Michael C. McKenna
University of Virginia
Sharon Walpole
University of Delaware

“Coaching is a strategy for implementing a professional support system for teachers, a system that includes research or theory, demonstration, practice, and feedback.”
McKenna, M. C., & Walpole, S. (2008). The literacy coaching challenge:
Models and methods for grades K-8 . New York: Guilford.

Bruce Joyce and Beverly Showers
Joyce, B., Showers, B. (2002).
Student achievement through staff development .
Washington, DC: ASCD.

Theory
Feedback Demonstration
Practice
Joyce, B., & Showers, B. (2002). Student achievement through staff development . Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

“… there is no one ‘right’ coaching model for all settings and there are models that would be poor choices.”

Start by considering the professional standards adopted by IRA and the
National Staff Development Council.
These have a long history, dating back all the way back to the turn of the century. 

A chronology of coaching standards
 IRA. (2000). Excellent reading teachers .
 http://www.reading.org/resources/issues/positions_excellent.html
 IRA. (2000). Teaching all children to read: The roles of the reading specialist.
 http://www.reading.org/resources/issues/positions_excellent.html
 NSDC. (2001). Standards for staff development.
 http://www.nsdc.org/standards/index.cfm
 IRA. (2004). The role and qualifications of the reading coach in the United States .
 http://www.reading.org/resources/issues/positions_coach.html
 IRA. (2006). Standards for middle and high school literacy coaches.
 http://www.reading.org/resources/issues/reports/coaching.html
 IRA. (2007). Revised role definitions of reading professionals .
 http://www.ira.org/resources/community/ncate_standards.html

Knowledge of content areas
Knowledge of adult learning
Knowledge of struggling readers
Knowledge of excellent classroom instruction

 Help administrators reorganize resources
 Help build leadership and understanding related to site-based goals
 Set the stage for coaches of teachers

 Work once resources are allocated
 Although they interact with administrators, their focus is more squarely on the teachers.
 They help teachers learn new ideas, to implement them during instruction, and they provide formative feedback

Neufeld and Roper
Neufeld, B., & Roper, D.
(2003). Coaching: A strategy for developing instructional capacity:
Promises and practicalities .
Washington, DC: Aspen
Institute Program on
Education and Annenberg
Institute for School
Reform.
Available: http://www.annenberginstitute.org/images/Coaching.pdf

 is a set of guidelines for professional developers who provide ongoing formative support for teachers
(Those professional developers are called coaches, and their specific roles in schools vary.)
 includes a logistical plan for collaboration with teachers, and specific strategies for designing, understanding, and reflecting on teacher instruction
 provides for knowledge-building, instructional planning, and observation of teaching
 is informed by strategies for assessing student achievement.

6 characteristics common to all coaching models
1.
Establishing a role for the coach
2.
Building knowledge for teachers
3.
Choosing instructional strategies
4.
Making instructional plans
5.
Reflecting on instructional quality
6.
Assessing student learning

Let’s examine six coaching models, each based on different goals and assumptions. We’ll start with the least intrusive model and move to the most intrusive.

Less
More
Mentoring New Teachers
Peer Coaching
Cognitive Coaching
Subject-Specific Coaching
Program-Specific Coaching
Reform-Oriented Coaching

Less
Mentoring New Teachers
Peer Coaching
Cognitive Coaching
Subject-Specific Coaching
Program-Specific Coaching
Reform-Oriented Coaching
More

Mentoring New Teachers
 One-one-one approach that links a beginner to an experienced teacher
 Non-evaluative –a safe way for the novice to share frustrations and confusions
 Longstanding approach, but not well defined
 Focus is on nuts and bolts of teaching in a specific setting
 Often evolves into coplanning sessions
 Best mentoring is flexible and responsive
 Mentoring is expensive, usually involving release time
 Danger is that mentoring may perpetuate status quo

How are mentors chosen?
Typically, a veteran teacher at the same grade level is called on. Sometimes the same teacher mentors many teachers but does not teach. This situation has advantages and drawbacks.





