1. CAPACITY BUILDING Student-Centered Coaching karent@dawsonesc.com
Welcome - meet & greet
CAPACITY BUILDING Student-Centered Coaching

2. Essential Questions What does student-centered coaching look like?
2. How do we support teachers and students using
the core practices for student-centered
coaching in coaching cycles?

3. History of Instructional Facilitation in Arkansas
Barkley – Quality Teaching in a Culture of Coaching
Killion – Taking the Lead
Knight - Instructional Coaching
We began our professional learning by studying the works of Stephen Barkley and Joellen Killion. For the past two years, we have been studying the research and methods of Jim Knight to implement an effective instructional facilitator model in schools and classrooms.

4. Student Achievement Teaching Practices Student Behaviors
12-Sep-18
Leadership Practices
PLC and Coaching Practices
Teaching Practices
Student Behaviors
Student
Achievement
Source: Model developed by Steven Barkley 4

5. Thanks to Joellen Killion, Stephen Barkley, and Jim Knight we have a better understanding of what and how to be an instructional facilitator. Capacity Building, our next phase, will intensify the effectiveness of the instructional facilitator based on Diane Sweeney’s book, Student-Centered Coaching. Diane blends the beliefs of Killion, Barkley and Knight with her research and experience to form a cohesive model of coaching, centered around student data.
Diane Sweeney is Lead Consultant for Spark Innovation, a consulting firm specializing in coaching, literacy, and leadership. In her current role, Diane supports teachers, instructional facilitators, principals, and district leaders in the development of a student-centered approach for instruction and professional development. Diane has also served as a teacher, literacy coach, and university professor. She currently lives with her family in Denver, Colorado. Diane will be working with Arkansas this year.
ACTIVITY:
Book walk through Table of Contents
Note to Trainer:
Explain that sections labeled Meanwhile in the Principal’s Office is what makes this book a valuable resource for principals.
Encourage participants to highlight or tab those sections in the book for their administrator to read.

6. By focusing coaching on specific goals for student learning, rather than on changing or fixing teachers, a coach can navigate directly toward a measurable impact and increased student achievement. (Sweeney, p.1)
Will give an overview so have an idea of what student-centered coaching looks like

7. “The more student-centered we are in our coaching work, the greater the impact will be on our students.” (Sweeney, p.9, 2011)
Analyze chart:
Depending on district needs, coaching can take many different paths. No matter the path, coaching needs to be viewed as a continuum of student centeredness. At times an instructional facilitator will be more teacher-focused or relationship-driven. But the closer the instructional facilitator gets to student-centered coaching the greater the impact will be on student achievement. (Sweeney, p. 9)

8. Student-Centered Coaching
Core Practices for
Student-Centered Coaching
Organize coaching through cycles
Set a standards-based goal for coaching cycles
Use student-friendly learning targets throughout the coaching cycle
Use student evidence to co-plan instruction
Co-teach with a focus on effective instructional practices
Measure the impact of coaching on student and teacher learning
Partner with the school leader
Students are
here
Students need
to be here
Student-centered coaching is focused on where students are and where they need to be.
In other words, student-centered coaching involves working with teachers collaboratively using student data to figure out where students are, where they need to be, and what has to be done to get there.

9. Student-Centered Coaching
Stage 2
Teacher and coach determine where the students are in relation to the learning targets that are derived from the goal.
Stage 3
Teacher and coach implement instruction and then modify it when students aren’t meeting the learning targets.
Stage 4
Teacher and coach determine if the students have met the learning targets. Additional instruction is planned for those who haven’t.
Stage 1
Teacher and coach establish a goal for student learning.
Student-Centered Coaching
Student-centered coaching is about:
setting goals according to standards,
determining what students know in relation to the standard,
implementing instruction needed to meet the standard, and
assessing the students to see if the standard has been met.
It sounds simple, but in practice it is complex and requires a specific set of knowledge and skills. (Sweeney, p.8)
Diane Sweeney,
Student-Centered Coaching

10. STUDENT-CENTERED COACHING
(K-8 book) pages 10-14
(Sec. Level) pages 9-10 (gray box) & 11-14
As you read,
highlight what you feel is important to remember
After small group discussion, have various participants report to whole group the gist of small group discussion and/or Writing Break for reflection of learning.

