Instructional Coaching The Longhorn Way

1. InStructional Coaching:
The Longhorn Way

2. Plan For Today
8:30 - 9:00
Overview &
History of
Instructional
Coaching
9:00 - 9:45
Perceptions of
Coaching &
Adult Learning
9:45 - 10:00
Coffee &
Snack Break
10:15 - 11:00
The Impact Cycle
2
11:00 - 11:30
Expectations &
PL Preview
11:30 - 11:45
Questions &
Wrap Up

3. Meet The Team for 2019 - 2020
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Tasha Young (Science)
Brittany Tigue (Science)
Dana Champion (Math)
Stephen Pate (Math)
Laura King (CTAE)
Allison Cochrane (WL)
Katie Eisner (Social Studies)
Rebecca Parker (Social Studies)
Joel Posey (Social Studies)
Lauren Watkins (Social Studies)
Erin Medved (Math/Special Ed)
Nancy Isham (Lit/Special Ed)

4. 1.A [Brief] History: Why Instructional Coaching?
Where did this idea come from? Does it really work?

5. • Instructional coaching began in the early 1980s as an approach to improve the quality of
implementation of new curriculum and instructional strategies (Joyce & Showers, 1996).
• Coaching was first proposed as an alternative to traditional professional development after
staff development evaluations revealed that fewer than 10 percent of teachers applied
what they learned (Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, & Yoon, 2001; Joyce & Showers, 1996).
• Early research showed that teachers who had a coaching relationship practiced new skills
and strategies more frequently and applied them more than those without coaching
experience (Harwell-Kee, 1999).
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6. • Coaching has been adopted by many school districts as a means for professional
development (Driscoll, 2008).
• Coaching has become the means for striving school systems to provide training to improve
instructional delivery.
• Instructional coaching is being used to build communities of teachers who continuously
engage in the study of their profession.
• Over the last 20 years, great importance has been placed on professional development
because it is believed that student learning is directly linked to teachers “knowledge and
skills.” TAKE 20!

7. I’M A COACH, NOW WHAT?
➔ Be psychologically prepared!
➔ Connect with the staff as quickly as possible… HOW? IDEAS?
➔ YOUR FIRST YEAR AS A COACH, BUILD RELATIONSHIPS!
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8. Traits Needed to Be an Instructional Coach
• Build Relationships
• Student Focused
• Data Informed Decisions
• Question Without Judgement
• Knowledge of High Impact Instructional Practices
• Take Risks
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Thoughts? Why Are These Important? Any you Would Add?

9. LISTENING
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https://youtu.be/WaCfzIzIjW4

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Exercise: Listen More ThAn Tell (What a Good Coach Does)
Pair Up. One person will be
answering a question and one person
will be listening.
The Goal? Can you listen for without
interrupting for 1 minute?
Round Two - the other partner talk
for 2 minutes!
What to talk about?
➔ Why you became a teacher.
➔ Your dream vacation.
➔ Your greatest fear and why.
➔ Your dream job.
➔ Your favorite movie, song,
concert, tv show, book,
game, sport, etc, etc

11. 2.Teacher Perceptions of Instructional Coaches
We can’t work with adults like we work with our students...

12. The Little Engine That Could:
Instructional Coaching At Lambert
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2019 - 2020: Relaunch of the program.
2018 - 2019: Horns Board helps more teachers to get onboard.
2017 - 2018: A lull… Few observations. More Trained.
2016 - 2017: More Trained. Dr. Zapada presents. First observations happen.
2015 - 2016: More fully trained throughout the year. Brainstorming plans.
2014 - 2015: First Lambertians are trained through the Jim Knight Academy

13. Overheard About Instructional Coaching...
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“I was teacher of the year - I Don’t Need An IC.”
“I’ve been teaching since before she graduated
college. Why should she tell me what to do?”
“He’s a spy
for the
Admin…”
“It is my Classroom, so It is My Business.”
“It is just
the next
new thing.
It will
Blow over
Soon.” “Why would I want his help? Students hate him.”
“I am too busy for one more thing to do.”
“They Don’t Know My Content.”
“It Is Just A Title To Get Her AHead.”

