MA Seminar Week 5-7

Week 5: February 6-10

When the Newcomers started, I pulled my para from all but two classes. In those two classes I reminded her to assist all students as needed - including reading tests aloud. The SpEd department appreciated that and said they would help out in the other class periods. Awesome!   …

Wednesday: I received an email from a content teacher, “I just wanted to check in as to your thoughts regarding those ELL students who need to have tests read to them.  I know that previously the SpEd staff was helping out, but from my understanding, that is not going to be the case anymore. So I'm just wondering what the next plan of action is?  I know there are tests and quizzes always coming up, so as team leader, and a classroom teacher, I want to make sure we are doing right by those students.” I had no clue about this change, and was irritated that this email was sent to me AND our principal. I felt that was totally unfair. I quickly tried to do damage control and found out, from a SpEd teacher the our school psychologist told them that they could not help more than five students at a time; so even if I had one student in a class, they could not help them in the classroom, pull them for tests to be read aloud, etc. I replied to the teacher, “With the SpEd staff taking their students, can you - the classroom teacher, read to the ELL kids in the room? If the classroom teacher isn’t already reading to the other students, I think this would be fine.”

I later received an email from the principal that said, “Brenna - I hate to say this, but I am assuming that some of your students are going to need the accommodation/ modification of having the test read to your students.  Obviously, this will be hard because we can not send Tangemann everywhere.  But the general education classroom teacher can not be pulled to read to your ELL students.  They need to be available to help the students within your classes. At this point, what needs to happen is the general education classroom teacher will need to send the test with the student to your room where Jennifer will have to read to them in the hallway.  I know this is not ideal, but this seems like the best solution.I would communicate this to all teachers a list of students who need the test read to them.  I would also ask teachers to communicate to you ahead of time when the test will be so you can plan accordingly within your room.”

By the time I read his email, I was pretty hot. I replied that, “The classroom teacher would not need to be pulled from the classroom to read to the students, it could all happen within their four walls. ..I will work on getting a spreadsheet set up with kids’ schedules so Jen and I can try to figure out how to juggle everything.” No one replied to me after that. I did go to the principal’s office after school and express my frustrations. Ultimately he said to do whatever I needed to do to help my kids in the best way possible; that this is entirely new to him too and it’s a huge learning curve.

*** I left his office feeling a little relieved, as he gave me his blessing to spend less time on instruction of my classes, and to focus more on being a case manager. I can’t simply stop teaching to the classes I have, and offer study halls all day, but I will give them more class time to get work done, study for tests, and collaborate. I hope to spend less time worrying about grades as well.

Thursday - Parent/Teacher Conferences: All but three of my Newcomers came. Yay! I will say, having a student all day long in my room certainly creates a LONG conference; there is a lot to talk about!

One particular student, non-Newcomer is a handful. He doesn’t bring what he needs for class, rarely has his homework done -if it is even with him. His mom sounds supportive of the school, but there doesn’t seem to be much follow through on her end of things. I do not believe this is a language issue, but I can’t prove that until other things improve. Tuesday, Mom was supposed to come for her son’s final SAT meeting. She did not come, so I met with her on Wednesday. Ultimately it was decided to have him carry a crate/bin of all of his locker contents so that he always has what he needs. Also, it is up to the individual teacher, but we discussed having him leave his work in each classroom so that nothing went home and didn’t come back, or got lost in transition.

Newcomers in Gym Class: This is the Newcomers’ first full week of having gym class. The gym teacher is very particular about how she runs her classes, has clear expectations and consequences. I reminded her that “my” students are no different than other students in the building when it comes to participation, attendance, behavior, etc. I offered to send my para with the students to help her -initially she declined the support, then demanded it. After the first day, the teacher approached me asking if she was supposed to have the same expectations for my para. Long story short, I simply reminded her that my para is another adult in the building, not a student, and that she is not a teacher, but is there to help reinforce what the teacher is doing, and work with individuals or a small group (“our kids”) as needed. Another complaint was that my kids are “slower than other kids. It’s like working with kindergarteners!” This was quite frustrating for me. Cognitively, my students should not have any issue in gym class. Understanding the rules of a game, however, they will struggle. I explained that most students have played sports, namely soccer, in their native country, but it was probably a street or pick-up game that was less structured than her gym class. Apparently her frustration was in the kids not being able to catch a ball, dribble, run 10 laps around the gym without walking, or do sit-ups fast enough. I gently reminded her (like I’ve had to remind many other staff members) that these students have only been in our building for a month. If they think back to what the beginning of September was like for all of the other students in the school, they would have a good idea about where my students are in their learning of the school rules, expectations, etc.

**** The gym teacher prints out the instructions or rules for class and my para pulls it up in Spanish (all of our students are Spanish speakers). We give them class time to look it over, watch Youtube videos and ask us questions about it.

