Instructional coaching a balance of pressure and support

7. Aguilar, E. (2012, April 5). How instructional coaches can help transform schools. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/instructional-coaching-transforming-schools-elena-aguilar Denton, C. A. and Hasbrouck, J. (2009). A description of instructional coaching and its relationship to consultation. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 19, 150-175. Hasbrouck, J. E. (1997). Mediated peer coaching for training pre-service teachers. The Journal of Special Education, 31(2), 251-271. Knight, J. (2011). Unmistakable impact: a partnership approach for dramatically improving instruction. Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA. L’Allier, S., Elish-Piper, L., & Bean, R.M. (2010). What matters for elementary literacy coaching? Guiding principles for instructional improvement and student achievement. The Reading Teacher, 63(7), 544-554. McCrary, M. (2011). Mapping the road to instructional coach effectiveness: exploring the relationship between instructional coaching efficacy, practices, and outcomes. Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations. Paper 83. Retrieved from http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/msit_diss/83 Pennington, M. (2009, October 11). 12 reasons why teachers resist differentiated instruction. Retrieved from http://penningtonpublishing.com/blog/reading/10-reasons-why-teachers-resist-differentiated-instruction/ Reiman, A.J. and DeAngelis Peace, S. (2002). Promoting teachers’ moral reasoning and collaborative inquiry performance: a developmental role-taking and guiding inquiry study. Journal of Moral Education, 31(1), 51-66. Sample Instructional Coaching Model (Fairfax County, VA) Retrieved from naacp.3cdn.net/1d736797985785ca74_1vm6bxg8l.doc

