Welcome!

Welcome to the Coaches’ Couch!  This blog is a space to share information that might be of interest to instructional coaches who are working with teachers during these changing times in education.  I’ll share some of my own ideas about coaching and link you to others’ ideas that you might find useful or thought-provoking. 

            First, an introduction to my coaching model.  This model, the Gradual Increase of Responsibility (GIR) Coaching Model, is an adaptation of Pearson and Gallagher’s Gradual Release of Responsibility model, which you’ve probably read about and used.  Like the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model, the GIR model for coaching shows how support changes over time.  Just like in teaching, one size does not fit all when it comes to instructional coaching.  And coaching should change as teachers increase in confidence and competence.  These changes are reflected in the GIR model:

 

 

In GIR, coaches model, make recommendations, ask probing questions, affirm teachers’ appropriate decisions, and praise in order to provide decreasing scaffolding which moves teachers toward independent use of effective instructional practices.  I’ll share more about each of these coaching moves in the weeks to come.

 

Some resources to explore:

Listening is the heart of coaching.  Here’s a tip about what to set aside so that you can listen more fully:

http://www.cognitivecoaching.com/journey.htm

Here’s food for thought about conditions in your school that make coaching more successful:

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/four-conditions-instructional-coaching-elena-aguilar

You can add to this Wiki for coaches; check out their suggested apps for coaches, and feel free to add your own recommendations:

http://instructionalcoachchat.wikispaces.com/App+Recommendations+for+Coaches

That’s it for this week!

References

Collet, V. (2008).  Coaching today’s teachers: Mentoring using new literacies.  Paper presented at the 2008 National Reading Conference, Dec., 2008.

Collet, V. (2011).  The Gradual Increase of Responsibility: Scaffolds for Change.  Retrieved from ProQuest Digital Dissertations. UMI Number: 3475305.

Collet, V. (2012).  The Gradual Increase of Responsibility Model: Coaching for Teacher Change, Literacy Research and Instruction, 51(1), 27-47.Pearson, P.D., & Gallagher, M.C. (1983). The instruction of reading comprehension.  Contemporary Educational Psychology, 8, 317-344.