1. Coaching for effective PBIS implementation
Steve Goodman
miblsi.cenmi.org
10:00AM – 10:50AM
Supervisors of Low Incidence Programs
2014 PBIS Conference
Thursday, January 23, 2014
10:00AM – 10:50AM

2. Session Description
A critical component of PBIS is an emphasis on implementation fidelity. It is important to implement PBIS practice in the “right” way in order to produce successful outcomes. Coaching provides a mechanism to help ensure that PBIS is implemented correctly.  This presentation will describe the purpose, function and strategies for coaching within a PBIS framework.

3. Your Turn
Please take a moment to write a quick list of what coaching means to you.
Share with others around you-
How are the ideas on coaching similar?
How are they different?

4. “The concept of a coach is slippery
“The concept of a coach is slippery. Coaches are not teachers, but they teach. They’re not your boss – but they can be bossy. Mainly, they observe, they judge, and they guide.”
Atul Gawande
“Coaches have to watch for what they don’t want to see and listen to what they don’t want to hear.”
John Madden

5. Coaching is complex and not well defined
It is not a person but a function
It varies, based on
The practices being coached
Who is coaching and who is being coached
The current skill level and past experience
The organizational structure for providing coaching

6. Coaching for Competence refers to an ongoing professional development process designed to…
Ensure Implementation and Fidelity
Acquire and improve the skills and abilities needed to implement an Evidence-Based Practice with fidelity or another well-defined innovation with as intended
Generalize new and fragile skills to real world settings (classrooms, hallways, team meetings)
Develop Professional Judgment
Developing a conceptual understanding of the core elements of the Evidence-Based Practice processes or the core elements of the practices associated with the intervention (focus on function of key program features)
(c) Dean Fixsen and Karen Blase, 2009

7. Coaching: My Definition
Coaching is a process that facilitates educational personnel (individually or as a member of a team) to implement effective practices with fidelity and durability

8. Terminology Consultant vs. Coach Coaching vs. Facilitating Same thing
Coach vs. Facilitator
Facilitating vs. Coach
Skills/tasks vs. Person
Consultant vs. Coach

9. Coaching at Multiple Levels: Coaching Variations
External/Internal Coaching
Person Specific vs. Team Member
Building, District, State

10. Internal vs. External Coaches
Internal coaches are employed in the school where they provide support
External coaches are employed outside the schools where they provide support (e.g. by district, region, state).

11. Internal vs. External Internal Coach External Coach Advantages
Knowledge of school
Staff relationships
Regular access
Independent
Outside perspective
Multiple schools experience
Disadvantages
Conflicting roles
Narrow range of experiences
Limited knowledge of school
Limited relationships
Less frequent access

12. Individual Coaching
Ultimately, all coaching takes place at an individual level (organizations don’t behavior, individuals within organizations do)
Variations of individual coaching include:
Formal coaching from identified coaches
Peer coaching

13. Individual vs. Systems
Individual coaching (sometimes referred to instructional coaching)
Enhancing the skills of the individual performer (teacher, principal) around MTSS practices for fidelity and effectiveness
Systems coaching (e.g., team coaching)
Enhancing the skills of individuals within an group (team) around their collective practices for implementing/managing MTSS

14. Functions of Training, Coaching, and Technical Assistance
Specific sessions with formal activities designed for skill development
Coaching
Ensuring transfer from training to practice
On-site skill development, enhancing the skills through prompting and reinforcement
Technical Assistance
An expert with specific technical/content knowledge provides information to address an identified need with customized solutions.

15. System Change
“For every increment of performance I demand from you, I have an equal responsibility to provide you with the capacity to meet that expectation”
(R. Elmore, 2002)
Elmore, R. (2002). Bridging the gap between standards and achievement: The imperative for professional development in education. Washington, DC: The Albert Shanker Institute.

16. Summary: Prevention and Intervention
Educators are
Students are doing the best they can given their skills/abilities and the quality of their environment
Teach
Prevent
Encourage
adapted from Durand 1990

17. What are Examples of Coaching?
Bridging training to natural work setting
Broaden understanding through conceptual feedback
Facilitate problem solving/continuous improvement through various stages of implementation
Promote organizational structures
Provide acknowledgement and reinforcement

18. Just say “No” to “Train and Hope”
React to a problem
Select & add a practice
Wait for a new problem
Hire an expert to train
Hope for implementation

19. Coaching provides for assurance that skills learned in training will transfer to the educational environment
Coaching activities with those being coached “before”, “during” and “after” training
Coaching helps to translate and problem solve contextual issues

20. Consideration of Three Tracks: Application for you and also for those you support
Acquisition:
Think about how you plan to accomplish the work.
Continuous Improvement:
Think about how to make it easy, better, more effective.
Sustainability:
Think about how to continue the practice and ensure it will endure.

