handouts student-centered coaching (denver, 2016) · handouts – student-centered coaching...

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HANDOUTS – Student-Centered Coaching (Denver, 2016)

Student-Centered, Teacher-Centered, and Relationship-Driven Coaching

More Impact on Students-------------------------------------------------Less Impact on Students

Student-Centered

Coaching

Teacher-Centered

Coaching

Relationship-Driven Coaching

R

ole

The coach partners with

teachers to design learning

that is based on a specific

objective for student

learning.

The coach moves teachers

towards implementing a

program or set of

instructional practices.

The coach provides support and

resources to teachers.

Fo

cu

s

The focus is on using data

and student work to

analyze progress and

collaborate to make

informed decisions about

instruction that is

differentiated and needs-

based.

The focus is on what the

teacher is, or is not, doing

and addressing it through

coaching.

The focus is on providing support

to teachers in a way that doesn’t

challenge or threaten them.

U

se o

f D

ata

Formative assessment data

and student work is used to

determine how to design

the instruction. Summative

assessment data is used to

assess progress towards

standards mastery.

Summative assessment data

is used to hold teachers

accountable, rather than as

a tool for instructional

decision-making.

Data is rarely used in relationship-

driven coaching.

Use

of

Ma

teria

ls

Textbooks, technology,

and curricular programs

are viewed as tools for

moving student learning to

the next level.

The use of textbooks,

technology, and curricular

programs is the primary

objective of the coaching.

Sharing access and information

to textbooks, technology, and

curricular programs is the primary

focus of the coaching.

Pe

rce

ptio

n

Of

the

Co

ac

h

The coach is viewed as a

partner who is there to

support teachers to move

students towards mastery

of the standards.

The coach is viewed as a

person who is there to hold

teachers accountable for a

certain set of instructional

practices.

The coach is viewed as a friendly

source of support who provides

resources when needed.

Ro

le o

f

Re

latio

nsh

ips

Trusting, respectful, and collegial relationships are a necessary component for this type of

coaching.

We will: Read and take notes on the continuum for student-centered, teacher-centered, and relationship-

driven coaching. In small groups, please write down examples of coaching practices that fall into each

category.

http://www.dianesweeney.com/


Student-Centered Coaching Teacher-Centered Coaching Relationship-Driven Coaching

Core Practices for Student-Centered Coaching 1. Set a standards-based goal for coaching cycles

2. Unpack the standard(s) into student-friendly learning targets

3. Use student evidence to co-plan instruction

4. Organize coaching through cycles

5. Co-teach with a focus on effective instructional practices

6. Measure the impact of coaching on student and teacher learning

7. Partner with the school leader

Core Practice #1: Set a standards-based goal for coaching cycles

Examples of Goldilocks Goals

Too Narrow Just Right Too Broad

Students will create a

diagram that shows the

water cycle.

Students will learn their

addition and subtraction

facts.

Students will memorize

the major events in the

Civil Rights movement.

Students will engage in

research in order to

understand how drought

impacts daily life.

Students will use a variety

of strategies to solve

addition and subtraction

problems.

Students will analyze the

role of a key person in the

Civil Rights movement.

Students will describe

weather in our area.

Students will understand

the concept of addition

and subtraction.

Students will learn about

the Civil Rights

movement.



Sample Goal Setting Conversation

Coach I’m looking forward to working with you during our upcoming coaching cycle. You probably

remember that we always start by determining a student-learning goal for our coaching

cycle. What are you thinking?

Teacher I’m not sure about a student-learning goal. What I really need help with is a math unit

coming up in two weeks that I've never taught before or know much about. I need help with

resources, strategies and some formative assessment ideas. If you can get me those, then I

should be ready to go.

Coach It’s great that you are thinking through the unit ahead of time. Let’s take a minute to review

the unit so that we are clear about the learning we are after for your students. (Coach pulls

out the unit and standards)

Teacher Ok, but what I really need is resources and activities.

Coach We’ll definitely brainstorm resources and activities, but we need to start with a goal for

student learning. That’s key to understanding how we will teach and assess. It will also help us

stay focused on your students.

Teacher Well, I suppose the goal is for my students to correctly add and subtract three digit numbers.

I’d like them to do this quickly and from memory.

Coach Okay, that makes sense. As I look at the unit, I notice an emphasis on using a variety of

strategies for solving these types of problems. For example, using place value, breaking

apart numbers, etc. What if we focused on helping your students use more strategies than

just memorization? If we went in this direction, then we’d be right in line with the unit.

Teacher I guess more strategies would be okay. I just want them to get the correct answer and not

count on their fingers anymore.

