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Instructional Coaching

Instructional Coaching by Jim KnightBook Notes compiled by Jane L. Sigford

FAILURE OF TRADITIONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Worst consequence of overreliance on traditional p.d.—erodes teachers’ willingness to try new ideas.

When one-shot p.ds fail to take hold, teachers are often blamed for “resisting change.” When in fact it’s about poorly designed p.d. Teachers learn best when learning from each other, sharing lesson plans, assessments, activities, and ideas about individual students. P. 3

WHY DOESN’T TRADITIONAL P.D. WORK? Michael Fullan and Andy Hargreaves say that teachers face “pressing

immediacy”—that which has to be done now, every day. in Knight p. 4 Teachers are also bombarded with numbers of competing interventions

in a district. P. 4 Change itself is complex to make happen—much more so than most

people realize. Desire and will power usually aren’t enough to make real change occur.

Working one-to-one, listening, demonstrating empathy, engaging in dialogue, and communication honestly are all a part of successful p.d. p. 8

COMMON FORMS OF COACHING Executive Coaching—to help people become more competent in one or

more areas of their usually professional) lives—Booming industry in the business world. P. 9

Coactive coaching—client-coach relationship involving the “whole of a person’s life.” From Co-active Coaching in Knight p. 9 It’s to help the client live more fulfilled, balanced, and effective lives. [Is this the same as life coaches? NOTE MINE}

Affects so many aspects of person’s lifeCognitive Coaching

One of most widely used in American schools today Lays out efficient process for enhancing teachers’ professional

learning, describes useful communication and relationship-building tools that coaches can employ, and grounds those tools and procedures in a coherent theoretical foundation. P. 10

Predicated on assumption that behaviors change after our beliefs change. P. 10

Involves planning conversation, event, and a reflecting conversation usually p. 11

Coach’s focus throughout all conversations and events is “on mediating a practitioner’s thinking, perceptions, beliefs, and assumptions toward the goals of self-directed learning and increased complexity of cognitive processing” Costa & Garmston in Knight p. 11

Literacy /Reading Coaching Term used differently in different districts from coaching reading

strategies to coaching literacy, including writing.

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Instructional coaching—individuals who are full-time prof. developers, on-site in schools to help teachers incorporate research-based instructional practices. They must be skilled in collaboration, listening, and instructional practices.

In coaching relationships, both parties work in partnership to identify what intervention will be implemented, they plan instruction, they observe each other, and they share ideas back and forth in collaboration. P. 15

A good coach is an excellent teacher and is kind-hearted, respectful, patient, compassionate, and honest.

Chapter 2: What does Coaching Look LikeOVERCOMING THE BIGGEST FEAR—Charles Bishop in Knight—“change happens one person at a time. p 1 in Knight p. 22

FINDING THE RIGHT STARTING POINT Coaches should focus on high-leverage practices that truly respond to

teachers’ most pressing concerns. Obtain focus by concentrating on the Big Four

THE BIG FOUR:1. Behavior: Teachers need safe, productive learning community for all

students. Coaches can help teachers articulate and teach expectation, effectively correct behavior, increase effectiveness of praise statements, and increase student’s opportunities to respond. P. 23

2. Content Knowledge—coaches can’t know everything but they must know how to access state standards and help teachers translate these standards into lesson plans and how to plan.

3. Direct Instruction: There are practices that increase student learning.4. Formative assessment—Teachers need to know whether their students

already know the content and whether they are learning. They need feedback and coaches can help train for this. P. 23

BUILDING AN EMOTIONAL CONNECTIONBuilt around core principles of equality, choice, voice, dialogue, reflection, praxis, and reciprocity

Equality—relationship is between equals as a partnership Choice—In partnership one partner does not make decisions for

another. There is choice and decisions are made collaboratively. Voice—all individuals have opportunities to express their points of view Dialogue—partners speak their minds and listen authentically to

others. Reflection—Partners have to make sense of what we are proposing

they learn by reflecting upon their decisions Praxis—partners reflect upon ideas and put them into practice. P. 25 Reciprocity—in partnership everyone benefits.

ENCOURAGING IMPLEMENTATION

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ICs work from the assumption that knowledge is learned efficiently when it is learned on the job during planning time and modeling instruction in the classroom. When ideas are shared they are shared to be implemented. As Parker Palmer has observed, “Unlike many professions, teaching is always done at the dangerous intersection of personal and public life…teaching is a daily exercise in vulnerability…Not matter how technical my subject may be, the things I teach are things I care about—and what I care about helps define my selfhood” p. 17 in Knight p. 26

COLLABORATION Collaboration is the lifeblood of instructional coaching because the

coach and collaboration make it possible for teachers to engage in reflective dialogue about teaching. P. 27

We live in a time when meaningful conversation is becoming more and more scarce. Millions of people today have their only intimate conversations with complete strangers on the Internet.

Collaboration is also critical because it is in collaboration that the partnership relationship comes alive.