Week 6: February 13-17

One Newcomer started ‘normal’ classes this week. He is seriously struggling. It seems that he does not have strong study habits. He is failing every class; even mine. Sometimes he simply doesn’t do the work at home. There are two of my other students who have the same schedule as him, who are helping him as needed, but I think he is using them as a crutch -and it’s not fair for them to spend their time helping him understand when they too are learning the material. --- After talking to him later this week I helped him think through how to better use his work time at school and home.

Maybe I can use NEWSELA for the fall. All staff have a PRO membership, but the lowest Lexile is 560 (second grade) -even with the Elementary version. However, there is a Spanish (text) option -for my Spanish speakers. I found a story about tornados, at the lowest lexile, which I think would be a good thing for them to read about being in the Midwest, but one of the first words was thunderstorm. Nowhere in the reading does it explain what a thunderstorm is. Ugh. Thankfully, I can digitally annotate on the document to provide definitions, but I may have to just suggest students use a dictionary. Maybe have them flip back and forth between the English and Spanish texts?

I had to rearrange seats again. There was some bullying going on at the group on the left of my classroom. I pulled the desks apart and put them into two rows with everyone facing one direction. So far, so good. I moved the tables that were in the back to the front. This allows for all of the students in my classes to sit near the board. By moving the desks to the back, that allowed for more flexibility in seating arrangements for the Newcomers.

I spent a lot of time after school this week trying to get caught up. I bring things home to work on, but never pull them out. I want to, but the few hours a day I have with my children take priority. Some of the things I need to do are easy enough for my para, or another adult, to do. I already stretch her so thin, I don’t know when I could have her help me do these things. (Simple grading, copies, update curriculum materials for each student, etc.) Once some of these things are done, they won’t need to be done again; it’s just time consuming at the beginning.

*** I updated some of the documents and scanned them to myself. Now I have a nice, clean digital copy. Yes!

Week 7: February 20-24

No school on Monday (Presidents’ Day/Teacher compensation day) or Friday (snow day).

The non-Newcomer who carries his locker contents with him is showing improvement. It is very minimal, but it is there. Hallelujah! However, more concerns are surfacing. I’m afraid he may have a memory issue. I need to talk to our school Psychologist about it.

I’m concerned about one of my Newcomers. He seems to not understand simple instructions - even when there is an example for him to follow. I had another Spanish speaking student explain everything to him, in her own words even, and he did okay for a few days, but is in a slump again. This students WAS in attendance at the previous Newcomer location at the high school. That teacher had nothing valuable to offer when I asked her about him. The student’s brother says he understands him just fine when speaking in Spanish, but my non-Newcomer students all say they often have no idea what he is saying to them.

*** I need to talk to my supervisor, Josh, about this kiddo.

Wednesday: I had a SAT meeting for another non-Newcomer. She works her tail off but still struggles. She is now in my room one period a day as a study hall. I do not teach a class that period, but do have the Newcomers. I can read tests to her, review for tests, allow for work time, etc. She was quite excited and thankful to be in there Thursday. She’s been in the US since kindergarten, but the district she attended had no ELL program. She came to Ralston halfway through 5th grade, where she finally received language intervention and support.

*** She is also coming to my room at any point during the day to have tests read aloud - just like all of the other students.

MA Seminar Week 1-4

Week 1: January 9-13

Kids spend all day in my room. I make them get out every 45 minutes, for 4 minutes - passing period. Either going to the bathroom, getting a drink, walk the halls a bit, or talk to friends and stretch.

• Got lockers on Friday. Spent most of the day on Thursday practicing combination padlocks. Once mastered, they were given their own locker.
• Now that they have their own locker and can handle the lock, they will get to join a P.E. class and have their own gym locker there. Originally we were going to put them in 4th and 7th period gym classes, my plan periods, but those classes were already full. By the end of the week, I didn’t care if we send one student per period, I just needed them to get out and  moving. Hopefully this will happen next week.

I started the semester off with six newcomers. Two days into the semester, I was told I would be getting five more. I was definitely overwhelmed that day after school. I know that I can handle this, but being unprepared and having never done this before -in eight years, is hard. What has definitely been hard is trying to juggle teaching a class, while having a room full of newcomers. Jen, my para, and I have been managing by each of us jumping back and forth between groups of students so we each are working with everyone.

• My supervisor discussed revamping/changing my schedule so that I am just working with Newcomers all day. I didn’t think that was wise: 1- It would be extra work for my principal to manually change 11 schedule (watching for class sizes, etc.), or fair to the students to be uprooted in the middle of the year from something that isn’t their fault. They all would be going to more difficult classes and without support -most likely. I really could not do that to them.

