March 15th, 2016: Chapter 10

Summary and Thoughts / Connections for Chapter 10:  

This chapter summarizes the text for an administrator, who would likely not have time to read it cover to cover. Based on our previous conversation, I really liked this paragraph:

"Unfortunately, few teachers who are given the demanding job of reading coach receive sufficient support or training to perform this role adequately. Teachers who have been tapped to be coaches are often very talented, knowledgeable, and experienced professionals who are expected to learn how to coach their colleagues while they are performing this new and unfamiliar role. However, as Poglinco and Bach (2004) state so clearly: 'Being an effective classroom teacher is no guarantee that one will also be an effective coach.' This situation is complicated by the fact that very few administrators have received any preparation themselves to support or guide the reading coaches with whom they work." 

I also think outlining the tasks of a reading coach are important for any administrator to see (including mine):

- Observing teachers' reading lessons and providing feedback for instructional improvement

- Helping teachers with the organization and management of their literacy programs

- Developing intervention plans for struggling readers

- Meeting with parents who have concerns about their children's reading skills

- Helping to identify and address schoolwide concerns related to reading

- Facilitating collaboration among teaching teams

- Presenting workshops to introduce teachers to effective new strategies

- Providing follow-up support for professional development 

- Reviewing curriculum materials

- Making suggestions for adopting or supplementing instructional resources

- Organizing and facilitating teacher study groups to explore relevant topics of interest

- Advising administrators on how reading research applies to program policy decisions

**The catch: A coach must be given sufficient training, time, and sustained support to pull this off. This foundation is built by working collaboratively (the principal) with the coach to define the role of reading coach, schedule the coach for success, and ensure that the coach is working within a sustained, schoolwide model for reading success. 

Other topics that are reviewed in this chapter include: defining the role of the reading coach, using data to help define the role, coaching versus supervision, confidentiality and trust, and scheduling a coach for success. 

Choice Article: 

Principals' Perceptions of the Effectiveness and Necessity of Reading Coaches within Elementary Schools

Dean, Milanda Jackson; Dyal, Allen; Wright, James V.; Carpenter, Laura Bowden; Austin, Sheila

DOI: not available

ERIC Number: EJ986922

Record Type: Journal

Publication Date: 2012

Pages: 14

Abstractor: As Provided

Reference Count: 30

ISBN: N/A

ISSN: ISSN-0034-0510

Brief Highlights of the Article and connections/thoughts:

The article begins by explaining how NCLB and Reading First began. It also references the (at that time) IRA's position statement on the responsibilities of a reading coach. 

The schools that were studied were all in Alabama; as Alabama is one of the states that has adopted the IRA's guidelines. 

Main points:
- There is a great need for empirical research to assess the effectiveness of reading coaches. [I wonder if this is lacking because it would not be ethical to deny some students of the services a reading coach would provide.]
- The roles and responsibilities of a reading coach were "diverse and multifaceted, and there was not one consistent view of literacy coaching". Therefore, a specific list of tasks or guidelines (like that of the IRA's position statement) should be adopted by districts/schools to help all involved to understand what all can be expected of a coach.
- Administration/Principals HAVE to be supportive of the coach. "The way the principal embraced or did not embrace the role was influential in how quickly the coach was seen as a valuable resource within the school." 
- "Without the continued support from principals, coaching can have little to no impact on changing and/or improving teacher practices. It is imperative that the principal supports and accounts for the coaching work at a school." 
- A complaint about how coaches spent their time included the amount of time spent in meetings. [Based on our text, this would still be okay. Perhaps staff/admin didn't see what a coach did during the meetings or what they took away from the meeting, to better assist teachers and students.]
- The Alabama Reading Initiative had Principal Coaches that would come in to schools/districts and work directly with principals.


Bottom line: Once a state/district/school adopts the IRA/ILA's guidelines, the coach needs to reiterate that to their principal and possibly provide a list of services s/he can do. The principal must support the coach 100% and treat them as another leader in the building. 