MODELING: YOU WATCH ME Coaches can model instructional strategies. Teachers need to see

something done right. [Who trains the coaches? It is important that all coaches have the same, rigorous training so that the language is common and used in all settings in a district. P. 29]

Teaching is such a rich and artful activity that no manual comes close to capturing all that is involved in the healthy, joyous, effective interactions between teachers and students. P. 29

Great teachers employ habits, routines, practices, and ways of communicating that they themselves are completely unaware of. P. 29

OBSERVING AND PROVIDING FEEDBACK Observation involves the vagaries of perception, and no two people will

see the same class the same way. P. 29 Many coaches focus their own and their collaborating teacher’s

attention by co-constructing a checklist (an example is in Chap. 6) with teachers which contains all the behaviors that the coach considers important so long as the collaborating teacher agrees that they are important. [This emphasizes the importance of scripting so that the coach writes down exactly what is said so that one can go over it later, and not worry that perception is predetermining what is observed. NOTE MINE] P. 30

SUPPORT Ongoing support is crucial if change is going to happen. We all change

every day. If something is easier, if it does more, people will embrace it. [That’s

why instructional practices need to be simple and effective. NOTE MINE] A very difficult program that is difficult to use is likely going to

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be dropped very quickly. Interventions catch on and spread when they are powerful and easy to implement. P. 32

PARTNERING WITH THE PRINCIPAL Three variables in Knight’s experience are the most important

predictors of the success of a coaching program. 1—coaches have received appropriate p.d. in what and how to coach. 2: coaches have discipline, skills and personality required to be effective coaches. 3: coaches are working in schools with principals who are effective instructional leaders.

The coach and principal have to have a shared understanding and vision of what instructional coaching can accomplish. P. 32

Chapter 3: What is the Partnership Philosophy? Instructional coaches who do not reflect on their philosophy may find it

very difficult to be successful.WHAT IS THE PARTNERSHIP PHILOSOPHY?

Coaches must understand where they come from and what they believe in.

Simply put, if a coach comes from the wrong place, the coach will have a hard time leading change.

Whether fully conscious of it or not, we all live our personal and work lives according to theories. P. 39

ICs see themselves as equal, respect others’ choices, and encourage others to voice opinions. P. 40

Equality: Instructional Coaches and Teachers are Equal Partners Teachers’ ideas must count. Equality does not mean that coaches and

teachers have equal knowledge on every topic, but it does mean that the collaborating teacher’s opinions are as important as the coach’s and both points of view are worth hearing. P. 41

Choice: Teachers should have choice regarding what and how they learn If teachers and coaches are true partners then teachers have a right to

say yes and no. Choice should be limited at times for good reasons. A principal might

know that school wide implementation of a strategy would be better for students, and therefore, she might require every one of her teachers to implement it.

Offering choices does not mean that everything is up for grabs. Teachers have to strive to help their students meet standards, and if teachers are to be treated professionally, they must act professionally. P. 43

In some cases, compulsory training is necessary, unavoidable, or legally mandated.

Even when teachers have no choice about participating in a certain training , a professional developer can offer choices about how they might adapt instruction, how they want the learning experience to be structured, how frequently they want breaks, what kind of support they would prefer, and whom they want to work with during a session. P. 43

Voice: Professional Learning should empower and respect the voices of teachers

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Coaches often learn the most when they carefully listen to the viewpoints of people who may appear to be disagreeing or resisting ideas being shared.

The coach needs to communicate that the other person’s life is important and meaningful. This may be the most important service that a coach can provide. P. 43

Part of “voice” is simply taking the time to truly hear what people have to say. P. 44

Dialogue: Professional Learning should Enable Authentic Dialogue At the heart of instructional coaching is a deep belief that a true

partnership should involve dialogue. Ric Palma, “Dialogue makes things happen. It makes changes occur If people come together as equals, if they feel free to voice their

opinions, if they are listened to, and if they act on the exhilarating belief that they are free to agree, disagree, and reflect on ideas as they choose, something marvelous can happen. P. 46

Reflection: Reflection is an integral part of professional learning. The most important choices teachers will make is how to make sense

of whatever it is that they are learning with their IC. Reflective thinkers, by definition, have to be free to choose or reject

ideas, or else they simply are not thinkers at all. P. 47 According to Schon, reflection is necessary for learning since often the

most important parts of skillful or artistic activities, like teaching, are hidden from our conscious understanding. People are skilled or artistic practitioners because they have a repertoire of competencies and skills that they may not even be able to identify. P. 48

Reflection ultimately provides opportunities for teachers to think bout what Parker Palmer (1998) calls “the inner landscape of the teaching self.” P. 48

Teaching [P. Palmer] “holds a mirror to the soul. P. 2 in Knight p. 49Praxis: Teachers should apply their learning to their real-life practice as they are learning

When we learn, reflect, an act, we are engaged in praxis. Praxis is not memorizing a new routine so that we can teach it in our

classes exactly as we memorized it. True praxis is established when teachers have a chance to explore, prod, stretch, and recreate whatever they are studying. P. 49

Because reflection is central to this approach to learning, praxis enacted between people is impossible without a partnership relationship. P. 50

Reciprocity: instructional Coaches should expect to get as much as they give ICs who operate from the partnership principles enter relationships

with teachers believing that the knowledge and expertise of teachers is as important as the knowledge and expertise of the coach. P. 50

Other principles Other principles are also important, such as, a caring relationship Quality is important A deep respect for the professionalism of teaching p. 52

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Chapter 4: Partnership CommunicationCREATING LEARNING CONVERSATIONS

Communicating an important message can be one of the most authentic, rewarding experiences in life.

