This week we begin reading about and thinking about program improvement, both ways to go about program improvement but also what aspects of the literacy program need attention, and what are characteristics of those aspects.
This week you are beginning the readings on coaching. So I'd like you to think about this topic by using a modified version of a KWL chart. So for your response to this blog, first write what you know about coaching---what is it, who does it, how does it occur. How it it different from mentoring? After you write about that, consider what you want to learn about coaching. What questions would you like answered?
As you read, consider the questions that you have identified as well as how coaches support program improvement, what their role is, and what they do. Think about differences between the role a coach takes on in elementary schools vs secondary schools. Which coaching model fits best with your setting and your personality/skills? What did you find as key ideas in the chapters you read so far that will help you do the coaching part of your job?
Please complete the Virtual Check in form at the end of the week, and let me know if you have questions or want to talk.
From my understanding, coaching is a more goal-directed act. Someone who coaches is someone who has knowledge and experience in the area to share with the person being coached. The coach works with them to set goals for teaching development. They then observe them as they teach in their classroom and take notes on what they see as they do so related to the goals. After the observation, the coach meets with them to discuss what was seen and to provide feedback and instruction in order to help them better meet the goals. They may do some lesson modeling as part of this instruction. The cycle would then repeat until the goals are reached, at which point more goals may be set.
ReplyDeleteMentoring is more of a support and guidance relationship. When you are mentoring someone you are there to answer questions that person has, give them feedback on their thoughts and ideas, and help them in making decisions based on your own experiences and knowledge.
From these next few weeks I hope to clear up my understanding on what coaching is and how it takes place. I feel like I have a rough understanding, but I need to understand the process better before I can try it out myself. I hope to learn more about what a coaching cycle consists of, how to go about setting coaching goals, and how many cycles should take place. I would also like to find out more about the differences between mentoring and coaching so I can solidify those differences in my head to ensure I am capable of both, as I'm sure different situations call for each of these.
I honestly don’t know much about coaching. Our school does not currently have any instructional or literacy coaches. When Oklahoma was going to adopt Common Core, the state department assigned coaches to us to help us implement the standards, but we only met with them once or twice. From what I can tell from these instructional coaches and from what others have said, I believe they are former or current teachers who work with novice and veteran teachers to learn a new instructional strategy or program, as well as provide support in other ways for teachers. Sometimes coaches are fellow teachers working in the same building; other times they can be full-time coaches employed by a school or district to work with many sites. I think coaches meet with teachers before, after, or during plan times to offer their advice and expertise, probably meeting every other week to once a month. Coaching is different than mentoring because coaching is more short-term until the new program/strategy/standards are implemented, while mentoring would be longer-term or on an as-needed basis. (This is an estimated guess...I’m not exactly sure!)
ReplyDeleteQuestions I would like answered are: What exactly does a coach do? Do coaches have to be full-time coaches or do some coaches teach and coach in their “spare” time? Do districts higher coaches to work with multiple sites or do individual schools higher coaches just for their school? How much teaching experience should coaches have?
I see coaching and mentoring similar in the aspect that they both build relationships between teachers, but different due to the PD that is connected to coaching. Mentors listen, help brainstorm, and may point teachers in new directions. Coaches are there to do all of the above, but also provide research based tools to grow teachers' educational tool belts. Coaches may also correct poor teaching skills, where mentors are not tasked with that. Coaches are generally teachers with quality backgrounds in the field(s) they are coaching in. In my opinion coaching begins with a discussion with a teacher about what they would like to know more about, what they are struggling with, or something new they would like to try.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest question is how to do you coach someone if they do not think they need any help in any areas? I'm wondering if asking to lesson plan with them would be a good way to broach new ideas with teachers who do not want help. I am excited to read this week's chapters to find outcoaching strategies.
