FALL FASD LEADERSHIP

CONFERENCEFlorida Association for Staff Development

The Florida Department of EducationBureau of School Improvement

Presented By:Lena Anderson & Katie Moeller

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Participant Outcomes

Participants will understand:

•the difference between “active” coaching and “passive” coaching;

•what makes an effective coach;

• using documents for monitoring (to assess the impact of coaching);

• “scaling up” coaching to promote effective instruction on a school

wide basis; and

• how using coaches to increase student achievement is effective

when the coach is highly knowledgeable, skillful with people and

actively engaged in the right activities for improvement.

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Peer Coaching

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION: Rigorous peer coaching makes a difference in

schools.

WHY?

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Coaching Cycle

Observe Classroom Instruction

Model

Feedback

Debrief

Plan

Observe New Strategies

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Principal’s Role in Supporting Coaches

Principals’ support successful coaching by:√ introducing the coaching cycle to the faculty

√ setting expectations of involvement for the faculty

√ prioritizing the use of time by planning ahead with the coach regarding WHO needs

coaching

√ aligning the coach’s activities with the School Improvement Plan

√ using a monitoring calendar for unannounced walk throughs

√keeping data on implementation and sharing it with the faculty

√ encouraging the “celebration” of successes along the way.

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The Coach’s Role• Assist teachers in effectively analyzing and using data;• Help teachers plan high quality instruction• Model and demonstrate • Provide collegial feedback • Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)• Support the use of effective, research-based

instructional materials• Take an “active” role in school improvement

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Job #1: Getting Into Classrooms• Only 50% or less of the coaches’ time is spent in

the classroom with teachers and students.

• How do we insure the coach has the time to coach within the classroom setting?

• Why is this so important?

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ACTIVE ROLE PASSIVE ROLEEstablishes a schedule for in-classroom coaching;

Coach waits to be “invited” into classrooms;

Keeps a log of coaching activities and asks principal to sign;

Keeps little documentation about the use of time;

Works with the principal to establish priorities for the use of coaching time.

The use of time is left to the coach’s sole discretion.

Regularly shares the coach’s monitoring notebook with principal;

No documentation of the coaching process is provided or shared;

Accepts resistance as normal and knows to work closely with resistant teachers;

Afraid of resistance and seeks to avoid resistant teachers; sees resistant teachers as the “principal’s problem”.

Analyzes data and student work with teachers to assist in planning instruction and professional development.

Coaching and professional development experiences are not tied to data and student work.

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ACTIVE ROLE PASSIVE ROLEProvides explicit explanations, and demonstrations of effective instruction on a regularly scheduled basis (cooperative learning, higher order questioning, varied instructional strategies, effective vocabulary instruction, etc.).

Little if any classroom modeling and demonstration are provided; prefers to be a ‘walkthrough’ expert and primarily observes classroom teachers.

Demonstrates superior questioning strategies for teachers as a lever for school wide change;

Demonstrates limited understanding of why questioning strategies are a critical component in teaching.

Builds capacity at the school by broadening leadership beyond the principal and the coach;

The principal and the coach provide most of the school’s leadership;

Helps teachers to globalize their learning to all contexts so professional learning becomes the norm.

Focuses upon ‘fixing’ broken lessons;

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Roles in the Coaching ProcessDistrict’s Role…. Principal’s Role…

Coach’s Role…. Teacher’s Role…

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COACHING LOGS

Why should administrators insist on coaching logs and meet weekly with

their coaches?

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A Sample Coaching Log

ActivityPerformed

Services Provided To

How? Period of the Day(MS/HS)

StartingDate

Ending Date

AdditionalComments

Modeled VocabularyInstruction

Ms.Sunshine

Preconference, Modeling in Classroom, Debriefing

5th period 9/5/08 9/5/08 Follow up: assist teacher w/ additional strategies

School: ________________ Coach: __________________

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MONITORING THE COACH’S EFFECT

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What tools do you use to know the effect of your coach on the teaching in your building?

We do NOT get what we expect….we will get what we INSPECT.

What we pay attention to happens!

An Example of Monitoring Reading

Teacher Period # of Students

Level Time Text Level

Brown 1 16 5 7:45-8:36 Crucial Moment in Denmark

Greene 1 17 7 7:45-8:36 Street Stories

Foote 4 23 5 10:30-11:21

Hometowns

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Focused Walkthrough Observation

Teacher: _________ Date: ________ Time: ______Class/Grade: _____ Subject: ____

What I Observed Today:__Objective/Benchmark posted ___Active Teaching__Teacher Lesson Plan Visible/In Use ___Good Classroom Management__Students Arranged in Cooperative Groups ___ Moderate/High Complexity ?s__Teacher Modeling Skills/Strategies ___ Interactive Word Wall__Maximized Time for Learning ___Motivation/Specific FeedbackComments:

Accomplishments Reminder/Tips Action Items

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Leadership Team (Literacy, Math, RtI…)

• Create reading/writing initiatives for the entire school

• Set reading/writing goals for the school• Analyze data and write school wide action plans• Plan for the school wide professional

development needs in reading and writing• Provide feedback to the coach

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Gap Closing Schools

“Teachers in gap-closing schools use assessments more often, use data more frequently and work collaboratively to analyze and act upon the data.”