14. 14Rob’s Research…
Interview Questions for the end of the year:
1. What is the role of the instructional coach?
2. How does your instructional coach support you?
3. Describe the impact of having an instructional coach on the school?
4. How involved is the instructional coach in monitoring the progress of school goals?
5. How does the instructional coach assist with the academic performance of students?
6. What impact has the instructional coach had on fostering professional development?
7. How would you like the instructional coach to collaborate with you/your content team?
8. Why do you think teachers have been hesitant to participate in peer visitations (that have been set up by the
instructional coach)?
9. Research clearly indicates that the use of video is an effective practice for teachers to use in order for self reflection
and improving practice. Why do you think teachers have been hesitant to participate in using video for their professional
development?
10. What else would you like to share regarding instructional coaches in general or specifically about LHS instructional
coaches and the impact they have had on your school?

15. So - How Do We Get Coaching To Take Off at Lambert?
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We MUST Change the Narrative!
❏ Explain why it is valuable to have a coach
❏ Learn how to best work with adults
❏ Show that it is valuable to have a coach

16. Why have an
Instructional Coach?
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17. What careers have coaches? How does it (perceive to) help?
“I’ve been a surgeon for eight years.
For the past couple of them, my performance in the operating room has reached a plateau.
I’d like to think it’s a good thing—I’ve arrived at my professional peak.
But mainly it seems as if I’ve just stopped getting better.”
﹏
“The concept of a coach is slippery. Coaches are not teachers, but they teach.
They’re not your boss—in professional tennis, golf, and skating, the athlete hires and fires the coach—but they
can be bossy. They don’t even have to be good at the sport. The famous Olympic gymnastics coach Bela
Karolyi couldn’t do a split if his life depended on it. Mainly, they observe, they judge, and they guide.”
﹏
“Coaches are like editors, another slippery invention. Consider Maxwell Perkins, the great Scribner’s editor, who
found, nurtured, and published such writers as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Thomas Wolfe.
“Perkins has the intangible faculty of giving you confidence in yourself and the book you are writing,” one of
his writers said in a New Yorker Profile from 1944. “He never tells you what to do,” another writer said.
“Instead, he suggests to you, in an extraordinarily inarticulate fashion, what you want to do yourself.
From The New Yorker “Personal Best” September 26, 2011
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18. From August 29, 2018 We Are Teachers
“Why Even the Best Schools and Best Teachers Need Instructional
Coaches”
➔ Instructional Coaches can be sounding boards.
➔ Instructional Coaches can provide different perspectives.
➔ Instructional Coaches can be another set of hands in the classroom.
➔ Instructional Coaches can provide personalized Professional Development.
➔ Instructional Coaches can help teachers reflect and grow.
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19. 19
WHAT JIM KNIGHT’S RESEARCH SAYS ABOUT TEACHER PERCEPTIONS WHEN
THEY CONSISTENTLY WORK WITH COACHES...
● Instructional coaches have become essential to teachers because they assist teachers with
collaboration, instructional delivery, and the implementation of research based practices to
improve classroom instruction (Knight, 2007).
● Instructional coaches provide an opportunity for teachers to work with colleagues in small
learning communities and focus on student learning. In addition, they assist teachers with
creating learning communities based on grade, content, vertical, and horizontal alignments
(Driscoll, 2008).
● According to Knight (2007), teachers believed that instructional coaches provided them with
consistent opportunities to work together, impart knowledge, plan, and reflect upon their
practice.

20. 20
● Teachers believed coaching helped them to stop teaching in isolation and meet the
needs of their students because they shared ideas and learning experiences. Teachers
became more satisfied with their positions and with their option of teaching as a
profession once they worked with a coach and collaborated with team members.
● Teachers also believed that collaboration helped build capacity and teacher
empowerment.
● Teachers also believe that instructional coaches assisted them with seeing
instructional delivery from a different viewpoint (Reiss, 2003). Instructional coaches
provided teachers with the knowledge to differentiate instruction based on the
multiple intelligences of their students.

21. How Can I Best Work With
Adult Learners?
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22. Andragogy, also known as adult learning
theory, was proposed by Malcom Shepard
Knowles in 1968.
Previously, much research and attention had
been given to the concept of pedagogy –
teaching children. Knowles recognized that
there are many differences in the ways that
adults learn as opposed to children.
His thoughts surrounding andragogy sought
to capitalize on the unique learning styles
and strengths of adult learners.
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ANDRAGOGY – ADULT LEARNING THEORY

