Coaching Guide - Resource Centre · 1. Increased number and quality of classroom observation & feedback sessions (as reported by teachers and coaches) 2. Increased teachers’ perception

Coaching

Guide: A Training for

Instructional

Supervisors

1

Contents

Introduction 2

Coach Training Overview 4

Workshop 1 7

Making a Case for Coaching 7

The Role of a Coach 10

Effective Literacy Instruction in the Classroom 12

Observation and Feedback protocols 19

Organizing for Coaching 25

Workshop 2 28

Reflection and sharing 28

Developing Inclusive Classroom Practices 29

Planning demonstration lessons 35

Lesson Demonstration and Feedback 35


Workshop 3 38

Reflection and Sharing 38

Classroom Visits: Preparation and Field Visits 39

Debrief Classroom Visit 42

Professional Development within Schools 44


Appendix: Video Resources 51

2

Introduction

Background:

In the diverse contexts where Save the Children (SC) and World Vision (WV) work, the people

who are charged with supporting teachers in the classroom are often themselves poorly equipped

to do so and, perhaps relatedly, largely absent from this role. A coaching component to support

the Literacy Boost (LB) teacher training program is a step towards addressing this gap by

building the capacity of school administrators and government officials to provide in-class

mentoring and guidance on literacy instruction to teachers.

A coach “partners with teachers for job-embedded professional learning that enhances teachers’

reflection on students, the curriculum, and pedagogy for the purpose of more effective decision

making” (Toll, 2014). Coaches are not supervisors: the purpose of a coach is not to ensure that a

teacher meets specific job requirements but to promote a teacher’s learning and growth (Toll,

2014). In the contexts where SC and WV implement programs, there is unlikely to be the

resources to hire a specialized coach. A more likely, sustainable scenario is that instructional

supervisors, such as head teachers and government officials, will be trained to perform a

coaching role with teachers as well.

Structure and Content

The coaching training package has been divided into three, two-day training workshops so that

the training is periodic with time in between for participants to apply their learning. Each

workshop session has all required guiding PowerPoints and handouts embedded within it.

An overview of the training content can be found on page 4. The coach training covers topics

such as the role of a coach, observation and feedback protocols, supporting inclusive classrooms,

components of effective literacy instruction, and establishing peer-to-peer learning opportunities

at schools. Since the emphasis of the training is on coaching skills, and not on literacy

instruction per se, the coach training package can easily be adapted to support any teacher

training program.

Intended participants:

Teacher instructional supervisors such as head teachers and government officials

Prerequisites

Participants of this training should have prior teaching experience and a sound knowledge of the

local curriculum. In addition, they should have already attended the Literacy Boost Training of

Trainers (ToT), or the Teacher Training ToT of the program that is being supported with

coaching if it is not Literacy Boost.

Program assessment:

3

With six days of training for coaches, the following are reasonable expected outcomes on which

to focus a program assessment:

1. Increased number and quality of classroom observation & feedback sessions (as reported

by teachers and coaches)

2. Increased teachers’ perception of feeling supported professionally (as reported by

teachers)

3. Increased number of peer-to-peer learning opportunities for teachers

These samples of surveys can be adapted to collect information from teachers and coaches before

and after the entire coach training is implemented:

Teacher Survey.docx

Coach Survey.docx

Guideines to

administer Teacher and Coach Surveys.docx

The following are desired outcomes, but they are gradual, long-term outcomes, and it would be

difficult to both measure changes in these areas as well as to attribute them to the coaching

package:

1. Improved literacy instructional practices by teachers

2. Improved ability to reflect on lessons, curriculum, and children’s needs (on the part of

teachers)

3. Improved ability to foster reflection and guide instructional practice (on the part of

coaches)

Reference:

Toll, C. A. (2014) The Literacy Coach’s Survival Guide: Essential Questions and Practical

Answers (2nd Ed) International Reading Association

4

Coach Training Overview

Workshop 1

Day

1

Session Key Topics Time

1. Making a Case

for Coaching Establish a clear, shared instructional vision

Current teacher support practices

Three reasons for coaching:

1. The gap between the support teachers

require and the support teachers receive

2. Low literacy learning of children in the early

grades

3. Research that shows adding coaching is

more effective in changing teachers’ practice

than the combination of theory,

demonstrations and practice

2.5 hours

2. The Role of a

Coach The role of a coach and the coaching cycle

Characteristics of a successful coach with an

emphasis on the ability to establish trust and

being willing to learn

The difference between a coach and a supervisor

1 hour

3. Effective

Literacy

Instruction in

the Classroom

Key components of effective literacy instruction:

