|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
 |
|
||
 |
Volume 2, No. 1
Winter/Spring, 2008 Exclusively online at
www.EducationHall.com
Coaching Along the Continuum:
Using Knowledge of Teachers’ Self-Reflective Concepts to Drive
Professional Growth Instructional coaches are,
without a doubt, one of the latest and hottest trends in education. With
tremendous data and research on teacher quality emerging every year, the
once unheard-of job title is quickly becoming a fashionable term. In
the Boston Public Schools alone, the Whole School Improvement and
Instructional Coaching Initiative earned a $7.1 million spot in the
district’s 2005 budget. The belief is simple: If teacher quality is what
counts, then hire an on-site staff developer to teach your teachers. Idealists are having a heyday with this educational innovation; yet, this new title is rarely accompanied by a specific job description, a meaningful framework, guidance, or targeted training on how to bring about positive change in the lives of adults. As educators, we read research indicating that teacher quality is the most important factor in student achievement, so we simply select a good teacher from within the ranks of the staff – promote the teacher with the most knowledge or, more likely, most seniority – and bestow upon them the title of “instructional coach.” One minute classroom teacher; the next, “teacher educator.” We have no idea what it means or what the person should specifically be doing, but we charge ahead, blindly trusting (or often just hoping) that the person with the esteemed job title will somehow discover the way. As essential and valuable as an instructional leader can be, and as competent and well-intentioned as most are, the potential is also there for this position to cause more damage than good. Without a clear job description, understood by administrators, coaches, and teachers alike, this position can easily do just the opposite of what it is intended to do – instead becoming divisive and building more resistance to change. Meet the teacher Therefore, it becomes extremely important to get to know the individuals one is working with, and to a certain extent, every school contains a similar reality: teaching staffs are comprised of diverse collections of educators, each facing different needs, bringing different beliefs, offering different perspectives, and working with different intensities towards a collective goal of student learning. The common result: striking differences in teacher effectiveness and student achievement from classroom to classroom. No shortage of research informs us that teacher quality is commonly known as the number one determinant of student success (Sanders, 1997, Darling-Hammond, 2000, Haycock, 2000, Wenglinksy, 2002). Teachers play a significant role in explaining student achievement; and studies show that several highly effective teachers in a row can mean the difference in academic success between two students (Goldhaber, 2003, Sanders & Rivers, 1997). The responsibility lies then with administrators and school leaders to sift their way through the vast diversity among staff and work to improve quality of instruction, encourage individual teacher growth, expand awareness of best practices, and create a collegial learning culture within their buildings. And in order to do just that, it involves asking teachers to change: a seemingly formidable obstacle for many. So where do we start? How do we lead teachers to improve without triggering resistance, defiance, and resentment? How do we encourage teachers to be the agents of change in their classrooms? How does a coach begin to structure his time and get into classrooms? What is the ultimate goal of the coach’s work? How can we turn our schools into powerful collaborative learning communities? Bringing it all together The answer lies in one simple
concept: Self-Reflection. It’s not the doing that matters, said
revered educator John Dewey: “It’s the thinking about the doing” (Archambault,
1974, emphasis added). It matters not if the teacher is a leading expert on
best practices or knows very little about how to run a classroom. What does
matter is his personal level of self-reflection. Self-reflection is critical
to a teacher’s ability to move forward and become more effective in helping
students learn and excel. Daudelin and Hall describe reflective learning as “the
process of stepping back from an experience to ponder carefully and
persistently its meaning…to reflect on the learning that is occurring”
(1997, p.13). In Systems for Change in Literacy Education, master
educators Carol A. Lyons and Gay Su Pinnell point out, “You do not learn to
be a good teacher of reading and writing in a few months, in a year, or even
over a period of several years. Teaching skills develop over a lifetime”
(Lyons & Pinnell, 2001). We have identified four developmental stages through which teachers generally progress as they become skilled in the art of self-reflection: Unaware, Conscious, Action, and Refinement. These phases accompany gains in expertise, experience, motivation, knowledge, and most definitively, self-reflective abilitites. By pinpointing the stage each teacher is in, you will be able to identify her specific learning needs and create a successful coaching plan, one that guides the adult learner down the ultimate path of self-reflection, maximizing her potential. With sufficient focus and intentionality, this precise approach to on-site, embedded staff development can yield tremendous benefits as teachers become more aware, confident, better motivated, more knowledgeable, and increasingly self-reflective. By utilizing the Continuum, coaches can design effective learning opportunities that foster movement toward the ultimate, Refinement Stage. The stages at a glance Unaware stage Educators in this first stage have no awareness that their classroom could be any different than how it currently is. They have little or no knowledge of research-based instructional practices and have a limited understanding of the capacity of their own role in student learning. They may be some of the hardest working individuals on staff, yet consistently yield the smallest gains. For teachers in each stage along the Continuum, the coach has a professional growth goal to help propel the teachers forward. The goal for the coach of teachers in the Unaware stage: To create awareness for change