21. Providing Conceptual Feedback
Whenever possible, coaching should involve providing “Conceptual” feedback regarding the “Big Ideas” of the practice or intervention
Make the general point first then illustrate it with examples from data sources (Practice Profile rubric data, permanent products, student data, observational data)
The alternative feedback method would involve “Blow by Blow” – Review of work products, or work samples (e.g. videotape) to point out instances of effective implementation and to give advice (reflect together) on alternatives – step by step --- interaction by interaction.
(c) Dean Fixsen and Karen Blase, 2009

22. Benefits of Conceptual Feedback
Helps staff to focus on the important principles of the practice
Helps staff to generalize from specific behavior in a specific context to set of key behaviors across contexts
Makes it easier to hear critical feedback (not perceived as nit-picking)
Naturally moves away from compliance monitoring and away from focusing on exceptions
To build a ‘culture’ around the new ways of work and new ideas
Karen Blase & Dean Fixsen June 2004

23. Components of Conceptual Feedback
Variable
Explanation
Conceptual Label
Descriptive and Consistent
Definition
Describes in more detail what is meant by the label
Rationale
Why is this important, what’s the function (e.g., student outcomes, values, results, teacher proficiency)
Illustrations
Specific examples to illustrate the concept (from self-ratings, student data, products, practice profile, audit data, observational data)
Focused intent
Can be Strength-based or Improvement Orientated
Directive or Reflective
Can be either or both

24. Problem Solving/Continuous Improvement
Using guides (practice profiles) and team implementation checklist, communicate that this activity is urgent and a priority
Help team get started and stay on track by providing guidance and modeling
Model the use of data for decision making when meeting with leadership teams
Make it easy to perform well through “organizational engineering”

25. Challenges Ignore Snow Day! File Grievance Data Vote coach off
Apply for PBIS
New District Initiative
Today is a book study?
“We already do that.”
Violate Norms
Vote coach off
Be on time
Go to a PLC
Ignore s
Go to Book Study
Dominate conversation
Snow Day!
Late for meeting
Attend District PD
Ignore
Data
File Grievance
Change Practice
Have a “AHA!”
Prep for Meeting
New State Initiative
from Bruce Smith, Vermont Integrated Instruction Model (ViiM)

26. Organization Schedule leadership meetings for the school year
Preparing for meetings, agenda, and Action Plan
Summarize fidelity of implementation and also student outcome data for use in leadership team meetings
Identify possible next steps
Summarizing for next step
Follow up on action plan items

27. Acknowledgement and Reinforcement
Any time a task is new, different or difficult for staff; it is important to acknowledge staff
Acknowledge both principal and staff for implementation work (focus on acknowledging activities related to the team implementation checklist)
Consider ratio of reinforcement (e.g., 5 acknowledgements to every 1 suggestions for change or correction)

28. Intensity of Supports Based on Need and Experience
How much to coach?
Skills
New
Established
Context
High Level Intensity
Mid-level Intensity
Familiar
Low Level Intensity
Familiar Context and Established Skills:
More rapid implementation with less skillful supports required – but still need to address Implementation Drivers
New Context and New Skills:  
Requires all we know about implementation best practices, with skillful supports built into the new context (e.g. Regional Implementation Teams, excellent coaching for competence, Drivers best practices)   
Intensity of Supports Based on Need and Experience
from K. Blase, 2009

29. Stages of Implementation
Focus
Stage
Description
Exploration/Adoption
Decision regarding commitment to adopting the program/practices and supporting successful implementation.
Installation
Set up infrastructure so that successful implementation can take place and be supported. Establish team and data systems, conduct audit, develop plan.
Initial Implementation
Try out the practices, work out details, learn and improve before expanding to other contexts.
Elaboration
Expand the program/practices to other locations, individuals, times- adjust from learning in initial implementation.
Continuous Improvement/Regeneration
Make it easier, more efficient. Embed within current practices.
Should we do it?
Work to do it right!
Implementation of reading and behavior MTSS is a process that takes place over time (stages of Implementation). Within a school setting, this process may take 2 – 4 years; district-wide, this process will take many more years to achieve. It is important to remember that we should not expect to see change in student outcomes until effective practices have been implemented with fidelity.
Work to do it better!

30. Why Coaching Matters?

31. Longitudinal Studies of a Variety of Comprehensive School Reforms (CSR)
Effective Interventions
Actual Supports
Years 1-3
Outcomes
Years 4-5
Every Teacher Trained
Fewer than 50% of the teachers received some training
Fewer than 10% of the schools used the CSR as intended
Every Teacher Continually Supported
Fewer than 25% of those teachers received support
Vast majority of students did not benefit
Aladjem, D. K., & Borman, K. M. (2006, April). Summary of Findings from the National Longitudinal
Evaluation of Comprehensive School Reform. Paper presented at the Annual meeting of the American
Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA.
Vernez, G., Karam, R., Mariano, L. T., & DeMartini, C. (2006). Evaluating comprehensive school reform models at scale:
Focus on implementation. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.
Aladjem & Borman, 2006; Vernez, Karam, Mariano, & DeMartini, 2006

32. Coach returns from leave
Investing in Coaches: Average Major Discipline Referrals per Day per Month
Coach returns from leave
One School’s Example

33. Effects of Coaching on PBIS Team Implementation Checklist Results
Here are two sets of five schools. Each were presented with positive behavior support training on Universal Presention strategies

34. Need for coaching during early stages of implementation efforts
Surviving setbacks: An analogy

35. “There was a moment in sports when employing a coach was unimaginable – and then came a time when not doing so was unimaginable. We care about results in sports, and if we care half as much about results in schools and in hospitals we may reach the same conclusion.”
Atul Gawande

36. Final Thoughts Coaching Summary Coaching is a rewarding role
Make everyone else around you more effective
Help the team make the main ideas fit their students, culture, setting, families
Focus on long-term impact.