The Reading Coach:

1
The Reading Coach

• A Professional Growth Facilitator

2
Warm UpPlease read the following quote. Think
about why you are here as a leader in literacy
and how your leadership will effect your school.

• To be successful in the 21st century, teachers
  must open their classrooms, joining hands as
  learners themselves. To teach with success, they
  must live their instructional lives with
  intellectual vitality, working as active members
  of a spirited, reflective professional community
  that actually generates motivation to roll up
  ones sleeves and endeavor to meet the unfamiliar
  and often difficult needs of contemporary
  students. (McLaughlin 1993)

3
Agenda

• Part 1 Setting the Stage A school culture
  focused on instructional growth
• Part 2 How Do We Get There? Aligning the
  roles of the principal and coach
• Part 3 Collecting Student Data and
  Instructional Data
• Part 4 Providing Feedback to Teachers
• Part 5 Coaching Interactions Professional
  development opportunities
• Part 6 Getting Started

4
Part One

• Setting the Stage for a School Culture Focused
  on Professional Growth

5
More powerful instruction is necessary for
at-risk learners and involves

• Resources
• More instructional time
• Smaller instructional groups
• Skill
• Instruction differentiated to student level
• Clearer and more explicit explanations
• More systematic instructional sequences
• More extensive opportunities for guided practice
• More opportunities for error correction and
  feedback
• (Torgesen, 2008)

6
Growth is directly proportionate to the quality
and quantity of instructional time.

• Teacher quality X time growth
• Quantity of instructional time can be doubled or
  tripled in a semester. Quality of instructional
  time cannot. Improving quality occurs over
  extended periods of time, at different rates for
  different teachers at the same school, as a
  constant process of arduous, intelligent
  behavior.
• (Fielding, Kerr, Rosier)

7
Teachers uninformed and uniformed( Hennessy,
2008)

• Ursula Uninformed relies on

• Unice Uniformed relies on

• Tradition
• Beliefs
• Superstition
• Anecdotes
• Intuition
• (Hennessy, 2008)

• Check list / Compliance
• I just got a reading program, isnt that enough?

8
Teachers Should be Ida Informed

• Disciplinary knowledge
• Voice of evidence
• Data focused
• Collaboration
• Flexibility
• (Hennessy, 2008)

9
The Goal of a Professional Classroom

• Professional classrooms are classrooms of action
  research. They seek to answer questions and
  solve problems that arise from the daily life of
  the classroom and put findings into immediate
  practice.

10
Action Research

• Builds reflective practitioners
• When individual teachers make a personal
  commitment to systematically collect data on
  their work, they are embarking on a process the
  will foster continuous growth and development
  (Sagor, 2000).

11
Action Research

• Makes Progress on School-Wide Priorities
• Focusing the combined time, energy, and
  creativity of a group of committed professionals
  on a single pedagogical issue will inevitably
  lead to program improvements, as well as to the
  school becoming a center of excellence (Sagor,
  2000).

12
Action Research

• Builds a Professional Culture
• when teachers become agents of inquiry, the
  locus of knowledge about teaching shifts from
  sources external to the classroom to sources of
  practical classroom experience. This shift
  enhances the professional status of teaching
  because teachers actively help to shape the
  knowledge base of their profession. (Ismat,
  1995).

13
Action Research

• In a perfect world, teachers would have a folder
  near the door of their classroom where they could
  keep information on what data they would like
  observers to collect when they come into the
  classroom.
• Stephen Barkley, 2008

14
Talk with Your Table

• What kind of culture currently exists in your
  building?
• What goals do you have for improving the
  professional culture?

15
Part Two

• How Do We Get There? Aligning the roles of the
  principal and coach

16
High Support
Low Demand
High Demand
Low Support
17
Partner Talk

• What is the appropriate level of support and
  demand for adequate growth?

High Support
Low Demand
High Demand
Low Support
18
High Support
Slow, even progress Complacency
Rapid progress High performance
Low Demand
High Demand
Stagnation Under-performance
Conflict Demoralization
Low Support
Connie Hoffman
19
Factors in High Demand(gentle pressure
relentlessly applied)

• Holding the demand steady
• Making the practice public
• Using experiences to shape beliefs and confidence
• Creating a change-oriented culture

Connie Hoffman
20
Factors in High Support

• Knowing each teacher as a learner
• Creating enabling structures
• Providing necessary resources
• Staging the work and presenting it in phases
• Harnessing the power of the will of teachers
• Acknowledging the challenges
• Honoring and celebrating the work

