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Professional Development Log for

Reading Coaches

The Florida Center for Reading Researchhttp://www.fcrr.org

850.644.9352

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Reading Coaches

Congratulations!K-3 Reading First Coaches Coaches Grant Elementary CoachesCoaches Grant Middle School CoachesCoaches Grant High School CoachesDistrict sponsored coaches VIPVIP

You are truly the VIPs of the Conference and of the Just, Read, Florida initiative!

You are valued and appreciated and I have data to back that up…during Reading First site visits conducted in 2004, 100% of the principals noted that having a reading coach was a benefit of the reading initiative and 94% of the teachers indicated the same.

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Presentation Topics

• Purpose of Coach’s Log• Profile Information• Instructions• Reporting• Tasks• Successes and Concerns

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Purpose of Log

• The Log is a vehicle for information exchange.

• The Log will enable formative feedback important for reading success.

• The Log will enable appropriate follow-up support for schools and coaches.

•The log is a vehicle for information exchange. As an extensive project being implemented in every region of this state, Florida’s reading initiative must have a mechanism for keeping up with school level activities. •The Log will enable formative feedback important for reading success. It is important to have a way of gathering information on school level professional development as well as concerns and successes. •The Log will enable appropriate follow-up support for schools and coaches. Florida’s funding for reading technical assistance can be effectively used by directing it to identified school needs based on the data collected by the Coach’s Log.

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As you can see on this screen – the Homepage for the School Level 2 user who is the Reading Coach - the Coach’s Log has its own tab making it easily accessible to Reading First Coaches. If you are a Reading Coach at a non Reading First School, you will not be able to access this Log on the PMRN but you may use the hard copy in your handout to guide yourcoaching activities. Some districts may even require the submission of a paper log. Check with your supervisor if you are not sure about log requirements for your school or district.

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Upon log-in, the first 3 fields of information will be completed for you;however, you will need to complete the other fields. Once the profile information is completed and save is clicked, the profile screen will not appear again.

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The Update button allows you to make changes to the profile data.

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After submitting your profile information, you will then be able to access the Log. Note the instructions at the top of the form. You also see several buttons: Save which allows you to complete part of the Log, leave the Log, and return later to complete the Log. Help which will allow you to get assistance and Print. You may print the Log at any point. That is, you may print a blank Log, a partially completed Log or a completed Log. Click Submit when you have completed the Log in its entirety and are sure that you don’t need to make any changes.

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Instructions• Indicate how you spent your time as a Reading

Coach during the current reporting period.

• The Log allows for, but does not require, reporting of daily hours.

• If you wish to enter daily task hours electronically, the system will total the hours automatically.

Let’s review the Instructions that are at the top of the Log.

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•Or you may manually add and transfer your weekly hours to the “Task Total”space for each task.

So you have two options for entering your hours on the Log:1. Enter daily total hours in each task on the electronic log– that means you will have 10 entries to make per task. BUT the system does the math for you by adding the hours for the Task Total.

2. Or if you prefer, you can keep track of your hours on paper, doing the Math your self and making only one entry per task – the Task Total.

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•After all task totals are entered, the system will automatically figure the appropriate percentages per task and the total number of hours for the reporting period.

100%100%

Regardless of which option you choose, the system will tally the total number of hours for the Reporting period as well as the percentages per task.

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Instructions

• Time spent on coaching tasks after the regular workday or on weekends may be entered.

• These extra hours may be added to any day’s hours.

•Time spent on coaching tasks after the regular workday or on weekends may be entered.For example, if you spent 2 hours Tuesday evening analyzing student data, you can count these 2 hours in the total under Task #8. The system does not “care” if you count them as part of Tuesday’s tasks or Wednesday’s tasks.

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Instructions• Remember, the only required electronic entry is the

Task Total for each of the 11 tasks.• You must enter 0 instead of leaving a Task Total

blank.

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Instructions

• You will probably want to keep a detailed account of your hourly activities.

• The blank hourly Log in this handout can be duplicated or you may create your own to facilitate tracking of coaching activities.

• You may enter portions of hours in the system by using these decimals. 15 minutes = .25; 30 minutes = .50; 45 minutes = .75.

Now let’s go over some options that may help you in tracking your hours….I repeat -- these are options.

•You will probably want to keep an account of your hourly activities such as the example provided.In your handouts, you will find two Daily Log forms. One is an example of a completed daily log that a coach might keep on hourly activities during the day – a coach would typically keep something like this for each day of the week.

•The blank Daily Log form can be duplicated or you may create your own to facilitate tracking of coaching activities.You may already have a way of keeping up with hourly tasks that works for you. The main thing is to keep up with what you are doing as you do it….this will enable you to enter data easily on the web-based Log by merely transferring the totals.

