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Read Liberia Activity
Cost-effective, Evidence-based Coaching Model (Print Ready)
(Sub-IR 2.3, Technical Deliverable No. 5)
Submitted: March 29, 2019
USAID comments received: May 11, 2019
Revision submitted: May 29, 2019
Additional USAID comments received: May 31, 2019
Revision submitted: June 2, 2019
USAID approved: June 3, 2019
This document was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by RTI International for the USAID Read Liberia Activity.
USAID Liberia
Read Liberia Activity
Cost-effective, Evidence-based Coaching Model (Print Ready)
(Sub-IR 2.3, Technical Deliverable # 5)
Contract Number: AID-669-C-17-00003
Prepared for USAID Liberia
United States Agency for International Development Office of Acquisition and Assistance
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This publication is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID.) The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the Contractor and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
Read Liberia Activity Cost-effective, Evidence-based Coaching Model (Print Ready) Page i
This publication was produced with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development through the USAID Read Liberia Activity under Contract No. AID-669-C-17-00003.
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA 3rd Street Sinkor P.O. BOX 10-9012 1000 MONROVIA 10 LIBERIA WEST AFRICA
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Read Liberia Activity Cost-effective, Evidence-based Coaching Model (Print Ready) Page ii
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ...................................................................................................... ii
Acronyms and Abbreviations .................................................................................... iii
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1
Background .............................................................................................................. 1
Theoretical Approaches to Coaching ....................................................................... 2
Read Liberia’s Approach to Coaching ...................................................................... 3
Coach Profile ............................................................................................................ 5 Education Qualifications ......................................................................................................... 5 Work Experience .................................................................................................................... 5 Additional Desired Characteristics ......................................................................................... 5
Coach Roles ............................................................................................................. 6
Coach-Teacher Relationship .................................................................................... 7
Coach-Teacher Engagement ................................................................................... 8 Program Design ...................................................................................................................... 8 Coach Visit Protocol ............................................................................................................... 8
Classroom observation ................................................................................................. 9 Rating the observation ................................................................................................ 12 Coach-teacher conference to provide lesson feedback ............................................. 13 Lesson modeling and co-teaching .............................................................................. 15 Student reading spot checks ....................................................................................... 16
Training Sessions ................................................................................................................. 17
Coach-School-Community Engagement ................................................................ 17 Teacher Circles ..................................................................................................................... 17 Principals and Instructional Vice Principals .......................................................................... 18 District Education Officers .................................................................................................... 18 Community ............................................................................................................................ 19
Accountability Measures ........................................................................................ 19 Coach Supervisors ............................................................................................................... 19 Communication and Documentation .................................................................................... 20 Technology ........................................................................................................................... 21
Considerations for Sustainability ............................................................................ 21 Engaging and Progressively Developing MOE Technical Capacity .................................... 22 Continuing Use of Resources Developed Through Read Liberia ........................................ 22 Choosing Cost-Effective Strategies ...................................................................................... 22
Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 24
References ............................................................................................................. 26
Appendix A. Classroom Observation Instrument for Grades 1 and 2 ....................... 1
Appendix B. Classroom Observation Instrument for Kindergarten ........................... 1
Appendix C. Monthly Coach Support Tracker .......................................................... 1
Read Liberia Activity Cost-effective, Evidence-based Coaching Model (Print Ready) Page iii
List of exhibits Exhibit 1. Three Coaching Models ............................................................................. 3
Exhibit 2. Areas of Support Provided by Coaches through Read Liberia’s Coaching Model ................................................................................................................... 4
Exhibit 3. Classroom Observation Scores and Risk Categories ............................... 13
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Acronyms and Abbreviations
CTTC Coordinator for Teacher Training and Coaching
DEO District Education Officer
EGRA Early Grade Reading Assessment
G1, G2 Grade 1, Grade 2
GPS Global Positioning System
IR Intermediate Result
KG Kindergarten
LTTP Liberia Teacher Training Project
M&E Monitoring and Evaluation
MOE Ministry of Education
PTA Parent-Teacher Association
USAID United States Agency for International Development
Read Liberia Activity Cost-effective, Evidence-based Coaching Model (Print Ready) Page 1
Introduction The key objectives of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-
funded Read Liberia Activity are to improve early grade reading skills for approximately
172,800 Liberian students in grades 1 and 2 (G1 and G2) in 640 selected public and a few
community schools in six targeted counties (Bong, Grand Bassa, Lofa, Margibi, Montserrado
and Nimba), and to pilot instructional approaches for the development of children’s emergent
literacy skills, specifically oral language development and vocabulary skills, for an estimated
5,400 kindergarten (KG) students in 60 of these schools. Read Liberia continues to build on
evidence from previous efforts to improve early grade reading that have been made by
USAID/Liberia and other actors with the Ministry of Education (MOE), such as through the
USAID-funded Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) Plus: Liberia project and the
Liberia Teacher Training Project (LTTP). The goal of the five-year Read Liberia Activity is
that public primary school students in the six targeted counties will read and understand
grade-level text in English after two years of schooling, and that KG students in the 60 pilot
schools will develop the oral vocabulary required for beginning literacy skills.
The Read Liberia Activity has four intermediate results: (1) government commitment to, and
support of, evidence-based reading instruction increased; (2) early grade reading classroom
instruction improved; (3) service delivery systems in early grade reading improved; and (4)
parent, community, and private support for early grade reading increased. An integral
component of Sub-result 2 is the improvement of field-based pedagogical coaching support
to reading teachers to continuously improve the quality of their teaching practices and
student learning outcomes.
This document presents in detail the Read Liberia Activity model of pedagogical coaching to
support KG – G2 teachers in the implementation of innovative strategies and activities to
increase early grade reading skills. It is submitted in fulfillment of the deliverable “Print ready
cost-effective, evidence based coaching model” (Sub IR 2.3, Technical Deliverable #5).
Background Emphasis on early grade reading is relatively new in Liberia. While local universities offer a
degree in primary education, few courses focus on emergent or foundational literacy. Many
of the teachers currently teaching in KG – G2 have earned only a “C” certificate from a
Teacher Training Institute after three to nine months of training. The certificate enables the
recipient to teach only in the primary grades. A “B” certificate, which some primary teachers
have, enables the teacher to teach in primary or secondary grades. The result is that few
classroom teachers understand how a child learns to read and the steps necessary to build
reading skills.
The KG-G2 national curriculum addresses early grade reading in a theoretical context. The
current national curriculum provides topics that the teacher should follow but not the detailed
instructions that teachers unfamiliar with teaching children to read require. The MOE
recognizes this gap and cooperates closely with programs such as Read Liberia to improve
the quality of the curriculum. However, many KG – G2 teachers currently in the classroom
lack the necessary training or access to resources to offer quality reading instruction.
To support early grade reading initiatives, the MOE has endorsed, but not instituted, donor-
supported coaching programs. Beginning in 2008 with the USAID Liberia Teacher Training
Project (LTTP) as well as other various donor-funded projects, participating schools have
been introduced to a coaching model. But a nationwide, MOE-initiated coaching program
has not yet been introduced.
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Coaches who know how a child acquires reading skills, appreciate the challenges KG-G2
teachers face, and understand the situational context are needed to build the early grade
reading instructional competencies of Liberian KG-G2 teachers. Coaches support teachers
to continue to use the activities and approaches introduced in Read Liberia trainings.
Theoretical Approaches to Coaching Teacher quality is a key contributor to student learning outcomes.1 Any initiative that seeks to
improve student learning needs to take into consideration the support teachers need to
continuously improve their practices. No matter how naturally talented or well-trained a
person may be, becoming a skilled and effective teacher does not magically happen
overnight. As with any skill, teachers develop their expertise over time. Pre-service
coursework and ongoing in-service training workshops can be helpful in introducing teachers
to the science of teaching, to the theoretical underpinnings of pedagogy, and to traditional as
well as new pedagogical practices. However, impact evaluations of training programs have
shown that without additional support, innovations introduced in training sessions often fall
short of generating widespread improvements in teacher practices or student outcomes,
especially when these improvements are implemented at scale.2
One kind of teacher professional development that has been shown to be a potent
complement to training is in-classroom teacher coaching. Coaching can be defined as
“providing on-site, job-embedded, sustained professional development for teachers.”3
Effective coaching offers teachers individualized, active learning focused on discrete skills
for a sustained duration. Coaching programs in numerous and varied contexts have
demonstrated success in improving teacher performance and student learning,4 including in
Liberia through LTTP, the predecessor to the Read Liberia Activity.
Coaches’ specific responsibilities vary from one context to another, but they usually include
meeting with teachers one-on-one to observe their teaching and helping them improve it. In
addition, coaches can look at student assessment data together with the teacher; strategize
with the teacher to identify and trouble-shoot problems, provide resources; co-teach or
model a lesson; and generally advocate for learning at the school and in the community.5
Additionally, as a complement to the one-on-one interaction, coaches sometimes facilitate
group meetings where teachers can share their experiences and ideas with one another.6
The literature on coaching sometimes distinguishes between two basic approaches:
“directive” or “hard” coaching on one hand, and “reflective” or “soft” coaching on the other.
In directive coaching, the focus is on ensuring the teacher’s conformity to a particular, pre-
established, desired practice, as in fidelity of implementation to a scripted lesson plan. In this
approach, “coaches assume the role of expert and are assertive about what instructional
practices teachers must implement.”7 The coaches’ first priority is to ensure that teachers
are executing the steps as they have been trained to do. Some education experts have
suggested that directive coaching may be preferable in contexts where teachers—and
1 Darling-Hammond, 2000; Goe, 2007; Chetty, Friedman, & Rocko, 2014. 2 Harris & Sass, 2011; Kennedy, 2016. 3 Bean, 2014, p.7. 4 See Kraft, Blazar, & Hogan, 2018, for a meta-analysis of 60 studies in high-income contexts; Biancarosa, Bryk, & Dexter, 2010; Elish-Piper & L’Allier 2011; Kretlow & Bartholomew, 2010; Walpole, McKenna, Uribe-Zarain, & Lamitina, 2010; Bruns, Costa, & Cunha, 2018 (Brazil); Cilliers, Fleisch, Prinsloox, & Taylor, 2018 (South Africa); Hussain & Ali, 2010 (Pakistan); Majerowicz & Montero, 2018 (Peru); Piper & Zuilkowski, 2015 (Kenya); Sailors, et al., 2014 (Malawi); Tolley, Johnson, & Koszalka, 2012 (Thailand).
