1. Becoming an Effective Instructional Coach

2. Purposes of the Workshop
To empower instructional coaches to engage in their practices with:
The belief that they can make a difference in teacher practice and student learning.
A clear focus on student learning in the classroom.
A deeper understanding of the various roles and responsibilities of school-based coaches, the knowledge and skills associated with each role and the challenges each role presents

3. Purposes, cont.
An ever-expanding repertoire of skills for coaching staff in ways that promote professional growth and student learning
A commitment to engage in, model and promote collegial relationships

4. Essential Questions
What is the role of the coaching process in promoting teacher growth and student learning?
What are my roles and responsibilities as an instructional coach?
What are the NSDC standards and how do they impact my work?

5. Essential Questions, cont.
What are the models of professional development that I cold use to facilitate learning?
How does contracting clarify our work with educators?
How is the impact of coaching measured?

6. Essential Questions, cont.
What role does effective communication among coaches, mentors and principals play in the professional growth of teachers
What knowledge and skills are needed in a coaching repertoire?

7. Agenda
Overview
Characteristic/attitudes and beliefs of effective coaches
Hats of Instructional Coaches
Effective Professional Development
What should we be looking for in classrooms

8. Multiple Roles and Responsibilities of Coaches

9. Coaches act as Data coaches Instructional specialists
Curriculum specialists
Mentors
Learning facilitators
School leaders
Classroom supporters
Resource providers
Catalysts for change
Learner

10. Data Coach Purpose: Responsibilities:
Ensure that student achievement data is used to drive decisions at the classroom and school level
Responsibilities:
Identify school-wide and grade level, department trends
Facilitate data dialogues
Supports teachers in using data to improve instruction
Use data to analyze classroom learning for students and identify next steps

11. Data Coach Knowledge and Skills
Ability to establish a “blame free environment”
Thorough understanding of data and what it says about student learning
Strong facilitation and questioning skills
Ability to assist teachers in the appropriate next steps for instruction based on data

12. Challenges Creating data displays Understanding of the data
Planning for facilitation of effective data dialogues with the appropriate questions
Creating a non threatening environment for open conversation during the actual discussion

13. Classroom Supporter
Purpose: To increase the quality and effectiveness of classroom instruction
Responsibilities:
Modeling/Demonstration Lesson
Co-Teaching
Observe and Offer Feedback

14. Challenges Getting stuck on the demonstration end of the continuum
When co-teaching overstepping the agreed-upon boundaries to take over for the teacher if the lesson is not going well
Being clear on the feedback
Not overwhelming the teacher with feedback
Knowing when and how to move along the continuum

15. Resource Provider
Purpose: To expand teachers’ use of a variety of resources to improve instruction.
Responsibilities: Help teachers locate information, resources, materials, equipment and examples of best practice, delivery of instruction, assessment of student learning, organization or creating a positive learning environment in the classroom

16. Challenges
Being seen as a gofer and teachers becoming dependent on you to provide resources.
Keeping abreast of numerous changes and resources in education
Implementing the principle of gradual release.

17. Mentors
Purpose: To increase instructional skill of the novice teacher and support school wide induction activities.
Responsibilities:
provide ongoing support
build a trusting relationship
understanding of district and school expectations
serve as a critical friend

18. Mentor Resources Stages of Development – pages 68-85
Mentoring Calendar Pages
Positive Learning Environment – pages and
Active Learning Strategies – Pages

19. Learning Facilitator Purpose: Responsibilities:
To design collaborative job embedded standards based professional development
Responsibilities:
Design and deliver learning opportunities with the adults in the building that align with the school improvement plan
Study groups, Training, Lesson study, Case study, Examining student work, Classroom Visitation

20. Partner Task What are some challenges you face in this role?
How is this the same and/or different from the professional learning happening at your site?

21. School Leader Purpose:
To work collaboratively with the school’s formal leadership to design, implement, and assess school change initiatives to ensure alignment and focus on intended results.
Responsibilities:
Serving on school improvement teams
Meeting with other coaches or resource personnel to align services to teachers
Leading a variety of school committees
Serving as liaisons or key communicators to central office
Serving on district committees

22. Knowledge and Skills for School Leaders
Understand the change process
Be aware of national, state and local trends and research
Use creative and critical problem solving skills
Use high level communication and relationship skills
Willingness to challenge the status quo

23. Challenges
Providing differentiated services or resources to accommodate staff members at various stages on concern
Walking the fine line between being an administrator who supports the change and being a member of the teaching ranks
Go slow to go fast
Protect teachers from unnecessary work or distractions
Integrating and aligning innovations

24. Instructional Specialist
Purpose:
To align instruction with curriculum to meet the needs of ALL students
Responsibilities:
Help teachers select and implement the most appropriate strategies
Assist teachers in differentiating instruction and selecting the best strategies for the learning.