11. “…when crafting a culture of learning, we reinforce the concept that each and every member of our community has room for new knowledge and growth.”
Sweeney, 2011, p. 50
For student centered coaching to work, there needs to be a culture of learning that everyone feels they have room to grow
A learning culture needs to be built and nurtured even before a student-centered structure is in place. The culture in schools is a key ingredient for success. Roland Barth states, “A precondition for doing anything to strengthen our practice and improve a school is the existence of a collegial culture in which professionals talk about practice, share their craft knowledge, and observe and root for the successes of one another” (p.13). Culture is what dictates how things are done around the school. (Sweeney, p.44) As Diane says… (refer to slide)
When a culture of learning is in place…
Everyone views him or herself as a learner
Data and Student work guides decision making and teachers are encouraged to examine a concept that directly relates to their students’ learning over a period of time.
Time within the school day is provided for teachers to reflect as individuals, in small groups, or with an instructional facilitator
Qualities and characteristics of adult learners are well understood and accounted for in designing professional development.
There is a climate of trust where it is okay to make mistakes during the learning process.
(Sweeney, p. 50)

12. Getting a Student-Centered Coaching Culture Up and Running
Determine your beliefs about coaching
Clarify role with principal
Define student-centered coaching for teachers
Collaborate with teachers to identify a focus/goal
and determine learning targets for students
Why is coaching important – quick write about coaching
Clarify role –
Defining the role of the instructional facilitator with the principal and teachers can not be taken lightly. There needs to be a fine balance of pressure and support or as Jim Knight says use the Top-Down/Bottom Up Approach to truly bring about a “Learning Zone.”
Activity: Handout: Defining beliefs about Coaching:

13. Staying Focused with Coaching Cycles?
“Organizing coaching into cycles helps coaches create a structure for their time in a way that drills down to impact student learning.”
Diane Sweeney found coaching cycles a highly effective process for supporting teachers as they use student-centered data to guide instruction.
Sweeney, 2011

14. COACHING CYCLE Focus – 4-6 Weeks Student learning goal
Formal/informal student data
Develop learning targets
A minimum of one weekly planning session
1-3 times per week in classroom

15. Setting a Goal Aligned to standards Clear, focused, and measurable
About learning, instead of a task or assessment
-Video
Discuss video and if they had kept the goal fluency what might the goal have been
Goldilock Goals – handout

16. Learning Targets What do students need to know and be able to do?
Keep it simple
Break down the goal
Can come straight from the unit if well designed unit
Read page in handout

17. Student-Centered Coaching with Data
It moves the coaching conversation away from what a teacher thinks and focuses on student evidence.
The richer the array of student evidence we use, the better our decision making and instruction.
Sweeney, 2011, pp.63-64
Read Handout on sorting student work new book
Once a student-centered culture is in place, data can become the focus. Data should be at the center of student-centered coaching because… ( go to info on slide)
Note to Trainer:
(Extra information for each bullet on slide)
1st bullet – All professional development should be tied to data and assessment. “When the instructional facilitator takes a student-centered approach, the use of data and student work becomes a natural and expected part of the process and teachers often claim that, as a result of the focus on students, coaching feels less personal.” (Sweeney, p. 72).
2nd bullet - Student data is any information that helps us understand where the students are in their learning. It can be academic, behavioral, or classroom community. It can include written assignments, student notes, behaviors, verbal statements or anything else we see or hear the student doing (Sweeney. p. 64).