5 Joyce & Showers, 2002; L’Allier, Elish-Piper, & Bean, 2010. 6 National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, 2012. 7 Ippolito, 2010, p. 165.
Read Liberia Activity Cost-effective, Evidence-based Coaching Model (Print Ready) Page 3
sometimes even the coaches themselves—have not had much previous training or
experience in specific pedagogical practices (e.g. in literacy instruction), or when they are
learning to use a new method or new materials. Culturally, directive coaching may be a
better fit in contexts where coaches have traditionally played a supervisory or inspectorial
role, or where the system places high stakes on fidelity of implementation.
Reflective coaching, on the other hand, emphasizes teachers’ agency in their own
professional development and strives to help them grow into practitioners who continuously
examine their own practice, make decisions, and take steps to improve. Reflective coaching
is ““… invitational in nature, respecting teacher expertise, embracing multiple perspectives of
teaching literacy, and generally non-confrontational.”8 Reflective coaching actively engages
the teacher in reflecting on what is happening and should be done versus just telling them.
Reflective coaching may be more successful in with highly trained or experienced teachers
who need less scaffolding and can strategically adapt their practices on their own.9
A third approach, which combines elements of the first two, has been called “balanced”
coaching.10 Balanced coaching intentionally pairs promoting specific best practices with
respecting teacher agency and encouraging teacher reflection (see Exhibit 1).
Exhibit 1. Three Coaching Models
Read Liberia’s Approach to Coaching The Read Liberia coaching model follows the balanced approach. Read Liberia recognizes that teachers in this context face many challenges and can benefit from directive coaching as they acquire new pedagogical practices.
At the same time, Read Liberia supports a long-term model of teacher development in which teachers are active participants in and drivers of their own professional growth. By setting in place certain reflective practices, even as simple as asking the teacher to say what they thought of their own lesson, what they did well, and what they want to improve, the Read
8 McKenna & Walpole, 2008. 9 Bean, 2014. 10 Ippolito, 2010.
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Liberia coaching model lays the groundwork to allow the coach-teacher relationship to evolve over time as the teachers’ level of expertise and needs evolve.11
The Read Liberia coaching model encompasses seven areas of support: instructional resources, training, classroom observation, post-observation feedback through teacher-coach conferences, lesson modeling, student reading spot checks, and school and community engagement (see Exhibit 2). Using instructional resources including training manuals, classroom teaching and learning materials provided to teachers and students, observation and conference protocols, assessments, and report cards, Read Liberia coaches support each of the other six areas. The model provides continuous support to improve classroom delivery of early grade reading instruction.
Exhibit 2. Areas of Support Provided by Coaches through Read Liberia’s Coaching Model
The remainder of this document describes each aspect of the Read Liberia model in detail, including the profile of a coach, the role of the coach, the coach-teacher relationship, the coach’s engagement with teachers, as well as the school and its community, accountability structures. Each aspect of the model is informed by the international evidence base of effective coach practices, and supporting references are given throughout. Read Liberia considers cost effectiveness throughout the proposed coaching model, as well as sustainability of the model, described in the section “Sustainability and Cost Effectiveness.”
11 Collet, 2012; Zigmond, Bean, Kloo, & Brydon, 2010; L’Allier, Elish-Piper, & Bean, 2010.
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Coach Profile
Education Qualifications
Ideally, coaches will have both teaching expertise and experience in the content area and at the grade levels in which they coach.12 Standard teacher credentials help coaches establish credibility in the schools where they work, but advanced credentials or administrative experience are not necessarily a prerequisite for being an effective coach.13 Read Liberia engages coaches who preferably have a bachelor or associate degree in education but recognizes that a strong technical grasp of the content pedagogy can be built in different ways, through a combination of theoretical and practical training, plus experience.
Work Experience
Classroom teaching experience gives coaches invaluable insight that helps them relate to teachers in their daily challenges. Candidates should have at least three years’ experience working in education in Liberia, preferably as a classroom teacher and in other roles supporting the improvement of teaching practice (e.g. coach, vice principal for instruction, etc.). The Activity acknowledges that in many remote areas, finding a coach with the preferred education qualifications may be difficult, if not impossible. To mitigate this challenge, Read Liberia also considers work/life experience in the remote areas in lieu of college degrees. In addition, coaches who live in or near the school communities bring the value of understanding the culture as well as the cost savings of not having to travel far distances to reach their schools. The flexibility to combine work and educational experiences is particularly useful in the recruitment of coaches to support teachers in the hard-to-reach schools in remote rural areas.
Primarily, Read Liberia seeks to identify people who are willing and able to dedicate time and energy to improving early grade reading instruction in the schools where they are assigned.
Additional Desired Characteristics
Many coaches are called upon to guide teachers through instructional approaches that are relatively new to the coaches themselves as well; therefore, coaches need to be quick learners, dynamic, flexible, open to new ideas, and embracing of change. Moreover, given the centrality of the coach-teacher relationship, the coach must be able to maintain excellent rapport with teachers and other stakeholders. In fact, these personal attributes and others can sometimes compensate for other deficiencies in the coach’s background.
Therefore, Read Liberia strives to recruit coaches who meet the following criteria:
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to build rapport with key stakeholders
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
• Extensive experience with data collection
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and demanding timeframes.
• Ability to work as part of a team
• Good organizational skills
• Discretion when dealing with confidential information
12 International Literacy Association, 2004; L’Allier, Elish-Piper, & Bean, 2010 13 Harden, Pflepsen, & King, 2018
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• Professionalism, integrity, and honesty
• Optimistic with supportive attitude
• Detail-oriented
• Time management skills
• Self-driven with a high sense of responsibility
• Willingness to work at whatever time is convenient to the community, e.g., early morning, late evening, holidays, weekends, etc.
• Ability to travel.
Coach Roles The coach has two primary goals:
• Improving teaching practice, with a particular emphasis on increasing the use of
highly effective, evidence-based practices,14 and
• Improving learner academic and behavioral outcomes through improved teaching
practices.15
To accomplish these goals, the coach must assume a variety of roles within the school
community.16
Resource Provider: As a resource provider, the coach assists teachers with materials,
tools, and information to support classroom instruction. Read Liberia provides an array of
resources such as teaching and learning materials, supplementary readers, instructional
aids, and assessments that the coach can assist the teacher to use effectively. The coach
may also discover additional resources within the school and community to share with the
teacher.
Instructional Supporter: The coach is instrumental in reassuring teachers that innovations
introduced in Read Liberia trainings do not increase teachers’ instructional load; instead, the
strategies and activities enhance their delivery of the national curriculum. Co-planning units
with the teacher lead to greater understanding of how Read Liberia activities actually
implement the existing curriculum.
Mentor: As a mentor, the coach focuses on the teachers’ strengths and provides support
and guidance to overcome weaknesses. The coach may model lessons, encourage
reflective practices, assist with small group instruction, help with student assessments, and
co-create classroom management techniques which support instruction.
Catalyst for Change: A coach models and facilitates continuous improvement at the
classroom and school levels. As a catalyst for change, the coach must motivate and
encourage teachers, school leaders, and PTAs to try new ideas and to think differently about
current practices and activities.
Learner: One of the most important coach roles is to model continuous learning and the
value of being a lifelong learner. The coach, as learner, is aware of the needs of the
teacher, understands the learning process, provides opportunities for proactive support, and
leads the teachers and school community as they journey toward changing their knowledge,
attitudes, skills, aspirations, and behaviors.
14 Knight, 2007; Snyder et al., 2015 15 Snyder et al., 2015 16 Wolpert-Gawron, Heather, 2016.
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As coaches implement the tasks described in the sections below, they need to assume
various roles to provide the necessary support and guidance for teachers to implement their
best instructional practices.
Coach-Teacher Relationship As described above, the key role of
Read Liberia coaches is to help
teachers build their pedagogical
expertise and improve their students’
achievement. Coaching is unlikely to
have any influence unless the teachers
themselves are invested in the program.
As such, the nature of the coach-
teacher relationship is critical to the
effectiveness of the coaching program.
Being on the receiving end of coaching
puts teachers in a vulnerable position:
sooner or later, the coach is bound to
uncover shortcomings in their practice,
or to challenge them to try new
practices that lie beyond their current
comfort zone. It is human nature to shy
away from criticism or the risk or failure,
so many teachers approach the
coaching relationship warily. If they
sense that their dignity as an adult or as a professional–or worse yet, their job itself–is under
threat, they may respond defensively, resist, or shut down and not participate at all. This
defensiveness inhibits their ability to learn, grow, and reach their full potential.
In order to avoid the stifling effects of a hierarchical relationship, Read Liberia coaches serve
primarily as teachers’ colleagues, collaborators, partners, or teammates in their professional
development journey, rather than as supervisors or inspectors. The coach’s first
responsibility is to establish a positive and trusting rapport with each teacher so that
teachers feel safe and respected even as they explore their own areas for growth.17
The necessity of teacher buy-in and the risk of teacher resistance is common across
coaching programs, so preparing coaches to build positive relationships must be a priority.
As a coach trainer in one program in the United States described,
We can’t force teachers to do the kinds of things we’re talking about doing, so we spend a lot of time talking about the importance of building relationships and how do you do that and what kind of verbal skills do you have, and what nonverbal skills … you communicate.18
Indeed, affirmative verbal and non-verbal communication set the foundation of the coach-
teacher relationship. Studies have shown that skilled coaches build rapport by eliciting
teachers’ input through open-ended questions, listening to their responses without
interruption or rebuttal, paraphrasing their responses back to them for confirmation or
clarification, and demonstrating respect for their ideas and point of view, even while guiding
17 L’Allier, Elish-Piper, & Bean, 2010; Kraft, Blazar, & Hogan, 2018 18 Marsh, et al, 2008, p. 108
Coach assisting the teacher in planning a lesson
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them into new practices.19 While this kind of communication is explicitly integrated into the
Read Liberia coach-teacher conference protocol (see below), it permeates the coach’s
whole relationship with the teacher.