Effective communication can enable the kind of faithful relationship that we build our lives around. Unfortunately, words can also destroy relationships. P. 58

THE COMMUNICATION PROCESSComponents of the Process

Intended Message—the idea someone wants to communicate Perceived message—what someone perceives as the message Interference—sometimes interference, real noise, people’s thoughts

and a variety of other things, may interfere with the intended message being received. It is often invisible, existing in the audience’s preconceptions.

Partnership Principals and Communication Respect, equality, and openness are good starting points for learning

conversations.EMPLOYING AUTHENTIC LISTENINGHow Misconceptions keep us from listeningWe often misjudge our ability to listen

Knight has learned that when he listens with great care, the person I’m speaking with almost always becomes a much better listener. P. 61

Why is it so difficult to listen? Because we are always projecting our opinions and ideas, our prejudices, our background, our inclinations, our impulses; when they dominate, we hardly listen at all to what is being said. William Isaacs, p. 84, 1999, in Knight p. 61

We also struggle to listen simply because we may not want to hear what others are saying. P. 61

Attentiveness: Defining characteristic of effective listening is being attentive. An IC who truly wants to listen better has to make the effort

Self-Awareness: Need to know if they are listening in a biased manner. Need to distinguish between experiencing and evaluating during conversation. P. 63

Honesty and Authenticity—Must honestly want to hear what others have to say.

Empathy and Respect—Without empathy, little true listening takes place

Must listen with humility—to silence ourselves and attend to others. P. 63

Listening Strategies: Developing inner silence—silence our own thoughts Listening for what contradicts our assumptions-- Clarifying—slow the pace or repeat an idea Communicating our understanding—ask questions, and clarify Practicing every day-- Practicing with terrible listeners

UNDERSTANDING OUR AUDIENCE

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In preparing for a conversation a coach should consider:1. What are my collaborating teacher’s most pressing concerns?2. What does my collaborating teacher know about this topic? [Can use

formative assessment NOTE MINE}3. What are my collaborating teacher’s learning preferences? 4. What are my collaborating teacher’s values and how do my own values

affect my relationship with this teacher/ What is most important to this teacher?

RECOGNIZING AND OVERCOMING INTERFERENCE1. A common interference—identity conversation—what I am saying to

myself about me. Be careful not to attack a person’s identity.2. Our stories about events can also interfere with our ability to

communicate-Our own person perceptions may shape even the very facts we see in front of ourselves. E.g. if we believe another person is a “villain” we will slant the story that way.

SUBTLE LANGUAGE OF COMMUNICATION: FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND EMOTIONAL CONNECTIONS

Much of our communication is in nonverbals. We often respond to a speaker positively or negatively for reasons we

can’t really explain. P. 73 Good tactics to remember:

o Face people when you speak with themo Make eye contacto Avoid distracting gestureso Nod your head in an encouraging wayo Find an appropriate place for communicationo Pay attention to how close you sit with otherso Choose an appropriate tone of voiceo Touch or not touch depending on the situation

Facial expression is very important—Paul Ekman and colleagues conclude that facial expressions represent a universal language that can be interpreted in the same way we interpret other forms of language

According to Ekman, there are 7 emotions that have a “distinct, universal facial expression: sadness, anger, surprise, fear, disgust, contempt, and happiness” p. 58 in Knight p. 74

BUILDING AN EMOTIONAL CONNECTION Knight talks about people making “emotional bids”—attempts to

engage emotionally with another. When someone makes an emotional bid, we can respond by a) turning toward b) turning away c) or turning around, p. 76

When we turn toward someone, we are responding positively When we turn away—we fail to respond for an emotional connection When we turn against—we are reacting in an argumentative or hostile

way. P. 76-7

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ICs needs to be away of how the bids for emotional connection are offered and how they respond. They need to train themselves to be sensitive to the bids. P. 77

HOW IT ALL FITS TOGETHER—SORT OF All the pieces of the chapter fit together—The ideas and concept

overlap and reinforce each other. We must be aware of our own issues in order to make emotional connections with people we may have otherwise avoided.

We have to be aware of our own body language in order to key in to the body language of others so we can build connections.

