NSW Department of Education Instructional Leadership NSW Department of Education Learning Intention: Success Criteria: • Will be able to • Will be able to - identify the key initiatives and - identify instructional coaching, new programs to be introduced / teacher coaching, Reading strategy implemented and supported by the IL support and numeracy support as the (DP) key 2021 initiatives • To describe the key function and format of Instructional coaching - recall the key function and format of Instructional coaching NSW Department of Education Strategic School Development Plan 2021-24 NHS Context • Strategic Direction 1: Student Growth and attainment - Effective Classroom Practice: Effective classroom • Strategic Direction 2: Staff growth and collaboration - Educational Leadership: The strengthening of the instruction will be improved through a focus on implementation of the Performance and Development explicit teaching and an enhancement of school wide Framework and Policy will ensure that the school will assessment practices. Support will be provided to all demonstrate a high performance culture, with a clear teachers to develop skills in the explicit teaching of focus on student progress and achievement and high reading and numeracy in a secondary context. quality service delivery. - Data Skills and Use: Effective strategies and - Learning and Development: Staff will collaborate and processes for data analysis are in place and are used work together to achieve common goals through the to inform teaching and planning. Teachers and sharing of evidence informed practices, knowledge and leaders will work together using data to monitor and problem solving. Effective collaborative practices will assess student progress and plan future learning on improve staff confidence and quality as well as student a whole school, class, group and individual level. results. Innovative practices will be trialled and clear processes will be in place to evaluate, refine and scale success. NSW Department of Education The Instructional Leadership Role Narrandera High School – 2021 – Key programs / initiatives Instructional Coaching Reading Strategies: Across the High School Curriculum ALL Staff Numeracy Support Maths Faculty HITS and The Growth Model All Staff What Works Best Application New Teacher Induction Program NSW Department of Education Instructional Leadership – a coaching approach The Research – in the beginning • Increasingly research evidence within highly effective schools is indicating that a coaching approach is essential. (Hattie: 2012) • It points to the leadership of a school to create a coaching culture where collaborative partnerships will flourish. (McKinsey and Company: 2010) • So Leaders: −set the direction and priorities within the school using participative processes with their participative processes with their community and board. −seek over the medium to longer term, to create a culture in their school where feedback is school where feedback is sought and welcomed. −communicate these in a way that will influence the coaching conversations between peers. conversations between peers. NSW Department of Education Instructional Leadership – a coaching approach The Research – the end goal • Researchers (Hattie, 2012) suggest that it is more effective to have teachers working collaboratively and for very high effect, using a coaching approach in how they support each other. • This coaching approach is supported by the Australian Professional Standards for Principals and the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers through AITSL. • Leaders play a significant role in leading instruction; however, it is when “teachers work collaboratively with peers, incorporating data collected through peer observation and following up with regular and sophisticated collegial coaching conversations”, that we see the most impact on teaching practice. NSW Department of Education Principal Collaborative Conversations Performance and Development Plan Teacher (Peer Coach) TLC Processes Middle Manager (HOD) Teacher (Coachee) No reporting Instructio. Leader (Coach) Coaching Process NSW Department of Education What is Instructional Coaching? • Instructional Coaching is an alternative to traditional one-size-fits-all professional development. 