1. The use of time

2. The use of materials

3. Purposeful talk

4. Direct Instruction

5. Assessment

3.5 hours

Resources PowerPoints with guiding notes for each session

Handouts for participants:

1. Print rich classroom checklist

2. Fostering class discussions

Day

2

1. Observation and

Feedback

protocols

Lesson observation protocols (before, during,

after)

Coaching skills:

1. Observation and note-taking

2. Listening

3. Promoting Reflection

4. Giving effective feedback

6 hours

2. Organizing for

Coaching Plan for coaching and homework:

1. Meet with teachers to fill our Teacher

Professional Development Plan

2. Observe and give feedback (xx frequency)

3. Identify one common development need and

provide targeted support in this area

1 hour

Resources PowerPoints with guiding notes

5

Sample Teaching Scenarios


1. Lesson observation

2. Effective Listening

3. Promoting reflection

4. Feedback

5. Teacher Professional Development Plan template

6. Questions for Observation

7. Observation Schedule template

Required but not provided: Videos of classroom teaching in

the local context--at least one short one (10-15 minutes) and

one longer one (a full lesson).

Workshop 2

Day

1


1. Reflection and

Sharing

Reflection on practice and consideration of

implications for future coaching activities

1 hour

2. Developing

Inclusive

Classroom

Practices

Who is not learning and way?

Different modalities of teaching and learning

Theory of multiple intelligences

Strategies and accommodations to meet diverse

needs

3.5 hours

3. Planning

demonstration

lessons

Planning inclusive, model lessons for literacy

instruction

2.5 hours

Resources PowerPoint with guiding notes


1. MI activity checklist

2. MI activity tally sheet

3. MI activity visual chart

4. Strategies and Accommodations

Day

2

1. Lesson

demonstration

and feedback

Modeling inclusive, literacy lessons

Peer feedback on model lessons

6 hours

2. Organizing for

coaching Plan for coaching and homework:


2. Review and update Teacher Professional

Development Plans

3. Support lesson planning. Model and co-teach

when appropriate and possible

1 hour

Workshop 3


1. Reflection and

Sharing

Reflection on practice and consideration of

implications for future coaching activities

1 hour

6

Day

1

2. Classroom

Visits:

Preparation and

Field Visit

Review goals and protocols of Classroom

Observations

Field visit to classrooms

4 hours

10

minutes

3. Debrief

Classroom Visit Sharing observations and feedback from

classroom visits

1 hour

50

minutes


Day

2

1. Professional

Development

Within Schools

Review Existing Professional Development

opportunities

Why invest in school-based PD

Peer-to-Peer Observations

Teacher Learning Circles

5 hours

2. Organizing for

Coaching

3. Plan for coaching and assignment:


2. Review and update Teacher Professional

Development plans

3. Establish and support at least one school-based

PD opportunity for teachers

1 hour


Handouts for Participants:

1. TLC Meeting Structure

2. Peer Observation Tracker

3. TLC Tracker

7

WORKSHOP 1

DAY 1:

Introductions

After participants have introduced themselves to the group, briefly introduce this workshop as

the first in a series of three workshops.

Sample PowerPoint for ‘Coach Training Overview’:

Coach Training

overview.pptx

Expectations & Overview of the day’s agenda

Session 1: Making the Case for Coaching (2 hours 30 minutes)

Objectives for participants:

• To establish a shared understanding of good teaching

• To share current practices in teacher support

• To understand the need for coaching within current teacher support practices

Note to facilitator: The sample PowerPoint presentation can be used as a guide for the

session, but it needs to be adapted so that the examples and general content are

contextually relevant.

Activities during the presentation allow participants to reflect, practice strategies,

and/or to discuss how the content would be applied to their context. These

activities and other parts where participants are engaged during the presentation

are explained below in the order in which they appear in the PowerPoint

presentation.

Sample PowerPoint for ‘Making a case for Coaching’:

Making the case for

coaching.pptx

Slide 3: Starting with the end in mind--What is a Coach?

Slide 4 & 5: The Complexity of “Good Teaching”

8

Objective: To establish a shared understanding of good teaching by having participants reflect on

the skills and characteristics of a good teacher.

Time: About 40 minutes

Description:

1. Before discussing coaching, establish a shared understanding of what good teaching is so

that all participants have a clear instructional vision.

2. Explain a concept map: A concept map helps to organize and represent knowledge about

a subject. It begins with a main idea or concept (in this case, “good teacher”) and then

branches out to show how that main idea can be broken down into specific topics. The

number of boxes/arrows varies according to need.