Coach I agree that the correct answer is important. How about if we made our goal for student

learning something like, ‘Students will understand a use a variety of strategies to correctly

add and subtract three digit numbers.’ It aligns with the unit and the standards. Would that

goal work for you?

Teacher Sure, as long as I get some ideas for activities too. That’s really where I’m stuck.

Coach Yes, you’ll remember that we have a weekly planning session as part of our coaching cycle.

We’ll do lots of planning together. We can also co-teach some lessons to try out some

different ways to teach the lessons. Sound ok?

Teacher Okay with me.

Stems for Goal Setting

1. What do you hope the students will learn as a result of our partnership?

2. Let’s look at the standards…how might they help us choose a focus?

3. What would you like to see your students doing as (readers, writers, mathematicians, scientists, etc.)?

4. Is there any student work or data that could help us decide on a focus that would make the most

impact on your students?

5. How do you feel about the goal we’ve selected? Does it feel right to you?



Core Practice #2: Unpack the standard(s) into student-friendly learning targets

When thinking about individual learning targets, we ask ourselves:

Is the target directly related to our goal for the coaching cycle and the standard(s) that support it?

Is the target written in kid-friendly language?

Does the target focus on learning rather than on a task or activity?

Can this target be measured?

Is the target “just right” in size – containing only one action and/or piece of content?

When considering a set of learning targets, we ask ourselves:

Does this set of targets cover all aspects of the goal and accompanying standard(s)?

Does the set of targets represent multiple levels of thinking?

Is there a balance of knowledge and skill in this set of targets?

Core Practice #3: Use student evidence to co-plan instruction

Checklist for Collecting Student Evidence

It doesn’t take long to create

It doesn’t require a lot of class time for students to produce (or is simply work they are already doing in

class)

It can be analyzed as part of regular planning time

It is aligned with standard(s) and learning target(s)

It makes thinking visible

It doesn’t leave much room for guessing such as with yes/no or true/false

Learning target: I can put my stories on paper in pictures and words.

1. Marco

Wrote a lot of words

2. Julio

Drew pictures

3. Marie

Put name on paper

and then sits and

thinks. Later, begins

to draw

4. Lee

Pictures and

words

5. Geraldo

Detailed drawing

and words to

match

6. Timothy

Jumps right to

drawing a detailed

picture.

7. Sonny

Pictures and words

8. Spencer

His idea- about

falling down a slide.

Writing words and

pictures.

9. Jack

Detailed

drawing, then

went back to

add words.

10. Susanna

Seems stuck. Lots of

erasing. She got

going after a few

minutes and drew

a picture.

11. Marcus

Words and pictures

12. Maggie

Words and

pictures, wrote

across three

pages.

13. Salvador

Wrote words across

the three pages.

14. Julio

Started with a

picture, added

words, went

back to add to

the picture.

15. Jose

Jumps right to

drawing a detailed

picture.

16. Augustino

Amber confers with

him and suggests he

draw himself to get

started. This gets him

going.

17. Dylan

Fully developing

writing with no

picture. Amber

confers and

suggests he draw a

picture to go with

his words.

18. Tika

Draws a bus, gives to

assistant. Assistant

redirects. Draws a

bus on page two.



Four Square Planner

Whole Group Instruction:

Focus of Instruction:

Students:


Students:


Students:


Students:



Core Practice #4: Organize coaching through cycles

Coaching Cycles: Approximately 4-6 weeks in duration

A minimum of one weekly planning conversation to look at student work and design upcoming

instruction

One to three times per week for co-teaching in the classroom

Partnership Agreement for a Coaching Cycle

I. What Is Our Focus?

What is our goal for student learning?

What are the learning targets that capture what we want the students to know and be able to do?

II. How Will We Work Together?

There are options for how we can work together in your classroom. Let’s talk through these options

and pick some that feel right to you.

There are also options for how we can collect student evidence when we are working together in

the classroom? How would you like to go about doing this?

III. How Will We Approach Co-Planning?

We will need at least 35-40 minutes each week for planning, what time works for you?

It is helpful to create a planning system that works for you. How would you like to share this

information? (Google Docs, planning template, etc.)

Core Practice #5: Co-teach with a focus on effective instructional practices

Options for Coaching While in the Classroom

Coaching Move What It Looks Like

Noticing and Naming During the lesson, the teacher and coach focus on how the students are

demonstrating their current understanding in relation to the learning targets. As

we work with students, we will record student evidence that we will use in our

planning conversations.

Thinking Aloud The teacher and coach share their thinking throughout the delivery of a lesson.

By being metacognitive in this way, we will be able to name successes and

work through challenges in real time.