23. Knowles’ Five Assumptions of Adult Learners
1. Self-Concept – Because adults are at a mature developmental stage, they have a more secure
self-concept than children. This allows them to take part in directing their own learning.
2. Past Learning Experience – Adults have a vast array of experiences to draw on as they learn,
as opposed to children who are in the process of gaining new experiences.
3. Readiness to Learn – Many adults have reached a point in which they see the value of
education and are ready to be serious about and focused on learning.
4. Practical Reasons to Learn – Adults are looking for practical, problem-centered approaches
to learning. Many adults return to continuing education for specific practical reasons, such
as entering a new field.
5. Driven by Internal Motivation – While many children are driven by external motivators –
such as punishment if they get bad grades or rewards if they get good grades – adults are
more internally motivated.
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24. Knowles’ FoUR PRinCiPles of Adult Learners
1. Since adults are self-directed, they should have a say in the content and
process of their learning.
2. Because adults have so much experience to draw from, their learning should
focus on adding to what they have already learned in the past.
3. Since adults are looking for practical learning, content should focus on issues
related to their work or personal life.
4. Additionally, learning should be centered on solving problems instead of
memorizing content.
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25. WHat complicates the task of
helping adults?
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26. Change!
Most people don’t know what it looks like when they do what they
do.
Identity
People take it personally when we talk about their practice.
Thinking
When we do the thinking for other people, they resist.
Status
If people perceive we think we are better than them, they resist.
Motivation
Unless people care about a goal, they aren’t likely to achieve the goal.
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27. Let’s Chat...
Knowing this about Adult Learners, what could we have done
better to bring instructional coaching to Lambert? What could
you personally do better as a leader in your department? How
should this affect Professional Development, at the school and at
the county level? How should it affect today’s training!?!

28. How Do I Show That it is Valuable
to Have an Instructional Coach?
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29. 29

30. 30
Equality: Instructional Coaches and Teachers Are Equal Partners.
Partnership involves relationships between equals. Thus, instructional coaches
recognize collaborating teachers as equal partners, and they truly believe that each
teacher’s thoughts and beliefs are valuable. Instructional coaches listen to teachers
with the intent to learn, to really understand, and then respond, rather than with
the intent to persuade.

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Choice: Teachers Should Have Choice Regarding What & How They Learn.
In a partnership, one individual does not make decisions for another. Because partners
are equal, they make their own individual choices and make decisions collaboratively.
For instructional coaches this means that teacher choice is implicit in every
communication of content and, to the greatest extent possible, the process used to
learn the content. Instructional coaches do not envision making teachers “think like
them” as the purpose of their job. Rather, an instructional coach’s goal is to meet

32. 32
Voice: Professional Learning Should Empower and Respect the Voices of Teachers.
All individuals in a partnership have opportunities to express their point of view. A
primary benefit of a partnership is that each individual has access to many
perspectives rather than the one perspective of a leader (Covey, 2004). Instructional
coaches who act on this principle encourage teachers to express their opinions about
content being learned. Instructional coaches view coaching as a process that helps
teachers find their voice, not a process determined to make teachers think a certain
way.

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Dialogue: Professional Learning Should Enable Authentic Dialogue.
To arrive at mutually acceptable decisions, partners engage in dialogue. In a
partnership, one individual does not impose, dominate, or control. Partners engage in
conversation, learning together as they explore ideas. For instructional coaches,
this means that they listen more than they tell. Instructional coaches avoid
manipulation, engage participants in conversation about content, and think and
learn with collaborating teachers.

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Reflection: Reflection Is an Integral Part of Professional Learning.
If we are creating a learning partnership, if our partners are equal with us, if they
are free to speak their own minds and free to make real, meaningful choices, it follows
that one of the most important choices our collaborating partners will make is how to
make sense of whatever we are proposing they learn. Partners don’t dictate to each
other what to believe; they respect their partners’ professionalism and provide them
with enough information, so that they can make their own decisions.

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Praxis: Teachers Should Apply Their Learning to Their Real-Life Practice as They Are Learning.
Partnership should enable individuals to have more meaningful experiences. In
partnership relationships, meaning arises when people reflect on ideas and then put those
actions into practice. A requirement for partnership is that each individual is free to
reconstruct and use content the way he or she considers it most useful. For IC’s this
means that in partnership with collaborating teachers they focus their attention on how
to use ideas in the classroom as those ideas are being learned.

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Reciprocity: Instructional Coaches Should Expect to Get as Much as They Give.
In a partnership, all partners benefit from the success, learning, or experience of
others—everyone is rewarded by what each individual contributes. For that reason,
one of an IC’s goals should be to learn alongside collaborating teachers. Learning
about each teacher’s strengths and weaknesses while implementing new teaching
practices will enhance a coach’s ability to collaborate with all other teachers and the
coach’s skill in using the new teaching practice.