3. Group participants into threes to have them reflect on what good teaching is and then

represent their reflections with a visual diagram on flipchart paper (instead of a list).

Explain that the concept map should capture the range of skills and characteristics to be a

good teacher. [20 minutes]

4. Have groups post their visual representations around the room and give participants time

for a silent gallery walk [6 minutes]

5. Allow participants to share observations and orally synthesize a summary of

contributions. [6 minutes]

6. Share map on slide 4 to highlight the complexity of being a good teacher and the many

roles teachers play [8 minutes]

Slide 6: Model lessons and classroom, and barriers

Objective: To establish a shared understanding of a model lesson, a model classroom, and the

barriers to becoming a good teacher


Advance preparation: Prepare “bus stop” signs

Description:

1. Arrange 3 bus stops around the room with the prompts written on different sheets of

flipchart paper.

2. Divide participants into three groups, one at each bus stop, and give each group 5-7

minutes at their bus stop to answer the question/prompt and record their thoughts. Then

have groups rotate until each group has visited and added input to all three bus stops.

3. Review and summarize each bus stop with the full group.

Bus stop 1: Describe a model lesson (Focus on what is happening)

Bus stop 2: What would a model classroom look like? (Focus on physical space and how it’s

used)

Bus stop 3: What are the barriers to becoming a good teacher?

*Note: This discussion can be made content specific: “model literacy lesson” (Bus stop 1) and

“model classroom to support literacy instruction” (Bus stop 2).

9

Slide 7: Teacher support-- Small group discussion

Objective: In light of the barriers that have been identified previously, to identify potential areas

of opportunity in the support teachers currently receive. (Reason 1 for coaching)

Time: 30 minutes

Advance Preparation: Summarize findings from teacher survey (if conducted)

Description:

1. In the same groups of three that they worked in earlier, give participants up to 10-15

minutes to think about the following two questions (one at a time), and record these

contributions on flipchart paper when they are shared with the full group.

• What kinds of support do teachers require to become good teachers (referencing the

characteristics, skills and expectations of a good teacher as well as the barriers to

becoming one identified in previous activities)?

• What kind of other professional development and support do teachers in the local

context receive and how frequently do they receive this support? How do you

support the professional development of teachers at your school?

[Probe to get details. For example, if teachers receive trainings, ask what topics these

trainings cover. If teachers get observed, ask who observes, for what purpose, and how

often.]

2. If a teacher survey was conducted prior to the coach training, share highlights from it to

further demonstrate the need for teacher support. [5 minutes]

3. Reason 1 for coaching: There are gaps between the support teachers require and the

support teachers receive.

Slide 8+: Why Literacy Coaching?-- Data sharing

Objective: To understand the role of the coaching training package within the context of current

low student learning outcomes

Time: 5-10 minutes

Description:

1. Review results of local literacy learning assessments. Instructional supervisors might

already observe and provide feedback to teachers and perform other coaching roles. To

explain the added value of the “coaching training”, situate the training within the context

of literacy learning specifically. Through this training, instructional supervisors will be

encouraged to support the professional development of teachers to improve student

literacy learning outcomes.

2. Reason 2 for coaching: Low literacy learning of children in the early grades

Slide 9: The Power of Coaching-- Think-Pair-Share

Objective: To understand how different elements of professional development can contribute to a

teacher’s knowledge level, skill level, and change in practice

Time: 5 minutes

Description:

10

1. Think-Pair-Share

Think: Participants read and reflect on the key messages being represented by the table

individually (1 minute)

Pair: Participants discuss their thoughts with a partner (1 minutes)

Share: The pairs share key learnings with the rest of the group and group discusses value

of coaching in addition to theory, demonstration and practice (2 minutes)

2. Reason 3 for coaching: Research shows that adding coaching is more effective in

changing teachers’ practice than the combination of theory, demonstrations and practice.

Slide 10: Summary—Why coaching?

Session 2: The Role of a Coach (1 hour)


• To understand the role of a coach and discuss characteristics of successful coaches

• To understand the difference between coaching and supervision








presentation.

Sample PowerPoint for ‘The Role of a Coach’:

The role of a

coach.pptx

Slide 3: What is a Coach? The role of a coach

Slide 4: Examples of Coaching activities

Slide 5: The Coaching Cycle

Slide 6: Coach as “partner”—characteristics of a successful coach

11

Slide 7: Establishing Trust—Quick Write

Objective: To reflect and share ideas on the ways in which coaches can establish trust with

teachers


Description:

1. Ask participants to think of somebody they trust and to individually take a few minutes to

note down the qualities of that person and the way in which that person established their

trust.

