1. Coaching Conversations Julie Kerr & Heather Ridge

2. Facilitators’ personal journeys
Facilitators personalise this slide OR delete slide if preferred.

3. Toll’s models of coaching
HO 4
Model
Outcome: Change in teachers . . .
Goal of Coaching
Behavioural
Behaviour
Successful implementation of best practice
Affective
Attitude and comfort
Increase teacher satisfaction and comfort with changes
Intellectual
Thinking
Teacher inquiry and decision making
Collaborative
Interactions with colleagues and others
Creation of learning communities among staff members or beyond
Cathy Toll is an American Lead consultant for Toll and Associates who provides support to literacy coaches and other educational leaders. In 2009, Cathy was in Victoria, presenting at a Statewide Coaching Conference as well as working in Loddon Mallee Region. She has published several books, including “The Literacy Coach’s Survival Guide,” “Surviving, but not yet Thriving,” “The Literacy Coach’s Desk Reference: Processes and Perspectives for Effective Coaching” and “Lenses on Literacy Coaching.”
ACTIVITIES OF THE COACH (in order to achieve listed outcomes)
Behavioural: Observe in classroom, analyze lessons for use of best practices, explain best practices as needed, demonstrate in classrooms, monitor implementations of new practices, advise teachers on further efforts
Affective: Make oneself available, develop trust, ask questions, provide information and resources
Intellectual: Engage in focused conversations, assist in development of goals, support use of data (broadly defined), guide reflection, help teachers develop new “lenses”
Collaborative: Facilitate extended inquiry and book study, support collaboration, create ”space” for difference, assist development of shared language and perspectives, empower teachers
Cathy Toll is likely to argue that it is important for sustainability for a coach aim to work in the Intellectual Model as much as possible. Teachers need to understand the “why” behind their actions and decisions before a change in practice becomes fully embedded.
From Cathy Toll’s work

4. Coaching cycle 1. Pre-observation conference
Classroom observations
Readings
Watching videos
Other Professional Learning
leads to
provides agenda for
Coaching cycle
4. Post-observation meeting
2. Classroom collaboration / Observation
provides “topics” for
provides “data” for
Facilitators note: CUSTOM ANIMATION SET HERE
Coaching cycle is fluid and evolving.
1. The pre-observation conference or preliminary discussion meeting, usually begins the cycle. This is a time for the coach to discuss the current or next coaching focus with the teacher, supporting the teacher to use evidence to make sound pedagogical and content decisions.
This usually leads to some classroom observation, or collaboration – based on the action plan agreed upon at the pre-observation conference.
2. The classroom collaboration/observation should result in ‘data’ being collected – notes, video footage, anecdotal records etc that the coach then analyses BEFORE meeting the teacher. During this time it is also important for the teacher to spend some time reflecting on their practice and be prepared to debrief with the coach.
The analysis and reflection will provide ‘topics’ for the post-observation conference.
During post-observation conference the coach should spend more time listening and encouraging the teacher to do more of the talking. At the end of this meeting, the focus for the next coaching cycle should become apparent.
BUT, often detours need to be taken. In this graphic, the detour is shown in one spot, but in reality detours can occur at all stages of the coaching cycle.
ALSO, in reality, once a coaching relationship is established, step 4 and 1 tend to collapse – at the post-observation conference, the agenda and focus are set ready for the next classroom collaboration/observation.
3. Analysis by coach & coachee reflection
Adapted from The Teaching and Educational Development Institute, University of Queensland.

5. Role Play: Pre-Observation Conference
HO 5
Note:
Types of questions asked
Outcome of conversation / action plan
Participants are to watch role play between coach and coachee – use H.O. 5 as a notes page and write down the types of questions asked.
Facilitators to do live role play.
At the end – ask for discussion and comments. What sorts of questions were asked? What was the purpose?
Note the time involved – maximum of 10 minutes.

6. Fat and Skinny Questions
Fat and skinny questions help you to establish the person’s reasons for his or her behaviour.
If the words fat and skinny, though embraced and understood easily, are bothersome, we can label the two types of questions as:
Convergent and divergent
Closed and open
Telling and thinking
Taken from Brain Compatible Classrooms by Robin Fogarty, HBE, Heatherton
Adapted from Fogarty, Robin; Brain Compatible Classrooms, Hawker Brownlow, 1997

7. Fat Questions (Open ended Questions)
Fat Questions require lots of discussion and explanation with interesting examples.
Fat questions give the person answering maximum opportunity to speak freely and discuss what is important to them
Fat questions take time to think through and answer in depth.
Fat questions ask a lot of how and why kinds of questions, they ask the respondent to reason and figure things out, to take a stand and advocate a position, and to persuade others to take that position. Fat questions get fat answers.
Adapted from Fogarty, Robin; Brain Compatible Classrooms, Hawker Brownlow, 1997

8. Skinny Questions (Closed ended Questions)
Skinny questions require shorter word answers. They take up little space or time.
Skinny questions require a short response focusing on a specific point.
Skinny questions require a precise piece of information.
Adapted from Fogarty, Robin; Brain Compatible Classrooms, Hawker Brownlow, 1997

9. Fat and Skinny Questions
In groups of 3 -4:
Brainstorm possible questions that a coach may ask a coachee
List them as Fat or Skinny Questions
Use A3 sheets for participants to record responses.
Feedback at end of activity and collect responses. They will be typed up and posted on coach ning/wiki

10. Pause, paraphrase, probe
Pause time . . .
Allows for Think Time
Using wait-time before responding to or asking a question allows time for more complex thinking, enhances dialogue and improves decision making.
Refer to background paper in presenter notes titled “The concepts of wait time and think time” available at and also copied into presenters’ notes.

11. P
araphrase
When you paraphrase, you are checking that you have understood the intended message given. It can be reaffirming for the coachee.
Paraphrasing lets others know that you are listening, that you understand or are trying to understand them and that you care.
Ask participants to refer back to the role play. Did they notice paraphrases? How powerful were they?

12. P robe Questions that probe . . .
Examples of questions to promote clarity and precision, uncovering generalisations, deletions and distortions:
Who specifically?
How specifically?
For what purpose?
In comparison to what?
What will happen if you don’t do that?
Probing increases the clarity and precision of the group’s thinking by refining understandings, terminology and interpretations.
This is outlined further on the next slide.