Establishing a role for the coach
Building knowledge for teachers
• Support or induction to work in a school or district
• Knowledgeable, experienced peer support
• Outside-the-classroom support to understand requirements, procedures, and curriculum
Choosing instructional strategies
• Implements what has been chosen
• Benefits from the wisdom of practice
Making instructional plans
• Leads coplanning

Reflecting on instructional quality
• Observes and reflects on instruction
 Assessing student learning
• Critically evaluates student achievement

Take a few minutes to identify the advantages and drawbacks of mentoring new teachers.

Less
Mentoring New Teachers
Peer Coaching
Cognitive Coaching
Subject-Specific Coaching
Program-Specific Coaching
Reform-Oriented Coaching
More

Peer Coaching
 Well articulated and researched
 Intended as a bridge between formal PD and classroom implementation
 Begins with principal targeting a problem and identifying an outside expert to provide PD in a strategy designed to address the problem
 Does not embrace particular strategies
 Entire staff implements the strategy and models it for one another
 Teachers coach one another

Peer Coaching
 Steps in peer coaching:
1.
Principal facilitates forming teams of 2 or more
2.
Teams meet to discuss goals and plan lessons
3.
They observe one another teach from these plans
4.
They meet again afterward to discuss the lesson
 Joyce and Showers maintain that the observers also receive coaching through the modeling they observe







Peer Coaching
Teachers are not likely to see peer coaching as threatening
It is relatively inexpensive
It helps build cohesive relationships within teams
Especially appropriate if a particular schoolwide strategy is key (e.g., guided reading or reciprocal teaching)
But it places heavy reliance on a single strategy
Also, there are few “quality controls” for implementation





Establishing a role for the coach
Building knowledge for teachers
• Peers coach one another
• Demonstrates instructional strategies
• Meets outside classroom with external facilitator
• Observes teaching
Choosing instructional strategies
Making instructional plans
• Collaborative up-front effort of the principal and external facilitator
• Schoolwide focus
• Collaboration within each coaching team
 Reflecting on instructional quality
• Personal reflection, in private
 Assessing student learning
• Not specified

Take a few minutes to identify the advantages and drawbacks of peer coaching.

Less
Mentoring New Teachers
Peer Coaching
Cognitive Coaching
Subject-Specific Coaching
Program-Specific Coaching
Reform-Oriented Coaching
More

Cognitive Coaching



Coaches learn personal interaction techniques similar to those used by counselors
Goal is to facilitate a teacher’s self-directed learning
1.
Cognitive coaches
Collaborate with teachers in planning and instruction
2.
3.
Help build knowledge and skills outside the classroom
Explore the quality of teaching

Reflection
Conference
• Guided self-reflection
• Evidence shared
• Conclusions for future
Planning
Conference
• Goals clarified
• Evidence chosen
• Strategies selected
• Self-assessment
Classroom
Observation
• Evidence gathered
• Strategies documented




Cognitive Coaching
There is enough flexibility that any goal can be addressed
But Cognitive Coaching does not specify what or how to teach
Potential problem: What if teachers choose goals that are inconsistent with research?







Establishing a role for the coach
Building knowledge for teachers
• Assists teachers in moving from their current understandings to their desired understandings
• Consults with teachers, based on their selfreported needs
Choosing instructional strategies
• Collaborates with teachers, based on their individual goals
Making instructional plans
Reflecting on instructional quality
Assessing student learning
• Collaborates with teachers, based on their individual goals
• Conducts reflecting conferences, with the coach listening to and supporting self-reflection
• Chooses evidence collaboratively to match the teacher’s own goals

http://www.cognitivecoaching.com/

Take a few minutes to identify the advantages and drawbacks of cognitive coaching.

Less
Mentoring New Teachers
Peer Coaching
Cognitive Coaching
Subject-Specific Coaching
Program-Specific Coaching
Reform-Oriented Coaching
More

Subject-Specific Coaching
 Coaching targets a single subject area
 Thus, an LC is really a subject-specific coach!
 Can be linked to standards in a given area
 No established approach for implementation
 Gabriel speaks to subject-specific coaching in LA
 He argues that leadership must be shared within teams.
 He cautions against evaluation but reminds coaches that especially troubled instruction might have to be reported to the principal.

Subject-Specific Coaching
 Gabriel’s view of the coach’s role makes subjectspecific coaching potentially more intrusive than mentoring new teachers, peer coaching, or
Cognitive Coaching.
 Gabriel stresses the need for curriculum mapping.