Coach-Teacher Engagement
Program Design
One hallmark of an effective coaching program is sustained coach-teacher contact over time versus a one-time event, such as an in-service workshop. The literature on the ideal dosage of contact, however, is mixed. Many studies have found that more contact time leads to greater changes in teacher practice or student
learning gains;20 other studies have not found a direct
correlation.21 Furthermore, the frequency of contact is
constrained by many logistical factors, including the coach-to-teacher ratio (coaching load), the distance and accessibility of the schools in a given coach’s portfolio, and the school calendar (e.g. exam and holiday periods when regular instruction is paused), etc.
In the Read Liberia coaching program design, each Read Liberia coach serves an average of eight schools in as much geographic proximity to one another as possible in order to minimize costs associated with travel. The coach is based in or close to this cluster to facilitate visitation. The coach makes a minimum of one visit per month to each of his or her assigned schools during the months when school is in session. In addition, coaches lead a refresher teacher training workshop once a year within their respective clusters.
Coach Visit Protocol
The coach’s visit to the teacher at the school is at the heart of the coach’s work. As described above, the Read Liberia approach to coaching strikes a balance between directive and reflective coach practices. First and foremost, the coach uses the school visit to develop and maintain a positive rapport with the teacher so that the teacher feels safe and open to learning from the relationship. The coach is there to promote best practices, such as adherence to the lesson plans in the Read Liberia instructional materials. The coach is also there to provide opportunities for teachers to reflect critically on their own practice and
strategize about ways to improve it.22
The literature on coaching has identified the following high-leverage coaching practices that
encourage teacher improvement:23
19 Perkins, 1998; Heineke, 2013 20 Bean et al., 2010; Elish-Piper & L’Allier, 2011; Piper & Mugenda, 2013; Pouezevara, Costello, & Banda, 2012; Ross, 1992; Shidler, 2009; Yoon et al., 2007; Harden, Pflepsen, & King, 2018 21 Kraft, Blazar, & Hogan, 2018 22 Collet, 2012; Duffy, 2003; Heineke, 2013; Joyce & Showers, 2002; Schon, 1987 23 Bean et al., 2010; Kise, 2006; McCombs & Marsh, 2009; Stover, Kissel, Haag, & Shoniker, 2011
A coach motivating a teacher to be active in the lesson presentation.
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• modeling instruction;
• observing the teacher in action;
• eliciting the teacher’s views and offering supportive feedback after the observed lesson;
• examining student learning outcomes and assessment results together;
• helping the teachers to set specific goals or an action plan;
• following up on the action plan at subsequent visits; and
• differentiating support according to teacher and student needs.
All these practices are embedded in the protocol for the Read Liberia coach visit. The
following sections describe these practices in detail.
Classroom observation
During each visit, the Read Liberia coach arranges with the teacher to observe a reading
lesson from beginning to end. The coach sits in the back or to the side of the classroom
where s/he can observe the whole class
while not obstructing the view of any
student. As the teacher teaches, the
coach fills out the first page of the
classroom observation form (see
Appendix A for G1 and G2 and Appendix
B for kindergarten). The coach records
enrollment and attendance for G1 and
G2, and the use of the Read Liberia
materials during the lesson, when
applicable. The rest of the form guides
the coach and teacher in focusing on the
key aspects of quality instruction as
described below. These aspects are
general enough to apply to any lesson
and constitute general goals for the
teacher to aspire to in improving their
own practice. Each aspect, described below, has a series of questions or indicators for the
coach to consider during the observation. For each aspect indicator, the coach marks “YES”
if the teacher consistently demonstrates this practice at all appropriate times throughout the
lesson. The coach marks “Partially” if the teacher demonstrates this practice when
appropriate during the lesson but not consistently, if the teacher implements it imperfectly, or
if the teacher has made some progress in this regard but still has room for improvement. The
coach marks “No” if the teacher does not demonstrate this practice in any meaningful way or
has major room for improvement in this regard. Note that the coach does not have to mark
the items in order.
Key aspects of quality instruction assessed during classroom observation:
1. Preparation: Did the teacher show evidence of having prepared for this lesson before starting to teach it? For example, did the teacher seem familiar with the lesson plan, write lesson notes, and prepare the necessary materials (e.g., letter cards, realia for vocabulary words, or text on chalkboard) ahead of time?
Strong preparation is essential for smooth lesson delivery. Different lessons will call for
different preparations–teachers will need to have extra materials on hand or write text on the
Coach using the electronic tablet provided by Read Liberia to capture observation data.
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board ahead of time for some lessons but not others. Nonetheless, for all lessons, teachers
will need at a minimum to have read through the lesson beforehand and familiarized
themselves with the lesson content and steps. A teacher who is well prepared will be able to
execute the lesson smoothly with minimal hesitations, have clear instructions and
explanations at the ready, be able to read text fluently and with expression, etc. The coach
observes the teacher’s overall behavior for evidence that the teacher has adequately
prepared the lesson before class.
2. Content: Did the teacher cover the components for the day’s lesson as indicated in the teacher guide, including sufficient time for students to read aloud?
Before the teacher begins teaching, the coach asks him/her which lesson from the Read Liberia teacher’s guide s/he will be teaching. The coach keeps this lesson open and follows along as the teacher teaches so that s/he can easily observe whether the teacher covers all the lesson components as directed. All the activities in the daily lesson plans are important and work together to support the students’ development of essential reading skills. The coach also observes whether the teacher needs additional support in implementing any of the lesson components in particular. The coach pays particular attention to how well the students are engaged in reading letters, words, and connected text as called for in the lesson plans.
3. Method: Did the teacher use an effective instructional approach (e.g., “I Do – We Do – You Do”) as indicated in the teacher guide?
The coach refers to the Read Liberia teacher’s guide for the lesson that the teacher is
teaching and observes whether s/he follows the instructional approach prescribed for that
lesson. A common instructional approach used in the Read Liberia materials is called the
gradual release of responsibility model,24 or the “I Do – We Do – You Do approach.” In this
approach, the teacher models the reading activity for students (I Do), engages in the activity
along with students (We Do), and then gives students a chance to independently apply what
they have learned (You Do). When observing the lesson, the coach pays close attention to
whether the teacher executes all steps of the approach correctly. For example, the teacher
should not spend an excessive amount of time on the I Do (demonstration) step to the
detriment of the We Do and You Do steps. After demonstrating the skill (I Do), the teacher
should have the students demonstrate the target skill together with him/her at the same time,
providing cues or hints or help for the students if they get stuck (We Do). Finally, the teacher
should give students the opportunity to practice the skill on their own (You Do). For activities
that do not use this particular approach, the coach refers to the teacher’s guide for the steps
that the teacher is supposed to follow, to see if the teacher needs additional support in
scaffolding the learning experience for students.
4. Communication: Did the teacher communicate clearly and correctly with the students? That is, did the teacher give clear and correct explanations and instructions using expressive language tailored to the students’ level of understanding, supported when necessary by gestures, visual aids, and other comprehension scaffolds?
To communicate clearly with the students, the teacher needs to use language that the
students understand and to supplement that language with expressive non-verbal cues. The
coach observers whether the teacher is speaking clearly, loudly, and slowly enough for the
students to understand; using vocabulary and sentence structures that the students are
likely to recognize; and using facial expressions, intonation, gestures, visual aids, and other
cues to reinforce what s/he is saying. The coach also observes the students carefully for
24 Pearson & Gallagher, 1983
Read Liberia Activity Cost-effective, Evidence-based Coaching Model (Print Ready) Page 11
signs that they are following what the teacher is saying. For example, are they paying
attention and engaged? Do they respond appropriately to questions and follow the teacher’s
instructions? The coach notes whether the teacher needs additional support in
communicating with students in a way that promotes learning.
5. Monitoring: Did the teacher monitor students’ understanding throughout the lesson? For example, did the teacher watch and listen closely to the students to monitor their attention, engagement, and responses, adjusting his or her instruction when necessary? Did s/he walk around the room and check the students’ work as they worked in groups, pairs, or independently?
Checking students’ understanding throughout the lesson helps teachers adjust instruction,
provide constructive feedback to students, and differentiate instruction according to students’
needs. The coach observes whether and how the teacher is monitoring the students’
responses to instruction and adjusting instruction appropriately to help all students master
the skills being taught.
6. Feedback: Did the teacher consistently provide constructive feedback to students? For example, did the teacher affirm correct responses and flag incorrect responses for correction or re-teaching when necessary to clear up confusion?
For students to learn to read, they need to know what they have done well, what they need
to improve, and how they can improve. Students rely on teacher feedback to know whether
they are on the right track or not. If a student’s contribution is correct, the teacher should
affirm it explicitly. If it is incorrect, the teacher should either gently correct it, have the student
or another student correct it, or give further instruction to clear up the confusion. Teacher
feedback is not only important in whole class instruction; when students are working
independently or in pairs, the teacher should circulate throughout the room and comment
constructively on their work. The coach observes whether the teacher is giving adequate and
appropriate feedback to all student contributions.
7. Pacing: Did the teacher teach at an appropriate pace? That is, did she or he spend an appropriate amount of time on each activity (i.e., close to the time suggested in the teacher guide, unless extenuating circumstances warranted more or less), keeping the pace quick enough to maintain the students’ interest and cover the lesson components but not so fast as to compromise their understanding?
Teaching at a pace that is not too fast or slow helps the teacher cover all the lesson content
and ensures that students understand what is being taught. A perky pace also helps to
maintain students’ attention and hold their interest. The Read Liberia teacher’s guide
includes suggested time allocations for each activity in the daily lesson. Ideally, the teacher
should adhere to these suggested times, though some variation is permissible. The coach
observes whether the teacher’s pacing of the lesson components is appropriate and
balanced.