and a purpose to learn. Coach’s Role: Unconditional Partner These teachers will be more likely to see the importance of change if the coach can build connections between problems that arise in their classrooms and evidence-based instructional strategies. Often mistaken for an unwillingness to learn, teachers in the Unaware stage tend to accept without question the “world” in which they teach. They need an unconditional partner to help them look beyond the routine of what they do each day and realize the importance of their role as a teacher. Conscious stage In the second stage of development, there is a disconnect between knowledge of best practices and daily classroom instruction. These educators now have the awareness of what they should be doing, and often contemplate or attempt a new strategy, but lack the motivation and consistency to apply their knowledge in a meaningful way. They choose to do what is best, easiest, or more convenient for themselves over what is best for their students. The goal for the coach for teachers in the Conscious stage: To motivate and build consistency in application. Coach’s Role: Motivator/Strategies Teachers in the Conscious stage have very specific needs and require explicit guidance and coaching to address those needs. The coach acts as a motivator-strategist working with these teachers to set specific, short-term goals and providing support and encouragement to follow through. Action stage When teachers enter the Action stage, they are motivated to change and begin to consistently integrate knowledge with classroom instruction. They are on a mission now to unearth the “right” way to teach, believing that there is one instructional strategy that is better than the rest. They have accepted the responsibility for the success of their students and have a beginning recognition of individual needs, even if they lack the knowledge to address them. They welcome constructive feedback and openly seek advice. The goal for the coach for teachers in the Action stage: To build experience and strengthen expertise. Coach’s Role: Teacher The coach will spend the
majority of his time with Action stage teachers helping to build and refine
a vast repertoire of instructional strategies. Action stage teachers have
reached a developmental level where they view instruction as being “right”
or “wrong” and have the tendency to drift toward one specific way of
teaching. The coach must work to counteract this natural inclination and
work to build an awareness of multiple approaches to the same problem. Teachers in the Refinement stage are competent in the practice of teaching children. They recognize that there may be more than one “right” way of doing things and that their current way of thinking will continue to shift as they engage in reflective learning. They plan and implement strategies that actively engage and support students, making deliberate attempts to allow for multiple ways of learning. Formal and informal assessments, both formative and summative, drive the instruction in their classrooms. They are able to modify and refine plans at a moment’s notice in response to student need, interest, and motivation. The goal for the coach for teachers in the Refinement stage: To encourage long-term growth and continued reflection. Coach’s Role: Collaborator The coach should provide a wide range of resources from which teachers in the Refinement stage can draw ideas. These teachers are at their best in the classroom when they are able to be innovative and creative. Although it may seem that teachers in this stage do not need support and assistance, they can always expand their learning. Rather than providing suggestions during coaching, the coach can guide self-reflection and analysis of instructional strategies through open-ended questions and challenges to support all decisions with evidence. Summary Our goal as coaches: yes, it is to help Mrs. Jones begin to differentiate reading instruction and help Mr. Allen with his classroom management. But what if, while you were doing that, you were also able to guide them in the deeper art of self-reflection? Mrs. Jones won’t always have a coach by her side. It’s our job to encourage individual development and growth. As a coach, you can do this by using the Continuum of Self-Reflection. With sufficient time and energy, this precise approach to staff development can yield tremendous benefits as teachers become more aware, confident, better motivated, more knowledgeable, and increasingly self-reflective. References Archambault, R.D. (1974). John Dewey on education: selected writings. Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press. Darling-Hammond, L. (1988). Teacher quality and educational equality. The College Board Review 148, 16-23, 39-41. Daudelin, M.W. and Hall, D.T. (1997, December). Using reflection to leverage learning. Training and development. 13-14. Dole, J.A. (2003). Professional development in reading comprehension instruction. In Sweet and Snow: Rethinking reading comprehension. New York: The Guildford Press. DuFour, R. and R. Eaker (1998). Professional learning communities at work: best practices for enhancing student achievement. Bloomington, IN: National Educational Service. Evans, R. (2001). The human side of school change: Reform, resistance, and the real-life problems of innovation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Hall, P.A. (2004). The first-year principal. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Education. Kise, J.A.G. (2006). Differentiated coaching. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Lyons, C.A. & Pinnell, G.S. (2001). Systems for Change in Literacy Education: A guide to professional development. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Sweeney, D. (2003). Learning along the way. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers. Lyons, C.A. and G.S. Pinnell (2001). Systems for change in literacy education: a guide to professional development. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Wren, S. and D. Reed (2005). Literacy coaches: roles and responsibilities. SEDL Letter XVII (1), 6-12.
Catch the release of Alisa Simeral and Pete Hall's new book, published by ASCD, in December, 2008
Bring Alisa Simeral to your school or
district: Click
http://www.EducationHall.com/contact.htm for more information. |
 |
|
 |
|
||
|
Copyright
© 2008 EducationHall. All rights reserved. |
