I Do, We Do , You DO
I DO, WE DO, YOU DO...
I have heard this phrase countless times since beginning my career in education. When first hearing, I honestly thought, "Yeah right, I teach small humans and the 'we' and 'you' part are NEVER going to happen!" Well, I quickly changed my tune once I started actually attempting these simple words. Underestimating what students can accomplish is devastating and is a sure-fire way to instill a LACK of confidence in them. The whole premise behind these words is to model, then send guide, and then release students to work independently. Not only does this scaffold instruction, but it builds confidence in students and empowers them to be responsible for their own learning. Once I believed in doing this in my own classroom, it literally transformed the way I taught my kids.
Now that I am a coach of adults who are responsible for teaching small humans, I have taken these words and used them to guide me through my coaching cycles while still following the guidelines of the Alabama Coaching Framework:
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| Image created by April Maner & derived from The Alabama Coaching Framework, 2020 |
Playbooks Aren't Just for Sports!
I can remember the very first day of my very first year of teaching. It was amazing! My class of 22 kindergarten students was the absolutely perfect: they listened attentively, followed directions, and I had ZERO behavior issues!! My class of 22 kindergarten students was the hardest group of kids I have EVER taught. I cried daily because I didn't feel that I could get a hold on the severe behaviors and I felt as though I had ZERO support from my administrators. It was basically awful- every. single. day. However, now that I am 11 years into teaching and have now transitioned into an instructional coach, I am actually glad I had that experience because now I can fully relate to the fear and angst new teachers face when first starting out. This thought is what has led me to my two coaching cycles for this period. I will be assisting two new teachers: one kindergarten teacher and one 2nd grade teacher. Both teachers have varying degrees of experience and needs within their classrooms.
"Instructional coaches help teachers improve student learning and well-being by improving teaching, so they must be able to clearly describe a set of teaching strategies teachers can use to hit their goals" (Knight, 2017, p. 104).
According to Knight (2017), teaching strategies can be put in place to help teachers reach their goals and he has established a way to describe these strategies by creating an instructional playbook. Every playbook includes (Knight, 2017, p. 104):
- a one-page list of high-impact teaching strategies
- a one-page description for each of the strategies
- checklists coaches need to use to describe the teaching practices contained in the playbook.
One Pagers
I love the idea of creating anything that is one page! Teachers have 8.2 million things on their plates, therefore, giving them something to read that is ten pages long, isn't efficient, purposeful, or intentional. My first step when I meet with my teachers regarding teaching strategies is to present them with a list of teaching strategies that pertain to just their classrooms. Since one classroom's focus needs to be more on classroom environment and management, her list of high-impact strategies will be different from my other teacher who needs more academic strategies.
Bring on the Checklist(s)
via GIPHY
I literally use a checklist in some way, shape, or form daily. I use them for grocery shopping, for to-do lists, and I even use them when I am getting ready to go out of town with my family (yes, I create a list of things to pack because without it, my two year old will inevitably be without something that is absolutely dire to him). Checklists are short and concise and are the same when using them in coaching situations. The checklists I create and use with my two teachers should assist in cutting through the complexity of the strategies and help them maintain focus (Knight, 2017). "When coach and teacher discuss a checklist, they are getting ready to do something new- a change that should have a positive impact on students' lives (Knight, 2017, p. 108). The conversations that will be generated while working through the checklist, will also help to build a stronger relationship between teacher and coach.
Check out this video from Mr. Knight himself walking through these steps with a teacher!
I am extremely excited to get started with these coaching cycles and I'm looking forward to implementing these steps with my teachers!
References
Knight, J. (2017). The impact cycle: What instructional coaches should do to foster powerful improvements in teaching (1st ed.). Corwin.
The Alabama State Management Team, The Alabama Coaching Framework Implementation Team, The Alabama Coaching Framework Stakeholders Work Group, & Mackey, E. G. (2020, October). The alabama coaching framework. Alabama State Department of Education. https://players.brightcove.net/268012963001/rJenILPQx_default/index.html?videoId=5533084895001
2 comments
April,
ReplyDeleteChecklists are definitely a great way to keep up with lots of things. When sharing checklists with teachers, instructional coaches have to make sure not to just tell them what to do. Knight (2018) says, “To go through checklists with teachers in a way that is just as dialogical and co-constructed as the conversations during the Identify stage of coaching” (p. 111). This approach will also help keep the relationship of trust.
Knight, J. (2018). The impact cycle: What instructional coaches should do to foster powerful improvements in teaching. Corwin, A Sage Company.
April,
ReplyDeleteYou know all to well that I love a checklist. Now more than ever, checklists are going to be my BFF in my new role as an Instructional coach. I think it will be critical to the role. Knight et. al (2018) says, "Checklists help a coach remember everything by providing a clear structure and map for explaining the teaching strategies to teachers" (p. 86). I am going to need that map to help in the coaching of others. I love all of your lyric references (puns). I enjoyed your blog!! Thank you for sharing your insight.
Erica
References:
Knight, J. (2018). The impact cycle: What instructional coaches should do to foster powerful improvements in teaching. Corwin, A Sage Company.