What Teachers Want

I’ve spent this week working with a wise and wonderful group of teachers in a Writing Project Summer Institute.  This morning we paused to ponder what makes professional learning experiences effective.  After reflecting on their best and worst memories of PD and reading a couple of articles, we generated a list that included the following:

·         Teach as you are telling teachers to teach (interactive, not passive learning)

·         Take an inquiry stance

·         Ask effective questions to engage participants

·         Model new practices

·         Allow time for teachers to safely practice new skills

·         Put teachers in the learners’ shoes

·         Listen to teachers; value participants’ expertise and experience

·         Encourage flexible adaptation that considers context

·         Allow time for discussion and collaboration

·         Include choice (reading, groupings, etc.)

·         Ensure that learning is transferrable, applicable, relevant

·         Have a broad knowledge of the topic (in theory and practice)

·         Provide opportunities for reflection and feedback

The list generated this morning by teachers aligns astoundingly with the research.  A growing body of research suggests that professional development that increases student achievement includes active, intentional learning for teachers that allows them to collaboratively redesign their own practice.*  Professional learning experiences that meet the above criteria do just that.

With beginning-of-the-year PD experiences around the corner, the criteria these teachers created are useful for coaches as a self-assessment for upcoming activities.  I’m glad I asked for insider opinion this morning, half-way through our PD time together.  Knowing what’s working (and what’s not) helps me align my thinking with the needs of the group.

As the school year gets underway, our opening week kick-off activities set the tone for the year.  How we honor the suggestions above could determine whether the professional learning experiences we plan end up on the list of  “worst PD memories” or BEST!

*See, for example:

Gersten, R., Dimino, J., Jayanthi, M., Kim, J. S., & Santoro, L. E. (2010). Teacher study group: Impact of the professional development model on reading instruction and student outcomes in first grade classrooms. American Educational Research Journal, 47, 694–739.

Goddard, Y. Goddard, R. & Tschannen-Moran, M. (2007). A theoretical and empirical investigation of teacher collaboration for school improvement. Teachers College Record, 109(4), 877-896.

Levine, T.H., & Marcus, A.S. (2010). How the structure and focus of teachers’ collaborative

activities facilitate and constrain teacher learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26,

389-398.

This week, you might want to take a look at:

Planning for fun all year:

https://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=2036

Foundational literacy skills for high school newcomers:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/building-foundational-literacy-sfusd

Ideas for encouraging teachers to step outside of the comfort zone: 

https://leadliteracy.com/articles/618

A Calendar of “National Days” (both serious and goofy) to celebrate throughout the year:

https://nationaldaycalendar.com/calendar-at-a-glance/

Ideas for easing back into the school-year routines:

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/cheat-sheet-first-days-school-jose-vilson

That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

Like on Facebook at: facebook.com/mycoachescouch for more coaching and teaching tips!

"Teacher" Not “Teller"

In No More Phonics and Spelling Worksheets, Marcia Invernizzi describes how important it is for learners to have the opportunity to examine and analyze words, to reflect on their observations, to orally discuss, and to test their hypotheses.  These processes, Invernizzi claims, support learning about phonics and spelling and transfer of knowledge to new contexts.  Inverness describes the teacher’s role in providing these opportunities as centered on a knowledge of each students’ stage of development.  Teachers focus students’ attention on critical contrasts and fundamental principles that they are ready to learn.  What’s critical, Invernizzi points out, is the active role of the learner.  The teacher facilitates the learning by analyzing students’ readiness, by providing appropriate learning opportunities, and by probing and questioning.  Rather than “telling” students what they need to know (by giving students spelling rules to memorize, for example), the teacher structures meaningful learning experiences for her students.  She is a teacher, not a teller.  

These principles apply not just to spelling and phonics instruction, but to learning in general.  “Rules are useful mnemonics if you already understand the underlying concepts at work,” Invernezzi says, “but they are not useful teaching tools” (p. 45).  Memorizing the Pythagorean theorem or the equation for Einstein’s theory of relativity is not very helpful if you don’t understand the underlying concepts.