25. Knowledge and Skills
Deep understanding of the research on effective instructional techniques
Can model effective instruction
Understand standards-based planning
Assisting teachers to look at the big picture first and then planning instructional and assessment strategies
How to integrate a variety of content areas
Facilitations skills,
Must demonstrate that they believe all students can learn – no excuses
Articulate their own thinking

26. Challenges
Need a large amount of knowledge about a variety of strategies
Gathering enough information about individual students in a classroom to assist a teacher in designing appropriate instruction is time consuming
Sometimes coaches may be learning instructional strategies along with teachers
Have to be risk-takers
Reading research, practicing new strategies and introducing new strategies to teachers
Willing to step back and critique own practices as a model for all

27. Resources in Handbook
Pgs Mentoring in a Standards based Environment
Pgs on lesson design and differentiation
Pgs for instructional planning, task analysis

30. Curriculum Specialist
Purpose: To ensure implementation of adopted curriculum
Responsibilities:
help teachers use district curriculum guides and materials
to develop pacing guides, prepare unit and lesson plans, develop assessments,
design accommodations for various learners.

31. Challenges Adequate understanding of the curricula of all disciplines
Establishing credibility as a curriculum specialist
Inadequate curriculum and resources available
Need to develop a deep understand of the tested curriculum

32. Catalyst for Change Purpose:
To create disequilibrium with the current state as an impetus to explore alternatives to current practice
Responsibilities:
Introduce alternatives or refinements
Make observations about current practice
Ask the hard questions about current practices
Engage teachers in Evaluation Think

33. Knowledge and Skills
Know and understand change, leadership, reform and adult development
Aware of national, state, and local trends, Understand the impact of change on the culture and environment of the school and district
Engage others in dialogue, surfacing mental models about the change
Gather evidence, make recommendations, think out of the box
Good communications skills
Use trust and honesty as their main tools

34. Challenges
Maintain a delicate balance between disturbing the status quo and moving people forward with the change
Being ready to act whenever an opportunity arises
Foster ownership in others
Seek to maintain a certain level of dissatisfaction, discomfort, or disequilibrium within the school as a way of inducing continuous improvement
Do not act alone

35. Your Roles
Create a pie chart that indicates how you currently divide your time as a coach among the ten roles.
Be ready to discuss with a partner:
this division and
how you anticipate your role changing through the rest of the school year.

36. NSDC What are the NSDC Standards and how do they impact my work?
What are the models of professional development that I could use to facilitate learning?
How do the NSDC standards connect with the work of instructional coaches?

37. Professional Development Should:
Results-Driven
Job-Embedded
Content Rich
Whole School
Standards-Based
Systemically Supported

38. NSDC Standards Context: Learning Communities, Leadership, Resources
Process:
Data-Driven, Evaluation, Research-Based, Design, Learning, Collaboration
Content:
Equity, Quality Teaching, Family Involvement

39. Context: Learning Communities
Professional development that improves the learning of all students, organizing adults into learning communities whose goals are aligned with those of the school and district.
Context: Leadership
Professional development that improves the learning of all students requires skillful school and district leaders who guide continuous instructional improvement.
Context: Resources
Professional development that improves the learning of all students requires resources to support adult learning and collaboration.

40. Process: Data Driven Professional development
that improves the learning
of all students,
uses disaggregated data
to determine
adult learning priorities,
monitors progress, and helps
sustain continuous improvement.

41. Content Standard
Equity
Quality Teaching
Family Involvement

42. School-Based Professional Development
Acquire and deepen teacher knowledge and skills and
To provide follow-up/structures to support implementation

43. What Should We Be Looking For in Classrooms?
Practicing the Peer Observation Process

44. Peer Observation Possibilities
New teacher observes mentor
New teacher observes expert teacher
New teacher shadows colleague or students
Learning Walks/Observations together
Co-Teaching by mentor and new teacher
Mentor observes new teacher
Observations beyond the classroom
Videotaped teaching episodes

46. T-Chart

49. Homework Go to the Just Ask website to the resource center
Read 2 of the Mentoring in the 21st Century Newsletters
Peer Observation Possibilities
What Should We be Looking for in Classrooms

50. 3 Ways my thinking was stretched 2 Actions I plan to take
3-2-1
3 Ways my thinking was stretched
2 Actions I plan to take
1 Question for which I need more information