8. Inclusion: Did the teacher direct his/her attention to and encourage active participation from all students, including girls and boys, students of different abilities and needs, and students seated in different parts of the room?
Read Liberia is committed to inclusive education at all levels. In instruction, a teacher
practices inclusion by attending to all students equitably according to their needs. The coach
observes whether the teacher pays attention to, speaks to, and calls on both boys and girls,
students of different abilities (low performers as well as high performers, students with
disabilities, etc.), and students seated in the different parts of the room. When students are
working independently or in pairs, the teacher should circulate to all parts of the room to give
attention to all students as much as time permits. The coach observes whether the teacher
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needs additional support in ensuring that all boys and girls of different backgrounds and
abilities are included in the learning process.
9. Positive Discipline: Did the teacher maintain an orderly and affirmative environment where every student felt respected, valued, safe, and encouraged to boldly pursue their full potential?
In order to maximize learning, students need to feel safe, respected, and valued in their
classroom community. The coach observes the teacher’s classroom management and
demeanor toward the students to see whether s/he addresses them in a positive and
respectful way, affirming them, encouraging them, and bolstering their confidence, even
when they make mistakes. The coach also observes the students’ reactions to the teacher to
see whether they seem comfortable in the teacher’s presence, or fearful, eager to try new
skills, or hesitant. The coach also observes whether the students treat one another with
respect. All these aspects help the coach know whether the teacher needs additional
support in learning how to manage student behavior in constructive ways.
10. Homework: Did the teacher check and assign homework?
Assigning homework gives students additional practice on what was taught in class.
Checking homework helps students know what was done well and what can improve. The
Read Liberia teacher’s guide includes a homework assignment for every lesson. The coach
observes whether the teacher assigns and explains the homework of the day at the end of
the lesson, as well as whether the teacher checks that the students have completed the
homework assignment from the previous day.
Due to the nature of the kindergarten lesson, the coach observation form for KG also
contains the following elements in addition to the ones above:
• Teaching Aids: Did the teacher use additional teaching aids (i.e. in addition to the
alphabet chart and letter cards) to support student learning?
• Extending Conversation: Did the teacher extend conversation through questioning
and other strategies indicated in the teacher guide?
• Responding: Did the teacher actively listen and consistently respond to children’s
attempts to communicate and extend conversation when appropriate? Did the
teacher give adequate “wait time” between asking questions allowing children to
respond?
• Facilitating small groups: Did the teacher effectively facilitate small group
instruction?
• Classroom climate: Overall, is the learning environment warm and engaging? Did
the teacher interact with the children in a positive and nurturing manner? For
example, did the teacher greet each child, call children by name, look children in the
eye, engage children in meaningful interactions?
• Vocabulary: Did the teacher introduce and/or review the weekly vocabulary words
as described in the Teachers Guide?
Rating the observation
At the end of the observation, the coach adds up the number of YES and PARTIALLY
scores and puts this number in the bottom box under each column. The coach calculates a
total overall score by assigning two points for each YES score and one point for each
PARTIALLY score; NO scores earn zero points. The coach writes the total number of points
earned (over a total possible 20 in G1-G2, and 26 in KG) in the bottom box. The lesson
Read Liberia Activity Cost-effective, Evidence-based Coaching Model (Print Ready) Page 13
observation score helps the coach calculate the teacher’s “risk category.” The scores
correspond to the following risk categories (see Exhibit 3):
Exhibit 3. Classroom Observation Scores and Risk Categories
Risk Category G1-G2 Score (out of 20
possible points)
KG Score (out of 26
possible points)
No Risk 19-20 points 24-26 points
Low Risk 16-18 points 18-23 points
Some Risk 13-15 points 13-17 points
High Risk 0-12 points 0-12 points
“No Risk” and “Low Risk” teachers are progressing well, and the coach can continue his/her
support as is. For “Some Risk” and “High Risk” teachers, the coach should consider what
additional support s/he can provide them. The coach can also seek advice from the coach
supervisor for how to help teachers who continue to struggle despite sustained support from
the coach. Furthermore, coaches can easily compare “scores” for individual teachers from
one visit to the next to track improvement.
Coach-teacher conference to provide lesson feedback
Giving teachers descriptive, actionable feedback is a critical part of the coaching process.25
Following the classroom observation, the Read Liberia coach and the teacher meet for a
private conference to reflect together on the teacher’s practices and student progress. This
conference forms the crux of the coach and teacher’s collaborative relationship. If a positive
rapport between the coach and teacher is properly developed and maintained, the
conference is an opportunity for the teacher to actively pursue his or her own growth,
bolstered by the coach’s technical expertise and moral support.26
General strategies that the coach uses to build rapport and maximize the teacher’s learning
experience during the conference include the following:
• Consistently eliciting the teacher’s input first before offering his or her own thoughts
(that is, coaches should listen as much as they talk);
• Asking the teacher open-ended questions, such as “What do you think about….?”,
“How do you see…?”, “Why did you choose to…?”, and “Tell me more about …”;
• Placing student learning at the center of the coaching conversation (e.g. “What did
the students do well? In what areas are students struggling the most?”);
• Listening carefully to everything the teacher says and asking for clarification if it is not
clear;
• Demonstrating respect for the teacher’s knowledge, experience, and point of view;
• Providing actionable and relevant instructional strategies that respond to students’
needs and build the teacher’s confidence in his or her ability to improve learning;
• Deepening the teacher’s technical understanding of how children learn to read;
• Following up on recommendations and goals from the previous visit; and
25 Scheeler et al., 2004 26 Collet, 2012; Heineke, 2013; Joyce & Showers, 2002; Richardson, 1994; Schon, 1987.
Read Liberia Activity Cost-effective, Evidence-based Coaching Model (Print Ready) Page 14
• Always affirming the teachers’ strengths, improvements, and commitment to their
students’ learning.
During the conference, the coach and teacher discuss and fill out the second part of the
Read Liberia classroom observation form together. The conference protocol guides them to
focus on the following five aspects.
Key aspects for discussion during the coach-teacher conference:
1. Strengths of today’s lesson
The conference begins by focusing on the positive. Emphasizing the positive helps to
motivate the teacher and focus on the desired practices instead of on problems or
weaknesses. It is also important for the coach to acknowledge and affirm the teacher’s
existing and growing expertise. The coach invites the teacher to reflect on what went well
during lesson delivery. If necessary, the coach may prompt the teacher with questions for
further reflection, such as “What did you do to prepare the lesson before class that you think
helped the lesson to go better?” / “What part of today’s lesson do you think was the most
successful?” / “What was one moment in today’s lesson when you felt that the students were
understanding and responding well?”.
The coach listens carefully to what the teacher says and affirms positive practices. The
coach also mentions any additional positive aspects that s/he observed that the teacher may
have forgotten to mention or may not have been aware of doing, referring in particular to any
practice marked YES on the first page of the observation form.
2. Implementation of recommendations/goals from the previous visit
At the end of the previous conference with the teacher, the coach will have recommended
actions that the teacher can take to improve her or his practice, and the teacher will have
also set his or her own goals for improvement. After highlighting the positive aspects of the
current lesson, the coach looks back at the notes from the previous conference and reminds
the teacher of the recommendations and goals set at that time. The coach asks the teacher
to share his or her perspective on how well s/he feels s/he has applied the recommendations
and met the goals in the interim. The coach listens carefully to what the teacher says and
affirms all positive practices and improvements, encouraging the teacher to keep up the
good work. If the teacher has not implemented a prior recommendation or taken steps
toward meeting a goal, the coach seeks to identify with the teacher what the obstacles to
doing so may be (e.g. confusion or lack of confidence about implementing, lack of time,
challenges with classroom management, etc.). The coach and the teacher then discuss
possible strategies for overcoming any obstacles they identify.
3. Student learning outcomes: strengths and needs
All teachers want to succeed in helping their students to learn well. Assessment data reveal
what students have learned well, what they have begun learning but have not yet fully
mastered, and what they have yet to acquire. The Read Liberia teacher has multiple sources
of formative and summative data on the students’ learning progress, from informal
observations in class, daily checks, weekly check-ups, periodic assessments, and the
coach’s own spot checks (see below). The coach and teacher use part of their conference
time together to examine and analyze these data, identifying areas of student strengths
(such as what are the students generally good at and where are they making good
progress?) as well as areas of student need (such as what are the students generally
struggling with and where do they need more support?). These analyses guide the teacher
to keep doing what is working well and to reteach, reinforce, or differentiate instruction to
meet the students’ remaining needs. The coach’s aim in this process is to help the teacher
make appropriate connections between his or her teaching practices and students’
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outcomes.
4. Coach recommendations on priority areas for teacher improvement
As noted above, at the end of the conference the coach identifies one to two priority
recommendations based on the current visit for how the teacher can improve her or his
practice. In formulating his or her recommendations, the coach may refer to any teacher’s
practices marked as PARTIALLY or NO during the classroom observation as well as the
discussion on students’ needs identified through the analysis of student learning data. The
coach may also continue with a recommendation from a previous visit that has not yet been
mastered. When sharing the recommendations with the teacher, the coach gives the teacher
the opportunity to ask questions, weigh in with his or her own opinion, and agree to work on
the areas that the coach has identified.
5. Teacher goals
Because the Read Liberia coaching model ultimately aims to help teachers develop into
reflective practitioners and lifelong learners, it is important for teachers to have agency in
their own professional growth from the beginning. At the end of the conference, the coach
invites the teacher to select one or two of his or her own goals to target for improvement.
These goals may be similar to or different from the coach’s recommendations. What matters
is that they come from the teacher’s own priorities for his or her growth.
At the end of the coaching session, the coach enters the data from the classroom
observation form into the tablet. Once the coach has saved an electronic record of the
session, s/he leaves the hard copy form with the teacher for future reference. In this way,
both the coach and the teacher share the same record of the teacher’s ongoing progress.
The lesson observation and post-observation conference with the teacher are arguably the
most important activities that the Read Liberia coach completes during the monthly school
visit. Additional high-leverage coaching practices that Read Liberia coaches conduct include
modeling a lesson, co-teaching a lesson with the teacher, and conducting student reading
spot checks. These activities are described briefly below. The coach also has interactions
with other members of the school and community, which will be detailed in the next section.