Teaching in Tandem The teacher and coach work together to co-deliver the lesson. The lesson is co-

planned to ensure that our roles are clear, the learning targets are defined,

and we both understand how the lesson is crafted.

Co-Conferring

The teacher and coach sit side-by-side when conferring with students. This way

they create a shared understanding of how the students are doing. This then

informs the next lesson.

You Pick Four The teacher identifies approximately four students who the coach will pay

special attention to in order to collect student evidence. The coach keeps the

learning targets in mind while collecting student evidence. This evidence is

then used in future planning conversations.

Micro Modeling The coach models a portion of the lesson. The teacher and coach base their

decision about what is modeled based on the needs that have been identified

by the teacher. Micro-modeling may occur during a lesson, conference, small

group, etc.



Results-Based Coaching Tool

Coach Name:

Teacher Name(s):

Dates of Coaching Cycle: Coaching Focus(Grade/Subject/Content):

Standards-Based Goal

What is the goal for student

learning?

Instructional Practice

What instructional

practices will help

students reach the

goal?

Instructional Coaching

What coaching practices

were implemented during

this coaching cycle?

Teacher Learning

As a result of the coaching,

what instructional

practices are being used

on a consistent basis?

Student Learning

How did student achievement

increase as a result of the

coaching?

Students will…

Standard(s):

Primary Learning Targets:

Baseline Data:

Where are the students now?

Students # %

Proficient

Almost

There

Below

How do we know?

As measured by the following

formative assessment:

Teacher(s) will…

Coach will…

☐Analyze student work

☐Collaborate to set goals

☐Collect student

evidence during the class

period

☐Co-teach

☐Create learning targets

☐Plan collaboratively with

teacher(s)

☐Share learning to build

knowledge of content

and pedagogy

Other:

Teacher is…. In relation to the goal, students

are…

Post Assessment Data:

Where are the students now?

Students # %

Proficient

Almost

There

Below

How do we know?

As measured by the following

formative assessment:

Follow-up plan for students who

did not reach the goal:



Teacher Reflections Coach Reflections

What worked well for you during our collaboration and coaching work?

What worked well for you during our collaboration and coaching

work?

How do you feel our collaboration positively impacted the students?

How do you feel our collaboration positively impacted the students?

What were any challenges or missed opportunities during our work together?

What were any challenges or missed opportunities during our work

together?

Next steps in my teaching:

Next steps in my coaching:



Core Practice #7: Partner with the school leader

Roles

School Leadership Coach

Sets high expectations for teacher and student

learning.

Provides support to teachers so they can meet

the expectations that have been established

by the school leadership.

Holds teachers accountable for meeting the

needs of the students.

Organizes coaching so that it aligns with the

accountability measures that are in place.

Establishes a vision and sets priorities for how to

move student learning forward.

Prioritizes work that has the most potential to

impact student learning.

Makes strategic use of the coach to move

teacher learning forward.

Articulates his/her role as a coach and

engages teachers in the coaching process.

Leads the decision making about the scope

and breadth of the content that is taught.

Helps teachers design instruction that aligns

with expectations about the content that is

taught.

Knows what high quality instruction looks like

and sets the expectation that this is the norm

throughout the school.

Skillfully supports teachers to implement high

quality instruction.

Is aware of situations when students are

underperforming and works to address the

issue.

Works with teachers across all levels of

performance.

Leads data-driven conversations with teachers

and the coach.

Participates in data-driven conversations with

teachers and the principal.

Spends time in classrooms and provides

teachers with feedback as a result of the

observations.

Spends time in classrooms to support the

delivery of effective instruction.

Creates the structure and time for teachers to

collaborate with each other and the coach.

Designs and facilitates collaboration among

teachers.



PRINCIPAL AND COACH AGREEMENT

Principal:

Coach

Date:

I. THE WORK

1. On what topics/areas should we focus first? How has student data informed this decision?

2. If necessary, how will we gather the appropriate student data?

3. How will we demonstrate the impact of coaching on teacher and student learning?

II. DEFINING OUR ROLES

4. What roles and responsibilities will we each have in coaching and professional development?

(Large Group, Small Group, and One-on-One)

5. How will we introduce the coaching role to the staff?

III. ONGOING COMMUNICATION AND SCHEDULING

6. How and when will we communicate?

7. What will the coach’s schedule look like?

8. How will we support each other?

Principal Coach



Coaching Beliefs

Julie’s Top 5 Beliefs about Coaching and Instructional Leadership

Whoever is doing the reading, writing, talking, thinking, creating…is doing the learning!