19. Student-Centered Coaching Cycle
Stage 2
Teacher and coach determine where the students are in relation to the learning targets that are derived from the goal.
Stage 3
Teacher and coach implement instruction and then modify it when students aren’t meeting the learning targets.
Stage 4
Teacher and coach determine if the students have met the learning targets. Additional instruction is planned for those who haven’t.
Stage 1
Teacher and coach establish a goal for student learning
Beginning
Student-Centered Coaching Cycle
This slide has three transitions to be used after participants have discussed p. 87, Figure 5.1. (K-8) or page 58 (Sec. Leve.)
So how do we get a coaching cycles started?
First, let’s look at a chart that captures what happens in the coaching cycle process.
Read about coaching cycle – pages (K-8) or pages (Sec. Level)
Coaching cycles can be optimized by the principal:
Establishing a clear and transparent process for collecting evidence across individual and small-group coaching cycles.
Keeping student learning at the center of conversations
Determining a school-wide focus for teacher and student learning
Committing to weekly or bi-weekly meetings with the coach
End
During

20. Beginning of Coaching Cycle
Handouts that have driving questions
Let’s take a closer look at this tool in order to gain a better understanding of how it can be utilized.
In section 1, the beginning of the coaching cycle, the teacher and instructional facilitator determine a goal based on the standards and pre-assess to see where students are in their learning. It’s important to have the goal identified before selecting assessment tools. This will keep everyone targeted towards the goal as well as provide baseline data. Targeted assessments and/or rubrics will need to be designed if none exist that match the goal for student learning (Sweeney, p. 91). See p. 90 Figure 5.3 for a completed form.
Possible guiding questions at the beginning of the cycle:
What should the students learn to be able to meet the goal?
What knowledge and skills should they be able to demonstrate on assessments.?
How will assessments be designed to provide data on how students are progressing?
How will the data be managed and organized?
Pre Assessment Data
_______% of students
were able to_______________
_________________________
as determine by the assessment
Sweeney, 2011

21. During the Coaching Cycle
Show video of sorting student work or read handout from page
When coaching teachers we are trying to help them see the value of assessing and deliver versus deliver and assess. Continually look at student evidence to plan for what students need next. When you sit with a teacher or team after a lesson to sort through the collected evidence, decisions can be made based on where we know the students are instead of on what comes next in the curriculum. It’s more of a responsive approach.
Sections 2 and 3 occur during the coaching cycle.
Possible questions to use during the coaching cycle:
Where is evidence of student learning and/or mastery?
Where are gaps?
How will the gaps be addressed?
What can I do to support your work with the students?
The teacher and instructional facilitator determine the instructional practices needed to bring about the desired results, which includes determining how to differentiate for students.
Diane has an excellent organizer that can be found on p. 172, Figure 9.3.
Turn & Talk
With an elbow partner have participants discuss how Figure 9.3 would be useful.
Pre Assessment Data
_______% of students
were able to_______________
_________________________
as determine by the assessment
Sweeney, 2011

22. Student-Centered Planning
Have gone through one cycle and teacher wants to extend
They will continue to work on particular writing but take students deeper pull in language standards , have learning targets and are now planning out the next week – using a form Show TESS Handout
Bring out handout aligned to TESS

23. At the End of the Coaching Cycle
Read handout from book pages about reflecting on cycle
Share with principal
Data are used to chart students’ growth and analyze the validity and impact of the instructional practices.
Possible guiding questions for the end of the coaching cycle:
Where is evidence of student learning and/or mastery?
Where are gaps?
How will the gaps be addressed?
What must be done to ensure that all student’s reach mastery of standards by the end of the year?
Pre Assessment Data
_______% of students
were able to_______________
_________________________
as determine by the assessment
Sweeney, 2011

24. Managing Coaching Cycles
Scheduling
Pg. 33 (K-8)
Pg. 34 (Sec. Level)
Break up into quadrants
Send letter –page in book…
Calendar
Always discuss student learning with principal

25. Scenario Practice

26. Next Steps Share your beliefs Clarify your role, responsibilities
Share with teachers about student-centered coaching
Nurture/facilitate a collegial learning culture
Develop a student-centered schedule
Get someone in Coaching Cycle
Note to Trainer:
Remind participants to use the Results-Based Coaching Tool.
Discuss what preparations would be needed for visiting a lab, or if hosting a lab.
Have participants reflect on today’s professional development and record three key learnings.
If possible send an to participants within a week from Day Two with the list of Next Steps from this slide.