Coaching and Teacher Roles

Video Transcription

Hi. My name is Ashley, and today's lesson is titled Coaching and Teacher Roles. In this lesson, we'll focus on the when and where of coaching. Then, we'll look at the role of the coach and teacher during instructional coaching. Lastly, we'll look at the components of non-evaluative coaching.

When and where does coaching take place? Coaching can occur in any instructional setting, from preschool through college. Most often, coaching takes place face-to-face between coaches and teachers as they develop effective professional relationships.

It can occur at any time during the teacher's career. A novice teacher may receive coaching to become acclimated to the new school. And on the other hand, a veteran teacher may be involved with coaching also, to maintain effective instructional methods.

Coaching can either take place in the school building or with the use of technology, with a method called virtual coaching. According to Marzano, a virtual coach observes the classroom through Skype while the teacher uses a Bluetooth headset so the coach can communicate with the teacher during instruction. The coach can make suggestions, and the observation concludes with a post-observation conference, all done virtually.

What is the role of the coach in instructional coaching? The coach offers support to teachers in the classroom by assisting with instructional planning, conducting observations, modeling lessons for the teacher, giving feedback when needed, and having post-conferences with teachers to help them with the reflective process.

The coach also serves as an instructional specialist. The coach specializes in certain subject areas, and can help assist with developing assessments, both formative and summative, researching strategies to meet the needs of all students, and helping with discovering strategies for differentiation.

Coaches also provide curriculum support in that they make sure teachers are on track with the curriculum, and lessons and activities are aligned to specifically teach, as the curriculum states. Coaches make sure that teachers teach everything they need as they approach standardized testing.

Lastly, instructional coaches assist in examining data. The coach works with the principal and the school leadership team to analyze achievement data, and then works with teachers to plan instruction and implement new strategies based on the data.

What is the role of the teacher in instructional coaching? Teachers should welcome the opportunities of working with the coach. Research has shown that teachers who seek coaching opportunities discover and implement new teaching strategies more effectively than teachers who do not participate in coaching.

Coaching also allows teachers to engage in reflection of their teaching practices and review the feedback of the coach to determine areas where improvement is needed. Teachers should accept the feedback given by coaches as support toward improving their teaching practices, and should ask questions as needed.

Lastly, teachers should implement the new strategies they have learned as a result of coaching opportunities. This could be strategies that have been learned from the coach or workshops that have been offered. Teachers should also seek additional input as needed from the coach.

What does non-evaluative coaching involve? It's important to remember that coaching is non-evaluative. It does not give a score or rating to the teacher. Because of this, communication is most effective. Evaluation can sometimes be seen as a threatening process to teachers.

However, coaching relieves the stress of being rated or scored. Coaching should create an environment of trust, acceptance, and equality. The coach focuses on providing descriptive feedback of what they have observed during the observation.

Through a series of questions, the coach guides the teacher through reflection as they analyze the observation. Research states that focusing on instructional weaknesses to resolve challenges is ineffective. Instead, the coach should focus on the big picture.

Let's recap what we have discussed in today's lesson. Coaching can take place in the classroom or virtually, for new teachers and seasoned teachers. The role of the coach is to offer support, serve as an instructional specialist, and assist in examining data.

The role of the teacher is to welcome coaching opportunities, engage in reflection of feedback, and implement new strategies. Non-evaluative coaching involves effective communication, and relieves the teacher from a threatening environment that sometimes evaluation may cause.

Reflect on this. Whether you are the teacher or coach, review your role during instructional coaching. What benefits would you have? Would there be any challenges?

As you reflect on how this new information can be applied, you may want to explore the Additional Resources section that accompanies this video presentation. This is where you'll find links to resources chosen to help you deepen your learning and explore ways to apply your newly acquired skill set.