Developing Coaching Capacity
How do we do it?
Ƶ develops effective teacher coaches through careful selection, investment in their development, and support of their پover two years.
Selection: At each program school, we use classroom observation and interviews to select one teacher to serve as a full-time mentor to a cohort of Fellows working to improve their practice.
Development: Ƶ Mentors develop their coaching capacity through
- Professional learning in coaching techniques
- Professional development in the specific content areas their Fellows are working in
- Observing and debriefing excellent teaching
- Being part of a cohort of other Mentors across the region
- Coaching and support from Ƶ staff
Practice: Mentors support their Fellows by
- Participating with Fellows in content-specific professional development and coaching them on how to apply and refine it
- Working through weekly coaching cycles of planning, observing, and debriefing instruction
- Researching and recommending professional learning resources
What are the results?
The investment Ƶ makes in developing mentors builds their coaching capacity, with immediate benefits to the Fellows they work with, and shapes their career trajectory in education.
Coaching capacity: In a survey of alumni mentors, overwhelming majorities (85%+) said the training they received from Ƶ had a “Major” or “Transformational” impact on their performance in all nine coaching skills they were asked about:
- Providing non-evaluative feedback on teaching
- Facilitating teacher reflection without directing it
- Recommending appropriate PD or resources for professional goals
- Facilitating teacher inquiry groups
- Gathering data through a classroom observation
- Analyzing student work to determine instructional implications
- Supporting effective instructional planning
- Understanding adult learners
- Setting measurable goals for instructional improvement
Career trajectory: Of 52 past Ƶ mentors surveyed, 24 continued to work as coaches, Teachers on Special Assignment, or professional development leaders, 9 had become administrators, and 19 returned to the classroom.