Subject-Specific Coaching
 A map is a good metaphor since there are usually more than a single route to a given destination.
 Curriculum maps help teachers assure horizontal alignment (across classrooms at the same grade) and vertical alignment (across grades).

Subject-Specific Coaching
 Gabriel includes scenarios for how a subjectspecific coach can use data to promote teacher engagement.
 He recommends both formal and informal assessments.
 A coach must not overrely on scores, but they can provide a window for constructive reflection.

Gabriel, J. G. (2005).
How to thrive as a teacher leader.
Alexandria, VA: ASCD.






Establishing a role for the coach
Building knowledge for teachers
• Ensure implementation of effective practices and monitor student outcomes
• Linked to deep understanding of curriculum and standards
Choosing instructional strategies
• Nested within the discipline
• Vertically articulated
Making instructional plans
Reflecting on instructional quality
• Collaborative curriculum development
• Curriculum mapping
• Focused observation
 Assessing student learning
• Teacher-developed assessments
• State-mandated assessments

Take a few minutes to identify the advantages and drawbacks of subject-specific coaching.

Less
Mentoring New Teachers
Peer Coaching
Cognitive Coaching
Subject-Specific Coaching
Program-Specific Coaching
Reform-Oriented Coaching
More

Program-Specific Coaching
 Targets implementation of a commercial (or nonprofit) program
 Slightly controversial since some authorities distinguish between training and true PD.
 Two influential models of program-specific coaching are Reading Recovery
 and
Success for All (SFA).
 These models take different approaches to coaching for implementation.
 These differences are instructive.


 30-minute lesson frame
 One-on-one instruction, first grade only
 Children progress through leveled books that encourage application of recently taught skills
 Each lesson involves complex decision making before, during, and after the lesson.
 A train-the-trainer model is used. Trainers receive extensive work at university sites, then return to prepare teachers as Reading
Recovery
 teachers.
 Trainers watch teachers behind one-way mirrors, then provide follow-up conferencing.

 Provides materials, grouping plans, and assessments
 90-minute block in five-day cycle
 Externally validated
 Highly specific, but coaching still needed.
 Coach’s role is to ensure fidelity to SFA
 Observation checklists are used by coach
 Coaches do not choose curricula or strategies
 They use lesson plan templates


Establishing a role for the coach
• Trainer



Making instructional plans

Building knowledge for teachers
• Deep understanding of how and why to implement the program
Choosing instructional strategies
• External, completed by the program designers
Reflecting on instructional quality
• External, included in the program
• Internal, specified for the setting
• Fidelity to the program model
 Assessing student learning
• Program-embedded assessments
• External assessments

Reading Recovery
 http://www.readingrecovery.org/
Marie Clay

Success for All http://successforall.com/
Robert Slavin Nancy Madden

Take a few minutes to identify the advantages and drawbacks of curriculum-specific coaching.

Less
Mentoring New Teachers
Peer Coaching
Cognitive Coaching
Subject-Specific Coaching
Program-Specific Coaching
Reform-Oriented Coaching
More

Reform-Oriented Coaching



Developed by us within REA and Reading First
(K-3)
Is the most intrusive of these six coaching models
Unlike program-specific models, goals may change over time, depending on assessment data

Reform-Oriented Coaching
 Based on four up-front decisions:
1.
School community recognizes that past practices are not yielding acceptable outcomes.
2.
School has used a comprehensive, thoughtful procedure to select high-quality commercial instructional materials for grade-level instruction and for intensive intervention.
3.
District and school leaders have committed to extended instructional time and schoolwide assessments.
4.
There is time during and after the school day for the coach to provide professional development for teachers.

Reform-Oriented Coaching


Our model requires much of coaches! They must:
Work with each grade-level team to construct classroom schedules to specify how their curriculum will be implemented
 Design an assessment system to screen students for potential problems
 Employ flexible informal strategies to specify exactly what those problems are and how to address them.