March 15, 2016: Chapter 9

Summary and Thoughts / Connections for Chapter 9:  

A Schoolwide Approach for Reading Excellence
- The school exhibits a "sense of urgency" about working toward schoolwide literacy. Teachers understand their role and are supported in their efforts. 
- A strong instructional leader (principal or coach) has clear goals for schoolwide literacy; everyone knows about the goals and there is an organized effort.
- Teachers meet regularly to look at the results of assessments of student progress. 
- Teachers and administrators receive the professional development and support they need to be able to meet the needs of their students. [In one school, teachers develop personal goals at the beginning of each semester and are given a choice of three formats of professional development activities to help them meet their goals. -Awesome! How is it paid for?]
- Teachers are given adequate time to plan and collaborate for effective reading instruction. [Like our PLC time on Wednesday mornings for 45 minutes? Or something more?]
- Decisions in the school are made based on the likelihood that academic excellence will be enhanced. Priority is given to hiring or keeping reading intervention teachers and to purchasing books and materials for the reading program. 
- Results of statewide tests are used to evaluate the reading program as a whole rather than individual teachers. 
- Intervention is provided to all students who need it. [Does this mean that students are placed into a corrective reading class or are the interventions happening in the regular classroom?]
- Reading instruction and intervention are given priority when schedules are developed.
- Possibly: the classroom or homeroom teacher is the coordinator of the services and has the primary responsibility for the student. [I would worry about the kids who have an elective teacher for their homeroom teacher. I feel like many (not all!) of these teachers do not understand what it takes to improve literacy, do not follow up with students, or know how to work with students effectively with reading.]
- Teachers, administrators, and other professionals in the schools adopt a no-excuses attitude with high expectations for all students. [But how do you make kids work, who simply do not want to?]
- Parents are seen as important participants. [But how do you get parents involved if they're not interested?]

The Reading Coach as a Facilitator
- Along with a reading coach's tasks of Collaborative Problem Solver and Teacher/Learner, the coach is also a Facilitator. They are there to help make a process easier or less difficult. The goal is to help bring down the barriers to change and to provide opportunities and encouragement for professional educators to work together with a sense of shared responsibility. 
Revisiting SAILS
- "The reading coach focuses efforts of teachers and other school professionals to (1) support every student's progress towards standards; (2) use assessments to find out what students need; (3) plan instruction to address students' needs and monitor progress; and (4) develop expertise in designing and delivering instruction and intervention to meet the needs of all students. 
- At the same time, the coach makes it easier (facilitates) for the school to adopt a committed attitude toward excellence in reading instruction."
- It is a fine art of both supporting teachers and 'nudging' teachers. "Balancing on a fine, thin line between supporting the status quo and placing too much stress on teachers." Administrators may feel that a person is a strong coach  who had both the people skills to work effectively with teacher and the backbone to stand up to those who were resistant to adopting effective practices or who tried to manipulate the coaches.
Collaborative Planning
- In a few schools that were studied, teachers had joint planning sessions that included discussions of the curriculum standards and expectations for their students. They met at the beginning of each semester or grading period or before beginning a unit of instruction. Teachers focused on clarifying the critical concepts and skills that all students were expected to master, selecting materials to use in the instruction, and identifying accommodations and adaptations needed for students. 
Collaborative Teaching
There are six basic approaches to co-teaching. [I wish I would've known this when I started teaching!]
1: One teacher provides the primary instruction to the class while another circulates among students, monitoring and helping them as needed. The teachers change roles frequently.
2: Teachers instruct students at different stations set up around the room. 
3: Two teachers plan a lesson together, divide the class in half, and each teach the same lesson to half the class, sometimes using different instructional strategies.
4: Teachers in the same classroom provide instruction to students in small, flexible groups based on their assessment results and the need for re-teaching.
5: One teacher teaches the class while another provides instruction or re-teaching to small groups who need more support. The teachers change roles.
6: Two teachers instruct the whole class together - they take turns leading different activities or topics. 
- Research on the effectiveness of co-teaching is limited, and merely participating in co-teaching does not ensure good student outcomes. 

