In this tutorial, we'll discuss the role that instructional coaching can play in collaborative professional development plans. We'll begin by covering the basics of instructional coaching. I'll share some considerations that you may wish to keep in mind. We'll discuss the benefits of using peer coaching. And finally, I'll share with you a sample application so that you can imagine what peer coaching might look like in action. Let's get started.
Let's begin with the basics of peer coaching. Peer coaching is a mutual process between two teachers, where each teacher is coaching the other. Throughout this process, both teachers are reflecting on their instruction.
They're improving their existing teaching skills and developing new skills. They're sharing teaching ideas with one another, and they're taking turns observing each other and providing feedback on those observations. And finally, they're addressing classroom challenges through the problem-solving process.
This process of peer-to-peer coaching is very collaborative, and it's tailored to each teacher's unique needs. So peer coaching can be a very effective strategy to include as one of the components of the planning and implementation and monitoring of your collaborative professional development. Research tells us that single-instance offsite workshops and conferences really don't work to bring about instructional changes, and so it is very important that we implement sustained job-embedded professional development that occurs in our classrooms.
Here are some considerations that you may wish to keep in mind when thinking about implementing peer coaching. First, though the term "coach" may imply that one teacher knows more or is more experienced than the other, that's not necessarily the case in peer coaching. In many cases, peer coaching is a two-way collaboration where both of the colleagues are serving as coaches for each other.
Next, peer coaching is not an evaluative process. The teachers involved in peer coaching should be focused on improvement and on the refinement of teaching and learning. They should not be worrying about whether any of the elements of peer coaching are going to be used for evaluative purposes.
Another consideration is that coaching pairs that occur authentically tend to result in better outcomes than those that are matched either randomly or even those that are assigned by a principal or other administrator. Those assigned pairs often tend to result in poor matches either in overall goals or feedback styles or teaching and learning styles. And so if the pairings can come about more naturally by the pair of teachers, maybe through discussion in their PLC or through other areas in which these teachers are connected, you may find that that type of coaching relationship may yield better results.
And finally, the peer coaching relationship can really be maintained as long as both parties are still finding it mutually beneficial. The pair of coaches can continue to set new goals for themselves and continue to address those goals through the coaching process as long as they would like to do that. An administrator can, if they wish, set an external imposition on the intended length of that peer coaching relationship, but that external timeline doesn't tend to be as effective.
There are many benefits that can result from implementing peer coaching relationships. Here are four of the main goals. The first goal is to increase student learning as a result of the peer coaching process.
Second, we want to encourage collaboration among colleagues. We want teachers to feel comfortable sharing instructional strategies that they have found successful so that other teachers may implement those strategies and find success with them as well. Third, we want to promote critical reflection on teaching practices. And fourth, we want to see a reduction in teacher isolation.
So here's an example of what a peer coaching situation might look like. Remember, the goal is to effectively use peer coaching as just one part of developing and implementing your collaborative professional development plan. So for example, teachers who are in the same content area might initially meet to discuss their professional development goals, which are aligned with Marzano's high-yield instructional strategies.
These teachers would then take turns observing each other in the classroom using an observation framework that, again, is aligned with Marzano's strategies. This gives them something specific to focus on during the observation and gives them a way to record what it is that they are observing.
Then after the observations, each teacher would reflect not only on his or her own implementation of Marzano's strategies, but also on what they saw in their peer coach's classroom. And finally, the pair of teachers would follow up with a discussion that is focused on the implementation of those strategies. And remember, since this peer coaching relationship can be maintained as long as both parties are interested in doing so, they could start the process over again by setting some new goals and, again, repeating all of these steps indefinitely, if that's what they would like to do.
So now it's your tread to stop and reflect. Since we know that the best peer-to-peer coaching results come from coaching pairings that occur authentically, take a moment to think of a few teachers on your staff with whom you might be successfully paired in a peer-to-peer coaching environment.
To dive a little deeper and learn how to apply this information, be sure to check out the Additional Resources section associated with this video. This is where you'll find links targeted toward helping you discover more ways to apply this course material. Thanks for joining me today. Have a great day.
(00:00 - 00:26) Introduction
(00:27 - 01:40) Peer Coaching Basics
(01:41 - 03:46) Considerations
(03:47 - 04:30) Benefits of Peer Coaching
(04:31 - 05:58) Application
(05:59 - 06:39) Stop and Reflect
This article explores the benefits of using a peer coaching model asĀ professionalĀ development to improve teaching and learning.
http://teachersnetwork.org/tnli/research/growth/becker.htm