Lesson modeling and co-teaching
If the coach has noticed a teacher’s struggling with a particular kind of lesson in the past, or
if the coach and the teacher have discussed a particular lesson difficulty during one of their
conferences, a coach may prepare a model lesson ahead of an upcoming visit. If possible,
the selection and scheduling of the model lesson should be done in consultation with the
teacher. The coach should practice ahead of time to be fluent with the delivery. The teacher
introduces the coach to the students as their guest teacher and explains that the coach is
going to teach part of their lesson that day. As the coach teaches, the teacher observes all
aspects of the lesson delivery, including the instructional model, interactions and feedback
with the students, and informal assessment. After the lesson, the coach and teacher discuss
the teacher’s observations, questions, and key takeaways from the model lesson during their
private conference.
The coach’s lesson modeling must be conducted with sensitivity to the impact on the teacher
and students. The purpose of modeling is not to minimize or undermine the role of the
teacher or to criticize the teacher’s practice. While students usually react positively to guest
teachers, the students must see the coach and teacher as colleagues working together as a
team.
Alternatively, a coach may choose to model a lesson or part of a lesson in private with just
the teacher during their conference. While this method does not allow the teacher to observe
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the coach’s interactions with the students, it can nonetheless be an efficient way to build the
teacher’s understanding of and confidence in executing a part of a lesson that has been
challenging for him/her. In addition, the coach does not necessarily need to prepare this kind
of lesson modeling in advance; a skilled coach can observe a teacher’s difficulty with that
lesson during the observation and then go back over it with the teacher on the spot during
the conference. Another advantage to this method is that it prevents the teacher from
becoming too dependent on the coach to teach for him/her and allows the coach to see what
the teacher is capable of doing him/herself during the actual lesson time with the students.
In addition to lesson modeling, co-teaching is another scaffold that coaches can use to help
teachers practice new methods and materials. Prior to co-teaching, the teacher and coach
plan and prepare a lesson together. Through this process they focus on key aspects of
lesson delivery such as executing specific instructional strategies, pacing, transitioning from
one activity to the next, managing the materials, and checking for student understanding.
If a coach has not planned ahead of time
to model or co-teach a lesson in front of
the students, the coach stays quiet during
the lesson observation and just observes
the teacher teaching. The coach takes
notes on the classroom observation form
to discuss with the teacher afterwards
during the conference. If the teacher is
getting significantly off track during the
lesson, the coach may discreetly whisper
guidance in his or her ear. If the teacher
feels overwhelmed or lost, s/he may invite
the coach to step in and model that part
of the lesson on the spot. The teacher
can do this with little disturbance just by
signaling to the students that the coach is
going to continue with the next part.
When the coach and teacher have a trusting, collaborative relationship, and the students see
them as a team, the coach can exercise the greatest degree of flexible support depending
on the teacher’s evolving needs from one lesson to the next.
Student reading spot checks
Analyzing student assessment data for strengths and weaknesses and making connections
between these outcomes and the teacher’s practices, is one component of the coach-
teacher conference, as described above. Read Liberia teachers conduct formative and
summative assessments as part of their normal instructional routines. Approximately once
every other month, the Read Liberia coach also conducts a spot check of G1 and G2
students’ reading levels to complement the regular assessments administered by the
teachers. The coach selects four students (two boys and two girls) at random and
administers a brief, individual oral reading assessment. The coach first puts the students at
ease and asks them to just read aloud as best as they can and to skip any words that they
do not know. The assessment measures the students’ oral reading fluency rate and
comprehension of a short, grade-level passage. The coach records the results directly in the
tablet.
The primary purpose of this activity is to further inform the coach’s and teacher’s
understanding of the students’ progress. The coach and teacher compare the results of
these spot checks to the teacher’s own assessment results and see how they match or
Coach whispering guidance to a teacher during a lesson.
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differ. For example, do the students who performed well on the coach’s spot check also
perform well on the teacher’s assessments in class? If there is a mismatch in the results, the
coach and teacher can discuss why that might be. The coach and teacher can use the
reading spot checks to discuss whether the students seem to be reading at, below, or above
the level where they are supposed to be, as well as whether the students appear to be
improving or stagnating over time. Most importantly, they discuss concrete steps that the
teacher can take to address any student weaknesses revealed in the assessment data.
Training Sessions
While the Read Liberia coaches’ most frequent and regular contact with the teachers comes
through the monthly school visits, Read Liberia teachers also attend in-service trainings
twice a year, a residential training in August and a cluster-based refresher training in
February. Read Liberia master trainers facilitate the August training with logistical assistance
from the coaches. With support from the master trainers, the Read Liberia coaches
themselves lead the refresher training sessions in February for their cluster in a location,
often a school, close to where their cluster schools are located. Cluster trainings offer
several important benefits. Coaches are able to work with small groups of teachers. Without
the added expense of lodging, cluster trainings are more economical than residential
trainings. Transportation time and costs are also minimized.
The purpose of the refresher trainings is to deepen teachers’ mastery of reading pedagogy,
and specifically using the Read Liberia lesson plans and materials, and to strengthen areas
in which coaches have found teachers to be struggling throughout the year. During these
trainings, teachers benefit from the exchange of experiences and ideas as they practice the
lessons together, give one another feedback and support, and strategize together to
overcome challenges.
Coach-School-Community Engagement
While the Read Liberia coaches’ primary relationship is with their teachers, their
engagement is not limited to only teachers. Effective support necessitates engaging the
larger system within which teachers operate.27 At the school level, Read Liberia coaches
meet with school administrators (principal and instructional vice principal) at every visit. They
also encourage the operation of Teacher Circles, which are open to all teachers (not just the
KG-G2 teachers that the coaches support). At the district level, coaches meet with the
District Education Officer (DEO) on a regular basis. Read Liberia coaches also serve as a
general advocate for literacy with the PTA and in the community, to promote school-home
connections and a culture of reading.
Teacher Circles
One way for teachers to continue to receive support and grow professionally between coach
visits is for them to offer one another peer-to-peer support in groups, or “teacher circles.”
Teachers can benefit tremendously from meeting regularly with their colleagues from the
same school (or a neighboring school). Because they are at the same hierarchical level and
face the same daily challenges, teachers may feel more comfortable leaning on and learning
from one another than they do with others. For example, they can rotate observing one
another’s lessons, share constructive feedback and teaching tips, and discuss with one
another problems or questions they have with their lesson implementation, their students’
27 L’Allier, Elish-Piper, & Bean, 2010; Printy, 2008
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learning or behavior, or other challenges, all in a low-stakes, collaborative environment.
When they face challenges that they cannot resolve on their own, they can bring their
questions and concerns back to the coach for more help.
The Read Liberia coach works with the teachers and school administrators to strongly
encourage and facilitate this type of peer-to-peer support. Specifically, the coach supports
the formation, maintenance, and effectiveness of teacher circles by helping teachers to
organize groups and plan meeting times, protocols, and agendas; by facilitating an initial
meeting until the teachers are ready to take over; and checking in regularly with the group
members at each site visit to get feedback on how the teacher circles are going.
Principals and Instructional Vice Principals
Principals and vice principals are the key players charged with supervising and supporting
teachers on-site at all times and at multiple levels. The support of these school
administrators for an initiative such as early grade reading resonates among the teachers.
Their advocacy becomes a resource for teachers and facilitates the sustainability of the
initiative. It is therefore essential that the coach liaise with them to create a unified web of
support. At each school visit, the coach meets with the principal and instructional vice
principal to check in, communicate upcoming events, and address any questions the
administrators may have about Read Liberia and related activities. The coach also updates
the administrators on teacher and student progress, alerts them to any needs or concerns,
and offers guidance on how they can reinforce positive teacher practices in between
coaching visits.
Between school visits, the coaches continue to check in with their teachers, principals, and
vice-principals by phone and/or SMS at least once a week to follow up on any issues
discussed at the previous visit. Read Liberia staff check with the coaches through SMS or
Facebook Messenger, which the coaches also use to communicate, when possible, with
teachers.
To introduce them to Read Liberia’s early grade reading approach, the Activity invited
participating school principals and instructional vice principals to take part in the August
2018 residential training. Going forward, for greater cost-efficiency, specific, intensive
training sessions for school administrators are planned. Read Liberia also provides a set of
all teacher training manuals and materials to each school administration, to keep these
actors apprised as key stakeholders in early grade education.
Principals and instructional vice principals are also welcome to observe cluster teacher
training sessions, to further prepare them to work together with coaches in support of
teachers.
District Education Officers
The Read Liberia coaching program will be more successful the more it is integrated into
existing MOE structures. To prepare DEOs for Read Liberia’s interventions, the Activity
invited them to participate in the August 2018 residential training. A few DEOs even
presented lessons for the group of coaches. Read Liberia provides each DEO with the
training manuals and materials to keep them apprised as key stakeholders in early grade
education. In later years of the activity, intensive training sessions specifically for DEO
personnel will support transfer of the coaching function to the Ministry of Education.
The Read Liberia coach also pursues open lines of communication with the DEO. The coach
holds a monthly debrief with the DEO to maintain an ongoing dialogue with him/her around
the teachers’ progress and the students’ literacy achievement. To support this debrief, the
coach fills out and shares with the DEO the Monthly Coach Support Tracker (Appendix C),
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which summarizes the data from his or her monthly visits in a succinct way. The tracker
includes individual data about each school visit and lesson observation, as well as
aggregated data about teachers’ strengths and needs and the coach’s action plan for
continued support.
The coach also shares the site visit schedule for the upcoming month and invites the DEO to
accompany her or him on at least two school visits per semester. These visits give the DEO
direct exposure to what is happening at the school level around literacy development, to
which the DEO can lend his or her support. Both the school visits and monthly coach
updates help the DEO to keep the higher echelons of the MOE informed of the realities on
the ground. The DEO is also welcome to observe cluster teacher training sessions led by the
coach.
Community
Read Liberia coaches function as general advocates for literacy in the community at large.
