Week 3 of Coaching Teachers: promoting changes that stick and this week we are examining the role of a clear instructional vision in the coaching process.
'As a teacher coach your job is not just to get teachers to change behaviours but to promote changes that will have meaningful impact on student learning'.
This is one of the biggest time and effort wasters I think I've experienced both as a teacher and in supporting other teachers. If you don't focus on things that really impact student learning, then what is the point? You put in a lot of work for little results because you're not making tha changes that are most effective in terms of student learning. But sometimes that can be really tough. Teaching (not to mention learning) is a really complex activity. Knowing which areas to focus on, in what combination and at what time is one of the hardest things to get right.
'As a teacher coach your job is not just to get teachers to change behaviours but to promote changes that will have meaningful impact on student learning'.
This is one of the biggest time and effort wasters I think I've experienced both as a teacher and in supporting other teachers. If you don't focus on things that really impact student learning, then what is the point? You put in a lot of work for little results because you're not making tha changes that are most effective in terms of student learning. But sometimes that can be really tough. Teaching (not to mention learning) is a really complex activity. Knowing which areas to focus on, in what combination and at what time is one of the hardest things to get right.
Image courtesy of Match Education Clarity of instructional vision is not just a vision of what teachers are doing, but a clear vision of what students are doing, thinking and saying in an optimal class period of learning. A coach should make links for the teachers between their actions and efforts and how that is affecting students. And ultimately the vision of what the teachers are doing needs to driven by a vision of optimal student learning.
Image courtesy of Match Education Central to the process is a vision for effective teaching and Orin (the course instructor) advocates the use of a rubric to avoid coaching sessions becoming a grab-bag of topics related to teaching which are great conversations but not necessarily focused on the things that will have greatest impact on classroom practice and student learning. Coaching sessions should focus narrowly on skill acquisition – on developing the types of skills that a teacher needs to advance the instructional vision that you have laid out in your rubric. If you are able to bring urgency and focus to the time you have in coaching teachers you are going to shorten the skill acquisition loops.
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