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LAIRD LEARNING

The importance of talk

9/26/2017

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Last week I participated in a webinar by Lori Oczkus that focused on Developing Language for Deeper Reading Comprehension.  I as sat listening to the research about the power of talk in classrooms and in literacy comprehension I began to reflect on the role of talk in my position as an Instructional Coach and aspiring administrator.  Just like students in a classroom need to talk, teachers engaging in coaching conversations need to talk too.  A coach or administrator's role in the conversation is to listen to understand and ask questions that will promote reflection.  As I continue to work with teachers, I will remember: The one doing the talking is the one doing the learning." 

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Don't Bury the Data

9/7/2017

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This year, our building is reading Teach Like a Champion 2.0 by Doug Lemov. As I was reading about planning for error, a statement stood out to me: "Don't bury the data." 

This resonated with me because I had just attended a building professional development session where teachers were analyzing and reflecting on their reading fluency data from the past few years. Some teachers brought up great points about looking at growth, and not being so focused on achieving a certain percentage; but personally, no matter how you approach data, when students aren't demonstrating understanding of a concept, action steps and innovation need to occur. It can be easy to look at formative or summative data and come up with explanations as to why the data is what it is, but that doesn't sit well with me. Simply putting a stake in the ground and saying "this is just how our data always looks," goes against two questions a PLC responds to (Dufour's PLC Four Essential Questions): 
  1. What do we expect our students to learn?
  2. How will we know if they are learning?
  3. How will we respond if they don't learn?
  4. How will we respond if they already know it? 

I see data as a puzzle piece which helps tell a student's story and allows a teacher to make changes, innovate their teaching practices, and collaborate with their PLC, in order to create learning opportunities and structures suited for each student. By no means am I saying data the sole piece, but with it, teachers can work toward the common goal of student learning.  

                                       Instead of burying data, let's respond to it and act on it! 
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Google Classroom and Professional Development

9/5/2017

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This year, we are using Google Classroom to house all our PLC and Professional Development resources. All posts are tagged with topics like "Building PD," "PLC - Student Focus," and "PLC - Professional Growth." I love how easy Classroom is to use, and having everything in one place allows all staff members to easily locate resources. 
After posting on social media about how we're using Classroom this year, I was asked to share directions on how I set up our building's Google Classroom. Rather than sending multiple emails, I decided to type up some directions. 
Setting up a PLC in Google Classroom
  • Log in to Google Classroom and click + to create a class
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  • Give the class a name (ex: Mitchellville Teaching & Learning) and click Create
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  • To add your first PLC document click the + sign and select Assignment
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  • Give the assignment a title (ex: PLC Week of Sept 4), due date (typically the last day of that week)
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  • Add a topic tag (this will make it easier for teachers to locate past assignments and posts using the topic bar on the side of the class page.) Since we are using this for all building level teaching and learning opportunities, we have three topic tags. ​
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  • Attach any files or links using the attachment options. (decided if you want each student to have a copy, or if you want the document view only).
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  • If you want it available immediately, simply click “Assign.”
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  • If you’d like to schedule posts, click the arrow next to “assign” and choose “schedule.” Select the due date and click “Schedule.”
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  • Invite students to join the course
    • Click “Students” at the top of you classroom
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  • Click “Invite students” and type in their email(s)
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  • To view PLC documents during or after the PLC meeting, click on “Done” or “Not done” and open PLC facilitator’s document.
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  • To post resources (slides shows, PDFs, handouts, etc.) that teachers will refer to but not complete, simply choose “Announcement” instead.
  • Every time you post a new announcement or assignment, students enrolled in the course automatically receive an email. ​

If you have any questions, or would like help setting up your building's Teaching & Learning Google Classroom, let me know!

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PBIS Student Award

9/4/2017

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This year, my building is renewing our focus on PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions & Support) and a component we are adding to our bimonthly assemblies are student awards. Each classroom teacher will select two students who have demonstrated the RAMS Way (Respectful, Always Responsible, Manners, and Safety) to be recognized. I had the privilege of designing the award and look forward to seeing my work support our building's focus on PBIS.  
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Instructional Coaching Interview

9/1/2017

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As I start my fourth year as an Instructional Coach, I had the opportunity to be interviewed for a graduate class for prospective Instructional and Literacy Coaches. Although I recorded my answers as audio files, I am sharing the transcript of my interview below.

