When you hear the word coach, what comes to mind? I can’t help but picture sports. I have three children of my own who are very involved in various sports. Their coaches play an important role in their development. Their coach not only coaches them with sport but has also built meaningful relationships with them. My kids have been pushed to set goals and worked hard to achieve them. I feel that the relationship is a driving force that motivates my kids to work harder to reach their goals, which in turn, makes them a better athlete.
This falls in line with instructional coaching. Knight (2018) defines instructional coaching as partnering “with teachers to analyze current reality, set goals, identify and explain teaching strategies to meet goals, and provide support until the goals are met” (p. 3). Hashim (2021) states that an instructional coach also supports teachers cognitively by ensuring that teachers understand new approaches. This in turn will not only improve teacher practice but also student learning.
Coaching Styles
One thing that really stood out to me is the importance of how instructional coaches interact with others. This goes back to the relationship I described between my personal kids and their coaches. Instructional coaches should think of teachers as equals and allow them to make their own choices. Knight (2018) explains that there are three common approaches to coaching: facilitative, directive, and dialogical.The approach that I believe would work best for me is the dialogical approach. “Dialogical coaches ask powerful questions, listen and think with teachers, and collaborate with them to set powerful goals that will have a powerful impact on students’ lives” (Knight, 2018, p. 13). For this approach, coaching is a dialogue. The teacher and the coach share ideas and the ultimate decision is made by the teacher.
For this approach to coaching to be effective, coaches must be sure that the relationship is safe, trusting, nonevaluative, and nonjudgmental. Hashim (2018) also points out that teachers need to be given contact time with the coaches for coaching to be effective.
I loved learning about the Impact Cycle because I am a person who likes a plan. To learn more about the Impact Cycle, watch this video created by two Instructional Coaches who explain their role and the Impact Cycle to teachers at their school.
Using Technology
I thought the video referenced above was a great way to advertise coaching to prospective teachers. To me, it was a creative way to share what happens in a coaching cycle. As the coaches pointed out, videoing a lesson is a very effective way to get a picture of what is really happening in a classroom.Last school year, I was a remote teacher. Therefore, every lesson I taught was recorded through Google Meet. Watching the first few lessons was almost painful to me. I could not get over how I sounded and some of the facial expressions I made. But, after really looking into the lesson, I was able to identify areas where growth was needed. Luckily I had another remote teacher on my grade level and without knowing, we acted like instructional coaches for each other. We spent a lot of time together and identified areas that could improve. We discussed strategies that were working and the ones that weren’t and made improvements as we taught.
We also looked at our students’ work. This area was a little bit harder due to students working from home. We sometimes had students who received a great deal of parental assistance with work. This led us to begin doing an exit ticket at the end of live lessons. This way, we could observe what the students were actually doing and ensure that it was completed independently.
Again, without really knowing, we were setting PEERS goals for ourselves. Knight (2018) explains that PEERS goals are powerful, easy, emotionally compelling, reachable, and student-focused. We didn’t know we were doing this at the time, but looking back, the goals we set did contain these elements.
I believe that the accidental coaching that we did for each other as remote teachers was powerful because we viewed each other as equals, we trusted each other, we valued input from one another, and we honestly had an authentic relationship. We both wanted to be the best we could be for our students and we wanted to see our students succeed.
“It doesn’t matter whether coaching is used in sport, life or business, the good coach believes that individuals always have the answer to their own problems. They just need help to unlock them” (SkillsYouNeed, n.d., Conclusion section).
References
CUSD50 Instructional Coaching. (2020, January 29). Quick as a bee PD - Episode 25: What is an Impact Cycle? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_24A-bheNAHashim, A. K. (2020). Coaching and districtwide improvement: Exploring the systemic leadership practices of instructional coach. Teachers College Record, 122(10).
Knight, J. (2018). The impact cycle: What instructional coaches should do to foster powerful improvements in teaching. Corwin.
SkillsYouNeed (n.d.). What is coaching? https://www.skillsyouneed.com/learn/coaching.html
Dana,
ReplyDeleteI am very impressed that you took the opportunity to enhance your teaching by watching your video. As Knight mentioned in The Impact Cycle (2018), it is common for teachers to notice all the negative. I know I would! I hope you noticed the great things you were doing also! I felt like there was such a great opportunity within the virtual setting to improve teaching through video, and was curious if teachers were doing that. I know teaching virtually was so draining that I wouldn’t have blamed you if you didn’t. I am sure your students benefited from this practice! In Cassada and Kassner’s 2018 study on video peer coaching, they found that teachers who utilized video peer coaching felt less isolated. I bet that was a big bonus for you and your colleague. By analyzing your videos to improve student learning, you worked together and found great solutions. Having someone in your same position sounds like it really helped you navigate that unfamiliar territory.
References
Cassada, K., & Kassner, L. (2018). Seeing is believing: Peer video coaching as professional development done with me and for me. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 18(2). https://citejournal.org/volume-18/issue-2-18/general/seeing-is-believing-peer-video-coaching-as-pd-done-with-me-and-for-me
Knight, J. (2018). The impact cycle. Corwin.
Dana,
ReplyDeleteI too was with you on the virtual teaching standpoint and have often thought of it as painful to watch videos as well. Especially for me, I was teaching 4th & 5th grade content I had never taught before! Research shows it can take up 50 hours before mastering a new skill, so I can only imagine that our first few video sessions were not the most polished (Dudek, Reddy, Lekwa, Hua, & Fabiano, 2019)!
I also admire the journey you all took together to coach each other. Like you mentioned, you already had a system of trust built within each other which allowed you to be able to give constructive advice and assist each other when needed. As Knight (2018) states, the illusion of objectivity is the hardest to get around when examining your own teaching. We cannot always see our biggest flaws, or we at least create justifications for them. Using the videos you created was a great first step and may have even impacted your teaching for this year. Best of luck to you!
References:
Dudek, C. M., Reddy, L. A., Lekwa, A., Hua, A. N., & Fabiano, G.A. (2019). Improving universal classroom practices through teacher formative assessment and coaching. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 44(2), 81-94.
Knight, J. (2018) The impact cycle: What instructional coaches should do to foster powerful improvements in teaching. Corwin.
I've found watching back video to be one of the best tools for improving any practice. When I coached soccer, we often watched our game footage to see how we could improve. I also recorded my training sessions, watched those back, and paid attention to how I could improve as a coach. It's amazing how much of an improvement you can make when you watch yourself and reflect.
ReplyDeleteYour points about the "accidental coaching" reminded me of a research article. Cassada & Kassner (2018) pointed out that in the absence of an instructional coach peer coaching groups can be extremely beneficial, especially when reflecting on video recordings of a lesson. It seems that your past experience confirms their research.
References:
Cassada, K., & Kassner, L. (2018). Seeing is believing: Peer video coaching as professional development done with me and for me. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 18(2). https://citejournal.org/volume-18/issue-2-18/general/seeing-is-believing-peer-video-coaching-as-pd-done-with-me-and-for-me
Knight, J. (2018) The impact cycle: What instructional coaches should do to foster powerful improvements in teaching. Corwin.