Rick DuFour

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Training Activities

• Pair up with a partner and start a conversation about a real issue that is currently on your mind. During the conversation, the listener should practice effective communication skills highlighted in the videos . After three minutes of discussion, switch roles and have the other partner practice the skills. After the second round of discussion, debrief with each other about the practiced skills.

Scenario

Practice your skills with the following scenario. You are coaching a teacher whose instruction is constantly interrupted by students without their materials (“Teacher, I don’t have a pencil,…Teacher, I don’t know where my book is….”). Since instructional time is a precious resource, have a coaching conversation about this topic.

Scenario

You are coaching a teacher who does not understand differentiated instruction. His/her classroom is always taught whole group, lecture style. Have a coaching conversation to begin to help this teacher; practice the skills you learned from the videos.

Data Coaches

• Coaching teachers/teams to use data to “drive” instruction

• Helping create data walls/data boards• Supporting teachers in how to analyze and

evaluate data• Helping develop a data literate facultyVIDEO SNIPPET

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Coaching for Engaging Comprehension Strategies

QUESTION:

How do coaches assist teachers in developing engaging comprehension strategies in any classroom, regardless of academic content?

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Characteristics of Engaging Comprehension Strategies• They help students see a connection between effort and

outcome;• They capitalize on students’ needs for active learning;• They make learning interesting and meaningful;• They make connections between the classroom world

and the lifeworlds of students• They exploit situational interest.

Source: William G. Brozo, Professor of Literacy, George Mason University

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FeedbackWhy is it so important?

“Feedback only leads to learning gains when it includes guidance about how to improve.

Typically, teachers are told what they need to do to improve instruction.

Teachers are less likely to be shown what the improvement looks like and the steps needed to make that improvement.”

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Coaching Conversations

Coaching conversations are:• different from daily conversation;• when the coach listens intently;• when the coach listens to:

o what the person is saying and feeling;o understand the teacher’s point of viewo what inspires or excites the teacher

This leads to POWERFUL QUESTIONS.

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Powerful Questions

Higher-level questions for getting people to dig deeper and challenge themselves:

• How is that serving you?• What might you be doing to contribute to this

problem?• Why is that happening?• What would you say the problem is all about?

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Different Angles

To coach a person to see a problem from a different angle or point of view try:

• How can I best coach you in this situation?• What would be the best question to ask you right

now to help you think clearly about this situation?

• What is the lesson here?• What do you need to do now?

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Making Connections

Reading Writing Science History/Social Studies

Math Art

Predicting Prewriting

Attending Drafting

Confirming Revising

Self-Correcting

ProofreadingEditing

Responding Publishing

Reflecting, Evaluating

Reflecting,Evaluating

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How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century

Time Magazine 12/18/07

“Kids need to learn how to leap across disciplines because that is how breakthroughs now come about. It’s interdisciplinary combinations – design and technology, mathematics and art – that produce YOUTUBE and MYSPACE.”

“Jobs in the new economy-the ones that won’t get outsourced or automated-put an enormous premium on creative and innovative skills, seeing patterns where other people see only chaos…..kids 29

Coach’s Role in Supporting Formative Assessment in the School

• What can you observe about how the teacher gives attention to the learning styles of individual students? Does the teacher use more than one approach or technique to explain concepts?

• Does the teacher give students time to hesitate, make mistakes, reflect, self-correct, enter into dialogue?

• Does the teacher use praise/criticism? If so, are comments aimed at a specific task or at the students’ ability?

• Do students give each other feedback?

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The Research

• Instruction

• Systematic, Intentional, Explicit, Robust

• Steps in instruction (Skill or strategy)

• I do it. (Model skill or strategy.)• We do it. (Guide performance of strategy.)• You do it. (Check understanding.)

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•Does the teacher use feed forward techniques (i.e. give students a preview of what they will be learning and how it fits into the larger context of the course)?

•Use “scaffolding techniques” ie., providing as much or as little help as the student appears to need?

•Does the teacher provide non-evaluative descriptions of the features of a students’ work?

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Analyzing Coaching Dialogues

• two column note taking • observed behavior – 1

column• analyzing the behavior- 1

column• a coach’s monitoring

notebook

Teaching

Behavior

Why?

Asks students what they know about photosynthesis

Engaging prior knowledge

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Leading Action Research1. Identify an area of focus or problem.2. Write an area-of-focus statement or problem statement.3. Define the variable factors that might affect the outcome.4. Determine research questions.5. Describe the intervention/methods and innovations.6. Identify/describe the roles of key members of the action planning

research team.7. Describe negotiations that need to be covered.8. Develop a timeline.9. Describe the resources needed.10. Develop data collection plans.11. Carry out the action research.12. Analyze and interpret the data/results.13. Make sound recommendations based on the results.14. Develop action plans and interventions based on the results. (Young,

2000) 34

Building Professional Learning Communities

• Groups of educators, administrators, stakeholders collectively examining and improving their professional practice;

• Membership determined by the focus;• Data-informed• Standards driven• Focused on instruction, equity and results.