                                                        Coaching Interview Questions
  • Question #1: What is your current role related to instructional coaching and how did you find yourself serving in that capacity?
    • I am an Instructional Coach at a Mitchellville Elementary which is a preschool through fifth grade building.  In my role, I am not content specific, so I work in all content areas with classroom teachers, special education teachers, reading specialists, art/music/pe/and guidance counselors.  Four years ago my district received the Teacher Leadership and Compensation Grant through the state of Iowa. As part of this grant, the district added one instructional coach position to each elementary building, 2 to our 6th grade building, 4 to the junior high, and 6 at the high school. In my previous position I had been facilitating professional development, so transitioning into the Instructional Coaching role seemed like a natural next step in my professional journey.
  • Question #2: What is your coaching philosophy or vision?
    • In my Instructional Coaching role, I use a partnership approach, meeting teachers where they are at, and allowing the teacher to have voice and choice in their learning. I don’t consider myself to be an expert, so I work alongside teachers to impact student learning through Jim Knight’s 3 phase process…identify, learn, improve. I believe together, we can get the results the teacher is looking for.
  • Question #3: How do you build trusting relationships with your teachers?
    • Steve Barkley once said, in order to build trust, you say what you’re going to do…then do it. In addition to keeping my word, I make sure to take time to get to know the teacher, their passions, what drives them, how they like to learn, and what they’re currently working on in their room. I was lucky in that I had already worked in the building for three years before transitioning into a coaching role, so my colleagues knew and trusted me.  I make it a practice always make sure that I make myself available. If a teacher wants to meet with me, I will put other non-coaching tasks aside and give the teacher my full attention.
  • Question #4: What is a typical day like when serving as a coach?
    • Honestly, in my experience there’s no “typical day,” but there are activities that happen every day. These activities include: checking in with teachers, engaging in coaching cycles, advocating for teaching & learning, analyzing achievement data, planning or facilitating professional development, engaging in professional growth (reading books/articles or social media), and fulfilling assigned duties (these vary).
  • Question #5: Are there any qualifications/responsibilities that are specific to your content area?
    • My district required Instructional Coach candidates to have a master’s degree and to have taught at least 5 years. The main responsibility is facilitating adult learning in order to impact student achievement.  I have taken several adult learning theory courses as well as received training on various Instructional Coaching approaches (Jim Knight, Steve Barkley, and Cognitive Coaching).
  • Question #6: Stakeholders define coaching differently, causing confusion as to the exact roles and responsibilities of a coach. Have you experienced this challenge? If so, how have you confronted or overcome it?
    • In my own building, I have had to overcome this confusion.  When my district rolled out Instructional Coaches, it seemed like we were building the plane while in flight.  Teachers, administrators, and district personnel didn’t have a common understanding of coaching. Some thought we were an extension of the principal, others thought we were there to “fix the bad teachers”. As a coaching PLC, we worked hard to clarify the role, share the why, and establish a coaching culture. We created PD presentations, met with grade level PLCs, spoke at parent group meetings, and designed a “What Coaching Is/Isn’t” chart. This did not happen overnight. In some cases, there are still pockets of misunderstanding. I continue to remind administrators and teachers of the purpose and impact of my role.
  • Question #7: One of the challenges coaches face is time – not having enough time to accomplish everything on their plate. How have you built coaching time into the school week?
    • The most important thing to keep in mind is your priorities, what are your building and district’s goals, and what activities will allow you to make steps toward those goals.  I put everything into my Google Calendar. Teachers have access to my schedule, allowing them to see when I’m free/busy, and using a Google Form can request a meeting or observation. For my own professional growth, I use a Time Audit tied to a Google Site to reflect on how I spend my time each day, week, month, and trimester.  If I notice an activity that isn’t directly tied to impacting student achievement takes up too much of my time, then I make a conscious effort to find balance the next day or week.
  • Question #8: Some coaches find educators/colleagues resistant to coaching. For example, the new teacher who lacks confidence and does not want to seem inexperienced or the experienced teacher who is overly confident in his practices. How have you navigated these type of coaching experiences and what advice would you give to a new coach?
    • First and foremost, don’t take the standoffishness personally. There can be outside factors affecting how a teacher is responding to you, so you need to remain professional and simply let them know you’re there if and when they need anything.  I am always on the lookout for windows of opportunity that I can use to make inroads with a teacher.  Whether a teacher is a new teacher or a veteran one, I keep the focus on student learning, and how I can partner with the teacher to impact learning. A lot of times, if you’re on the lookout, and continue planning seeds of instructional ideas, the teacher will see that you’re there for the students, rather than to fix the teacher.
  • Question #9: Do you use innovative practices in your coaching role such as using technology to provide coaching support? If so, how? If not, are there any innovative ideas you’d like to try out?
    • I am an advocate for using video for reflection. I use Swivl Pro+ to record individual observations, coaching conversations, and professional development sessions.  With Pro+ the teacher and I are able to add time-stamped feedback, brainstorm next steps, and document growth toward the teacher’s coaching goal.  
  • Question #10: Additional comments or advice you can give to prospective coaches?
    • Once you become a coach, don’t let yourself get so caught up in helping others improve that you fail to build in your own professional learning time too.
    • Check out the #educoach chat on Twitter. It’s a wonderful group of coaches who are more than willing to help you reflect, plan, or celebrate learning.
    • Take time to build relationships with the teachers you’ll support. A colleague of mine says, go slow to go fast, and I think this is a great way to remember that building trust and relationships can take a while, but it’s so much better to take time to cement the relationships first, rather than jumping in and trying to coach a teacher before they’re ready to open up.

If there's anything I can do to help prospective or current Instructional Coaches, let me know! I'm more than happy to write guest blog posts, collaborate in professional learning development, plan or facilitate book studies, or serve as a listening ear!

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