Choice matters ~ when learners have a choice…motivation and engagement go through the roof!

Plus, everyone wants a say in what they are learning about.

Providing larger chunks of time for learning to be messy…coupled with a real audience/real world

purpose for learning…yields fabulous results.

Relationships matter!

Time, compassion, my calendar, passion for learning, and appreciation for differences in learning

styles, remain…across the years…as my “best friends” in pulling off the work in schools today.

B.W.’s Top 5 Beliefs about Coaching 1. Coaches must establish meaningful relationships with teachers, administrators, and students.

2. Coaches should be the anchor for helping teachers facilitate growth with students.

3. When working with a teacher, student work must dictate the work being done.

4. Coaches must be trustworthy and reliable.

5. Coaches must be willing to model. A coach cannot just tell teachers what to do. We must be willing

to show them what the instruction should look like.

6. Effective coaches communicate with administrators on a regular basis.

7. Coaches must be lifelong learners by taking courses, attending workshops and seminars, reading

professional books and articles, and talking to other coaches.

M.M.’s Top 5 Beliefs about Coaching Relationships are critical to coaching - relationships with teachers, administrators, coaching

colleagues, students.

Functional teams are the keys to success.

Coaching is for everyone - even the coaches.

It's all about learning together. Coaching requires a growth mindset.

What are your top beliefs about coaching / instructional leadership and how do they ‘show up’ in your

practice?

Beliefs

I believe…

Practices

So I will…



End of the Day Reflection

Rate yourself using the following scale. Then discuss with a partner.

1 5 10

Low Medium High

I understand the purpose behind each of the core practices for student-

centered coaching.

I can use the core practices (or lead others to use them). I have developed new strategies for engaging in authentic dialogue

and discourse.

I have learned new ways to organize myself as a coach (or lead others

to do so).

I have a clear vision for how to measure my impact on student and

teacher learning.

DAY 2: Dialogue and Discourse

Markers of True Dialogue – What does it look like/sound/feel like?



Seven Norms for Collaborative Work

1. Pausing

Pausing before responding or asking a question allows time for thinking and enhances dialogue, discussion,

and decision-making.

2. Paraphrasing

Using a paraphrase starter that is comfortable for you – “So…” or “As you are…” or “You’re thinking…” – and

following the starter with an efficient paraphrase assists members of the group in hearing and understanding

one another as they converse and make decisions.

3. Posing Questions

Two intentions of posing questions are to explore and to specify thinking. Questions may be posed to explore

perceptions, assumptions, and interpretations, and to invite others to inquire into their thinking. For example,

“What might be some conjectures you are exploring?” Use focusing questions such as, “Which students,

specifically?” or “What might be an example of that?” to increase the clarity and precision of group

members’ thinking. Inquire into others’ ideas before advocating one’s own.

4. Putting Ideas on the Table

Ideas are the heart of meaningful dialogue and discussion. Label the intention of your comments. For

example: “Here is one idea…” or “One thought I have is…” or “Here is a possible approach…” or “Another

consideration might be…”.

5. Providing Data

Providing data, both qualitative and quantitative, in a variety of forms supports group members in

constructing shared understanding from their work. Data have no meaning beyond that which we make of

them; shared meaning develops from collaboratively exploring, analyzing, and interpreting data.

6. Paying Attention to Self and Others

Meaningful dialogue and discussion are facilitated when each group member is conscious of self and of

others, and is aware of what (s)he is saying and how it is said as well as how others are responding. This

includes paying attention to learning styles when planning, facilitating, and participating in group meetings

and conversations.

7. Presuming Positive Intentions

Assuming that others’ intentions are positive promotes and facilitates meaningful dialogue and discussion,

and prevents unintentional put-downs. Using positive intentions in speech is one manifestation of this norm.

Center for Adaptive Schools www.adaptiveschools.com

STRATEGIES FOR QUESTIONING AND DIALOGUE

Principles:

We are more effective coaches when we are hyper aware of what turns on our judging brain.

Our goal is to think with teachers, not for them.

1. List 3-5 of your triggers.


http://www.adaptiveschools.com/


2. Think of a recent time when you encountered a trigger in your coaching.

3. Choose one trigger and practice the following steps: 1) Dig deeper, 2) Build on What’s There, 3) Create a Plan

Try It On: Dialogue and Discourse

1. Form a triad and identify the following roles: Teacher, Coach, Observer

2. Teacher identifies a challenge, dilemma, or goal for students.

3. Teacher and coach engage in open-ended discourse to practice dialogue and discourse.

4. An observer records the language used during each conversation. Then we share as a group.

Challenge, dilemma, or goal for students:



Language Used:


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