As such, they participate in local education conferences and workshops, community
outreach events, PTA meetings, and other interactions with the education sector and the
broader public whenever possible. The coaches coordinate with and serve as a technical
resource for the Social Mobilizers under the Read Liberia Community Engagement program,
providing technical guidance and support to community activities that promote a culture of
reading.
Accountability Measures
Ensuring accountability of the coach function is essential for quality assurance, cost control,
and overall management of their work. Read Liberia has trained coach supervisors,
developed a set of instruments for planning, managing and recording coaches’ activities, and
uses digital technology to support rapid communication between Activity supervisors and
coaches in the field. These accountability measures are described in turn below.
Coach Supervisors
Every Read Liberia coach reports directly to a Read Liberia Coordinator for Teacher Training
and Coaching (CTTC), or “coach supervisor” for short. The coach supervisor serves both as
an accountability structure as well as a resource and a guide to help the coaches
successfully carry out all their duties.
It is important to note that coaching itself is a skill that is honed over time, and coaches need
support in their own professional development as coaches. The coach supervisors support
the coaches in several ways. First, just as the coaches observe their teachers teaching and
conference with them afterwards to discuss their practices and spur growth, so too the coach
supervisors observe the coaches in action and meet with them afterwards to reinforce the
quality of their coaching practices. Once a month the coach supervisor accompanies each of
the coaches under his or her supervision on a school visit and observes the coach executing
activities during that visit, including the classroom observation, teacher conference, any
lesson modeling or co-teaching, any student spot checks, and meetings with the principal
and vice principal. At the end of the visit, the coach supervisor meets with the coach
privately, and together they discuss what went well during the visit and what might possibly
be done better. This is an opportunity for the coach supervisor to affirm the coach’s positive
practices, offer an outsider perspective on the coach-teacher rapport, and help the coach
trouble-shoot problems and improve the effectiveness of his or her support.
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In addition, at least once a month, possibly at the same time as the joint school visit, the
coach and coach supervisor hold a monthly debrief about all the schools that the coach
supports. This debrief is based on the same Monthly Coach Support Tracker that the coach
presents to the DEO (Appendix C). This debrief is an opportunity for the coach supervisor to
help the coach analyze the general trends that s/he is encountering in the field, both the
teachers’ improvements and challenges, as well as strategize about concrete next steps that
s/he can take to meet the teachers’ ongoing needs. It is also an opportunity for the coach to
identify and communicate his or her own needs to the supervisor, e.g. needs for guidance,
clarification, resources, etc.
The coach supervisors also provide logistical support to the coaches. They work with the
coaches to plan the monthly coach workplan, school visit schedule, and transportation
budget for the upcoming month, ensuring that each school receives at least one visit per
month while school is in session. The coach supervisors ensure that coaches have all the
materials that they need, including tablets in good working order, copies of all the coach
documents (see below), training materials, and materials for the schools, e.g., books, oral
reading fluency assessments, report cards, etc. Through daily communication via phone or
text, coach supervisors ensure that coaches are following the workplan, schedule, and
budget and help them troubleshoot and adjust plans when necessary. The coach
supervisors receive and process all the coaches’ completed documentation of activities.
Communication and Documentation
As previously mentioned, Read Liberia coaches play an extensive and varied role in
facilitating communication among the stakeholders in early grade reading. They visit each
school monthly to support their teachers on site and touch base with the school
administrators. Between visits, they phone or text their teachers and school administrators
weekly to check in and follow up on issues raised during their previous visits. They visit their
DEO monthly as well, to keep the MOE informed about the general trends observed across
their schools. They liaise with the Read Liberia Social Mobilizers to promote literacy through
community events. They phone or text their coach supervisor daily to communicate timely
updates concerning all their activities and issues encountered.
The coaches also contribute valuable data for program monitoring. Because they are the
representatives of Read Liberia who visit the schools most frequently, they are the best
positioned to inform the activity about what is happening on the ground. Twice a year, they
fill out a school census noting the enrollment, attendance, inventory of Read Liberia
materials, number of minutes allocated to reading instruction per week, and PTA activities.
From their regular monthly school visits, the coaches record data on teacher performance as
part of their teacher support protocol. The coaches also collect learning outcome data
through the student reading spot checks and, informally, follow the functioning of the teacher
circles through a review of the meeting minutes and conversations with teacher circle
members.
In the execution of their responsibilities, Read Liberia coaches leave a trail of documentation
for different purposes. Some of these documents are central to their pedagogical role, such
as the classroom observation form, student reading spot checks, and monthly coach tracker.
The others are necessary for human resources, operational, and financial management.
A summary listing of the main coach documents, several of them already described or
referred to in previous sections, follows.
The Classroom Observation Instrument (Appendices A and B) documents teacher
performance and professional growth. The coach first fills the form in hard copy then
enters the data in the coach tablet. The hard copy remains with the teacher.
Read Liberia Activity Cost-effective, Evidence-based Coaching Model (Print Ready) Page 21
The Read Liberia School Census records data on enrollment, attendance, number
of minutes of reading instruction scheduled each week, presence of Read Liberia
materials, and PTA activity. These data are entered directly in the tablet twice a year.
The Student Reading Spot Checks document a random sample of student learning
outcomes. The spot checks are administered on the tablet.
The Daily Coach Activity Log documents all the coach’s work-related activities,
including both travel and non-travel workdays. These data are entered in the tablet.
The Travel and Transportation Tracker documents all the coach’s authorized,
work-related travel, including school visits, DEO visits, trips to the regional office,
community events, etc., regardless of whether transportation expenses were incurred
or not. The coaches fill this form in hard copy and submit it to the coach supervisors.
Moreover, the data from the classroom observation instrument go into an online dashboard
for use by coach supervisors and activity staff to keep track of the schools and teachers
visited and student enrollment and attendance. Read Liberia staff and RTI home office staff
can access the data captured in electronic and hard copy formats to report to the MOE and
USAID and to analyze and inform future training topics.
Technology
Read Liberia’s use of electronic tablets as noted above, provided through a Google grant,
facilitates accountability by supporting communication and documentation. Using the tablet,
the coach can capture observation data, assessment information, details of school visits,
and the schools’ GPS coordinates. These data provide valuable and timely information
which informs Read Liberia’s activities and confirms the coach’s interaction with the schools
for accountability purposes.
In addition to the tablets, Read Liberia uses mobile phone services among coaches,
teachers, and Activity management, both for communications check-ins and for mobile
money reimbursement of confirmed expenses. Over time, the use of communications
technology can produce cost savings, as coaches can communicate with teachers in remote
areas when they are unable to travel to their schools, and coaches and supervisors can
communicate daily without incurring travel costs.
Considerations for Sustainability
Sustainability and cost effectiveness go hand in hand. If the coaching model is too expensive to implement, then the MOE will be unable to sustain it. Building on the foundation laid during the Activity’s first year, Read Liberia, in collaboration with the MOE, devised the most cost-effective coaching model that could be sustained by the Ministry. Ideally, the Activity would have trained MOE personnel as coaches to support teachers from the start. However, after evaluating the existing situation, Read Liberia, in collaboration with the MOE, opted to engage external coaches while building the capacity of MOE specialists to deliver a sound coaching program. While this approach is more costly initially, the data collected (including cost data) and technical capacity being built will progressively provide the MOE with the information and capacity needed to replicate and extend the model at lower cost while preserving its key features. After considering all approaches, Read Liberia ascertained that this approach was the most cost effective, i.e., the most efficient approach for attaining the goal of providing support to teachers. To ensure the MOE could sustain a cost-effective coaching program, Read Liberia agreed with the Ministry to train 24 MOE specialists to be master trainers who would, in turn, train the coaches engaged by the Activity, thus facilitating
Read Liberia Activity Cost-effective, Evidence-based Coaching Model (Print Ready) Page 22
sustainability of efforts. Additionally, Read Liberia would also train CEOs and DEOs to support early grade reading initiatives in schools as well as principals to deliver school-based support, all efforts contributing to sustainability. With a trained cadre of staff at the central, DEO, CEO, and school levels, the Ministry is poised to continue to offer a quality coaching model.
Engaging and Progressively Developing MOE Technical Capacity
Over the course of Read Liberia, the Activity is building the capacity of system actors so that
they can carry out and sustain the coaching function to support quality instruction in
emerging literacy and basic reading skills, a subject area which has not received much
attention in the national education framework.
Read Liberia engaged and trained 24 master trainers, who were employees of the MOE, to
prepare the external coaches during initial training sessions in February and August 2018.
The master trainers will continue to support the training of coaches, DEOs, and school
administrators in subsequent trainings planned for these actors. Through this work, the
master trainers constitute a cadre of MOE personnel who are developing sound knowledge
and understanding of the coaching model and of early grade reading best practices, and the
skills to train other system actors in effective coaching and reading instruction practices.
The initial training events held by Read Liberia in 2018 introduced not just teachers but also
school principals, vice principals, and DEOs to sound instructional practices in early grade
reading. The regular contact of Read Liberia coaches with all of these actors over the
months of the program is also giving DEOs and school administrators the opportunity to see
the coaching model in action and ways to support quality instruction in emerging literacy and
basic reading skills. In trainings specifically designed for them going forward, school
administrators and DEO staff will further develop their own knowledge and skills in using the
model to coach and support teachers.
Continuing Use of Resources Developed Through Read Liberia
The systems, tools, and resources developed by Read Liberia can be used by the MOE after
the Activity ends.
The training manuals, scripted lessons, and early grade readers that Read Liberia has
developed support and complement the Liberian national curriculum. They do not lengthen
the curriculum with additional content that teachers must deliver, but rather, offer child-
centered activities to facilitate the teaching and learning of basic reading skills. These
materials were designed so that they will continue to be useful even if the curriculum were to
change.
The instruments that Read Liberia coaches use to observe teachers and assess student
performance have been designed for ease of administration and on-the-spot basic analysis.
As such, they can be readily transferred for use by school and district administrators in
providing individualized, structured support and feedback to teachers on their delivery of
early grade reading instruction.