•You may (not required) enter portions of hours in the system by using these decimals. 15 minutes = .25; 30 minutes = .50; 45 minutes = .75.

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Reporting • Each Log tracks a two week reporting period.

• The reporting period begins on Wednesday of the first week.

• The reporting period ends at midnight on Tuesday of the second week.

• The last reporting period will be the last full reporting period prior to the school’s 185th

instructional day.

Now that we’ve gone over the “Instructions”, Let’s go over the details of “reporting” on the Log.

(Read slide.)

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Wednesday ????

• The Wednesday – Tuesday reporting period allows for a 2 day grace period ending on Thursday.

• Eliminates the “Freaky Friday” syndrome.

• Keeps all reporting within the workweek eliminating a possible memory gap over the weekend.

I know many of you are wondering, why does the reporting period begin on Wednesday instead of Monday. After discussing this with many “seasoned”practitioners, it was determined that we would use the Wed- Tuesday schedule for the reasons noted here.

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Reporting Period (RP)September/October 2004

1514Grace

13Grace

12RP ends

11email

876Wk 2

54

Oct.13029Wk 1

2827

2423222120FriThuWedTueMon

Let’s look at the reporting period on a calendar. This calendar begins with 9/20 and does not show weekends. The first reporting period begins on Wednesday, September 29 and ends on October 12. Since the end of the RP is October 12, you will submit your Log by midnight of that day unless you have an unusual circumstance that would prevent you from doing so; in that case you have until midnight October 14 to submit the Log. After October 14, you do not have the opportunity to electronically submit your hours for the prior two weeks; the new log is the only log that is available.

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Reporting• On Monday of second week, users will receive a

reminder email to complete the Log.

• If the Log report is not received by Tuesday midnight, a second reminder email will be sent on Wednesday.

• Absolute deadline for submitting Logs is midnight Thursday following Week 2. After this time, opportunity for submitting the Log for the prior two week period is lost. Only the new log is available for submission.

Several reminders will “nudge” you to submit your Log.•On Monday of the second week , users will receive a reminder email to complete the Log.•If the report is not received by Tuesday midnight, a second reminder email will be sent on Wednesday. •Absolute deadline is Thursday midnight following week two of each reporting period.•A new Log becomes available when Log reporting deadline occurs. If you do not complete your log by the deadline, your opportunity to submit your hours electronically is lost.

In other words, please submit the Log report regularly.

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20042004--05 Reporting Periods05 Reporting Periods…………

7/21-8/3/2004 18/4-8/17/2004 28/18-8/31/2004 39/1-9/14/2004 49/15-9/28/2004 59/29-10/12/2004 610/13-10/26/2004 710/27-11/9/2004 811/10-11/23/2004 911/24-12/7/2004 1012/8-12/21/2004 1112/22/-1/4/2005 12

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20042004--05 Reporting Periods05 Reporting Periods…………

1/5-1/18/2005 131/19-2/1/2005 142/2-2/15/2005 152/16-3/1/2005 163/2-3/15/2005 173/16-3/29/2005 183/30-4/12/2005 194/13-4/26/2005 204/27-5/10/2005 215/11-5/24/2005 225/25-6/7/2005 236/8-6/21/2005 246/22-7/5/2005 25

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Log Tasks

The coach’s main tasks revolve around professional development activities to

• support • model and• continuously improve instructional

programs in reading to assure reading improvement for all K-3 students

The tasks listed on the Log represent tasks that are predicted to occupy most of your time. We’ll go through these tasks, defining and discussing each one.

We are not interested in “splitting hairs”….. Do your best to categorize your activities for the two weeks among the listed tasks.

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The first task is one type of Professional Development you will be doing as a Coach. We gave it the broad title of “Professional Development” merely as a descriptor. Actually many of the activities on the Log can be considered professional development. Sometimes, you will be the provider; at other times, you will arrange for another person to provide the expertise. If your task is in either providing or facilitating, please enter hours under this task.Providing information sessions to parents is a type of professional development that may be logged in here.

Note that the reporting period for the report you are viewing is listed at the top of the Log.

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The Planning Task is the key to providing quality assistance to your teachers. How well you prepare to lead a seminar, or an action research group will directly influence its impact on participants. Planning is also critical in preparing a model lesson or a coaching cycle.

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Research tells us that successfully learning a new skill usually requires observing the new skill in action. You as coach will be able to provide this observation experience for teachers. Seeing a new strategy demonstrated with students makes the “light bulb” come on for many teachers. Joyce and Showers most recent work in school reform efforts emphasized theimportance of observing model lessons in the effort to change teacher practices.