Let’s apply this to coaching.  If a teacher’s goal is to improve classroom discussions, we can apply Invernezzi’s logic to help her do so.  We can record a lesson, for example, or take detailed notes and give the teacher the opportunity to examine and analyze discussion in her own class.  Or we can provide the opportunity for the teacher to visit another classroom and then discuss what occurred, using reflective questions to focus the teacher’s attention on fundamental principles that support effective discussion.  We can encourage the teacher to develop hypotheses and then meet again after the teacher has tested these hypotheses.  The coach is supportive of the teacher’s readiness to implement new strategies through the experiences she provides and the critical features she draws attention to during the coaching conversation.  By making space for dialogue, coaches create an exchange of information rather than being imparters of it.

Just as with young students learning rules of phonics and spelling, teachers who are honing their craft benefit from active learning experiences that encourage comparison and analysis.  By facilitating such experiences, a coach takes the role of teacher, not teller.

This week, you might want to take a look at:

How mentors help first-year teachers:

http://neatoday.org/2017/06/19/lean-on-me-how-mentors-help-first-year-teachers/

This video demonstrates a True or False Equation Routine, adaptable for any skill or grade-level:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/4th-grade-lesson-true-false?utm_campaign=digest&utm_medium=email&utm_source=digest

Ideas for #articleaday to hook reluctant readers:

https://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=2410

Podcasts on emotional intelligence – with lots of applications for coaching:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-emotional-intelligence-channel/id642338902?mt=2

A Pinterest board helpful links for instructional coaches:

https://www.pinterest.com/alysoncarpenter/instructional-coaching-partnerships/?lp=true

That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

Like on Facebook at: facebook.com/mycoachescouch for more coaching and teaching tips!

Go, Team, Go!

Many coaches find that working with grade-level or content-area teams boosts their impact.  The structure provided by Lesson Study can be an effective support for team work. 

Lesson Study is practice-based professional learning that works directly on developing home-grown, contextualized knowledge and improving instruction. In the Lesson Study model, teachers, usually of the same grade level or course, meet regularly to collaborate and plan lessons that become the focus of inquiry for effective teaching practices.

As part of the Lesson Study process, a lesson is crafted and then one teacher teaches the lesson while other members of the group observe. The lesson is then collaboratively revised and taught by other members of the group.  During Lesson Study, teachers have the opportunity to try out new instructional routines and refine and recalibrate their teaching as effective practices are identified within specific lessons and become generalized.  By starting with their own ideas, Lesson Study opens teachers to critique, learning, and an expansion of their instructional repertoire. By making teaching public and collaborative, teachers learn from their own practice, from others, and from research—both their own and studies in the field. This method of “growing your own” professional development impacts teachers’ pedagogical and content knowledge and empowers them as instructional decision makers.

I’ve used this approach fluidly, following loosely the guidelines provided by Hurd and Lewis in Lesson Study Step by Step.  The approach encourages reflection, collaboration and re-visioning of practice.  When I worked with a fifth-grade team (Allie, Kim, Linda, and Alice) to boost students’ writing skills, Lesson Study opened their eyes to new possibilities. After observing a lesson on organization, Allie said, “I seriously couldn’t believe that (students) could group those ideas!” They explored, rather than being told, what worked. Linda said, “(Lesson Study) honestly has changed the whole direction of where we were going to go.” Kim verified, “I think it has made a million times difference.” Allie saw Lesson Study as a process of improvement. She said, “Now that we’ve done this cycle, I mean it’s just like anything, once you’ve done it and tried it, it’s going to go better the next time.”  These teachers’ writing instruction was transformed because of their shared experiences.

When coaches facilitate collaboration using structures such as Lesson Study, their impact is accelerated as they help the whole team go!