When teachers were given formally scheduled time for regular collaboration, most teachers often used the time to plan together for a particular lesson or unit, or problem-solve a student's progress. When teachers tried to meet informally, it led to many teachers to stop trying to collaborate. However, just providing time for collaboration does not meant teachers will collaborate. 

Principals may have a difficult time balancing how to reach their (assessment) goals, while trying to get staff to participate. For instance, a principal may not involve teachers in any decision-making processes and then feel resistance among staff. Some principals may have the same goal, but see their role as supporting their faculties with necessary resources rather than controlling teacher behavior. In some schools, someone other than the principal had an important role in building a collaborative community -this person would need the administration's support to show that everyone was on the same team. 

"Two elements of a collaborative culture in schools were of trust and having a shared set of expectations for all students. For teachers to form a collaborative community, they must have a feeling of trust and comfort with their peers. If teachers feel that they will be criticized because of their practices or suggestions, or if they think that other teachers will gossip about them, they are unlikely to be able to share ideas openly. A collaborative school is one where the doors of the classrooms are open and teachers are respectful of each other." --honestly, how realistic is this?

One high school teacher said, "We don't care what category they're in [or what label they have]. We don't excuse them from succeeding." --This is a great mentality to have. But again, how do you make kids work, read, study, turn in work, etc. if they won't want to and parents aren't supportive?

Key to making lasting changes is ongoing mentoring and support of classroom teachers. Above all, teachers are more likely to adopt an attitude of ownership if they get enough training and support to develop a real mastery of new practices. 
-A good facilitator not only helps individual teachers implement the program successfully but is also able to deal with problems and overcome obstacles that come up along the way. 

Steps for Supporting Schoolwide Commitment and Participation
1) Have a plan. There must be a long-term plan with funding that is linked directly to the expectation that student reading outcomes will improve. This plan should allow for three to five years of growth. [Is this growth for one grade level, or for a group of students? For instance, if my husband teaches a group of 8th graders for one year, is he expected to increase the next year's 8th graders scores to be higher than the previous years' kids? Or is just that group of kids he currently has, supposed to have increased scores over their three to five years?]
2) Get everyone involved -including counselors, librarians, etc. 
3) Align standards, curriculum, textbooks, instructional programs, and assessments. 
4) Organize your time. 
5) Use the expertise of colleagues, mentors, and outside experts. 

March 8th, 2016: Chapter 8

Summary and Thoughts / Connections for Chapter 8:  

Professional Development is Teaching 

- Teaching teachers is like teaching students: asses the needs of the teachers in the school by observations, meeting with them, questionnaires, or more formal assessment procedures. (A pattern among the staff may emerge!)

- Researchers have recommended that teams of teachers work together to examine the results of student assessments, reflect on their own teaching, discuss their experiences and perspectives, and collaboratively seek solutions to common problems. (But who would these teams consist of? Multidisciplinary teams? A grade-level team? Something else?)

- With researchers, a teachers brainstormed a list of topics they wanted to focus on in future meetings. In the next meeting, the teachers were given the list, and asked to rank the topics according to their needs. Future meeting addressed these topics. (This was done in multiple schools, and the same list of topics arose in each one. BUT, this allowed for teachers to have a voice in their professional development.)

- Like students, working with teachers in different grouping formats may yield more success. Groups could be made up of: similar needs, grade level, individuals with a partner, modeling effective instructional strategies, etc. 

- People are usually motivated to learn new concepts and skills that are practical and relevant to their situations. 