Connie Hoffman
21
The principal should cover the entire spectrum
from evaluator to peer coach while the building
coach should only cover half of the continuum
from mentor to peer coach.
Stephen Barkley, 2008
22
Principal is the Head Coach

• The head coach does not do the bulk of the
  coaching however, he/she is in charge of making
  sure the team is well coached (Barkley, 2008)
• If a principal is invited into a teachers
  classroom, its coaching. If the principal comes
  without invitation, its evaluation or
  supervision. (Barkley, 2005, p. 34)

Stephen Barkley
23
Reading Coach

• Mentor
• Recognized as expert from administration
• Ex. Principal gives the staff a goal and says
  that the coach will be visiting all rooms to
  support them in reaching that goal
• Recognized as expert by coachee
• Ex. Teacher has a goal in mind and seeks out
  someone who he/she considers and expert in that
  area to mentor them
• Focuses on the knowledge of the mentor

Stephen Barkley, 2008
24
CONSULTANT

• A CONSULTANT is recognized as an expert in a
  content area and/or in a specific process.
  Working from commonly defined goals and the
  clients desired outcomes, the consultant offers
  technical advice and content specific knowledge.
  As an advocate, a consultant encourages others to
  apply a specific instructional strategy, adopt a
  particular curriculum or use certain materials.
  (Connie Hoffman)

25
Reading Coach

• Peer Coach
• A relationship between two equals there may be
  no difference in abilities, skills, or knowledge
• Coachee takes ownership of his/her own personal
  and professional improvements
• Focuses on the one being coached

Stephen Barkley, 2008
26
COACHING

• COACHING is most often a one-on-one interaction.
  A coachs goal is to increase the capacity of
  another to move from where they are to where they
  want to be. Coaches are non-judgmental, employ
  skills of reflective questioning and inquiry, and
  help others to think more deeply about their
  decisions and competencies. A coach supports a
  colleagues thinking, problem solving, decision
  making, and self directed learning. (Connie
  Hoffman)

27
Partner Talk

• What is your understanding of the principals
  role? the coachs role?
• Summarize your learning.

28
Part Three

• Collecting Student Data and Instructional Data

29
Data / Observable Behavior At the Center
30
Collecting Data

• All coaching conversations should be centered
  around data and observable student behaviors.
• Focusing on observable behaviors opens the door
  for all teachers to be observers, coaches, and
  collaborators. (You dont have to be an expert to
  collect data.)
• A culture focused on data, evidence, and students
  is a culture of trust.

31
Focus on Students not Teacher

• In order to engage in coaching conversations the
  coach and teacher need to have a common
  definition of what the student behaviors are.
• What is the achievement goal?
• What do the students need to do in order to
  achieve?

Stephen Barkley, 2008
32
Student Data

• Screening Data
• DIBELS
• GRADE
• Progress Monitoring
• DIBELS
• Informal Diagnostics
• Diagnostic Decoding Survey, CORE Phonics Survey
• Curriculum
• Selection tests
• Unit assessments
• Outcome Assessments
• WASL

• Student work samples

33
Instructional Data

• VERBATIM SCRIPTING
• Recording the talk and actions of the teachers
  and/or the students
• Ex. Tell you partner the main idea of the
  passage.
• NUMERIC INFORMATION
• Information about time use, student
  participation, resource use, etc.
• Ex. Five students raise their hands.
• OBSERVED BEHAVIOR
• A non-evaluative statement of observed behavior
• Ex. Students face their partner on the carpet.
• ASPECT OF ENVIRONMENT
• An observed aspect of the environment
• Procedures for partner talk are posted on the
  board.
• (Cooper Ruiz Van Vleck, 2008)

34
Evidence vs. Opinion

• Evidence

• Opinion

• Observable
• Not influenced by the observers perspective
• Free of evaluative words
• No conclusions drawn

• Makes inferences
• Depends on observers perspective
• Includes evaluative words
• Draws conclusions

Cooper Ruiz Van Vleck, 2008
35
Example of Lesson Script
36
Example of Numerical Data Student Participation

• Time 940
• Ind. Turns 11111
• Choral Response 0
• Other Choral Response 0
• Partner Talk 1
• Time 1010
• 25 responses/20 students average of 1.25
  responses
• Average of 1.25 responses/30 minutes

37
Lets Practice

• Numeric Information
• Scripting

38
Partner Talk

• Talk about the importance of both student data
  and instructional data when guiding coaching
  conversations.
• Share one goal you have for collecting and using
  data.