We must have a partnership orientation where we enter true partnership, learning as much as giving, we those we work with

The partnership creates a healthier, more rewarding environment with healthier relationships p. 78

Chapter 5: Getting Teachers on Board and Finding a Starting PointGETTING TEACHERS ON BOARD

We know that change doesn’t happen in single events, as in listening to a speaker and then returning to classrooms. Personal change, as defined by Hall & Hord, 2005, Prochaska, Norcross & DiClemente, 1994) suggest that change is “a process not an event.” (2005, p. 4 in Knight p. 84)

One-shot p.d. is based on an imperfect understanding of the complexity of change. P. 84

STAGES OF CHANGE: PROCHASKA, NORCROSS, AND DICLEMENTE They identify 6 stages of change

1. Precontemplation—people ignore data that suggests they should change. They don’t want to think, talk, or read about their problem because they feel the situation is hopeless” (1994, p. 41 in Knight p. 85)

2. Contemplation—people begin to consider why they might need to change. Some stay in this stage a long time.

3. Preparation—once people decide to change, they must make plans4. Action—people initiate the change. Unfortunately, people

frequently jump to the conclusion that action is all that matters in personal change.

5. Maintenance—may be most important stage. When people live out their ongoing personal struggle.

6. Termination—no longer struggling to make change happen.Spiral Model of Change

Change not necessarily linear. People move back and forth, in and out stages several times.

More like a spiral—go around and expand, come back to start but in a different place [much like the stages of grief NOTE MINE]

STAGES OF CHANGE AND PROF. LRNG IN SCHOOLS1. In precontemplative stage teachers might blame students, principal,

lack of support, large class size, etc.

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2. Contemplative stage—teachers start to think about and consider the causes, resources and possible methods to improve their classroom. P. 87

3. Preparation stage—teachers take time to plan what they have to do to implement the change. ICs can help greatly during this time

4. Action stage—trying out new teaching practice. For ICs job does not end with action. They need to provide continuing support and monitoring

5. Maintenance—ICs need to support teachers so they don’t go back to old behaviors

6. Termination—new practices are SOP. P. 89

COMPONENTS OF COACHING: ENROLL, IDENTIFY, AND EXPLAIN Enrollment—getting teachers on board—5 methods:

1. one-on-one interviews—meet with individuals to create a relationship—at least 30 minutes. Schedule them during planning time, if possible and during first weeks of school. Take notes during interviews and ask questions such as those found on p. 93. Asking for a commitment from teachers is a great way to get confirmation of buy-in after interviews are over

small-group presentations—may be a staff meeting. Can present information in short, clear, respectful format about what the program is about. 20 minutes.

Large-group—less than optimal but used when you want a lot of people to hear the same message. Should explain partnership philosophy and be accompanied by 1 page handout. P. 97

Informal conversations—seek out a highly effective solution for a problem a particular teacher may be having. Word travels fast when ICs are helpful.

Principal Referral—Sometimes principals refer to ICs for teachers to get assistance but this must be handled with care. Still need to honor partnership so that this is not seen as a punishment.

Big Four Coaches work with teachers on what Knight calls the Big Four—Behavior,

Content, Instruction, and Formative Assessment1. Behavior:--Is classroom mgmt is not in control, the coach and

collaborating teacher will struggle to make other practices work. Great questions for observation are listed on p. 101.

2. Content—Does the teacher understand the content, have a plan, and understand which information is important? Great coaching questions on p. 101

3. Instruction—Is the teacher using teaching practices that ensure all students master content? Great questions on p. 102

4. Formative Assessment—Do the teacher and students know if students are mastering content? –Questions on p. 102

Five Tactics for translating Research into Practice:1. Explain—IC may explain teaching practice that will be helpful to

teacher.

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2. Clarify—IC—really helpful in reading, writing, and synthesizing the strategies and information in teaching manuals and best practice research, p. 103

3. Read—IC can read the manuals and research articles to synthesize them so that the teacher can key the key attributes in a synthesized fashion. [This is where common training for all ICs is terribly important. NOTE MINE]

4. Synthesize—ICs can describe essential features of their reading to teachers and develop short checklists for teachers. They

5. Break it down—ICs can make teacher manuals and research much more manageable and put it into specific teaching practices to be implemented. ICs can provide handouts or electronic binders in a synthesized fashion. P. 105

6. See it Through a Teacher’s Eyes. –ICs should be intent on removing teachers’ anxiety and making it easier for them to understand and use a new teaching practice. P. 105

7. Simplify—ICs should make things simple—not simplistic but to make the complex clear. P. 1065

Chapter 6: Modeling, Observing, and Collaboratively Exploring Data

EMPOWERING TEACHERS TO MASTER NEW TEACHING PRACTICES Important to support teachers to try new practices.