- "Some teachers who had participated in a yearlong professional development program focused on reading-related interventions were still implementing the strategies they had learned three years later... possible for them to incorporate the strategies due to having the researchers demonstrate the strategies in the teachers' own classrooms." -Impressive! (Teachers could also observe other teachers in their building, and maybe have a coach attend with them.) 

- Teachers need to have patience for a new instructional strategy to work. It takes a lot of practice to integrate it into a regular teaching routine. It may take 25 teaching episodes before it's likely to continue to use it. 

- Teachers need time to reflect, receive feedback, and support as they apply what they have learned into their classroom.

- It's less important that teachers receive feedback on how well they are executing a teaching strategy than on the quality of instructional decisions they make as they integrate the strategy in different situations in pursuit of specific goals. It's also important that they learn when to apply them and how to modify them in response to the needs of their students. 

Different from teaching students
- Adult learners come to the table with knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and experiences. They also are independent and motivated by their personal needs and goals. 
- Maslow's Hierarchy applies to adults as much as students. Quite literally this means to begin with making sure the adults are comfortable in the room. (Temperature, chairs, not hungry, etc.) Feeling safe is also important - this includes physical and emotional safety.  
- "Teachers' initial attitude toward a particular program is not as important as their judgement of its effects on their students." 

Characteristics of Adult Change and Growth
- "School change should take place according to a long-range vision that may include three to five years of work, with student outcomes showing greater growth each year." 
  1) Don't try to change too much too soon "think big, but start small". Find a happy medium of sustained effort over time, but not large changes that require sustained effort over time.
  2) Changes must be realistic: concrete, practical, manageable, and not overly demanding of time.
  3) Effective change takes place at the individual and school levels. More likely to see staff on board if they feel that other teachers and administration are on board.
  4) Self-Reflection and self-evaluation are important. Teachers begin with evaluation of student assessment data. 

Elements of Effective Professional Development
- Understand the theory and rationale for the new content and instruction: teachers need to understand the change in their teaching, the relevance of the new content and the likelihood that the change will result in increased student success. 
- Observe a model in action. 
- Practice the new strategy in a safe context.
- Try out the new practice with peer support in the classroom.
- Workshops:
   *Establish a purpose for the session and give teachers the "big picture". 
   * Provide modeling and demonstration of instructional strategies.
   * Be sure to plan for active involvement.
   * Encourage self-reflection and help teachers become problem solvers.
- Study Groups
   *Contain no more than six teachers.
   * Keep a regular schedule and rotate the job of group leader. 
   * Groups should not be voluntary - because the improvement of student outcomes is not optional. 
   * All certified staff, including administrators, are expected to participate in study groups. 
- In-class coaching and modeling: model instruction, and provide observation and feedback. 
- Discussing Assessment Results: If teachers see that their efforts are resulting in their students becoming better readers, they are much more likely to continue to implement new ideas in their classrooms. 
- Co-planning
- Co-teaching: where one teacher provides instruction while the other circulates, monitoring and supporting students, with the two teachers trading roles at different points. The coach can do this, but it should NOT be adopted as a permanent strategy -the coach has many more teachers and students to work with.
- Peer coaching: observe each other, model for teach other, and provide feedback and support to each other. Practical, emotional, and reflective support.
   * Providing feedback could compromise a collaborative relationship, and is not always recommended. At least one of the teachers needs to be proficient in the instructional strategies being presented. 
   * If a teacher wants feedback, they should inform the observer of what they should look for int he lesson and identify specific areas where feedback is desired. Using a form will help them summarize their reflections. 
- Unified approach: "Just having teachers meet regularly doesn't mean they will automatically make changes in their classroom. The key is to have a clear link between professional development group activities and individual coaching." 

Tables 8.1 and 8.2 have suggested professional development activities based on characteristics or components that are desired to be addressed.

"A central role of the reading coach is to plan and help deliver effective professional development with the goal of improving the quality of reading instruction in a school." 