1 • Instructional coaches work one-to-one with teachers to provide timely, relevant feedback and suggestions for improvement • A coach works alongside a teacher to 2 o Model o Observe classroom practice o Support reflection & professional conversation about the practice of teaching • Instructional Coaching is differentiated to each teacher’s needs, focused on improving discrete skills, context specific, time intensive, and sustained over the course of a term or school year, for example: o Classroom management o Student engagement o Lesson planning o Assessment design o Integration of NHS L&N goals NSW Department of Education Why Instructional Coaching? • Supports the trialling & implementation of strategies that will lead to an improvement of practice and positive impact on student outcomes • Focussed on helping teachers to learn, rather than teaching them • Provides opportunities to adjust practice in response to feedback based on observation NSW Department of Education Instructional Coaching Phases 1. Reflection and Goal setting - Coach and ‘coachee’ reflect on current practice, student 2. Professional Practice & Learning 1. Reflection and Goal setting learning, teaching standards and NHS goals - Set goals - May include observations & feedback 3. Ongoing Feedback, Reflection & Review NSW Department of Education Instructional Coaching Phases 2. Professional Practice & Learning - Coach and ‘coachee’ work towards achieving goal 2. Professional Practice & Learning 1. Reflection and Goal setting - Coach models practices, observes coachee to reflect upon and improve practices - Collection of data to demonstrate changes in practices and increase in teacher impact - Participate in coaching conversations 3. Ongoing Feedback, Reflection & Review NSW Department of Education Instructional Coaching Phases 3. Ongoing Feedback, Reflection & Review - Coach and ‘coachee’ meet regularly 1. 2. Professional Practice & Learning Reflection and Goal setting - Feedback is ongoing, timely and improvement focussed - Coaching conversations (listening / posing questions) 3. Ongoing Feedback, Reflection & Review NSW Department of Education 1. Reading across the curriculum (High School) Adolescent readers must be able to navigate increasingly complex texts and develop the deeper knowledge of the topics they are studying. Reading proficiency is foundational to a student’s ability to master the complex subject matter of Stage 5 and 6 Transitioning from learning to read to reading to learn is essential for students moving into the secondary space. This is our collective responsibility. Vocabulary – Fluency - Comprehension NSW Department of Education 2. Numeracy Support • Essentially Numeracy is the “ability to use, apply, interpret, and communicate mathematical information and ideas” (OECD, 2016, p. 75). • Our curriculum consists of two distinct areas: mathematical content and mathematical processes. • We need to teach content via the processes. That is, we should be teaching through a problem-solving approach rather than teaching content in isolation. • Teaching via problem-solving provides a context and a need to learn specific content in a way that has meaning for students. • Teaching content in isolation separates the mathematics from the numeracy and does not promote thinking and reasoning. • Teaching numeracy in content areas other than maths, connects our leaners to mathematical thinking NSW Department of Education 3. High Impact Teaching Strategies (HITS) Teacher Professional Learning NSW Department of Education 4. New Teacher Induction Program Regular small group meetings to introduce / explore and apply the ‘What Works Best themes’ within the NHS context What works best: Evidence-based practices to help improve NSW student performance : Eight quality teaching practices that are known to support school improvement and enhance the learning outcomes of our students. They align with the SEF (School excellence Framework) High expectations Explicit teaching Effective feedback Use of data to inform practice Assessment Classroom management Wellbeing Collaboration NSW Department of Education What does the reading and numeracy coaching look like for you? 1. Head Teacher Conversation Outline process Identify teaching units for Year 7 & 9 (Sem 1) Discuss available data trends Text selection (complexity level) Mathematical Content & Proficiency strand selection 2. Class Teacher / Instructional Coach collaboration NSW Department of Education Reflect on current practice / observations / feedback Vocabulary, fluency and / or comprehension Reflect on current practice / observations / feedback Propose pedagogical goals (reading / numeracy) Independent application of T/L strategies Collaborative sourcing & planning of T/L fluency, understanding, problem solving & / or reasoning Coach models/coachee observes / coteaching NSW Department of Education NSW Department of Education NSW Department of Education Sources • DeWitt, (2016) Instructional Coaching: Finally an easy Choice • Hattie, (2012) Visible Learning for Teachers, Maximising Impact on Learning – Effect Size • McKinsey and Company (2010) - Capturing the Leadership Premium – How the World’s Top School Systems are Building Leadership Capacity for the Future • OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). (2016). PISA 2015: Assessment and analytical framework: Science, reading, mathematics, and financial literacy. Paris: OECD • O’Sullivan, (2018) – Instructional Leadership and a Coaching Approach Growth Coaching International • Van Nieuwerburgh, C, (2012). Coaching in Education – Getting Better Results for Students, Educators and Parents. NSW Department of Education