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As a Team - How Can We Show Value To Our Staff?
Morning Group
• Get out there and
get into
classrooms (stop
talking and do it)
• Invite people in
(be vulnerable)
• Treat everyone as
an adult
• We aren’t going
away….
Afternoon Group
• Video yourself and
share (?)
• Make a
commercial
• Testimonials
• A platform to
share
Friday Group

38. 3.The Impact Cycle
The Tools You Need to be an Effective Coach

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Jim Knight -
Introducing
The Impact
Cycle

40. 40
YOU MUST
ENROLL A
TEACHER
FIRST!

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Identify
➔ Build off of your relationship
➔ Teacher picks the goal
➔ Goal should be student focused
“It isn’t that they can’t see the solution,
they can’t see the problem”
Jim Knight

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43. 43
Learn
➔ Explain and modify how the new teaching practice will be taught.
➔ Meet the teacher one-one.
➔ Create a checklist to follow
➔ Construct an observation protocol
➔ Possibly model for teacher in classroom (in the teacher’s class or
another class)

44. 44
HIGH
IMPACT
STRATEGIES
What have you
found that
works?

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46. 46
Improve
“SAD” FEEDBACK IS GOOD!” (Rob Meinberg, 2015)
SPECIFIC
ACTIONABLE/AUTHENTIC
DESCRIPTIVE
• Always talk about what you saw - non-attributive feedback, not
fluff (what your administrators are supposed to do on TKES
observations).
• Identify what went well and make adjustments if needed…
• Look at DATA...

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48. 48
Great Questions for Coaching

49. Reality
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What’s on your mind?
On a scale of 1–10, with one being the worst lesson you’ve taught and 10
being the best, how would you rank that lesson?
Why did you give it that number? Why didn’t you give it a lower number?
What pleased you? And what else?

50. Change
What would have to change to move the lesson closer to a 10?
If you woke up tomorrow, and a miracle happened so that your students were
doing exactly what you would like them to do, what would be different? What
would be the first signs be that the miracle occurred?”
(Solution-Focused Coaching) If this class was your dream class, what would
be different? What would your students be doing differently if your class was
a 10? Tell me more about what that would look like? How could you measure
that change? Do you want that to be your goal? If you could hit that goal,
would it really matter to you?
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51. OPTIONS
What teaching strategy could you use to hit that goal?
Would you like some suggestions?
What advice would you give someone else if this was their problem? (John
Campbell)
Which option gives you the most energy? (John Campbell)
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52. Next Steps
What are your next steps?
What can you accomplish this week to move closer to your goal?
And what else can you do?
When will you do that?
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53. Video: Helpful Tool Or Torture Device
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For You As A Coach For The Teacher You Coach
Are YOU willing to watch yourself
teach on video?

54. 54
Exercise: Roll Play Time
Watch…
The Instructional Coach...Rob
The Frustrated Teacher...Amanda
And Do…
First Time: Coach? Teacher?
Second Time: Switch!
Going Through The Coaching Cycle

55. 5.Expectations of a Lambert Instructional Coach
Helping to make Instructional Coaching part of the school culture

56. Professional Learning
Take 20
Presentations
Pair up to present to
the staff on a timely
topic with a practical
take-a-way. You will
have a sub for the day
in order to present
each period.
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Completing the
Coaching Cycle with at
Least 3 Teachers
“Required” Staff
Members include NEO
Tier 1, 2, and 3 as well
as all department
chairs and co-chairs.
(Details to come at our
next meeting on
September 27th)
Meetings
for Learning and
Reflection
Monthly Instructional
Coach meetings,
additional professional
development
opportunities, and
reflection.

57. Additional Benefits
➔ Certificate after presenting PL Take 20 to staff
◆ Upload to itsLearning as evidence towards a TKES 4
➔ ½ Days to use for Instructional Coaching
◆ Sign Ups for late Oct/early Nov coming soon
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58. 6.ProfessionaL Development Preview
You Play a Huge Role This Year

59. The Breakdown
1. PL Take 20 Meetings
2. PLCs (Content Teams)
a. New PLC minutes and reflection
3. HORNS Board and Reflections
a. Preview and Help?!?
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60. Questions?
Concerns?
Comments?
Resources?
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