Goal Setting:
This chapter helped ease some of my concerns when beginning a coaching cycle. I liked how it gave an approximate time schedule (20minutes). I feel like that is doable. Actually I could see a lot of conversations going longer than that. I also liked the SMART format. That will be helpful.
Questions:
Are you going to have your teacher pick a standard (PASS) this semester for their goal? Would that be something we need to usually focus on when goal setting? or can it be anything they are wanting to work on for example implementing an iPad?
Modeling:
I like this idea of modeling instructional strategies. There were a few times when I was teaching, I would have liked someone to just have showed me what it looked like to use the ideas I'd learned. Then having a brief post conference to review the purpose of the modeling and share notes.
Co-Planning:
I use to co-plan weekly with my grade level colleague. I loved this time. We used it to fire off ideas and help each other. I think if you built a good relationship with others, as a literacy coach, it'd be helpful to co-plan with grade levels. This would be helpful to do once a month with each grade level during their plan. I think this would be a good start when trying to implement a school wide cohesiveness.
Co-Teaching:
I honestly had never heard of doing this with a literacy coach. This was a new concept for me. I've never had a coach that did this. I think this would be effective if you established a good relationship that allowed for open communication. I could imagine this going south, if the coach just came in the classroom and told the teacher what they were doing wrong.
Observing:
It is important when observing to let your teacher know you are coming to give support, not evaluate. This would ease a lot of tension. It would be beneficial to a school if there was a sense of help coming from the coach, not judgement. If teachers were able to be honest, to the coach, about their weakness and ask for help.
Repsonse
**This whole process is beginning to make sense. I am eager to begin my coaching cycle. Just waiting to hear back from my teacher when she is able to meet. I really like how the book has the template pages and next to the template is an example. This has been the most helpful when learning this cycle. One question I did have is, are we suppose to video all the meetings with our teacher :goal setting and debriefing? For some reason I only thought were were recording the debriefing session. Also is the debriefing session the same as the post observation conference?
Kaitlin-I also thought that the book provided some great templates as well as awesome examples. I think seeing how the example was used in a real life situation made more sense to me.
ReplyDeleteFor my teacher's goal setting, I am going to allow her to pick any goal. I really want this this be applicable to her and what she wants to work on. So if her goal is to use more technology, then I definitely want that to be an option for her. I think the goal setting should be what is important to the individual because then it seems more attainable for that person. But that is just my opinion.
I like that... what's important to the teacher. I'd love to her every teachers goal at some point! Just to get an idea what I might come against in the future!
DeleteYes, Jacqueline is on target. The goal should be something the teacher wants to work on. Do try to relate it to literacy learning....The debriefing and post-observation conference are the same thing, Kaitlin. That is the only meeting that you have to video and annotate.
ReplyDeleteThank you! That helps clarify!
DeleteIt was nice to know that the meetings were only suppose to be short, like 20 mins. I agree with you about not considering co-teaching an option as a literacy coach. I think that, like you, that you have to establish a trusting relationship for this strategy to be effective.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jacqueline about making the goal relevant for the teacher. I planned on letting my teacher pick the area that she wanted more input and help with. From the readings I gather that is how the whole coaching process works.
The trusting relationship is so important. I'd love to do a ton of team building activities through out the year when I'm a reading specialist. Also get different grades talking to each other and visiting rooms just for fun to see what everyone is up too. It'd also be awesome to showcase a classroom each faculty meeting... The goal would be to showcase everyone's strength!
DeleteI met with my teacher Monday and asked her to think about a literacy area she would like more information about. I want to focus on what she needs and not what I think she needs.
ReplyDeleteYou're so right about letting teachers know you're there to offer support during observations and not to evaluate. I agree with Erin...if we've built a strong, trusting relationship with our teacher the strategy should be highly effective.
I'd love to know what she wanted to know more about! Love how you've already begun the cycle! You can help "coach" all of us now!! haha
ReplyDelete