Journal Entry Four, November 20, 2020. Learn Before the coaching session, I prepared a checklist that would address the strategy for the lesson I observed. The checklist was kept short and concise. Based on Knight’s one page list “limiting the list to one page to keep the playbook from becoming overly complex and unwieldy” (Knight, 2018, p. 104). This is the Technology Approach Literacy Cooperative Learning Checklist. We went over the checklist and agreed to modify some items, but most of the items on the list where acceptable to both of us. We went over the goal again and decided to leave the goal at 90%. Then we moved on to choose a modeling approach. I gave Figgy several options: come in person and observe, view a recording of the lesson, co-teaching or a combination of the formers. Figgy chose to come in for an observation and to have me record the same lesson for further evaluation. The class that she came to observe me was my Spanish 3 honors class. During the coaching lesson we set up a time for her to come visit the class. I am excited to see how Figgy will face this challenge. Journal Entry Four, November 20, 2020. Improve I was a bit nervous before this coaching session because this was going to make or break my coaching career. But after my observation and the discussion that came after, I was feeling very optimistic. Below are examples of the list I provided Figgy to assess her achievement of the goal and the implementation of the strategy, this is the Technology Approach Literacy Cooperative Learning Checklist: 1. Teacher has clear idea of the learning strategy. PALS/Cooperative learning 2. Teacher has written clear expectations for the task. 3. Students have clear understanding of the teacher’s expectations. 4. Teacher has given sufficient time for activities. PALS pacing time is included. 5. Teacher identified goal of technology approach with this lesson During my observation, Figgy implemented the same style lesson she came to observe me teach, PALS/Cooperative learning with a literacy focus. Her students read the articles and worked in pairs in the task. They each read a part of the article aloud and after answer the questions along with the graphic organizer provided. At the end of the lesson, the students were required to upload their work to canvas. Figgy provided the students with their own checklist with steps to complete beforehand, and as the lesson progressed, the students would put a checkmark on each item as they completed. The checklist for the students is provided below: COOPERATIVE LEARNING: TURN TO YOUR NEIGHBOR
The challenges we faced were predicted on the previous coaching session. The internet was a bit slow, so the solution was to allow students to sign in to the wi-fi a few at a time so not to overwhelm the system. My feelings towards this coaching session are positive. We decided to continue next semester with new classes and compare data success. This course has given me the opportunity to work firsthand with a teacher that was a joy to work with, and to practice in a safe environment how to properly coach another professional in my field. Overall, the experiences were great. A quote that stuck with me during this experience appears on Knight’s book in page 139: The people who set out to make it through the Dip – the people who invest the time and the energy and the effort to power through the Dip – those are the ones who become the best in the world. They are breaking the system because, instead of moving on to the next thing, instead of doing slightly above average and settling for what they’ve got, they embrace the challenge. For whatever reason, they refuse to abandon the quest and they push through the Dip all the way to the next level. -Seth Godin Knight, J. (2018). The impact cycle: What instructional coaches should do to foster powerful improvements in teaching. Thousand Oaks, CA, CA: Corwin, A Sage Company.
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Journal Entry Three,
November 6, 2020. Learn Before the coaching session, I prepared a checklist that would address the strategy for the lesson I observed. The checklist was kept short and concise. Based on Knight’s one page list “limiting the list to one page to keep the playbook from becoming overly complex and unwieldy” (Knight, 2018, p. 104). This is the Technology Approach Literacy Cooperative Learning Checklist. We went over the checklist and agreed to modify some items, but most of the items on the list where acceptable to both of us. We went over the goal again and decided to leave the goal at 90%. Then we moved on to choose a modeling approach. I gave Figgy several options: come in person and observe, view a recording of the lesson, co-teaching or a combination of the formers. Figgy chose to come in for an observation and to have me record the same lesson for further evaluation. The class that she came to observe me was my Spanish 3 honors class. During the coaching lesson we set up a time for her to come visit the class. I am excited to see how Figgy will face this challenge. Journal Entry Two,
October 9, 2020. Identify On this day, Figgy and met to discuss the class that I observed. The coaching session started with me asking Figgy how she felt about the lesson she taught, and I observed. She started with positive things to say about the lesson. Then, we moved to the identify questions found on Knight’s book chapter 3. These ranged from what score the teacher would give the lesson, identifying the main goal of the lesson and then we developed a strategy to try in the next observation. As Knight expresses it is better to “ask the questions after the teacher has gained a clear picture of reality, either by watching a video of the lesson, reviewing student work, learning about interviews with students, reviewing observation data…” (Knight, 2018, p. 83). Since she had trouble having her students turn in the assignments on time or in the right place on canvas, we decided that a Tech-approach strategy would be best for our goal. Her goal was to meet at least 90% of success. It was an ambitious goal but we decided that we can achieve it. Instructional technology has become a major part of instruction in our school since we are in a Hybrid model, where the students come to school and do three days of digital learning at home. Some of the challenges we may encounter are, obviously, connection to the internet at school as well as at home. The connection to the internet in school varies from hallway to hallway at any given time during the day, so one solution we decided on was to start with one class where the connection was available during the day. My feelings towards this coaching session are positive. According to Knight, teachers must develop a respectful relationship based on mutual understanding and I believe we have that kind of relationship at least for now. Journal Entry One,
September 10, 2020: As I prepare to coach my colleague, Figgy, these journal entries will describe my experiences coaching a new teacher at my school. The teacher needs to implement different strategies for face-to-face (f2f) learning as well as digital learning days (DLD). My school is currently on a Hybrid model which students come in two days a week based on their last names for f2f and receive DLD for the remaining 3 days that they do not attend school. During each video session, we will discuss the use of the digital program used at my school, canvas, and how to improve student engagement, participation, achievement, and accountability for both teacher and students. While reading Jim Knight’s The Impact Cycle, coaches should collaborate with the teacher to ensure the success of the students, and in a technological coaching environment we will have to adapt some of Knight’s views on coaching to be applied in this concept. Based on Knight’s views on instructional coaching, “teachers must get a clear picture of the current reality, identify goals, pick teaching strategies to meet the goals, monitor progress and problem-solve until the goals are met” (Knight, 2018, p. 2). I plan to follow this model to implement our goals and objectives throughout the coaching process. It will be important to analyze and reflect on what we will accomplish. Knight, J. (2018). The impact cycle: What instructional coaches should do to foster powerful improvements in teaching. Thousand Oaks, CA, CA: Corwin, A Sage Company. |
AuthorSpanish Teacher at NPHS, MEd. candidate at Kennesaw State University. Archives
November 2020
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