot of response from high level facilitators  Refresher of Facilitator Handbook  Credit TBA  Target is February OFT II will be provided as a national service by PBS to local TL providers.