No Series: Instructional Coaching

Instructional Coaching

Lesson Objective: Collaborate to improve teaching practice
All Grades / All Subjects / Feedback
3 MIN

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Discussion and Supporting Materials

Thought starters

  1. How does Ms. Hurst draw from her own teaching experience when coaching others?
  2. Why is it important to keep feedback objective?
  3. What does Ms. Culver learn from her coaching session?

19 Comments

  • Private message to Nancy Lewis

This video was a good example of a healthy mentor/mentee relationship. I felt the coach had excellent communication skills. She was very direct but not at all threatening or judgemental. I feel the star of this film was the new teacher! She was great in the way she easily took advice and was willing to work on her skills. They appeared to feel confidence and trust in each other. 

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  • Private message to Derrie Dudley

Ms. Hurst was reflective of her teaching practices as a math and social studies teacher that helped her to be objective in how she presented her suggestions to Ms. Culver. She observed how some of the students were not engaged in learning and objectively informed Ms.Culver in how to get them excited  about learning. Ms. Culver gladly accepted her comments and did not seem intimidated at all.

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  • Private message to Lavina Bond

Immediately I enjoyed Mrs. Culver's statement that Mrs. Hurst wasn't threatening in any way. Often that is how a lot of professional development and administrative feedback feels, like you're doing everything wrong. That statement sets the tone that Mrs. Hurst's objectives are to encourage Mrs. Culver's strengths that she already has as a teacher and help her to integrate and develop more strengths. As the video progressed it was evident that Mrs. Hurst drew on her experience as a teacher and how she liked or disliked being spoken to when she was in the classroom. It was also evident that she uses objective feedback that is centered on making the teaching practice better instead of worrying about hurting someone's feelings. I liked how Mrs. Culver was teaching about Jazz which would be unfamiliar to many students, and Mrs. Hurst encouraged her first that she did a good job relating Jazz to music the students do like; however, then she gave objective feedback that it would be better to start with relating Jazz to their music, so they are engaged in the lesson from the beginning. That was a successful technique of praise then show how to improve. Without the praise, everything comes off to a listener as "you're doing everything wrong", and Mrs. Hurst seemed to recognize that if she started with praising what Mrs. Culver was doing really well that Mrs. Culver could receive the objective feedback better and be more encouraged to try the suggestions. 

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  • Private message to Katie Tart

This was a great video.  As someone who is interested in one day becoming an instructional coach, I like how Ms Hurst talked about what coaching is... that it’s about seeing “the big picture” and showing teachers how to backup and see good practice. It was clear and good explanation of what good coaching is. She was also honest in saying that it can take some time (3-4 visits) to develop trust between the teacher and the coach.   It also showed how helpful instructional coaching can be to teachers, like Ms Culver, who have an open mind and a desire to improve instructional practices in his/her classroom.

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  • Private message to Lavina Bond

Katie, good luck in becoming an Instructional Coach; those are so vital to the progression of our profession. I liked how you talked about making 3-4 visits to develop trust between teacher and coach. I think that happens with students too. I am an English teacher, and on writing assignments I provide an abundance of positive feedback. I've always noticed writing is an area where students have been hurt by other teachers, but after the third writing assignment of receiving all of my positive feedback, they really trust me and start opening up so much more in their writing as well as involving me in their lives. Because of my deliberate and intentional positive responses with their writing assignments, my students start anticipating writing assignments instead of dreading those, and that is the greatest feeling knowing that I have empowered them to be better writers just by being consistant with positive feedback three different times. 

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  • Private message to Raven Groom
This is great! There is always room for improving, whether you are a new teacher or a veteran. The world is constantly evolving so this means your modes of teaching would probably have to too. It was very good watching the teacher get the feedback from how she taught. The coach was good and the teacher did not take offense to it. When most teachers her "feedback", they think that is will be something bad.
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Transcripts

  • Instructional Coaching Transcript

    +++ 00:00:06 +++
    Card:
    Strategies: Instructional Coaching

    Card:
    Instructional Coaching provides intensive, differentiated support to teachers so

    Instructional Coaching Transcript

    +++ 00:00:06 +++
    Card:
    Strategies: Instructional Coaching

    Card:
    Instructional Coaching provides intensive, differentiated support to teachers so that they are able to implement proven practices. – Jim Knight
    Tracey Hurst: You’ll always have five or six kids or you do have five or six kids not engaging.
    Lower Third:
    Andrea Culver
    9th Grade Pre-AP English 1
    Sheldon Early College High School, Houston, Texas
    Andrea Culver: The coaching staff that I’ve worked with this year is just very dedicated to helping teachers become better educators.
    Tracey Hurst: You want to make sure you bring it back to the group with one or two characteristics.
    Andrea Culver: Okay. So just pick out some kids to share that or should I share it?
    Tracey Hurst: Either way.

    +++ 00:00:35 +++
    Andrea Culver: You don’t feel threatened by it. You feel more like a, you know, what that’s a good point. I’m going to try and to do this next time.
    Andrea Culver: All right, so ladies and gentlemen. Our first kind of music that we’re going to talk about today is jazz.
    Lower Third:
    Tracey Hurst
    Instructional Coach
    Educate Texas
    Tracey Hurst: I taught math, and I taught social studies and it helps me transfer good practice from one classroom to the next. I can see the big picture. And I have the ability to help teachers back up and see a good practice in action and how they might use it in their classroom.
    Tracey Hurst: There’s three things you might think about before the next class. You connected to their music, really late. And so if you can connect earlier. I don’t know if you can. But if you can…

    +++ 00:01:12 +++
    Andrea Culver: I’ll give a shot.
    Tracey Hurst: Yeah, because then they perked up. You know, it was like oh, I know this. I’m not sure exactly but think about that.
    Tracey Hurst: I just do the coaching about keeping it very objective and making sure they understand it’s to help instruction in the building. When you go in in the beginning, it’s sometimes scary for the teachers because I’m a stranger. But after three or four visits teachers want you in their classroom and they ask why you didn’t visit their classroom if you come to campus.

    +++ 00:01:41 +++
    Tracey Hurst: I talked to you about this during the class. Your leaders were dominating the classroom talk activities. Make sure you get to your shy kids too because I tracked that on this one and you have five or six kids that stayed pretty quiet the whole time.
    Andrea Culver: It’s fantastic. When you’ve got an instructional coach in the room with you and they come to you between classes and they say okay this is what I think you should change it’s like wonderful, let’s try this out. And it kind of lets you gage it right now, while the lesson’s happening as opposed to trying to remember later on how that changed things or how that worked.

    +++ 00:02:11 +++
    Tracey Hurst: I think the coaching makes a difference because the students see that the teachers are continuing to grow and continuing to learn.
    Tracey Hurst: Those are three things you might work on before the next, you know-- just see if you can incorporate it. And if you do one or two that’ll be great.
    Andrea Culver: Okay. Thanks.
    Tracey Hurst: Great, thanks.

Teachers

teachers
Andrea Culver