2. Invite participants to share and note contributions on Flipchart sheets.

3. Ask what coaches would need to do to establish trust with teachers. Allow sharing of

ideas and note them on chart paper as they are shared.

4. Emphasize the importance of:

Being empathetic (teaching is a difficult and under-appreciated job)—Ask coaches to

recall their own difficult experiences as teachers and invite sharing with the full

group. Coaches need to show they understand the challenges and that they care.

Being open and honest: explain your role, share your own struggles, admit when you

do not know. Good leaders are humble.

Supporting teachers’ efforts: help assess students, co-teach, and help with

instructional materials development. Invest in the success of teachers’ efforts by

taking part in them.

Slide 8: Learning as a lifelong pursuit for all-- Pair sharing

Objective: To recognize that learning is a life-long pursuit and that we learn in different ways

and from different people. To understand that a willingness to learn is an important

characteristic of a coach.


Description:

1. Have participants reflect on the last time they learned something new, and give them the

opportunity to share what they learned, when they learned it and how they learned it with

a partner.

2. Invite a few participants to share with the full group (depending on time available)

3. Use these shared memories to make the point that we are all learning. Nobody knows

everything, and coaches should be willing to learn from teachers.

Slide 9: Other characteristics of a successful coach

Objective: To generate additional ideas about the characteristics of a successful coach.


Description:

1. Ask participants what they think are other characteristics (in addition to the ability to

establish trust and a willingness to learn) of a successful coach before sharing the content

of the slide.

12

2. List ideas on flipchart paper as participants brainstorm suggestions

3. Reveal slide contents and have participants reflect on the listed characteristics and discuss

characteristics that they do not agree with or did not think of.

Slide 10: Coaching vs. Supervision

Slide 11: How to manage being a coach and a supervisor?

Objective: Given that the role of a coach has different, and often opposing, objectives to that of a

supervisor (slide 10), participants will generate ideas about how one person can perform both

roles in the absence of a dedicated coach.


Description:

1. In pairs, participants will brainstorm responses to the question: How can you build a

climate of risk-taking and relationship of trust as a supervisor? [5-7 minutes]

2. List ideas on flipchart sheets as participants share suggestions with the full group

3. Emphasize that establishing trust with the teacher is a crucial step.

Session 3: Effective Literacy Instruction in the classroom (3 hours 30 minutes)

Objective for participants: To identify and discuss key components of effective literacy

instruction in a classroom setting and ways to support them

Assumption: All participants have already attended the LB Teacher Training ToTs so they are

familiar with the content of LB Teacher Training toolkit.




Activities during the presentation allow participants to reflect, practice strategies




presentation.

Sample PowerPoint

Effective Literacy

Instruction in the Classroom.pptx

Slide 3: Identifying key components of effective instruction

13

Objective: To identify key components of literacy instruction and to identify gaps in current

teacher practices.

Time: 20 minutes

Materials: Sticky notes (one stack per table group)

Description:

1. Ask participants what the key components of effective literacy instruction in the

classroom are. Table groups of about 5 participants can generate ideas together and write

each component on a separate sticky note. [5 minutes]

2. Together with the group, organize the notes into broad categories that should include the

following: [5 minutes]

a) TIME spent on reading/writing activities

b) MATERIALS to read

c) Purposeful TALK (conversational rather than interrogational)

d) DIRECT INSTRUCTION

e) ASSESSMENT

If any of these categories were not touched on, raise the issue to the group.

3. Ask: What do you observe in a typical literacy classroom? Where are the gaps? Record

responses on Flipchart paper [10 minutes]

4. Tell participants that the rest of the session is going to focus on discussing components of

effective instruction and ways to address them.

Note to facilitator: While the five broad areas above are discussed below, the ‘effective

Literacy instruction’ session should be shaped to address the specific gaps raised in the

context. Participants may also raise additional components of effective literacy

instruction that are not discussed in the guidance notes for this section, but should be

addressed.

Slide 4: Use of Time

Objective: To discuss how the maximum amount of time can be allocated to reading and writing

during a lesson.

Time: 10 minutes

Description:

1. Ask participants to reflect on how much time is spent on children reading/writing in

classrooms they have observed—children repeating after the teacher without following a

text does not count as reading!