In my opinion, a coach is not an evaluator but someone that is there to assist you when you feel needed to strengthen your teaching practice. I feel like anyone at the school could potentially coach you if you feel that they have experience in an area that you would like help with. I have only worked at one school where we had an actual instructional coach that was hired to fill that role. She was very knowledgeable about various strategies and/or approaches and had a lot of experience working in various states and districts. She was willing to help in whatever way she could. She made it very clear that she didn’t have all the answers and was not in a position to evaluate but rather to be a collaborative teaching partner. She was available to listen and help teachers in whatever way they felt that they needed help such as teacher modeling, observations, etc. In regards to the differences between mentoring and coaching, I feel that a mentor is someone who helps pass on knowledge and guidance to someone who is starting out in teaching or new to a position or even grade level. The mentor would help this person to the point that they would eventually be able to successfully fill that role independently. Whereas, in my opinion, a coach is more of a peer that is working collaboratively with other teachers.
ReplyDeleteFrom my experiences at a school that had an instructional coach, I realized very quickly that some teachers have very negative attitudes about wanting help from coaches. I remember teachers saying that the coach position was a waste of district money and that they would rather the money go towards their salaries. They weren’t willing to collaborate and work with this individual and pretty much shut her out even though working collaboratively with her was never mandatory. What are some ways that coaches can share their knowledge but also create a positive collaborative learning environment among staff members especially those who are reluctant to want help?
From my experiences working with a literacy coach, I feel like their role within a school is to introduce a new program or strategy that the district has decided to implement. They are not a teacher or specialist from within the school, but rather an outside source who visits schools and leads professional development workshops throughout the district. In my experience, they visit the school quarterly and act as an overseer of the new program implementation in the classrooms alongside the site reading specialist. They observe and make suggestions based on their evaluation. It is also my experience that coaches are not very popular among teachers.
ReplyDeleteI understand mentors to act as more of a support for teachers rather than an overseer. This might include answering questions teachers may have, suggestions on strategies that they might try in their classroom, and guidance on resources that might be beneficial.
I think my biggest question is, who is a coach hired by? Where do they come from? And where all do they go? Is it just schools in one district or are they contracted by districts throughout the state? I know my last literacy coach use to be a kindergarten teacher, but now I wonder if teaching is a requirement? And also, how was she trained and by whom?
After reading the expectations for our coaching assignment, I understand coaching as a strategy to advise, guide, and assist other teachers while focusing on specific goals to improve teaching instruction. Coaching is different from mentoring as it focuses on a few goals for the teacher to focus and improve on. Mentoring, from my experience, is not as goal oriented and is just there are a resource to ask questions or seek advice. Coaching also includes evaluations of the teacher's performance and a discussion of strengths and needs to improve on. Coaches also work with teachers at multiple schools and travel to provide their services. Mentors are within the building and are a fellow staff member.
ReplyDeleteWhat I would like to find about coaching are other expectations for the role, the differences between coaches in elementary and secondary settings, and strategies coaches use to provide quality and effective support to teachers. I would also like to know if coaches only work with adults or do they interact with students as well. Last, I would like to know if there are different types of literacy coaches and if they have different objectives for their position.
I feel that coaching is supporting a teacher who would like to improve or needs help with improving in one or several areas of teaching such as:
ReplyDeleteA. Lessons
1. Creating lessons
2. Modeling a lesson
3. Managing time wisely
B. Classroom management
1. Creating workstations
2. Grouping students in workstations
3. Seating in the classroom
4. Positive discipline techniques (class meetings, call backs, celebrations, redirecting students)
5. Lining up strategies
6. Managing time wisely
C. Resources
1. Research-based book or article to read or a conference / workshop to attend
2. Techniques to use whole group in the classroom or with a specific student
3. Research-based instructional strategies
4. Personal experience - willing to share what they have learned from their experiences in teaching over the years.
A coach can be another teacher who has been teaching at least three or more years at the same building. A coach could also be an instructional coach whose job is to only support teachers in the classroom. These are the two categories that I have had experience with being coached.