MODEL: YOU WATCH ME One way to get teachers to try new things is to model them. ICs can

model a lesson and tell the teacher what to watch for. Knight has an observation form that the IC and teacher can use to set goals and then the teacher can observe the coach as they teach. The form is on p. 113

Modeling behavior mgmt—Also important, before the modeling session the teacher and IC need to clarify their roles with respect to behavior mgmt and what the IC will be doing. P. 114

Survey results—What do teachers think about ICs? Knight et. al conducted a survey and teachers thought that ICs cannot possibly know all content areas just because they were coaches. Therefore ICs need to be sure to understand the content before they model a lesson. When ICs model approaches they know well, teachers appear to be seeing the coaches as providing a valuable service. P. 117

MODEL LESSONS AND TACIT KNOWLEDGE Many instructional strategies are not written in teacher manuals. Much

of teaching is what teachers know, but really can’t tell. The art of teaching may involve a tone of voice, certain facial expressions, certain ways of moving about the classroom and other things which is one reason why ICs need to model teaching practices. P. 120[Really important for ICs to have common training across the district to provide similar messages to staff. NOTE MINE]

OBSERVE: I WATCH YOU

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ICs observe and are helpful. The coach is a second set of eyes. The coach can provide data and feedback as to the positive things that are happening in the classroom as well as things for correction. P. 122.

EXPLORE: THE COLLABORATION EXPLORATION OF DATA As soon as possible after the observation the coach should set up a

meeting with the teacher to share data in a collaborative manner. It is important to clarify what it is not. The meeting is not an opportunity for top-down feedback because that assumes there is only one right way to see things.

The partnership approach reviews the data side by side and share ideas and observations. P. 124

A Language of Ongoing Regard Provide direct comments in the first person, not about a person. May

nonattributive comments, such as “You waited 10 seconds” instead of “You are a patient person.”

Learning to give direct, specific, nonattributive feedback is a skill every IC should develop and one that can be practiced. P. 135

Dialogue During the exploration of data the IC and teacher move toward

identifying next steps that they both agree will have a positive impact on teaching. The IC can learn 6 steps for promoting dialogue1. Learn, internalize, and practice the partnership principles2. Employ the partnership communication skills3. Suspend the assumption that you’re right4. Respect your partner’s opinion5. Balance advocacy and inquiry6. Ask questions that surface your assumptions and your partner’s

assumptions. pp. 127-129William Isaacs notes that “an estimated forty percent of all questions that people utter are really statements in disguise. Another forty percent are really judgments in disguise: ‘Do you really think she deserved that raise.?’ Only a small percent of ‘inquires’ are genuine questions” (1999, p. 149 in Knight p. 129)Support

During coaching the IC provides as much support as necessary, but no more. In most cases when the teacher masters a concept it is time to move on to another intervention. P. 129

Reflect Many coaches keep journals as a log of their reflections, either

handwritten on computer. They reflect on what was supposed to happen, what really happened, why there’s a difference between the two and what should happen next time.

Coaches can also use an iPod or Dragon software to record their reflections on a smart device. P. 120

There is a form Knight provided on p. 131 to use as an after-action report.

CORE CONCERNS

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Resistance—Resistance takes 2 people—the resistor and the one who resists. What a coach can do is to stop the behaviors that encourage others to resist change by being very aware of how they are personally affecting the process.

If an IC is able to met teachers’ needs related to Fisher and Shapiro’s 5 Core Concerns for Negotiation (appreciation, affiliation, autonomy, status, fulfilling role), she will have a much better chance of finding teachers who are excited about collaborating.

Appreciation—This is an action, not just a noun. ICs who express appreciation set a tone that helps the teacher know that they are being heard.

Affiliation—this is about having an honest connection. Such things as meeting in an informal place, introducing yourself informally, sitting side by side, emphasizing shared nature of the task, and avoiding dominating the conversation, are tactics by Fisher and Shapiro that help this process (p 57& 58 in Fisher and Shapiro, in Knight p. 133)

Need for autonomy—Each of us wants an appropriate degree of autonomy. Important not to tell people what to do but to discuss thought processes. P. 134 When a principal insists that a teacher work with an IC, autonomy is threatened and the coach must work to overcome that feeling

Status—ICs go out of their way to respect the status of teachers. Saying such things as “I am an extra pair of hands…”

Having a fulfilling role—Helping teachers understand that they are the final decision maker and the driving force behind the collaborative planning is key

ICs must make it clear to students that the teacher is in charge at all times. By addressing teachers’ needs for appreciation, affiliation, autonomy, status, and having a fulfilling role, an IC can increase the likelihood that teachers will welcome them into their classrooms.

GOING DEEPERHarvard Negotiation Project

Several great books have come from this Getting to yes by Fisher, Ury, & Patton, 1991, and Getting Past No by Ury, 1991 are great. Another one is Getting it Done by Fisher & Sharp.

Several good books on dialogue: David Bohm On Dialogue. William Isaacs” Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together. And other suggestions on p. 136

Chapter 7: Focusing on the Big FourPOWER OF FOCUSTWO DISCLAIMERSDisclaimer 1: The Big Four is not just for Weaker Teachers—Effective coaches help all teachers move forward with best practice instructional strategies.