2. Ask participants to generate a list of things that are happening in the classroom when

children are not reading/writing: attendance taking, checking homework, teacher talking

(lecture), rote repetition etc

3. Discuss ways in which more time can be used on reading/writing compared to on other

tasks. Examples:

a. Coach can help teacher realize ratio of ‘teacher talk and student repetition’ to

‘student engagement with meaningful tasks’ and, by doing so, encourage the

teacher to do less lecturing and rote teaching

14

b. Ideally, a teacher should check homework after class, but if the teacher needs to

do so during the lesson, the teacher can check homework while students are

working on a reading/writing task [If the class is large, the teacher does not need

to check every child’s homework but can check 5-10 different students each day]

c. Teacher can create a routine of a “warm up” reading/writing task, that is related to

the day’s lesson, for students to work on as soon as class starts so the teacher has

a few minutes to do other necessary activities

d. An attendance chart like the one pictured below: if the class is small enough,

children can put up their ‘hand’ when entering the room. [children practice

recognizing their names, chart contributes to print-rich room, teacher can scan

chart for the day’s attendance and not spend time on attendance-taking]

Slide 5: Availability and use of Materials

Objective: To discuss how to make early grades literacy classrooms rich with print.

Time: 25 minutes

Materials: Print-rich classroom handout [sufficient copies for there to be one for each person]

Print_rich_classroo

m.pdf

Description:

1. Before revealing the contents of the slide, ask participants to share why materials are

important and what materials would be good to have in a classroom. [5 minutes]

2. Ask participants to reflect on the following questions for classrooms that they have

visited and will be supporting: [10 minutes]

15

Are there appropriate books in the classroom that students are able to access? A

reading corner?

Are the materials on the wall appropriate, organized, and relevant to what children are

currently learning?

Is student work on the wall?

Overall, is the classroom environment print-rich?

3. Distribute the “Print-rich classroom” handout to participants, describe the checklist as a

list of possibilities to make an early grades classroom more print-rich, and invite

participants to add items to the list. [10 minutes]

Coaches should:

Observe classrooms for print with an eye for relevance and accessibility to children.

Encourage teachers to make choices about the print they display in classrooms so that

it is relevant to classroom routines or to what children are learning or experiencing.

Observe print with an eye for organization. “Print-rich” does not mean “print chaos”!

Materials on the wall should be posted neatly and should be organized by

topic/subject area.

Advocate for books to be available in classrooms (Do books exist at the school, in

unused libraries or the principal’s office, that can be made available to students in

classrooms? Does the school have funds to purchase reading materials?)

Support teachers with creating books and other materials (Guidance from the LB

Community Action toolkit on book creation

as well as pictures of samples in the “Print-rich classroom” handout embedded above)

Encourage teachers to have a changing display of student work in the classroom so

that all students have an equal opportunity to have their work displayed over the

course of the year (especially for large class sizes when it may not be possible to

display all students’ work at one time).

Optional activity if deemed necessary for the context: Making Materials

Assign participants with the task of creating a contextually appropriate sample of one of the

examples on the checklist, that they do not typically see in classrooms they visit, to take back

with them. Invite participants to share their materials with each other.

[Add at least 45 minutes to the workshop]

Slide 6: Purposeful Talk

Objective: To discuss and practice ways to enrich the talk that happens in classrooms.

Time: 40 minutes

Materials: ‘Fostering Class Discussions’ handout [one copy per participant]

16

Fostering Class

Discussions.pdf

Description:

1. Before revealing the contents of the slide, ask participants to share examples of the talk

they have heard in classrooms (Who talks? How much talking is there? What kind of talk

is there?) [5 minutes]


visited and will be supporting, if not already discussed: [10 minutes]

Do teachers ask questions for which there are multiple appropriate responses?

How much of the talk in class follows the Initiation-Response-Evaluation pattern? [teacher

asks a question, student responds, teacher evaluates response]

How much are children engaging in learning talk? With each other?

Do children ask questions? Express opinions?

3. Ask why it is important to ask different kinds of questions to students? (keeps students

engaged, promotes participation and inclusion, fosters critical thinking and deeper

comprehension)

4. Ask participants to work in groups to think of different ways in which teachers can break

out of the Initiation-Response-Evaluation pattern of classroom talk. Ask groups to share

out, recording on Flipchart. [10 minutes].

5. Encourage participants, in their practice as coaches, to observe and note the kinds of

questions teachers ask in the classroom and to what extent students engage with the class

discussion and discussion with each other during class observations.

6. Distribute the ‘Fostering Class Discussions’ handout and go through the content, giving

an example for each suggestion that has not already been discussed and allowing time for

comments/questions. Clarify that teachers should not be expected to immediately use all

of these ways of fostering classroom discussion! Begin with open questions, wait time,

and responding positively to children, and only introduce other tips as teachers are ready

for them. Coaches should encourage any attempt to foster discussion in the classroom.

[15 minutes]

Slide 8: Open vs Closed questions--practice

Objective: To practice distinguishing between open and closed questions.