The high school in our district has a Newcomer Program. It used to be for grades 7-12. However, thi year the teacher had 32 Newcomers in her room - along with two paras. The youngest students just turned 12, and the oldest was almost 21. This has the possibility of being very bad. This teacher has ran the program for a LONG time. She hand selected the curriculum, and does things the way she wants -but she gets results! Because of this change in the middle of the year, and her having everything, I am using her materials for my version of the newcomer program. Additionally, we have Rosetta Stone licenses for each student. I’m trying to make it so that the students know what they need to work on each period of everyday. They have school work and they have homework - while they are similar, the school work is more challenging than the homework. It sort of is cyclical.

• Homework: Level 1
• First period: Alphabet Journal and Verbs  (writing about a topic that begins with ‘A’. The paragraph is  written in both English and the native language. The verbs are all past tense. Students write the word in their native language, the way it sounds, and a sentence using it correctly.
• Second period: Rosetta Stone
• Third period: Level 2 - working with me directly
• Fourth period: Vocabulary
• Fifth period: continued work with level 2 & 3, verbs, and writing - working with me directly
• Sixth period: Rosetta Stone
• Seventh period: Skills practice (this week was practicing/memorizing lunch codes, lockers, important places in the building, etc.)
• Eighth period:  level 3
• Advisement: End of the day reflections

I would like to get some content -besides vocabulary, with these kids, but that may have to happen this fall. I found a curriculum called “Access” that has a Newcomer text, as well as basic Math, English, World History, and American History. My supervisor said he’d look into that and into another curriculum he heard about to see what he prefers before we make a purchase. I think that could be a good jumping off point, at the very least, to get their kids’ feet wet.

The non-newcomers are already struggling. I pulled my para from all of their classes to help with the Newcomers while I’m simultaneously teaching in my room. The non-newcomers have approached her with questions, “When are you coming back to class?” “I don’t understand what we are doing in Science.” “History has a project that is hard, can you help me?” It’s so hard to hear this and not have an answer. Running an individualized program while also being the only certified ELL teacher, and caseload manager in the building, is tough. I hope that we can find some professional development that we can send some classroom teachers to, to help with the transition of ELLs in their room with no para support. Again, this isn’t unreasonable, it’s just a change from what we’ve done for years.

I’m concerned about how much time everything needs, and the lack of it that I have. We have late starts on Wednesdays for PLCs that I will start to use as work time -whatever needs to be done. That is only a half hour.

Week 2: January 16-20

(No school Monday or Tuesday, and I was gone on Wednesday.)

I’m working on moving one of my Newcomers into regular classes - starting Monday. All students, including him, will be joining a PE class as well (fitness and activity). All 9 will be in the same class - however, this isn’t realistic for the future -most likely.

Three of the boys didn’t follow through on their homework. Kids are allowed a week to do it and it doesn’t not come to school; they have separate school work. That was frustrating, as they now have even more work due for next time. The quantity of work is minimal.

Materials are running low. Notebooks, computers, headphones, copies, etc.

Week 3: January 23-27

(I went home sick Tuesday at noon, and returned Friday at 8am.)

Sub plans are now a MAJOR pain to write.

I sent home a note, in Spanish, explaining the work I assign, how much time I give for the kids to do it, materials needed for class, etc.

Week 4: January 30-February 3

Cley*** - fell asleep in class today (Monday). Didn’t seem concerned about it or the fact that I was upset.

Thursday, students finally got to attend gym class. They will get to go daily, first period, for the rest of the semester. Not an ideal time, but I will take it! I'm frustrated that it too so long to get going, but now I know to make it happen right away come Fall.

Seating arrangements are an ongoing thing. We have rearranged the 11 students a couple of times now, but plan to again for next week. We’re trying to find the “sweet spot” for these kids to work collaboratively and still be successful - and on task.

There were two girls (sisters) who joined us last week who are really stirring the pot. They ask another student to translate for them and some of what they say is not okay. The ‘translator’ often will just shake his head side to side and not utter a word. I only found this out because our district interpreter came in on Wednesday to check in on the students and let them know she is available to them any time of day. Language barrier for myself and my para is frustrating. I have been trying to log time on Rosetta Stone to learn (re-learn) Spanish, but it’s a slow process.

I have my room arranged as best as I can get it to accommodate both the Newcomers and the class. It looks like this:  Each ‘x’ represents a student in class. There are 7-8 students in my “class” and 11 Newcomers. The “class” sits at the front of the room, by the board, where I have taken to sitting and instructing - because I feel too close to them and uncomfortable standing at that proximity. These are individual desks, not tables. The seats in the back, which are tables, are where the Newcomers work - with my para. They’re there all day, we have an eight period day. (One period they are going to gym, and two other periods they go to the library for a change of scenery, and it’s during my plan time.) The table on the right is a kidney-shaped table we use for individual or small group work. This is generally when we are having students read aloud to us and check their writing.

My room is long and narrow. I have my desk in there, a couple of filing cabinets, a small reading corner, and some shelves where kids store their school work. This is basically the best way I have figured out how to arrange the room.

I feel like there could be a better arrangement for improved instruction and supervision. I just haven’t figured that out yet.

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! :)