Disclaimer 2: This is just an introduction. There is a lot of intensive training that goes into training effective coaches to earn deep knowledge, in order to be highly effective. P. 141

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THE BIG FOUR1. Behavior—Learning how to manage student behavior in the classroom

is one of the most challenging and important skills teachers need to master.

a. For that reason, ICs can provide a great service to collaborating teachers by empowering them to manage behavior in their classrooms. P. 142

b. DEVELOPING AND TEACHING EXPECTATIONS—one of first steps to managing a classroom is for teachers to develop and teach the students what is expected, what is appropriate behavior and what is inappropriate. LaVonne Holmgren uses CHAMPS to guide her process: C=conversation-what conversation is acceptable; H =help-how students should ask for help; A- activity—what the students should be doing; M= Movement, what kind of movement, if any, is permitted, and P = participation—what participation looks like

c. Ratio of interactions—ICs can help teachers see how they praise and criticize students because that can have a significant impact on how students behave. Common rule of thumb in the literature on classroom management is that to encourage positive behavior, teachers should pay at least three times as much attention to behavior they want to encourage as they do to the behavior they want to discourage. P. 143 ICs can help teachers tally the behaviors and together work out suggestions to modify the behavior

d. Effective Corrective Comments—ICs can help teachers by making a list of common rule violations and then developing consequences for them. They can identify what works and then the ICs can support teachers by observing, providing model lessons, or having collaborative conversations, pp. 144-5.

e. Time on Task—Research says that in an effective class, students should be on task more than 90% of the time. ICs can help observe for this. P. 145 If coaches and teachers collaborate on effective strategies, the collaborating teachers should see a significant increase in time on task.

f. Opportunities to Respond: Another way to increase time on task is to increase the deliberate interactions where learning is back and forth with the teacher. Coaches can help by tallying the

g. Content—Teachers who feel the urgency to keep their students busy might be tempted to teach without a complete map of their content, or spend too much time on particular information, finding themselves rushing to get to where they need to be only to find that their class has arrived at the wrong destination. In some cases this means that essential information was taught superficially or missed completely Coaches can help teachers sort through, prioritize, plan, and differentiate the content

CONTENT COACHING Coaches can help with 4 major aspects of curriculum deign:

developing essential questions, mapping content, indentifying and teaching content relationship structures and identifying, defining and

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teaching concepts A lot of this should be done in a district process of curriculum articulation and writing with teams of teachers, not individuals. As a former curriculum director, it important to have district expectations aligned to standards for everyone! NOTE MINE]

Developing Essential questions—these are the critical questions that a teacher teaches to. They are the overarching questions of why a teacher teaches what they do. P. 151

Mapping content—[Again this should be done at a district level. NOTE MINE so that there is consistency among teachers and buildings] It is necessary to map the curriculum [in alignment with standards] so that teachers get to key issues and that all kids get the same basic content p. 152 [Knight gives several possible ways to map the curriculum on pp. 154-158 but this again is a very valuable process done in teams. NOTE MINE]

Identifying, Defining, and teaching concepts—Concepts are important because they often represent foundational knowledge that students need to know to master the content and because they can open students up to entirely new ways of interpreting, understanding, and knowing.

Direct Instruction—[The amount of time in direct instruction matters NOTE MINE] [It is important that coaches have common training in effective instructional practices. NOTE MINE]

COACHING INSTRUCTIONAdvance and Post Organizers

Advance and post organizers help students understand what will be and was learned, [Use of visual organizers and teaching strategies really helps. Denise Nissel and David Hyerle have great books with ideas. Also the effective use of learning targets here is absolutely crucial and really makes a difference in student learning. NOTE MINE]

Modeling—A good teaching strategy to teach the kids is “I do it, we do it, you do it!” [A good mantra to have and use. NOTE MINE] p. 163

High level questions—important here to be aware of Bloom’s taxonomy because too often the questions we ask are knowledge/comprehension. [Socratic seminars teach how to ask really good questions. NOTE MINE and there are good examples of these on websites.]

Quality Assignments—Teachers need to plan assignment so it truly relates to the work expected. [Plus, this is a place where teachers can really differentiate. Not every student has to have the same assignment or the same amount of homework if they already know the content. Students must see the meaning of the work. This is especially important as students get older and are more experienced in homework. NOTE MINE]

Formative Assessment—[One of the most important strategies to improve learning as stated by Black and Wiliam in Out of the Black Box in Kappan magazine . Embedded Formative Assessment by Dylan Wiliam is one of the best books out there. James Popham also has good stuff. NOTE MINE] [We need to be checking for understanding throughout teaching to inform where we go next. We need to provide more feedback and fewer grades. NOTE MINE]

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INSTRUCTIONAL COACHING AND FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTThere are different types of assessments and the data is used differently.Developing Course and Unit Questions Assignments and assessment --Important to develop unit plans [in

collaboration with peers is best NOTE MINE] that that emphasize learning targets, and clear goals.