It can occur by meeting with teachers who express a desire to improve or needs help with improving in one or several areas of teaching. It could also occur by principal recommendation. Coaching is one-on-one. At the initial meeting, a coach asks questions to determine the teacher’s goals – what do they want to improve – and determine where to begin. The coach sets up a plan to help the teacher in reaching their goal(s).
A mentor I feel is one who is more of a support system to a teacher. A mentor listens, offers suggestions and encouragement. I feel like coaching is more hands-on than a mentor.
I would like to know how close my perceptions of what coaching and mentoring are. I want to learn about the differences, similarities, and responsibilities of being a mentor and a coach.
I really don't know much at all about coaching. For the "what" in your question, just thinking about the word "coach" and how it might apply to literacy- it seems to me like it might be more individualized and tailored for teachers very specific needs. Some of the areas that Michelle mentioned in her blog above are what I tend to think of when I think about coaching (i.e. time management, classroom management, whole group instruction, etc). I would think the "who" in this question would be a mentor teacher and/or veteran teacher- basically someone who is a teacher leader in a school. As for the "how", I would guess that this would happen by the teacher first observing the coach and then the coach observing the teacher (and continuing this until whatever goal was set has been reached). I would think someone who is strictly a "mentor" teacher might be there more for moral support and just support in general, not specific goals? Since I know very little, my goal would be to learn as much about coaching as possible, as well as discover whether or not I was on the right track with my current thinking.
ReplyDeleteFrom my experiences, coaching happens with a designated leader in the building. This person may hold the title of "instructional coach" or it may be another teacher who holds leadership responsibilities. Coaching is something that is structured and tailored to the needs of a teacher. It involves goal setting, providing/receiving supports to reach those goals, monitoring, and feedback. Receiving coaching may be a personal decision or principal/leadership led but is not evaluative and is done with the goal in mind to help the teacher improve instructional practices.
ReplyDeleteWhile mentoring can be very helpful, I believe that mentoring is more like having a sounding board, cheering squad, and go to person for when there are questions. While mentoring can be used as a way to provide feedback when reflecting, I think a big difference is that it is not always goal oriented or structured.
When thinking about coaching, I am very interested in techniques coaches use to help build relationships among staff members so that they are motivated to rely on the instructional coach. What are some ways an instructional coach can motivate staff? Can goals be completely based off of the teacher's interests or are they geared toward topics the district has identified?
In my school, we currently do not have any type of literacy or instructional coach, so I am not very knowledgeable on them. From what I do know, coaching is showing the teachers a new strategy and being around to provide support and help throughout the implementation process. In terms of who does the coaching, I feel as though it needs to be someone that could be considered an “expert” in that area. They need to be knowledgeable enough to show you and help another person through the process of a new strategy or technique or curriculum. I believe coaches meet with teachers to develop a plan before the implementation occurs, then they observe and provide feedback during the implementation process and follow up from time to time to ensure that everything is working and that the teacher feels comfortable. Coaches and mentors are similar, but I view a mentor as more of a support system you may find in a colleague or a member of your own team. Mentors are meant to help you process ideas and help you come up with strategies when you may not know how to handle a situation. Coaches are meant to teach you something completely new, or further your knowledge on something you already know.
ReplyDeleteI think because I know very little about coaching I would most like to see if my assumptions were correct. I also would like to know if coaches are hired by the district and if the district places they in a school, or do schools ask for a coach and get to choose? Are coaches there for the entire school year or just on a case by case basis? Do they work with all teachers or just the ones who seek help?
Coaching is done by a reading specialist, instructional coach, or title 1 person. It is where one of those people I mentioned help coach or guide a teacher or staff member to reach a literacy goal. They could also help them with a problem. For example a instructional coach could coach someone on how to integrate guided reading groups into their classroom practice. They could also coach someone on how to raise a students DRA score. They are there to help the teachers and support staff! Mentoring is different because a mentor is someone who is there to cheer someone on and more of a support system!
ReplyDeleteDo coaches have their own reflection time where they reflect on who they helped, how they helped, how could they have done it better, etc? How is the coach chosen? If the school cannot afford to have a reading specialist, who is it then?