Time: 10 minutes

Description:

1. Reveal each question one at a time and ask participants to indicate whether the question

is open or closed using the hand signals introduced on the previous slide. For each

question, select a participant to explain his/her choice.

2. Point out that using hand signals like this is a way to engage all students in a classroom.

Slide 9: Generating Open Questions

17

Objective: To practice generating open questions linked to curriculum content.

Time: 25 minutes

Description:

1. Ask participants to work in pairs to select a lesson from an early grades textbook to

generate at least 5 open questions for that lesson. If done early, participants can select

another lesson [15 minutes]

2. Invite sharing of questions [5 minutes]

3. End with this question: What should a teacher do if none of the students are able to

answer a question? (Sample responses: ask the question in a different way, ask simpler

questions that will help the students to answer the more difficult question, give students

an opportunity to discuss the question in pairs first) [5 minutes]

Slide 10: Direct Instruction

Objective: To discuss and practice strategies readers and writers use that teachers can model and

demonstrate to students.

Time: 20 minutes

Description:


visited and will be supporting: [5 minutes]

Does the teacher model and demonstrate useful strategies that good readers and writers

employ?

Is explicit teaching followed by structured practice by students?

2. Tell participants that we want to support teachers in shifting away from an assign-assess

model (assigning a task and then assessing it only benefits children who can do the task

already and not those who are struggling with it) or a copy-the-teacher model (when

children recite after the teacher or copy what the teacher has written, they are rote-

learning and it is not clear who has met learning objectives). Instead, we want teachers to

model/demonstrate strategies good readers and writers use and then allow children to

practice them with guidance.

3. Ask participants to generate a list of strategies that good readers/writers use that a teacher

can model. This can be done in table groups for 5 minutes (examples below) [15

minutes]:

Blend letters/syllables to make words

Decode

Figure out the meaning of a word using context clues

Self-monitor for understanding and reread when necessary

Summarizing while reading and extracting the main points

Visualize and create images while reading

Reading fluently and with expression

Optional activity if deemed necessary for the context: Practice strategies

1. With the help of participants, model how to do each of the strategies listed using local

early grades texts when possible [15 minutes]

2. Organize participants into groups of 3 and ask each group to: [30 minutes]

18

Select a text or lesson from the early grades curriculum. (If no texts exist, these

should be created during the earlier activity on materials)

Find places within the text/lesson where teachers could model strategies good

readers use. Make a note of these in writing to submit to facilitator for consolidation

and sharing after the workshop.

Practice modeling the strategies within the context of the selected lesson/text

3. Invite participants to model strategies to the full group (in preparation for modeling to

teachers), following this with reflection and discussion.[30 minutes]

[Add at least 1 hour 15 minutes to the workshop]

Slides 11 & 12: Assessment

Objective: To discuss challenges to conducting classroom assessments and the role of the coach

in supporting teachers to conduct assessments

Time: 50 minutes

Description:

1. Before revealing the content of the slide, review what assessment is, different types of

assessments, examples of assessments, and why assessment is important. Participants

should be familiar with this from LB TT TOTs but the main point is that teachers need to

know students’ learning needs in order to tailor instruction to meet these needs. [5

minutes]

2. Ask participants to share their impressions on the following questions for classrooms that

they have visited and will be supporting: [5 minutes]

Does the teacher know when learning objectives of each lesson have been met?

Does the teacher assess students informally during the lesson? Is assessment included in the

lesson plan?

Does the teacher know which students are struggling and why?

Does the teacher change instructional approaches to meet students’ needs?

3. Ask for brief reflections on the cartoon: The cartoon is to prompt participants to think of

inclusive practices when assessing. Assessment (and textbooks, curricula etc) is often not

fair to students with different needs. Assessing students in different ways (not just

written tests) is more inclusive to the various needs and learning styles of children.

4. Assign participants with the task of working in groups of 4 to think about [25 minutes]:

a) The assessments that they observe teachers doing: What types of assessments are

done? How often are the assessments done? How are teachers using the assessments

to modify instruction in order to meet students’ needs?

b) What would participants like to see in the area of assessment? What realistic goals do

participants have for teachers in the classroom when it comes to assessment?

c) The barriers to assessing children regularly and meeting various students’ needs in the

local context.

d) The role of the coach in supporting teachers with meeting assessment goals. For each

barrier listed above, indicate at least one way in which a coach can support teachers.