Creating answers for unit questions—Helpful to develop questions that are on all levels of Bloom’s [When analyzing assessments, it is revealing to do a test blueprint to see how many questions you ask in each of the levels of the taxonomy. NOTE MINE]

Developing Appropriate, High Quality Assessments.—Assessments should be linked directly to the learning targets. They shouldn’t be tricky. The assessment should not be a surprise to the students. NOTE MINE

Providing Constructive Feedback—[Feedback is so important. We should provide more feedback and fewer grades because research shows that feedback increases learning more than feedback/grading combination, or grading alone. NOTE MINE] [Susan Brookhart has a great book on Feedback NOTE MINE]

Involving Students—Students can be involved in peer review and in providing feedback. Peer editing is an effective way to involve students and decrease teacher’s burden.

GOING DEEPER As usual Knight provides a list of wonderful resources at the end

of the chapter for those who wish to Go Deeper. P. 17

Chapter 8: How Coaches can Spread KnowledgeHOW IDEAS SPREAD

Malcolm Gladwell in his book talks about how “ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do.” (Gladwell, 2000 p. 7) in Knight p. 180 Ideas can spread like an epidemic

UNDERSTANDING MEMES A meme as defined by Csikszentmihalyi is “ a unit of cultural information

comparable in its effects on society to those of the chemically coded instructions in the gene on the human organism. P. 182 In other words, it is an idea, a practice that catches on, much like we hope productive, effective professional learning and best practice instruction catches on. P. 182

RESILIENT VIRUSES—Ideas that are most likely to survive and spread if they are easier to use and more powerful than the memes they are replacing. P. 183

ENSURING THAT PRACTICES SHARED ARE EASY AND POWERFUL—o ICS must make sure that interventions will work, they are scientifically

based and that they respond to a teacher’s most pressing needs.o They also must make sure that s/he does everything possible to make it

easy for the teacher to use.EMPLOYING SELF-ORGANIZATION AND COHERENCE-BUILDING PRACTICES TO GO SCHOOLWIDE WITH INSTRUCTIONAL COACHING

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Stephanie Hirsch of National Staff Development Council says, “the coach’s job is to get [each learning team] to a point where it is a high-functioning team without the coach, and then…move on to another team. You have greater impact when you’re very deliberate about what the coaches will do and the role they will serve within the school, and how their time will be used.”

Coaches also have to give up the idea that they have a neat tidy plan that is a 5-year plan for school reform.

The challenge is “to be deliberate” at the same time the coach resists “controlling the uncontrollable.” P. 185

A strictly “top-down approach” will not accomplish what will be accomplished by an organization where all the members have an “internal commitment” to make improvements

HAVING AN INFECTIOUS PERSONALITY Critical part of an approach to change designed to engender internal

commitment is the person who is responsible for making that change happen. We often underestimate just how much impact we can have on others.

Michael Fullan—“Effective leaders make people feel that even the most difficult problems can be tackled productively. (Fullan, 2001, p. 7 in Knight p. 188

Martin Seligman talks about optimistic people and how they think and talk themselves through difficulty, failure, and frustration.

Malcolm Gladwell in The Tipping Point observes that when it comes to sharing ideas, the way people talk is as important as what they have to say. Persuasive people are sensitive to the nonverbal cures of those with whom they interact and the impact of their nonverbal cues. Gladwell p. 84 in Knight p. 188

ICs have to enjoy making the extra effort to involve others in the change initiative.

PARTNERING WITH THE PRINCIPAL The principal is not the only person who bears responsibility for change

efforts in school, but she or he can have a big impact on how well any kind of reform or professional development program is implemented (DuFour, 1998 in Knight p. 189. ICs need to work in harmony with the principal. P.189

IC should be the right-hand person of the principal when it comes to instructional leadership in the school

They need to meet weekly.

FOLLOWING THE LAW OF THE FEW Malcolm Gladwell (2001) talks about how social epidemics spread

because of a few factors—a tiny percent of people do most of the work. This is true in the spread of ideas in schools. Particular individuals whose involvement in the project can make a real difference.

Strong Teachers ICs have found that working with those few teachers who are the

informal leaders in the school is almost as important as working with the principal. There are always a few people who have informal power

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in an organization. Important to identify these “strong teachers.” Join staff meetings, observe, and listen to what people say.

Once strong teachers start saying, “these strategies really work, you should try them,” it just spreads. P. 192

Learning Teams ICs need to work with building networks for change in the schools.

Working in learning teams is very important because ideas spread quicker. [Really helpful to use exiting teams and build on their work. NOTE MINE]

DuFour has a lot of information on how effective teams work.Intellectual Evolution The notion that ideas are shared in the same way that viruses are

spread brings to light just how significant each of our individual choices and actions can be. Epidemics start out small but grow and spread in unpredictable, irrational ways and they grow or die based on the choices we make.

We can never predict but always, by choosing a more effective instructional practice (a meme) over another less effective one—we are part of the ongoing evolution of ideas in our schools and world.

