Coaching with Team Observations

Coaches are often working with teams of teachers, as PLCs, other grade-level teams, or departments, and team observations can be an efficient and effective way to amp up teachers’ learning. If the coach models a lesson, all the teachers on the team are freed up for a different experience
 
During a modeled lesson, teams of teachers can take multiple perspectives: They can lean in close to look and listen as students learn. They can shift their focus to the coach to think about instruction moves. They can watch one small group of students as they interact without having to manage all  the groups, like they do when teaching. When the coach teaches and the teachers observe, they get to choose their focus, and how and when to shift it.  
 
The modeled lesson can happen in the classroom of one of the teachers on the team, with the others observing. This offers teachers the chance to see the lesson in a context quite similar to their own.
 
An obstacle to overcome is how to free up the other teachers: What will their students be doing while they observe and converse? In addition to finding coverage in the school or through a substitute teacher, there are other creative ways to enable the team’s participation (using buddy reading, peer tutoring, “specials” time, etc. Click here and I’ll send you a whole list of options to consider!).
 
A team observation structure has the benefit of maximizing your coaching time, since you are working with more than one teacher. The collaborative nature of the structure can also be a benefit, with teachers sharing their learning with one another. Finally, there might be increased accountability, as teachers check in with one another about implementing what they have learned together.
 
Although the pre- and post-modeling conversations may range across a wider variety of topics of interest to the group, each individual can still select their own learning target, with others on the team supporting their inquiry. With the only drawbacks being the timing, a less-individualized approach, and some potential mismatch across classroom contexts, team observations are a variation worth considering.
 
(For those of you wondering how my lesson in a 7^th grade classroom went, it had to be postponed. I’ll update you later!)
 
This week, you might want to take a look at:

Teaching when a student’s learning gets hard:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/when-theyre-hard-to-teach/
 
 
Using digital storytelling to boost literacy engagement:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/video-storytelling-high-school
 
 
Ideas for incorporating literature (fiction and non-fiction) into history class:
 
https://www.middleweb.com/35728/turning-historys-stories-into-classroom-gold/
 
 
Do you ever feel lonely as a coach?  Here are some ideas for combatting that loneliness:
 
https://blog.teachboost.com/the-loneliness-of-coaching
 
 
How to’s for a group work that really works:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/group-work-really-works
 
 
That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!
 
Want more coaching tips? Check out my book, Differentiated Mentoring & Coaching in Education: From Preservice Teacher to Expert Practitioner, available from Teachers College Press!  I’m so excited to share it with you! You can use the code: NOV2024 for 20% off. Click  here  and I’ll email you the free Book Group Study Guide that includes questions, prompts, and activities you can use as you share the book with colleagues.  I hope you’ll love this book as much as I loved making it for you!