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Being able to try out new behaviors with classroom support is also a very important feature of successfully implementing new practices. The coaching continuum provides for planning between coach and teacher, classroom observations, and reflections on implementing the new practice.

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Time will also be spent working with individual teachers or grade level teams to implement certain strategies they have learned about in a study group or in a seminar. In this category, the role of the coach is to provide assistance as follow-up on initial professional development. For example, kindergarten teachers might request assistance on selecting appropriate lessons to teach phonemic awareness. They have learned about phonemic awareness and its importance, and now need to apply what they’ve learned. They ask the coach to assist them in “wading” through numerous suggested activities in the core reading program manual to select the “best” activities to plan lessons for their students.

When emailing or telephoning teachers regarding questions and concerns, log your time spent emailing or telephoning under this category.

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We have all learned so much about the PMRN system and DIBELS as well as other assessments. You serve an important role on the schoolassessment team and as the School Level 2 user for the PMRN. For example, before student data can be entered into the PMRN, you as the school level 2 user are responsible for preparing the system for use at your school. Time spent managing class rosters, withdrawing students, coordinating assessments (DIBELS as well as other types), etc. should be entered in this category.

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Data Reporting or entering student assessment data into the PMRN system should not occupy such a substantial amount of the Reading Coach’s time that the coach is not able to provide adequate assistance to teachers in classrooms.

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Data analysis – studying PMRN reports, or other assessment reports, to determine needed instructional changes, to guide professional development offerings, etc. is a task that will be ongoing but particularly during the period of time just after the 90% assessment rule is satisfied and the PMRN reports are available. This task will be very significant. By understanding the PMRN student data reports and other assessment data, assistance to students and teachers will be better aligned and targeted to student learning needs.

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Again, attending meetings should not occupy such a substantial amount of the Reading Coach’s time that the coach is not able to provide adequate assistance to teachers in classrooms.

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Coaches will be able to attend professional development activities to increase their knowledge and expertise. They are also expected to take time for individual study and reflection.

If time is spent over the weekend on any of the coaching tasks, you may report it. It really does not matter which day (if you enter daily hours) or which week you enter weekend hours.

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This category can be used to report significant time spent on activities that do not “fit” into another category. However, as you reflect on your time foreach reporting period, before you enter hours in the “Other” category, carefully review your hours and be sure that you are not counting hours in the “Other” category that could be counted in one of the other 10 categories. This will ensure that you have represented the most “authentic” record of actual coaching activities performed.

However, when a coaching activity does not legitimately “fit” into one of the 10 categories, you may enter your hours in the “Other” category. If you have concerns about the time you spend on activities in the “Other” category, you can write about it in the comments section.

To help you in clarifying how you should use the Other category, you might also talk with your district RF contact. Perhaps your district will set some parameters that will better define this category for the coaches in your district.

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•After all task totals are entered, the system will automatically figure the appropriate percentages per task and the total number of hours for the reporting period.

100%100%

Remember, the system does the math for you!

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Please take time to enter comments here. You will want to submit comments about the excellent reading happenings at your school and indicate concerns before they become huge problems.

•Clicking the Save button will allow you to leave the Log and complete it at a later time within the reporting period.

•Data can be changed at any time during the reporting period prior toclicking the Submit button.

•To submit a completed Log, user must click Submit button.

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Save Often!!

•• When completing the log online, remember When completing the log online, remember to to save oftensave often..

•• See page 14 of the PMRN UserSee page 14 of the PMRN User’’s Manual s Manual for explanation of how to enter data in for explanation of how to enter data in ““computer friendly wayscomputer friendly ways””..

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Web Resources

Downloadable Log:

http://www.fcrr.org/pmrn/user_guides/coachlog.pdf

Log FAQs:

http://www.fcrr.org/pmrn/faqscl.htm

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Summary• Information collected on the Log will strengthen

program implementation.

• The Log will enable a support system for coaches.

• The Log will help to focus the coach’s work on tasks that are linked to improving teaching and learning.

• Using the Log will help keep track of a most valuable resource – time.

In summary, the Log has the potential to do all of these things for you and the Program. Coaching Reports, based on Log data, are available online that show graphic summaries of coaching activities. These summary reports will be valuable to you and your school principal, your district RF contact, and the RF Professional Development Coordinators as valuable tools for supporting the very important reading coach role in Florida’s reading initiative.

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Contact Us

Florida Center for Reading ResearchFlorida Center for Reading Research

227 N. Bronough Street, Suite 7250227 N. Bronough Street, Suite 7250

Tallahassee, FL 32301Tallahassee, FL 32301

866.471.5019 Toll Free866.471.5019 Toll Free

850.644.9085 Fax850.644.9085 Fax

Helpdesk@fcrr.orgHelpdesk@fcrr.org