GOING DEEPER; Again Knight provides more resources. P. 194 [I’d love to see his library. NOTE MINE]

Chapter 9: Coaches as Leaders of ChangeCOACHES AS LEADERS OF CHANGE

ICs will be thrown into situations where they will not be effective unless they lead. ICs need to shape team norms, facilitate schoolwide implementation of interventions, promote more constructive styles of professional discourse, motivate unmotivated teachers, raise thorny issues, negotiate resolutions to conflicts that those thorny issues stir up, and stand in opposition to any action or attitude that is not good for children. P. 197

When it comes to instructional coaching, a different concept of leadership is more appropriate. They need to have a paradoxical mix of humility and ambition (Collins, 2001 in Knight p, 198) a desire to provide service that is a t least as powerful as the drive to succeed (Greenleaf, 1998) a deep understanding of the emotional components of leadership (Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee, 2002) and a recognition that a good leader must first be an effective teacher (Tichy, 2002) in Knight p. 198

TACTIC 1: STAY DETACHEDo ICs may meet with resistance and personal attacks or attacks on

their strategies. Sometimes schools get stuck on the attempt, attack, and abandon cycle without ever seeing meaning change.

o What should teachers do? 1. Use partnership communication—build connections, so all feel

respected2. Change your thinking to create distance. Reconceive the attack

as an opportunity to learn and to understand the other people better. P. 201

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3. Keep it from being personal—Be aware when a conversation turns negative and “go to the balcony” as Ury suggests—isolate yourself as though you are viewing the interaction from a balcony. Coaches have to be careful not to be seen that they are pushing their “pet” project or strategy

4. Take the long view—If ICs are to personally involved, they may find unsuccessful days as to emotionally devastating. By staying detached ICs will increase the likelihood that interventions will catch on in a school. They can keep the long-term goal in sight/ p. 202-3

TACTIC 2: WALK ON SOLID GROUND ICs need to be clear about what they stand for, if they want others

to stand with them. P. 203 As starting point is for ICs to work out their beliefs about the

partnership principles [Develop that vision as suggested in earlier chapters NOTE MINE]

Important to establish short-term and long term goals to provide focus and help set priorities

Steadiness is not the same thing as stubbornness. It is important to maintain flexibility and [an atmosphere of learning NOTE MINE] p. 204

TACTIC 3: CLARIFYING YOUR MESSAGE ICs also need to be clear about the information and vision they want to

share with teachers. [This is why it is really important coaches across the district work together and meet to keep everyone on the same message NOTE MINE]

Clarity and simplicity is important. P. 205TACTIC 4: MANAGING CHANGE EFFECTIVELY

Six questions of management task of leading change1. Do I know what is expected of me? ICs have to be clear about

their role and expectations of teachers2. Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work

right? --Do teachers have what is needed to make the change3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every

day—Teaching practices are not generic; what works well for one teacher might not work as well for another. The art of coaching is to provide an array

4. In the past Seven Days, Have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?

5. Is there someone at work who cares about me? Coaches have to care about fellow teachers. P. 207

6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development? TACTIC 5: CONFRONTING REALITY

Must recognize the world for what it is, not what you wish it to be. When we surface difficult truths in larger organizations like schools, not only do we have to address their personal issues that are an unavoidable part of confront reality, we also have to deal with the other contingencies of life in organizations, such as incomplete data sources, misinformation arising from failure of internal communication,

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individuals who hide from their own professional failures, and so on. P. 209

Schools won’t move forward unless ICs and other educational leaders ask some core questions about the teaching and learning that occurs in every classroom:

o What is it like to be a student in this classroom or school?o How do the students feel in this class?o Is this teacher using “hi-fi- teaching practices?o Does the teacher appreciate, enjoy, and respect students?o Are students engaged in this class?o Are students experiencing meaningful learning experiences or

are they simply completing tasks that fill the time?o Does this class increase or decrease students’ love of learning?o Will students remember this class? P. 209

Leaders also have to ask:o Are our teachers focused on becoming better teachers or are

they focused on making excuseso Is our school improving or declining? P. 209o Do our teachers focus on students and teaching during team

meetings or do they focus on blaming, excuse-making, or finger-point?

o Are our leaders supportive and positive?o Do our leaders encourage our teachers to meet high standards?o Do our leaders walk the talk?

TACTIC 6: UNDERSTANDING SCHOOL CULTURE School culture can accelerate or inhibit change in numerous ways.

Coaches can help the culture by shaping conversations.TACTIC 7: BEING AMBITIOUS AND HUMBLE

Effective leaders are “ambitious first and foremost for the cause, the movement, the mission, the work—not themselves—and they have the will do whatever it takes. (Collins, 2005, p. 11) in Knight p. 213

TACTIC 8:TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF Being a leader is emotionally challenging, and thousands of change

agents have found it difficult to remain optimistic, energetic, and enthusiastic.

Distinguish your role from your staff—People may not like what you do or are asking them to do, but that doesn’t mean they don’t like YOU. They probably don’t know you. Hiefetz and Linsky (2002) in Knight p. 214

Find confidants—find someone or a group to confide in [having a cadre of instructional coaches that meet together regularly will provide this NOTE MINE]

Find Sanctuary—Build in personal time to recharge and relax p. 209GOING DEEPERMore good resources p. 217

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