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Professional Learning Communities

• Expand the knowledge of participants;• Encourage innovation and excellence;• Promote positive cultural change;• Encourages continual growth and learning;• The use of protocols assists in facilitating PLCs

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Collaborative Analysis of Student Learning

“Collaborative inquiry around individual student cases can and does transform teacher and student learning. …collaboration does not happen automatically. Many schools have not developed a culture in which teachers and leaders can safely take risks—by sharing less successful students’ work, for example-and engage in dialogue about assumptions, beliefs and practices. Schools need to develop effective norms for the groups, and these groups need to learn how to paraphrase, probe, and question as they engage in professional discussions (Costa & Garmstron, 2002). These skills help teachers and organizations move beyond a “culture” of polite conversation” to deep analysis of teaching and learning (Little, Gearhart, Curry, & Kafka, 2003).”

Source:Looking At Student Work by Georgea M Langer and Amy B. ColtonEducational Leadership, February 2005

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Adult Learning Theory and PLCsUnderstanding what motivates adults to grow and

learn enhances professional development.

PLCs are grounded in adult learning theory and evidences several characteristics important to adult learners.

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RESISTANCE

How do administrators manage resistance?

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Coaching Reluctant Adults• Resisters can be an invaluable resource.

• LISTEN to resisters….you will find unseen pitfalls in your plans.

• INVOLVE resisters in the improvement of the school.

• It is a mistake to avoid reluctant adults.

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What a Coach Must Do….

“The most effective change processes are incremental-they break down big problems into small, doable steps and get a person to say ‘yes’ numerous times, not just once. They plan for small wins that form the basis for a consistent pattern of winning that appeals to people’s desire to belong to a successful venture.”

-James Kouzes & Barry Posner, Encouraging the Heart: A Leader’s Guide to Rewarding and Recognizing Others

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FORMSDOCUMENTING THE

PROCESS

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A Coach’s Monitoring Notebook

• Purpose: staying organized, modeling, information easily accessible

• Will demonstrate teachers’ growth across time• Tabbed notebook- section for each teacher• Action plans, dialogue notes, schedules,

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Group Action Plan

Date: ___________Site: __________________

1. Topic for Exploration:

2. Our Questions:

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Record of Learning

Name: ________ Date: ____Site: __________

Notes:

Learning:

Next Steps:

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ACTION PLAN

Name: ________ Date: ________

What is your current challenge in literacy instruction?

What is/are your question/questions?

What do you know about that area and what are you trying?

What support do you need?

Source: Literacy Coaching, Developing Effective Teachers through Instructional Dialogue by Marilyn Duncan, Richard C. Owen Publishers, Inc.

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Reflective Process and Feedback

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The Reflective Process

Reconstruct

Challenge

Describe

Reflection Analyze

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Questions to Support Reflective Thought

What is it I know? What is it I think I know?

What do I want to learn?

What is the support I need?

Source:The Reflective Practioner: How Professionals

Think in Action by Donald A. Schon.

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Feedback

• “Feedback only leads to learning gains when it includes guidance about how to improve.

• Typically, teachers are told what they need to do to improve instruction.

• Teachers are less likely to be shown what the improvement looks like and the steps needed to make that improvement.”

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Principles of Learning

• Effort produces achievement

• Learning is active; it is about making connections

• We learn with and through others

• Learning takes time

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Impact on Practice

No Measurable Impact on Practice

Explain Theory +Show an example of

good practice + Teacher practices the new approach

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Improving Professional Outcomes

Professional Development Outcomes in Terms of Estimated Percent of

Participants Professional Development Elements

Knowledge Level

Skill Level

Transfer to

Practice

Theory 10% 5% 0%+ Demonstrations

30% 20% 0%

+ Practice 60% 60% 5%+ Coaching +

Feedback

95% 95% 95%53

TIME

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TIME The use of a coach’s time is one of school’s most valuable

assets for improvement and building capacity. What are your ideas for ensuring the most effective use of your time as a coach?

• Develop a master schedule for coaching• Have a master list of all the language arts/reading

classes by time, teacher, period, etc. • Keep a log and have the principal sign off on it.

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Experienced Coaches Have Learned:

• Time matters.

• Involve everyone.

• Pay attention to the change process.

• Keep the information flowing.

• You have to take risks.

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“Scaling Up Instructional Coaching” • School Leadership –protecting time, roles,

establishing priorities• Working through teams – group coaching• Lesson Study• Establishing a standards based school culture• Creating and sustaining teacher expertise

building wide – no “islands of excellence”

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Active participation in the collective development of other teachers is a critical competency of modern teaching.

-Michael Fullan

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EXTRA SLIDES / OPTIONAL SLIDES

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