Read Liberia’s coaches themselves, while external to the MOE, constitute an important,
trained and experienced resource for the system. They could be mobilized as needed to
provide guidance, training and support to MOE during extension of the coaching function to
other counties, districts and schools.
Choosing Cost-Effective Strategies
Training and supporting teachers in new instructional methods can be a costly business. For Read Liberia, the key costs of implementing its coaching model have included:
Read Liberia Activity Cost-effective, Evidence-based Coaching Model (Print Ready) Page 23
• development of instruments, training materials, and accountability measures
• initial training and ongoing skill development of coaches
• coach supervisors’ labor, transportation for supervisory visits, and communications costs
• coaches’ labor, transportation to schools, and communications costs;
• teachers’ residential training (lodging, transportation, materials, and meals for trainers and participants)
• teachers’ cluster-based training (transportation, materials, and refreshment for teachers).
The first point, development of instruments, materials, and accountability measures represents an investment which is expected to have only minor ongoing costs for adjustment, revision and updating. These elements are shared progressively with MOE actors at county, district and school levels, and can be transferred entirely to MOE without further development cost. The training and skill development of coaching personnel will continue to be needed as the system expands to other districts and schools, and to ensure that coaches’ knowledge and skills are refreshed and current. Ways to minimize costs going forward include arranging training venues closer to the location of participants (applying the “cluster” approach to the training of coaches where possible, to reduce transportation and lodging costs), mobilizing exemplary Read Liberia coaches on a short-term basis to augment the ranks of experienced trainers during training campaigns, and providing more of the training and support to coaches using virtual conferences, voice-over presentations, and video of exemplary coaching and instructional practices. The labor of coaches currently constitutes a substantial recurring cost for Read Liberia. These costs can be lessened as the coaching model is integrated into the system, by incorporating aspects of the coaching function into the formal roles of school principals, vice principals, and DEOs, and equipping these actors with the necessary skills, tools and knowledge to carry out these functions in their own schools and districts. Read Liberia will be training these actors and conducting discussions with MOE to support these kinds of measures as part of capacity transfer in the later years of the Activity. Similarly, the coaching supervisor function could be incorporated into CEO staff responsibilities, with accompanying training and tools provided to existing promising but underutilized staff. Whether some new positions will need to be created (at some additional cost), or existing positions and staff reoriented (at little to no additional cost), will be addressed in discussion with MOE. To the degree that the coaching function can be assumed primarily by school administrators, the costs of coaches’ transportation to schools can also be greatly reduced, if not eliminated entirely. There is value in teachers’ continued engagement with a familiar but otherwise external partner (such as the DEO) in the coaching process at the school level. For this reason, some provision enabling DEOs trained as coaches to visit schools on a quarterly or termly basis is recommended, to bring a comparative perspective and complement the more regular coaching work of school administrators. The continuation of local teacher circles and frequent communications between coach and teacher through mobile phone voice and messaging services will also provide support, feedback, and transmission of information at low cost. When formal training of teachers is called for, the objectives of training and the modality of training selected interact to produce its cost-effectiveness. Lengthy residential in-service training, once the norm, can be particularly expensive, as it entails not only the labor of trainers and provision of materials, but also transportation, lodging and feeding of participants throughout the training process. In terms of results, the cost-effectiveness of this
Read Liberia Activity Cost-effective, Evidence-based Coaching Model (Print Ready) Page 24
model of teacher capacity development on its own has been called into question. Once teachers return to their schools and classrooms, often very different from the training setting, it is far too easy to slip back into the old familiar practices. To introduce wholly new concepts or methods, residential training may be an appropriate choice. But a residential training’s real and perceived advantages (uniformity of training delivery, organizational control and convenience, undivided attention of participants) must be weighed against its high cost and its conceptual (as well as physical) distance from teachers’ day-to-day experience in classrooms. Even when it is an appropriate choice, the potential participant attention advantage of residential training has been found to offer diminishing returns if the training lasts longer than five consecutive days. With such considerations in mind, Read Liberia has selected to limit residential training of teachers to one five-day session each year starting in Year 2, for the presentation of new concepts, strategies and materials. Teacher capacity development focused on skills-strengthening, knowledge-deepening, and more individualized attention, on the other hand, is carried out through cluster-based training (at less than half the cost per participant than residential training) and on-site follow-up through the coaching visits. The ongoing support is provided by locally situated coaches who are able to work with teachers in their own settings, and build an active, evolving relationship with each teacher and a better understanding of his or her strengths and challenges. Through this relationship and understanding, coaches can provide support that is individualized to each teacher’s needs and progress over time and take into consideration each school’s specific context. Studies suggest that this kind of approach is more effective than formal training alone in helping teachers change the way they teach and boost children’s learning.28 Cost-conscious consideration of the appropriate modalities of training delivery and their trade-offs will similarly be critical going forward for sustainability.
Conclusion The Read Liberia coaching model is built on an extensive literature base of effective
coaching practices. The model takes a balanced approach between directive and reflective
coaching. Directive coaching is helpful for teachers in the Liberian context, many of whom
are learning best practices for reading instruction for the first time. Reflective coaching
supports the long-term goal to develop a corps of teachers who have agency in their own
professional growth. For Read Liberia, the coach-teacher relationship is central, and
establishing a positive, trusting rapport is critical to opening the teacher’s mindset to
learning. To that end, Read Liberia seeks coaches with both classroom teaching experience
and technical expertise but also recognizes the importance of soft skills such as the ability to
communicate effectively, build relationships with many kinds of people, learn and adapt
quickly, and faithfully carry out one’s duties with integrity.
Read Liberia coaches’ primary activity is to visit their teachers at their schools on a regular
basis throughout the school year. The Read Liberia coach visit protocol is structured around
a number of evidence-based, high-leverage coaching practices, including lesson
observation, conferencing, lesson modeling or co-teaching, and examination of student
learning data. The lesson observation focuses on key teaching practices that are applicable
to any lesson content. The coach-teacher conference is structured to promote active teacher
reflection, analysis, and goal-setting, with gentle guidance by the coach. The coach also
engages the larger school, district, and community system through his or her regular
communication with school administrators, the DEO, and community stakeholders. The
28 De Alba-Johnson et al., 2004; Neuman & Cunningham, 2009; Tschannen-Moran & McMaster, 2009
Read Liberia Activity Cost-effective, Evidence-based Coaching Model (Print Ready) Page 25
Read Liberia coaches are supported both professionally and logistically by their coach
supervisors.
Because the research base behind the potential impact of regular and sustained
pedagogical coaching is so strong, Read Liberia expects that once its coaching model is
firmly established, it will lead to improved teacher practices and student learning outcomes.
Read Liberia Activity Cost-effective, Evidence-based Coaching Model (Print Ready) Page 26
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Read Liberia Grade I - 2 Classroom Observation InstrumentUSAID
A. GENERAL INFORMATION
Date: __ I __ I__ Coach/Observer Name: ______________________
School Name: School Code:
County: ___________ District: Town:
Teacher Name': _________________ Teacher ID: ________ Teacher Gender. M I F
Grade: I 12 Lesson Week: ____ Lesson Day: ____
Number of students currently enrolled in the class: Girls: ____ Boys: Total:
Number of students present at the beginning of the lesson: Girls: ____ Boys: TotaI:
Number of books used by students during today's lesson: SAB: Let's Read:
Lesson Start Time: ____ Lesson End Time: ____
B. LESSON OBSERVATION
I. Preparation: Did the teacher show evidence of having prepared for this lesson before starting to teach it? For example, didthe teacher seem familiar with the lesson plao, write YES PARTIALLY NO lesson notes, and prepare the necessmy materials (e.g., letter cards, realia for vocabulary words, or text on chalkboard) ahead oftime?
2. Content Did the teacher cover the components for the day's lesson as indicated in the teacher guide, including sufficient time for students to read YES PARTIALLY NO aloud?
3. Method: Did the teacher use an effective instructional approach (e.g., "I Do YES PARTIALLY NO
We Do - You Do") as indicated in the teacher l!Uide? 4. Communication: Did the teacher communicate clearly and correctly with the
students? That is, did the teacher give clear and correct explanations and instructions using expcessive language tailored to the students' level ofunderstanding, supported when necessary by gestures, visual
YES PARTIALLY NO
aids. and other com!Jrehension scaffiJlds?
5. Monitoring: Did the teacher monitor the students' understanding throughout the lesson? for example, did the teacher watch and listen closely to the students to monitor their attention, engagement, and responses, adjusting his or her instruction when necessary? Did she or .~e walk
YES PARTIALLY NO
around the room and check the students' work as they worl<ed in )!rDu!Js, pairs, or independentiy?
6. Feedback: Did the teacher consistently provide constructive feedback to students? For example, did the teacher affirm correct responses and ffag incorrect responses fi:Jr YES PARTIALLY NO correction or re-i.eachin2" when necessarv to clear Ub confusion?
7. Pacing: Did the teacher teach at an appropriate pace? That is, did she or he spend an appropriate amount oftime on each activity (i.e., dose to the time suggested in the teacher guide, unless YES PARTIALLY NO extenuating drcumstances warrarrt.ed more or fess), keeping the pace quJck enough to maintain th12 students' interest and cover the lesson components but notso fast as to compromise their understandin)!?
8. Inclusion: Did the teacher direct his/her attention to and encourage active participation from all types of students, including boys and girls, students of YES PARTIALLY NO different abilities and needs, and students seated in different parts of the room?
9. Positive Discipline: Did the teacher maintain an orderly and affirmative environment where every student felt respected, valued, safe, and encouraged YES PARTIALLY NO to boldly pursue their full potential1
I0. Homework: Did the teacher check and assign homework? YES PARTIALLY NO
Total number for each column: /20p~Calculate: 2 p<>ints for each YES+ I point for each PARTIALLY+ 0 p<>ints for each NO
"
Tick the risk category based on the observation score: D 19-20 points: No Risk D 16-18 points: Low Risk D B-15 points: Some Risk I D 0-12 points: High Risk
Continue support as is Additional training/support required
1 Teacher privacy will be protected. Only relevant project staff (e.g. coaching super"Visors, M &E officers) will have access to the teacher' s identifiable data. Such data will be removed in any dissemination to a wider audience.
