Teacher Coaching
Why Bother With Teacher Coaching?
Research tells us that traditional Professional Development is not enough as it does not provide teachers with the sufficient time, collaboration, feedback and reflection needed to change their classroom practice for improvement . Research tells us that....
“Effective staff development must be ongoing, deeply embedded in teachers’ classroom work with children, specific to grade levels or academic content and focused on research-based approaches. It also must help to open classroom doors and create more collaboration and sense of community among teachers in a school” *
SOURCE: Peer Coaching: Changing Classroom Practice and Enhancing Student Achievement. Les Foltos
KEY POINTS ABOUT TEACHER COACHING
Research tells us that traditional Professional Development is not enough as it does not provide teachers with the sufficient time, collaboration, feedback and reflection needed to change their classroom practice for improvement . Research tells us that....
“Effective staff development must be ongoing, deeply embedded in teachers’ classroom work with children, specific to grade levels or academic content and focused on research-based approaches. It also must help to open classroom doors and create more collaboration and sense of community among teachers in a school” *
SOURCE: Peer Coaching: Changing Classroom Practice and Enhancing Student Achievement. Les Foltos
KEY POINTS ABOUT TEACHER COACHING
- Effective communication can only take place in a non-threatening environment, therefore, it is encouraged that colleagues of equal standing partner together for Teacher Coaching. The procedure, outcomes and findings of the Teacher Coaching experience should always be fed back to Educational Leaders and Managers, however, the act of coaching should be with a colleague of equal standing whom the teacher trusts
- The success of Teacher Coaching depends on the Coachee, not the coach! The teacher must be willing to participate in the process of teacher coaching and see value in it. The emphasis is on learning and growth. The coach should trust the professionalism of the coachee to choose the knowledge and skills they would like to improve on. Teachers should be the final decision makers in this process, as this also works to build trust in the coach/coachee relationship.
- Feedback by coaches is one of the most important elements of Teacher coaching. Feedback should be honest, specific and inquiry based. It should also be delivered in a timely, accurate and constructive way with an emphasis on the progress that is being made. Feedback should be delivered privately, however, if outside personnel are to have access to this information (e.g. Principals), then it should be made clear to both parties who will and will not, have access to this information.
- Teacher coaching should not be used to address employment or performance concerns - these should be left to employee appraisals.
Teacher Coaching PD & CONSULTANCY
Cambridge Education provides various Professional Development course centred around coaching and classroom observations. As stated on their website: "Using innovative technologies we are also able to draw on our international network, sharing knowledge and resources. This brings a greatly expanded collective wisdom, depth of experience and world view in tackling challenging and intractable issues. Through established networks in the UK, US and other countries, we are able to open up unique opportunities for professional exchange and shared learning." Contact via Cambridge Education - click here. Courses are listed to the right of the screen.
Dr. Rashmi Watson has been working with various schools around the Perth W.A. region to build teacher capability. To read more about her work please click here. Twitter: @RashmiEDU2013 Website: http://rashmiwatson.vpweb.com.au/default.html
Dr. Rashmi Watson has been working with various schools around the Perth W.A. region to build teacher capability. To read more about her work please click here. Twitter: @RashmiEDU2013 Website: http://rashmiwatson.vpweb.com.au/default.html
"Do not confuse coaching with mentoring as there is a major difference between the two."
This is an interesting article on the lasting impact of instructional coaching. Harry & Rosemary Wong Article
ipad apps for instructional coaches
This blog has a list of handy apps to use with in coaching sessions. iPad Apps for Instructional Coaches
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Instructional Coaching Tools This page has some great examples of templates and planning documents to make your coaching sessions thorough & successful
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COACHING RESOURCES
The Victorian Education Department has several Teacher Coaching initiatives. A page of information can be viewed here:
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The Victorian Education Dept. has also released a document titled "Coaching Teachers in Effective Instruction" which can be downloaded by clicking the button below.
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Coaching in the workplace (video)
SETTING S.M.A.R.T. Goals
How you can you measure teacher improvement? It's best to set S.M.A.R.T. goals. This page contains information about setting S.M.A.R.T. goals. Clicking on the picture below will take you to another (a different) website on S.M.A.R.T. goals.
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