39
Part Four

• Providing Feedback
• to Teachers

40
Teachers should be observed and given feedback
an average of once a week.

• (Stephen Barkley)

41
Types of Feedback

• Written Feedback
• Evaluator (principal)
• Supervisor (principal)
• Oral Feedback
• Supervisor (principal)
• Mentor (principal and coach)
• Peer Coach (principal and coach)
• Self-Feedback Through Reflective Questioning
• Peer Coach (principal and coach)

42
Providing Feedback to Teachers

• Ineffective Feedback

• Effective Feedback

• Enjoyed it!
• The kids are lucky to have you.
• Thanks for inviting me!
• Keep up the good work.
• Nice looking classroom.

• Claim A statement that ties teacher performance
  to a certain skill.
• Evidence A quote or literal description of what
  the teacher did (documentation).
• Interpretation A statement of what the teacher
  behavior accomplished.
• Judgment A sentence or phrase that tells what
  you thought of the behavior.

Cooper Ruiz Van Vleck, 2008
43
Going Further

• A judgment statement should
• Include value and emotion
• Without emotion we dont act, we ponder.
• (Fierce Conversations, 2008)
• Include a type of action

44
Example of Effective Feedback

• CLAIM
• I saw you make a student refer to the
  sound/spelling cards.
• EVIDENCE
• You said to Brenda, Look at the cards. Do you
  see the vowels? Brenda said, A. You said,
  What sound does A make?
• INTERPRETATION
• By having her look at the cards, she was able to
  identify a vowel and its sound.
• JUDGMENT
• Connecting to the resources in the room offers a
  valuable tool for students. Continue to model
  using the information on the walls with your
  students.
• Cooper Ruiz Van Vleck, 2008

45
Example of Effective Feedback

• CLAIM
• I saw you monitor students pronunciation during
  the practice of alphabet letter names.
• EVIDENCE
• You had the students practice x and h and
  showed them where to put their tongues.
• INTERPRETATION
• By doing this, students were able to correctly
  pronounce the name of the letter.
• JUDGMENT
• Being explicit and modeling for struggling
  students gives them access to the kind of support
  they need. Keep modeling your expectations for
  correct pronunciation!
• Cooper Ruiz Van Vleck, 2008

46
Example of Effective Feedback

• CLAIM
• While I was in your room today I saw you have
  students individually sort words with er/ir/ur.
• EVIDENCE
• You called individual students (three) to the
  board.
• INTERPRETATION
• By having students do this one at a time, you
  may have missed an opportunity to have all of
  your students participate in the learning.
• JUDGMENT
• I worry about students mastering the curriculum
  when they are not provided with adequate guided
  practice. Lets talk about some strategies for
  increasing student participation.
• Cooper Ruiz Van Vleck, 2008

47
Partner Work

• Review the progress monitoring data for a group
  of students. Plan positive feedback for this
  teacher.
• 1. What claims can you make about the
  behaviors of students?
• 2. What evidence do you have to back up your
  claims?
• 3. What did the teacher behavior accomplish?
• 4. What value do you give the behavior?

48
Partner Work

• Review the progress monitoring data for a group
  of students. Plan next step feedback for this
  teacher.
• 1. What claims can you make about the
  behaviors of students?
• 2. What evidence do you have to back up your
  claims?
• 3. What did the teacher behavior accomplish?
• 4. What value do you give the behavior?

49
Asking Reflective Questions

• Positive Presupposition
• Your question should assume they had a goal, that
  they were attending to student feedback, etc.
• Plural Forms
• Make the teacher feel like there isnt just one
  right answer
• EXAMPLE
• What goals did you set for this lesson?

50
Make these questions positive and plural.

• Did you have an objective?
• Did students get it?
• Do you think using progress monitoring data would
  have helped you support students better?

51
Engaging in Reflective Questioning

• Lesson Script

• Reflective Questions

• Time 940
• Ind. Turns 11111
• Choral Response 0
• Other Choral Response 0
• Partner Talk 1
• Time 1010

• Claim
• What observations can you make about student
  participation?
• Evidence
• What evidence leads you to that observation?
• Interpretation
• What did your use of individual turns and partner
  talk accomplish for all students?
• Judgment
• What value do you give to student response
  opportunities?
• How would you like to continue to support student
  response in your lessons?

52
Partner Work

• Review the either the numeric information you
  collected or the lesson script you collected.
• Come up with reflective questions that would
  lead the teacher to a claim, evidence,
  interpretation, and judgment.