Choice Article: 

Differentiated Coaching: Fostering Reflection with Teachers

Katie Stover, Brian Kissel, Karen Haag, Rebecca Shoniker

DOI: 10.1598/RT.64.7.3.

Brief Highlights of the Article and connections/thoughts:

- Effective professional development includes ongoing modeling, practice, feedback, and reflection over time. In a typical coaching model, literacy coaches and teacher engage in a cycle of demonstration, observation, and reflection. [<--Yes! just like the text suggests!]

- Change occurs when teachers observe their own teaching practices. This turns to coaching conversations and teachers' reflections on their beliefs and attitudes. 

- Top-down professional development leaves something to be desired for teachers. 

- "Successful professional development is reflective, collaborative, and acknowledges the specific needs and interests of teachers."

- "Learning happens within teachers, not to them." -Just like students! Learning should be differentiated to provide multiple options for taking in information, making sense of ideas, and sharing the information learned.

"Kid-watching" is one way coaches can help teachers and reflect on their teaching. [This is explained quite similarly to the SPS model the text discusses.]

-By asking questions and offering observational feedback, the literacy coach leads the teacher toward self-discovery and actualization as a practitioner. 

Writing

- One coach worked with an already effective teacher; therefore they decided to have the teacher reflect on her teaching. 

"First, she summarized an event that happened int he classroom. Next,  she thoughtfully reflected on how she made an impact on this event. After acknowledging her influence, she made a list of questions that she used as a guide to push her thinking about pedagogy. Finally, she made a note of different topics she could pursue further with her literacy coach." 

Using surveys to develop differentiated staff development

- The staff of an entire school made a list of non-negotiables. From there, the coach created a survey to determine the literacy strengths and needs of each teacher. 

- The first survey asked teachers to rate themselves on a scale of 1-5 regarding their understanding and use of the various components of their literacy instruction. (Figure 1 in text.)

- Using Vygotsky's zone of proximal development, the coach determined the areas where a majority of teachers had some background knowledge, but were ready to learn more. (Ratings of 1-3 on the survey.) 

"The first survey gave overall information about teachers' knowledge of various literacy topics. To better grasp individual interest and needs, the coach developed a plan for differentiated staff development. To do this, she created a second survey that reflected the responses she collected in the original survey. She asked teachers to rank the topics they felt would best meet their professional needs."

- All of the topics (20 of them) were addressed throughout the school year. Teachers were only required to attend five sessions based on their classroom practices and experiences. [Definitely not a one-size-fits-all approach!]

Videotapes

- For baseline data, each teacher taught a small group for 30 minutes in his or her classroom while the camera rolled. The coach also kept a script-tape for later reflection. The coach and teacher then met for 30 minutes to discuss what went well and what needed work to help the teacher. 

- The coaches suggestions for viewing: 

   1. Watch the lesson once.

   2. Review the script tape and notes of the teacher-coach discussion.

   3. Watch the tape again and map each students' involvement, analyze the questions asked, and observe body language, depth of conversation, and use of reading strategies. 

   4. Meet with colleagues to discuss that initial assessment.

   5. Reflect in writing before meting with the coach again. (These reflections guided the issues problem-solved in the second conference.) 

-The coach might demonstrate and debrief, might observe and give feedback, or might help the teacher analyze data and re-form student groups. 

- Each session ended with agreement on small steps for the teacher to try before the next meeting. 

- The year ended with the second video taping. Most interesting, the fall goals seemed quite insignificant come spring! 

Final quote: 

"Teachers who have worked with coaches have improved their teaching practices by incorporating more high-level thinking questions, encouraging active engagement from students, and increasing their ability to differentiate and adapt instructional material and sills. 

March 8th, 2016: Chapter 7

Summary and Thoughts / Connections for Chapter 7:  

Setting Goals

- Set 2-4 goals that are directly linked to the problem. These should be attainable, given resources that are available: time, money, people, and the planned length of the intervention. 