Examples of ways in which coaches can support teachers in this area:

I. Teaching/supervising a class while the teacher assesses children

individually

19

II. Help teachers plan an assessment—a classroom-based assessment can be

as short as a single question III. Review assessment results with the teacher and help the teacher plan

remediation for struggling learners IV. Note children who are struggling during classroom observations and

share this information with teachers V. Engage SMCs to see if community volunteers could support with

assessment by, for example, supervising a class while teachers conduct

individual assessments VI. Promote teacher-to-teacher support for assessments

Etc.

e) Invite each group to share their top two suggestions for the ways in which coaches can

support teachers with assessments without repeating what other groups have said [10

minutes]

DAY 2

Overview of the day’s agenda

Session 1: Observation and Feedback protocols (6 hours)


To further develop classroom observation protocols for the context in order to promote a

relationship of trust and collaboration between teacher and observer

To discuss and practice observation, note-taking, listening, promoting reflection, and

effective ways of giving feedback








presentation.

Sample PowerPoint

Observation and

Feedback.pptx

Slide 3: Purpose of observation and feedback (for teachers and coaches)

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Slide 4: Current observation protocols

Objective: To discuss existing classroom observation protocols for the context.

Time: 30 minutes

Description:

This is an opportunity for coaches to share current protocols around observing teachers and

giving feedback.

1. Ask participants for the current protocols around observing teachers and giving feedback.

Probe for details on how the observation is arranged and the format and process of giving

feedback. Organize contributions on three flipchart sheets: “before observation”, “during

observation”, and “post-observation”

2. If a standard observation tool is used, probe for all the details on the tool [try to obtain a

copy of this in advance, if possible]. Ask whether the teachers have access to this tool in

advance of the observation so that the expectations and rating process are not mysterious.

This would help to establish trust between the teacher and instructional supervisor.

3. Remind participants that coaching is non-evaluative and works best when there is a

relationship of trust between the teacher and head teacher. The protocol that one chooses

to follow around observing teachers and giving feedback can help to establish this trust.

Slides 5-7: Current protocols (continued)

Objective: To share and discuss considerations for before, during, and after observation and

feedback protocols

Time: 20 minutes

Materials: ‘Lesson observation’ handout [one copy per participant]

Lesson

observation.pdf

Description:

1. Offer suggestions for participants to keep in mind at each stage, if they did not already

bring them up in their discussion on current protocols. Solicit participants’

thoughts/questions on the suggestions after each slide.

2. After reviewing the suggestions on each slide, discuss whether they are feasible and

appropriate for the local context. Spend the most time on the “After an observation”

slide.

3. After each slide, refer to the relevant Flipchart of current protocols (from slide 3 activity),

and ask participants to identify changes to current protocols to promote a relationship of

trust and collaboration between teacher and observer

4. Distribute the handout with a summary of suggestions:

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Slide 8: Coaching skills to be practiced—observation, note-taking, listening, promoting

reflection

Slide 9 & 10: Observation and note-taking

Slides 11 & 12: Question Tracking

Objective: To discuss a classroom map as a method of tracking questions during an observation

Time: 10 minutes

Description:

1. Show the sample on slide 11, and tell participants that it is a classroom map for question

tracking (O=open, C=closed, G=girl, B=boy). Observers should also try to record

questions verbatim.

2. Ask participants to review this classroom map for question tracking and share what they

observe about questions tracked in this lesson [more closed questions were asked than

open questions, more boys were called on, more children were called on at the back of

the class compared to the front.] These would be helpful trends to bring to a teacher’s

notice. In addition, by recording the questions verbatim, the coach can help the teacher

rephrase the questions to improve them.

Slide 13: Global scan

Slide 14: Observation and Note-taking--Practice with videos

Objective: To practice observing a lesson and taking notes using videos of classroom teaching.

If participants are required to give ratings, to practice giving ratings grounded in observation

data.

Time: 120 minutes

Materials: Videos of early grades literacy teaching from the local context--at least one short one

(10-15 minutes) and one longer one (a full lesson); Classroom observation instrument from the

local context

Description:

Part 1: Practice Question-Tracking and Global Scans (35 minutes)

1. Ask participants to choose between question-tracking or global scans. Ensure that there

are some participants for each.

2. Play the short video for participants to observe and take notes

3. Invite sharing, comparisons, and reflection

Part 2: Practice Global scan on full lesson (50 minutes)

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1. Ask participants to set up their notebook page for a global scan. Clarify that it is not

possible to notice and write down everything, so participants should just do their best to

observe and note down as much as they can.

2. Play the long video for participants to observe and take notes

3. Invite sharing, comparisons, and reflection. It is likely that different people noticed

different things, and there could be disagreements.

Part 3: Rating teacher using observation data (35 minutes)

1. Ask participants to work individually to rate the teacher they observed by comparing the

data they gathered to the items on the observation instrument. Emphasize that they will

need to justify their ratings with observation data.