This week, you might want to take a look at:

A video about Lesson Study as a collaborative model for professional development:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr15SLGaSZI

Vocabulary strategies for English Language Learners:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2017/05/18/top-5-vocab-strategies-ells/?utm_source=newsletter20170520/

Fun food poems for young poets:

http://www.gigglepoetry.com/poemcategory.aspx?CategoryID=30

or for older students:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/search?q=food

DIY sentence rearranging manipulative (a great PD make-and-take):

https://www.weareteachers.com/stacked-learning-with-styrofoam-cups/

The power of practice in achieving goals:

http://www.businessinsider.com/my-11-year-old-son-auditioned-at-juilliard-2017-5

Like on Facebook at: facebook.com/mycoachescouch for more coaching and teaching tips!

Wish I Could Be There

If I rubbed a lamp and was granted one work-related wish from a genie, I’d wish for the chance to spend more time in classes.  Not only is it energizing and a learning experience for me, my most productive coaching comes after observing a lesson.

I don’t have a magic lamp to rub, however, so I’ve settled for the next-best thing: video reflection.  If you, too, are wishing for a way to observe more lessons next year, you might consider the power of video for those times when you wish you could be there but can’t. 

Video is a pretty good stand in for an observation. And I’ve found it offers effective opportunities for self-reflection. I ask teachers to record a lesson and then reflect by selecting excerpts to share with me.  Here are the things I ask teachers to consider and be ready to share before we meet to debrief:

*What was the main objective of the lesson?

*How did you measure the lesson’s objective? What were the results?

*What was an effective aspect of this lesson?  Why do you feel this aspect was effective. (I ask teachers to note the time stamp in the video recording when this occurred so that we can look at this 3-5 minute excerpt together.)

*What was a less effective aspect of this lesson? Explain why you feel this aspect was less effective. (I ask teachers to note the time stamp in the video recording when this occurred so that we can review this 3-5 minute excerpt together, too.)

One of the great things about asking teachers to select an effective segment is that it gives us opportunities for sharing and celebration.  Often we’ll share this excerpt with the team or at a faculty meeting.  Everyone benefits from seeing and hearing about a positive aspect of a lesson.

The excerpt that a teacher has selected as less effective, along with her explanation of why she feels it was less effective, provides opportunities for collaboration and coaching.  If the “why” has to do with things outside of the teacher’s control, I help her refocus on something that she can change.  Blame-shifting doesn’t improve instruction, but problem-solving does.

When we get together to debrief, I often also ask about any modifications the teacher made during instruction.  What decisions did she make on the fly, why did she make them, and what was the effect?

I might also ask what potential modifications could have been made to increase the lesson’s effectiveness.  We talk about why she feels these modifications might have been beneficial.

I usually end by asking how the teacher felt about recording and analyzing the lesson.  Teachers have said, “Seeing myself on video made me aware of student engagement and the kinds of questions I use during a lesson” and “It’s easy to analyze how things could have been done differently to have a better outcome.” Comments like these encourage me to continue using the video reflection protocol.

Video coaching can be a comfortable approach for teachers, since they are completely in control of what they want to share.  If they don’t like the way a lesson went, they can choose to record another.  So even just the process of recording can improve instruction.  And choice and control foster motivation, so the desire for participation in coaching might be enhanced.

Because coaches are usually serving many teachers, we can’t be in every classroom.  But video recordings can be a wish come true, giving us a glimpse into many lessons and opportunities for increased buy-in and effective coaching.

This week, you might want to take a look at:

The importance of teacher reflection:

https://www.thoughtco.com/importance-of-teacher-reflection-8322

Interesting video with Richard Blanco about teaching his poem about memory and longing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=od3STsfZDYs

A principal’s choices for read alouds that the whole school benefits from:

https://leadliteracy.com/articles/97

A short TED Talk on everyday leadership and lollipop moments (a great ice-breaker for back-to-school meetings):

http://www.ted.com/talks/drew_dudley_everyday_leadership

Thinking about a meaningful assessment approach for next year? This video describes the senior portfolio defense:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/success-portfolio-defense-eed/?utm_source=newsletter20170520/

That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

Like on Facebook at: facebook.com/mycoachescouch for more coaching and teaching tips!