53
Part Five

• Coaching Interactions Professional Development
  Opportunities

54
What is the Role of a Reading Coach?

• To be a growth facilitator
• Grow the professional knowledge of the staff
• Grow the reflectiveness of the staff
• Grow the collegiality of the staff
• Can be measured by the number of visits into
  other classrooms and the number of teaching
  decisions made with the opinion of colleagues
  (Barkley, 2008).

55
Coaching Interactions

• Professional development opportunities that a
  coach offers to his/her staff.

56
Gordons SkillDevelopment Ladder

• Coaching Support
• Options
• Conscious Practice
• Celebrations

Unconsciously Skilled
Consciously Skilled
Professional Development
Consciously Unskilled
Unconsciously Unskilled

• Gordons (1974) Skill Development Ladder

57
Gordons SkillDevelopment Ladder
Unconsciously Skilled
Consciously Skilled
Professional Development
Consciously Unskilled
Unconsciously Unskilled

• Gordons (1974) Skill Development Ladder

58
Professional Development Sessions

• The coach acts as a presenter, leading staff
  members through a session focused on improving
  disciplinary knowledge in reading and expanding
  the collection of effective instructional
  strategies.

59
Book Study

• The intent is to grow teachers as learners. The
  coach acts as a facilitator encouraging teachers
  to reflect on their teaching while taking on new
  learning. Along the way, teachers are setting
  goals for improving instruction.

60
Grade Level and Reading Leadership Team Meetings

• Grade level meetings and reading leadership team
  meetings help create consistency and
  collaboration among teams or across the school
  building. It is a place to acquire common goals
  and to analyze data to improve instruction.

61
Guided Observation

• The coach takes a teacher or several teachers to
  observe powerful instruction in a classroom. The
  coach pre-briefs, guides the learning while in
  the classroom, and de-briefs with the teacher or
  teachers after the lesson.

62
Demonstration Lesson

• The coach demonstrates a lesson
• while the teacher observes and takes notes.
  The lesson becomes a shared experience where
  conversations can begin.

63
Observation With Scripting

• The coach scripts a teachers lesson or the
  teacher scripts a coachs demonstration lesson.
  The script should be a document of exactly what
  happened in the classroom (without judgments).
  This script can be reviewed by the teacher and
  coach to create next steps.

64
Professional Development Outcomes(Joyce
Showers, 2002)
65
Side-by-Side Coaching Outcomes(Joyce Showers,
2002)
This coaching research is based on a five step
model knowledge, model, practice, observe,
feedback.
66
Elements Needed for the Human Brain to Learn

• Absence of threat
• Meaningful content
• Choices
• Adequate time
• Enriched environment
• Collaboration
• Immediate feedback
• Mastery
• (Kovalik, 1997)

67
Teachers generally need to use a new
instructional strategy 25 times before it
transfers into their daily teaching routine.
68
Gordons SkillDevelopment Ladder

• Coaching Support
• Options
• Conscious Practice
• Celebrations

Unconsciously Skilled
Consciously Skilled
Professional Development
Consciously Unskilled
Unconsciously Unskilled

• Gordons (1974) Skill Development Ladder

69
The Coaching Cycle

• This cycle gradually releases responsibilities
  to teachers with the support of a coach. The
  cycle begins with modeling, includes co-planning
  and co-teaching, and concludes with an
  observation and debrief. Throughout the process
  there is a clear focus.

70
The Coaching CycleAdapted from Systems for
Change by Carol A. Lyons and Gay Su Pinnell
The coach gives a demonstration lesson in the
teachers classroom. TO
The coach provides a demonstration lesson but
shares the task so the teacher does part of the
lesson. WITH
The teacher teaches the lesson. The coach guides
reflection afterwards. BY
The teacher teaches the lesson with the coach
helping at times. WITH
The teacher teaches the lesson while the coach
observes and provides feedback afterwards. BY
71
Demonstration Lesson

• The coach demonstrates a lesson
• while the teacher observes and takes notes.
  The lesson becomes a shared experience where
  conversations can begin.

72
Collaborative Planning

• The teacher and coach work together to plan
  instruction. Every conversation is focused on
  student data, instructional data, and achievement
  goals.

73
Analyzing Student Work or Student Data

• The coach and teacher work together to analyze
  and interpret student data. The focus is on
  individual students strengths and needs as well
  as trends or patterns across the classroom. The
  session ends with next steps for instruction.
  This could include an action plan for in-class
  interventions and / or out of class interventions.

74
Co-Teaching

• The coach and the teacher plan together and
  teach together. There is a clear focus for
  professional improvement and decisions about how
  to support each other during the lesson are based
  on the improvement goal.

