unfolding the story of learning coaches in cyber charter schools

Unfolding the story of learning coaches in cyber charter schools

Lisa Hasler WatersUniversity of Hawaii

Table of Contents

The Story LineThe Setting: cyber charter schoolsThe Back Story: parental involvement in children’s educationThe Characters: learning coachesThe Plot: what do they do and how?The Problem: challenges they faceThe Resolution: support, evaluate, maximizeThe Finale: conclusions

The setting: cyber charters

• What• Status• Effectiveness• Operations

The story lineCyber charters are publicly funded schools

that:Blend traditional, virtual and home schooling; Abide by state and federal school regulations, standards & testing;Partner (often) with for-profit EMOs;Assign teachers to students;

and, Engage parents to serve as educational facilitators,

Yet: Little is know about these learning coaches

The back story: parental involvement in

children’s educationStudies have shown links between parental involvement and student

achievement in traditional and virtual schools

Might be due to school-home partnerships, socio-economic statutes, parenting styles, expectations

HDS Model or Parental Involvement has 4 mechanisms of behavior: encourage, reinforce, model, instruct

The characters: learning coaches

Who are they?Why do they enroll

their children in these schools?

The plot: why, what and how

Why the concern?What exactly do they do?How do they support their

students?

Behaviors: Beyond the Model

They created a learner centric environment, that was:

Fueled by their awareness of the child and his needs, plus their own beliefs and the challenges they faced;

Enabled by the 4 behaviors included HDS Model: encouraging, motivating, reinforcing and instructing; plus,

Adapting and leveraging

Dimensionalized ExamplesBehavior Continuum of Examples

Encouraging Give high-fives Use of Kindle as reward

Reinforcing Use of online media Real life experiences

Modeling Show how to research and validate online

Practice work ethos

Instructing Guide on the side Help student connect lesson to his own life

Adapting Enable student to move during lesson

Alter daily schedule to focus on one lesson/day

Leveraging Engage family math expert

Rely on teacher as “go-to” person

Beliefs

• Ultimately responsible• Set expectations• Confident• Isolated

The problem: challenges they face

Shortage of timeDifficulty juggling multiple learnersLack of immediate access to teachersChallenges with discipline

The resolution

• Support• Evaluate • Maximize

The finale: conclusions

Harness

Learn

Evaluate

Thank You!

For more information contact:Lisa Hasler WatersHasler@hawaii.edu