Reform-Oriented Coaching


Our model requires much of coaches! They must:
Monitor progress to document the effectiveness of instruction
 Understand outcome measures to chart growth over time
 Interpret and represent data for individual children, classrooms, grade levels, and schools, using both cross-sectional and cohort tracking.
 Design and implement a reflexive professional support system

Reform-Oriented Coaching




Coaches typically adopt one of two roles:
“director” or “mentor” (similar to Neufeld and
Roper’s change and content coaches)
This model is comprehensive and maintains choice, which is both a strength and a weakness!
It is adaptive to local contexts and is sure to look different at different sites (unlike curriculum-specific approaches)
Because of its intrusiveness, teacher resistance may become a challenge for coaches


Establishing a role for the coach
• Director and/or mentor


Building knowledge for teachers
Choosing instructional strategies
• Understanding of SBRR
• Implementation of whole-group instruction, differentiated small-group instruction, and intensive intervention
• Schools choose commercial materials for wholegroup instruction
• Schools choose commercial materials for intensive intervention
• Schools choose instructional strategies for smallgroup, differentiated instruction


Making instructional plans

Reflecting on instructional quality
 Assessing student learning
• Grade-level collaboration, guided by the coach
• Walk-throughs
• Observations
• Valid and reliable assessment systems for screenings, progress monitoring, and outcomes
• Informal assessments to guide differentiated instruction

Take a few minutes to identify the advantages and drawbacks of reform-oriented coaching.

Less
More
Mentoring New Teachers
Peer Coaching
Cognitive Coaching
Subject-Specific Coaching
Program-Specific Coaching
Reform-Oriented Coaching

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zebra
Workable Solutions in a Post-RF World
+ = donkey

zebra
Workable Solutions in a Post-RF World
+ = donkey zedonk

 Mentoring New Teachers
 Peer Coaching
 Cognitive Coaching
 Subject-Specific Coaching
 Program-Specific Coaching
 Reform-Oriented Coaching

 Teachers work in pairs to help one another implement a new approach or refine their use of a familiar one.
 LC works with principal to form pairs.
 Remember that in peer coaching, there is no LC and the principal forms pairs or larger teams.
 Pairings could match a strength in one teacher with a weakness in another.
 Pairings could match a resistant with a cooperative teacher.
 Pairings could match a proficient veteran with a new hire.
 Pairing should avoid matching teachers who are both resistant (actively or passively).

 LC coordinates pairings and helps schedule peer observations and conferences.
 LC meets with each pair to discuss concerns and offer suggestions.
 LC could cover one teacher’s class while the teacher observes in the partner’s classroom.
 LC synthesizes information across pairs and periodically summarizes progress.
 LC periodically works with principal to form new pairings.

Take 5
Would this hybrid coaching model be likely to work in your setting?
What are the advantages and drawbacks?
Could it be modified to make it work?

 LC works with principal to craft or revise a mentoring program for new teachers.
 The resulting plan would include a key coordinating role for the LC.
 LC recruits mentors who are
 Enthusiastic veterans committed to best practice.
 Nurturing individuals with practical wisdom as well as technical expertise.
 Educators who are unlikely to co-opt new teachers into unproductive habits.

 LC meets periodically with mentors to discuss concerns and offer suggestions.
 LC meets with mentor-mentee pairs by invitation.
 LC draws conclusions across pairs with a view to improving the mentoring program and to finding ways to proactively prepare new hires as a group.
 LC continually seeks mentoring resources such as videos and articles.

Take 5
Would this hybrid coaching model be likely to work in your setting?
What are the advantages and drawbacks?
Could it be modified to make it work?

 LC works with new hires as the only mentor.
 This hybrid requires a high level of teacher turnover.
 Mentoring involves a combination of:
 Introduction to SBRI and differentiated smallgroup instruction
 Observation and conferencing cycle
 Accelerated study of key topics
 Data interpretation and its use in planning

Take 5
Would this hybrid coaching model be likely to work in your setting?
What are the advantages and drawbacks?
Could it be modified to make it work?

 LC works part-time as specialist.
 Possibilities for teaching role:
 Interventionist outside the block or
 Push-in small-group teacher.
 Coaching time is limited and must be focused and selective.
 If focus is on teachers whose students the LC teaches, data can be more easily shared.
 It makes sense for the LC to serve the struggling students of struggling teachers.

Take 5
Would this hybrid coaching model be likely to work in your setting?
What are the advantages and drawbacks?
Could it be modified to make it work?

 Reform + Peer Coaching
 Reform + Mentoring
 Reform as Mentoring
 Reform + Specialist
 Can you suggest other hybrids?
 Perhaps hybrids of hybrids!?