75
Observation With Scripting

• The coach scripts a teachers lesson or the
  teacher scripts a coachs demonstration lesson.
  The script should be a document of exactly what
  happened in the classroom (without judgments).
  This script can be reviewed by the teacher and
  coach to create next steps.

76
Consulting

• The intent is to focus on a problem or concern
  brought up by the teacher. The coachs role is
  to provide support, resources and suggestions.
  The coach will develop next steps and follow
  through with high support.

77
Gordons SkillDevelopment Ladder
Teachers as Mentors / Peer Coaches

• Coaching Support
• Options
• Conscious Practice
• Celebrations

Unconsciously Skilled
Consciously Skilled
Professional Development
Consciously Unskilled
Unconsciously Unskilled

• Gordons (1974) Skill Development Ladder

78
Lesson Study

• The coach works with a group of teachers to
  improve instruction through collaborative
  planning. To begin, the teachers and the coach
  work together to plan a lesson. Then, one
  teacher delivers the lesson in his/her classroom
  while the others script the lesson. Next, the
  group debriefs and adjusts the lesson. The cycle
  continues with a new teacher.

79
Thirty Second Interactions

• Informal conversations can support and reinforce
  the goals of the district or building. By
  intentionally making ourselves available, we
  convey our willingness to provide support.

80
Partner Talk

• What coaching interactions do you currently
  engage in with your staff?
• Which coaching interactions would you like to
  try?

81
Part Six

• Getting Started and Getting Organized

82
Who Should the Coach Work With?

• Starting with the weaker teacher

• Starting with the stronger teacher

• Creates a deficit model
• Keeps the stronger teachers from being willing to
  work with a coach

• Creates a culture focused on reflection
• Recognizes the growth capacities of all teachers
• Provides a leadership base
• Good teachers are pushed to greatness

Stephen Barkley, 2008
83
The most skilled professional educators should
receive the most coaching.(Barkley, 2005, p. 18)
84
The skilled professional educator models for
others the ideas that

• Constant improvement is part of the profession
• It is okay to be successful and be coached
• Coaching is an opportunity
• Coaching doesnt mean your broken and need
  fixing, you just want to get better at what you
  do
• Teachers can learn better ways to teach every day
• Coaching brings recognition and acknowledgment
• (Barkley, 2005)

85
GETTING STARTED

• Understand that there are cycles of work
• Start with the willing
• Ask as a favor to you if needed
• Ask them to share the positive experience with
  colleagues
• Share the role of the coach with the staff
• Build trust through the work
• Provide resources
• Post a wow board, comments in the bulletin,
  news letter
• Start journaling reflective questions
• Get the support of your principal
• Be visible in classrooms everyday
• Set goals for yourself and monitor those goals
  weekly/monthly

86
Partner Talk

• How can you begin to be a growth facilitator in
  your building as a principal or as a coach?

87
Personal Reflection
88
Thank you!

• Presented by Bethany Robinson
• Reading First Regional Coordinator
• bethanyr_at_esd105.wednet.edu
• [phone]

89
References

• Barkley, S. G. (2008, July). From Coaching
  Teachers to Coaching Coaching. Presented at the
  Reading First National Conference. Nashville,
  TE.
• Barkley, S. G. (2008, July). The Many Faces of
  Coaching. Presented at the Reading First National
  Conference. Nashville, Tennessee.
• Barkley, S. G. (2005). Quality Teaching in a
  Culture of Coaching. Lanham, Maryland Rowman
  Littlefield Education.
• Cooper, K. Ruiz Van Vleck, S. (2008, July).
  What to Look For Supervision of Vocabulary
  Comprehension for Principals. Presented at the
  Reading First National Conference. Nashville,
  Tennessee.
• Hennessy, N. (2008, Oct.). Fact or Fiction
  Dysteachia Exists! Presented at the IDA
  Conference. Seattle, WA.
• Joyce, B. Showers, B. (2003). Student
  Achievement Through Staff Development (3rd ed.).
  Alexandria, VA ASCD.
• Sagor, R. (2000). Guiding School Improvement with
  Action Research. Alexandria, VA ASCD.
• Scott, S. (2002). Fierce Conversations Achieving
  Success at Work in Life, One Conversation at a
  Time. New York, NY Penguin Group.
• Torgesen, J. K. (2008, Oct.). Using Multiple
  Tiers of Instruction to Prevent Reading
  Difficulties. Presented at the IDA Conference.
  Seattle, WA.