Editor's Notes

Instructional CoachingA balance of pressure and supportBy gregschnagl
My former employer, Fairfax County, VA, holds the position that the mission of instructional coaching is to build adult learners’ capacity to advance the achievement of all students and to close the achievement gap. Having experienced the Fairfax model, I can honestly say that I grew more as a professional in my short tenure there, than any district before or since. I received direct instructional coaching from my principal, team lead and cross-grade level colleagues.Elena Aguilar, in her Edutopia blog, states instructional coaches usually work one-on-one with another teacher. That may be true, but the “coach by committee” model that I experienced gave me the support required to meet the demands of a high pressure district. All of the Fairfax coaches observed, modeled lessons and provided feedback. The foremost expert in the field of instructional coaching is Jim Knight. Knight is a research associate at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning and the president of the Instructional Coaching Group. In his book, Unmistakable Impact: A Partnership Approach for Dramatically Improving Instruction, he provides a working definition for instructional coaching.He writes, “Fundamentally, ICs (instructional coaches) partner with teachers to help them incorporate research-based instructional practices into their teaching.”Much of what I am going to share in defining instructional coaching comes from Jim Knight’s book, Unmistakable Impact. Instructional coaching is a partnership between the coach and the teacher. Coaches must establish a culture of equality with the teacher. Coaches listen more than speak. Ask more than tell.The teacher is the primary decision maker in the relationship. Coaches offer explanations and support. Coaches lead with questions to support reflective practices in the teacher. Conversations should be candid. Coaches lead by listening. In Fierce Leadership Susan Scott calls this “the sweet purity of silence”. A teacher enters a dialogue with the coach. Jim Knight writes, “The objective of a dialogue is not to have your ideas prevail but to have the best ideas win…” Coaches do not have to be the content expert, must, and I quote “balance advocacy with inquiry”, and consistently ask about the “why” behind the “what” regarding instructional practices.Most importantly, the coaches focus in content must remain relevant and applicable to the teacher’s needs and experiences.
The previous slide defined and described characteristics of the coaching relationship. While participating in that professional relationship, a coaches role can, and most often does, change. The Fairfax County Instructional Coaching Model outlines various possible roles and accompanying responsibilities.Coaches may act as a data coach compiling data and facilitating conversations regarding the interpretation and usefulness in driving instructional decisions.When providing teachers with curriculum specific guidance, coaches become curriculum specialists.As an instructional specialist coaches help teachers with the specifics in planning a lesson.Coaches often share current professional development topics with their teachers. IN this capacity they are Learning Facilitators.To be a change agent within their school coaches need to be prepared and ask the important questions that lead to reflective practices.Coaches may have more time to do research on a topic of interest for a teacher. Providing resources for teachers is, yet, another role of the coach.When modeling a lesson or co-teaching, a coach directly supports the classroom objectives and the needs of the students.
Implementing an instructional coaching program does not come without its difficulties. Scheduling conflicts between daily specialists, Special Ed. and title one programming can make the observation and follow-up cycle disjointed. In a 2010 article in The Reading Teacher it was reported that in “a study of 190 coaches…, on average, coaches spent only 28% of their time working with teachers. The authors stressed the importance of designing coaching systems to support the coaches interacting with the teachers as often as possible.Financial restrictions are the flavor of the day in districts across the U.S. In order to put together a coaching program, districts have had to be creative with funding, class size calculations and the assemblage of grade level teams. In Spring Lake Park, MN a K-3 elementary decreased each grade level by one teacher causing the class sizes in the others to increase significantly. However, by integrating the Special Ed., title one and coaches into the literacy block, they are still providing direct instruction in reading and math at acceptable teacher to student ratios. In fact, due to the redesigned model, the ratio is smaller than if they had forgone the grade level coach for another mainstream teacher.The greatest challenge to effective coaching is resistance. Mark Pennington, a blogger for his very own Pennington Publishing, presented twelve reasons teachers resist differentiated instruction. I feel the reasons are equally applicable to those that do not embrace instructional coaching.First – we tend to teach the way we were taught. We assume that what worked for us in 1982 will work for them in 2012.Second – We tend to use only prescribed curriculum. When presented with a possible solution from a coach that is not covered in the accommodations of the curriculum, we tend to resist.Third and Fourth – Newton’s First Law of Physics – Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state o motion unless an external force is applied to it. The converse is also true, what is at rest, wants to stay there. You al understand the field of education enough that I do not feel it necessary to explain this metaphor.Fifth – Teachers are, in general, conformists. If others are resisting the inherent pressures of an observing coach and reflective practice, than I don’t want to make waves, so… This can be used to transform a resist staff, as well. Like Tom Sawyer painting the fence, if appears to be fun others join in. Some even pay to do so! Albeit an apple, broken kite or a dog less collar.Sixth – as addressed earlier, teachers are gravely concerned about time.Seventh – I found this of particular interest, Pennington addresses the influence of college professors on the instructional bias of pre-service teachers. I’ll leave that to his account.Eighth – The ever influential administrator-teacher relationship. If the relationship is positive, involvement in a coaching program goes more smoothly.Tenth – Teacher’s point of view regarding process. They may view it as highly personal and guard it as such.Ninth, Eleventh & Twelfth– Teachers are pressured to cover content with intense rigor to address the needs of standardized testing
Finding the staff with the requisite experience, knowledge and disposition is vital to an effective coaching program. In The Reading Teacher magazine article I previously mentioned, the authors address this significant need.“…coaches should have more than a general understanding of the literacy process and pedagogy related to adult learning theory.” I refer to the book Unmistakable Impact and Jim Knight’s expertise, again, as I describe the crucial attributes of an effective coach.Coaches need to have been there. The practical knowledge gleaned from years of working in the trenches bodes well for a coach hoping to empathize with and support teachers. As a coach they will continue to acquire new experiences as they observe and guide teachers.Shelly Bolejack, a Jim Knight protégé, has said, coaches need to have an infectious personality. Coaches need to listen with intent. I call it having a genuine curiosity about others. Coaches may know a lot about what they know, but they have to care more about what their teachers want to be able to do.“The view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life.” Those are Carol Dweck’s words from her 2006 book Mindset. Dweck differentiates between two types of people those that believe that their personality is a fixed asset, unchangeable. Knight supports finding coaches that prescribe to Dweck’s other mindset, a mindset of growth. Those that believe they can develop the traits which they desire have a growth mindset. This type of outlook benefits, not only the coach, but those teachers resisting the coaching experience.Coaches must strike a balance between pressure and support in the recruitment efforts with teachers. Press to hard with judgment and few participate. Wait for them to come to you and few participate. Jim Collins describes this type of person as a Level 5 leader. He writes, “Level 5 leaders channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company. It’s not that Level 5 leaders have no ego or self-interest. Indeed, they are incredibly ambitious – but their ambition is for the institution, not themselves.” Coaches need to be ambitious, but in servitude toward the teachers on route to improving student achievement.Of course, with all the emotional risks coaches are asking teachers to take, trust is a must. Teachers need to know that their professional shortcomings are exposed for the sake of growth, not gossip. Coaches must create environments “for engendering relational trust”, as Jim Knight puts it. Coaches must be perceived as credible and reliable.Finally, coaches must seek the necessary information or do the required research to make informed decisions on behalf of the teacher the support. As teachers must be with students, coaches must be adaptable and apply differentiate approaches in their guidance of teachers toward professional goals.
On the Pennsylvania Institute for Instructional Coaching website it reads: “Extensive research suggests that teacher quality is the most significant factor affecting student achievement, and teachers who participate in quality professional development, advance teaching skills which can lead to improved student achievement (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2006). Additionally, the Institute quotes Jim Knight’s research center when it wrote:“Research also indicates that teachers who are supported by instructional coaches are more likely to implement newly learned instructional strategies.”This benefit is supported by the Boston Plan for Excellence in the Public Schools. They reported five major benefits of instructional coaching:First, teachers expand their knowledge and develop new instructional practices.Second, teachers expand their leadership skills and schools build capacity.Third, teachers collaborate, again, increasing school capacity.Fourth, students benefit from clear, focused, high quality instruction as they master specific curriculum content and higher level thinking skills.Fifth, the community will benefit from the professional learning through an enhanced pride in the schools and a demonstrated increase in the academic achievement of the students.From quality coaching we get improved teacher quality and from there – improved student learning and civic pride.Instructional coaches aim to provide for teachers, what teachers provide for students.That is, coaches seek to encourage teachers to honestly assess their current abilities, implement new practices to address any perceived deficits and candidly reflect upon the outcomes.Yogi Berra, a linguistically-gifted baseball coach, said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll wind up somewhere.” Instructional coaches can provide teachers with clarity of purpose and the directionality to more effectively improve student achievement.

Instructional coaching a balance of pressure and support

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