- All goals should be measureable. If the goal is to improve a better attitude or show more confidence, the goal should focus on an observable change. 

- The coach will likely have to guide the teacher toward developing a more concrete, measureable, goal. 

- It is possible that the coach may have goals for the teacher: be more patient with students, increase a skill level, etc. Obviously, this isn't something you'd want to openly discuss with a teacher unless the teacher has expressed interest in them. 

- All goals should be evaluated to see to what degree they were reached. Evaluations can be formative or summative.

Developing an Intervention Plan

- A consistent and skillful implementation of one or more possible strategies will probably lead to improvement, as long as the strategy is supported by evidence of effectiveness and is linked logically to the targeted problem and goals. 

- You MUST work with the teacher to develop the plan! It must be something that can, and will be implemented in the classroom. For success: 

   *The teacher believes that the intervention will be effective.

   * The intervention does not require lots of time or material resources.

   * There is a match between the theoretical underpinnings of an intervention plan and the teacher's philosophies and beliefs.

   * The intrusiveness of the intervention on the normal classroom routines and schedules is minimal.

   * The teacher has a sense of control of the situation.

- Ask the teacher for any ideas they may have for helping the target student reach the goals. It's okay for the coach to list some as well, but if it comes from the teacher, it will probably be more likely implemented. (Consider listing one or or two possible strategies.)

- Keep in mind that as a coach you are a resource for effective ideas and strategies, not the problem solver of the perfect solution. 

- Only work within your skill set and expertise. It's completely okay to turn to other experts who may have different and/or specialized knowledge and skills that are different from yours. 

- Each intervention strategy generated with the teacher must be evaluated. Each strategy should:

   *Match the problem definition and specific goals.

   * Be appropriate for the situation (match the age/skill/level/needs of the student)

   * Be feasible (match with the demands of the context and the available resources)

   * Be aligned with the philosophies and beliefs of the teacher.

   * Be minimally disruptive to the normal routines of the classroom.

   * Have evidence of effectiveness. 

- A teacher may say that they've already tried the strategies and they didn't work. However, it's possible that the teacher did not use them consistently or accurately, or for a long enough time. 

- The teacher can come up with some strategies to implement; most importantly, the teacher has to believe that the plan can work and that s/he can use the strategies effectively. 

Developing the Plan of Action

- The plan must be specific about how the intervention will be carried out: who will do what to implement each strategy; how these actions will be taken; and when, or how often, or for how long. Parents and student should be notified about the plan.

- Some strategies may require the coach to model a demonstration to the teacher, or for the teacher to attend a workshop or in-service. 

- Summarize the target problem, defined goals, the plan for collecting the evaluation data, and then reviewing the written plan of action. Present this finalized plan with a balance of optimism and realism. "A significant period of time and sustained effort will probably be required before you can see improvement in a student's reading skills." 

Providing Support to the Teacher

- Even the most carefully developed and well-designed intervention plans (viewed by enthusiastic teachers) may not be implemented successfully. Maybe the teacher did not understand sufficiently how to do part of the intervention or did not have the skills or resources. Some teachers may get discouraged and stop prematurely or modify the intervention ... but rarely are there instant and positive changes in students' problems when an intervention is first implemented. 

- It's wise to periodically check-in with a teacher to offer help, advice, guidance, and encouragement. Also, check in with the teacher the day or a few days before the intervention starts - that way you know they are confident and aware of what they need to do when it does start. 

- The frequency and intensity should match the complexity of the teacher in implementing interventions. 

Evaluating Outcomes

- Make sure data is being collected. (Formatively or summatively.) 

- Determine if the intervention plan should be continued as is, modified, or phased out. Be sure to work with the teacher.

- If new ideas or approaches should be considered, just go back to Phase 2 and look at the original list of possibly strategies -don't start the SPS model all over. 

- Perhaps the goal needs to be reevaluated, not the intervention plan. 

Remember: You are NOT a miracle worker, or a magician! :)