Appendix A. Classroom Observation Instrument for Grades 1 and 2
Read Liberia Activity Coaching Model -A 1
C. OBSERVATION SUMMARY
I. Strengths of today's lesson first ask the teacher to identifY what she or he considers the strengths in todoy's lesson. Then, add any additional observations ofyour own.
2. Implementation of recommendations/goals from previous visit Refer to your notes on recornnendations (Or actions or improvement and teacher goa~ discussed ot the previous visit Together with the teacher, identif( how these were addressed in IDday's lesson, If at all. lfd1ls Is die lnlt!al observation, then proceed to #3.
3. Student learning outcomes: strengths and needs Discuss with the teacher the swdentl' current learning progress based on the (earring objectives for wd<>(s lesson, your observation ofthe studentl during today's lesso~ the teachet's ongoing observations and assessments, and your student spot check resultl. Together identif( areas ofstudent strengths and needs and discuss strategies (O r addressing those needs.
Date of most recent assessment __ I __ I__ Were report cards disseminated at the most recent marking period? a. MOE Primary Report Card: [g_Yes D No b. Supplementary Student Reading Report I D Yes D No Card (for Periods 2, 4, and 6 only): LQ_Not applicable
c. PTA/Community Reading Report Card D Yes D No (for Periods 2, 4, and 6 only): D Not applicable
4. Coach recommendations on priority actions or 5. Teacher goals areas for teacher improvement Ask the teacher to identif( I to 2 specipc areas that she or he wants to fows on
Based on your observation oftoday's lesson and analysis ofstudent need~ improving In future lessons. (These may or m"( not be the same areas listed In
ldentif( I to 2 priority actions that the teacher can take to address student #4.) Ust the teachers responses here.
needs or areas that you recommend the teacher target for improvement
Teache r Comme nts:
Teacher Name and Signature:------------------------------ Date:_ I_ I_
Principal Name and Signature:------------------------------ Date:_I_I _
Coach Name and Signature:------------------------------- Date:_ I_ I_
Read Liberia Activity Coaching Model A-2
------------------------- -------
@ Read Liberia Kindergarten Classroom Observation Instrument
USAID
A. GENERAL INFORMATION
Coach/Observer Name: __________________Da~=~-1 ~-1~
School Name: School Code:
_ To'Wn: ____________County:---------- District: __________
Teacher Name: _____________ Teacher ID: _______ Teacher Gender: MI F
Week Num her: ____ Day: ____
Num her of students currently enrolled in the class: Girls: Boys: Total:
Num her of students present at the beginning of the lesson: Girls: ___ Boys: Total:
Lesson Start Time: ____ Lesson End Time: _____
B. LESSON OBSERVATION
I. Preparation: Did the teacher show evidence of having prepared for the day's activities 1 For example, did the teacher shaw evidence ofhaving read through the day's lesson beforehand?
YES PARTIALLY NO
NOTES:
2. Content: Did the teacher cover the components for the day's lesson as indicated in the teacher guide? That is, did the teacher implement the introduction, whole qrou!Jfsmall qroulJ. condusion activities?
YES PARTIALLY NO
NOTES:
3. Pacing: Did the teacher teach at an appropriate pace? That is, did sfhe spend an appropriate amount oftime on each activity (i.e. dose to the time suggested in the teacher's guide, unless extenuating circumstances warranted more ar less), keeping the pace quid< enough to maintain the students' interest and cover the lesson com!Jonents but not so fast as to comt>romise their undemandin!!?
YES PARTIALLY NO
NOTES:
4. Inclusion: Did the teacher direct his/her attention to and encourage active participation from all students, including boys and girls, students of different abilities and needs, and students in different parts of the room?
YES PARTIALLY NO
NOTES:
5. Positive Discipline: Did the teacher maintain an orderly and affirmative environment where students feels respected, valued, safe, and encouraged to boldly pursue their full potential?
YES PARTIALLY NO
NOTES:
6. Teaching Aids: Did the teacher use additional teaching aids (i.e. in addition to the alphabet chart and letter cards) to support student learnin21
YES PARTIALLY NO
NOTES:
7. Monitoring: Did the teacher monitor the students' understanding throughout the lesson? For example, did the teacher observe and listen closely to the students to monitar their attention, engagement, and responses, adjusting his/her instructian when necessary? Did the teacher scaffold and/or extend conversations to better !!aU!!e student undemandin!!?
YES PARTIALLY NO
NOTES:
8. Feedback: Did the teacher consistently provide constructive feedback to students? For example, did the teacher affirm correa responses and flag incorrea respanses for correctian re-teachin!! when necessarv to dear U!J contusian?
YES PARTIALLY NO
NOTES:
Appendix B. Classroom Observation Instrument for Kindergarten
Read Liberia Activity Coaching Model B-1
9. Extending Conversation: Did the teacher extend conversation as through questioning and other strategies indicated in the teacher guide? For example, questioninsr throul[h prompts, teacher ti(Js, small srroup facilitation, etc.?
YES PARTIALLY NO
NOTES:
10. Responding: Did the teacher actively listen and consistently respond to children's attempts to communicate and extend conversation when appropriate? Did teacher give adequate "wait time" in between asking questions and resoondinl! to children!
YES PARTIALLY NO
NOTES:
11 . Facilitating small groups: Does the teacher effectively facilitate small group instruction?
YES PARTIALLY NO
NOTES:
12. Classroom climate: Overall, is the learning environment warm and engaging? Does the teacher interact with the children positive and nurturing manner? For example, did the teacher child (i.e. greet each child, call children by name, and look them in t/1e eve, ensrasre children in meaninl!(ul interactions?
YES PARTIALLY NO
NOTES:
13. Vocabulary: Does the teacher introduce and/or review the weekly vocabulary words as described in the Teachers Guide!
YES PARTIALLY NO
NOTES:
Total number for each column: Calculate: 2 points for each YES + I point for each PARTIALLY + 0 points for each NO
=
I n•~~ Tick the risk category based on the observation score:
D 24-26 points: No Risk ) D 18-23 points: Low Risk D 13-17 points: Some Risk D 0-12 points: High Risk -~-
Continue support as is Additional training/support required
C. OBSERVATION SUMMARY
Summary of day's language activities by coach:
Read Liberia Activity Coaching Model B-2
I. Strengths of today's lesson Firs( ask the teacher to identlfY what slhe considers the strengths in todcry's lesson Then, odd any additional observations ofyour own.
2. How were previous recommendations/goals implemented? Refer to your notes on recorrmendotions for improvement and teacher goals discussed
ot the pr.Wous visit Together v.ith the teacher, identlfY how these
were addressed in todcry's lesson, ifot all. If this is the initlol obsetvotion, then proceed to #3.
3. Student learning outcomes: strengths and needs Discuss with the teacher the students' current learning progress based on your obsetvatlon ofthe students during today's lesson, and the teacher's ongoing observadons and fonnatlve assessment strotegie. Togetl1er, identlfY areas ofstudent strengths and needs. (Did you ~I like the students understand xi Teocher response could Include justificadons.) Discuss strategies for addressing those needs.
4. Coach recommendations on priority areas for S. Teacher goals teacher improvement Ask the teacher to ldentifY I to 2 specific areas that she or lie wonts to focus
Based on your obsewatlon oftoday's lesson and analysis ofstudent need~ on improving In filture lessom. (These mC>f or may not be the some areas listed
identifY 1-2 priority areas that you recommend the teacher target for In #4.) Ust the teacher's responses here.
improvement
6. Does the teacher have any questions about implementing a future lesson? What type of feedback was given?
Teacher Comments:
Teacher Name and Signature:-----------------------------Date:_ I_ I_
Principal Name and Signature: ------------------------------ Date: _ I _ I_
Coach Name and Signature: ------------------------------- Date: _ I _ I_
Read Liberia Activity Coaching Model B-3
----Read Liberia
USAID Monthly Coach Support Tracker
CoachName: ________________________________~Month/Year. __________
County: ________________________District: ----------------------
A. VISIT LOG
Dato of visit
School name School EMIS code
Teacher name Teacher ID
Te acher >ex
Grado Student: book ratio (# of students present:# of books in use)
Tcad1cr lesson observation scoren o
Stude nt a ttc ndMco ra te (# of students present + # enrolled) Gi.rk I Boys I All
#ol minulm: of reading irn;truction oer~ck
Principal Signature
M I F KG 11 12 : I I M I F KG 11 12 : I I M l F KG 11 12 : I I M l F KG 11 12 : I I M I F KG 11 12 : I I M l F KG 111 2 : I I MI F KG 11 12 : I I M l F KG 11 12 : I I M I F KG 11 12 : I I M l F KG 11 12 : I I M l F KG 11 12 : I I M l F KG 11 12 : I I M I F KG 1112 : I I M l F KG 11 12 : I I M I F KG 11 12 : I I M l F KG 11 12 : I I M l F KG 11 12 : I I M I F KG 11 12 : I I M l F KG 11 12 : I I
OVERALL AVERAGE: I I
B. AGGREGATED VISIT DATA Number of schools visited this month: Number of schools not visited this month: -----
Number of teachers visited this month: N umber of teachers not visited this month: ----
Number/percentage of observed teachers scor ing as "Some" or "High" Risk
on the Classroom Observation: ----~---~~
C. SUMMARY OF ISSUES
Comments on Visit Data:
I. Generallzed strengths Thor ~. when ore most teachers doing well or Wnprovi'ig on the most?
2. Generallzed needs That is, \vf1ot ore common problems rhot the teochcrs ore hcMng or recurring areas rolitlCd fOr improvement?
3. Action Plan That is, what speci(K. ad.ions wi#yoo take to address yoor teachers' needs?
4. Coach needs That is, what arem do you need more help with?
5. Additional Comments
Coach Name and Signature.: _____________________ Dace: __ I __ I__ District Education Officer Name and Signature: Dace: __ I __ I__
Teacher Training and Coaching Supervisor Name and Signature: Date: __ I __ I__
Appendix C. Monthly Coach Support Tracker
Read Liberia Activity Coaching Model C-1