2. Invite sharing of ratings/justifications, comparisons, and reflection. There will be

disagreements about ratings; use these disagreements to point out that different people

can observe the same events and come up with different conclusions. Emphasize the

importance of justifying ratings with evidence from data.

Slide 15: Effective Listening-- Role plays and discussion

Objective: To generate a checklist for effective listening.

Time: 30 minutes

Materials: ‘Effective Listening’ handout (one copy per participant)

Effective

Listening.pdf

Description:

1. Place two chairs at the front of the room, and ask for as volunteer to take one of the chairs

and talk for 5 minutes on any topic.

2. In role play one, take the second chair and model poor listening (fidgeting, interrupting,

being distracted, answering the phone etc)

3. Then do a second role play and model active, effective listening (see checklist below)

4. After both role plays, ask participants to suggest elements of effective listening and list

them on chart paper.

5. Distribute the ‘Effective Listening’ handout, encouraging participants to add in anything

that was discussed but is missing from the handout

Slide 18: Promoting Reflection

Objective: To generate prompts to promote reflection based on a fictitious scenario.

Time: 20 minutes

Materials: ‘Promoting Reflection’ handout (one copy per participant)

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Promoting

Reflection.pdf

Description

1. Ask a volunteer to read the scenario. [1 minute]

2. Group participants in pairs to generate prompts and ideas to promote reflection on the

part of the teacher in the scenario. Distribute handouts (Participants can refer to the

handout on tips to promote reflection) [10 minutes]

3. Invite participants to share and discuss ideas. [9 minutes]

Slide 19-20: What is feedback?

Slide 21: Examples of Feedback

Slide 22: Practice giving Feedback

Objective: To learn and practice effective ways of giving feedback

Time: 30 minutes

Materials: ‘Feedback’ handout (one copy per participant)

Feedback.pdf

Description:

1. After discussing what feedback is (slides 18-20), distribute the handout

2. In groups of 3, give participants 10 minutes to answer the following two questions on

each of the listed comments:

What information would a teacher have to grow professionally from each of these comments?

How might you turn these comments into effective feedback to support teacher reflection &

development? (specific, actionable, user-friendly)

3. Go through the first comment, “Good lesson!” as a full group, soliciting suggestions from

participants, to ensure that the task is understood.

Example:

Comment: “Good lesson!”

Question 1: While the teacher would know that the observer is pleased by the lesson, the

teacher would not know what, specifically, was good about the lesson, so the comment does

little to further the teacher’s professional growth. The comment is not really feedback; it is a

value judgement/evaluation of the observer.

Question 2: To promote reflection, the observer might want to ask the teacher questions like:

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“What do you think went well in the lesson?” [Why? How do you know?]

“I noticed [specific example of good practice]. Did you realize that you were doing this? Why

did you choose to do this? What do you think might have been the effect of [good practice] on

learning or the classroom environment?

To share specific things that the observer valued, the observer can say things like:

“Children appeared very engaged during the entire lesson, and they were all eager to

participate, raising their hands to speak or volunteer. You called equally on students in the

front of the classroom and students in the back of the classroom, boys and girls”. A question

to promote reflection after this could be: “What do you think are some of the key factors that

promoted student engagement in this lesson?”

4. After 10 minutes of working in groups, debrief as a full group by have participants share

responses in a way that avoids repetition. There are multiple ways of turning the

comments into effective feedback, so allow for multiple suggestions. Notes to support

the debrief of other comments:

• “The students were bored.” [This is a value judgement of the observer, and it could make

the teacher feel criticized and get defensive. It also does little to promote the teacher’s

professional growth. It would be better to share observations of the students (which

made the observer think the students were bored), and then ask the teacher if he/she

noticed the same things. This could be followed by questions that ask the teacher for

reflections on the observations and suggestions for a different approach. The observer

could also suggest different approaches and ask the teacher what he/she thinks of them]

• “Use more active teaching methods” [“Active teaching methods” is jargon. There is an

assumption that the teacher understands what “active teaching methods” are and how to

use them, and it is not an assumption that the observer can make. It would be more

helpful for the observer to share specific observations that suggest a different, “active”

approach is necessary, followed by a specific suggestion for how something could have

been done in an “active” way in the particular lesson that was observed. To support a

teacher’s understanding, the observer could then give the teacher an opportunity to make

his/her own suggestions for “active teaching methods” for the observed lesson]

• “You need to write the objectives on the board” [This is a command. It does not foster

reflection on the part of the teacher and would not help to establish a climate of mutual

trust between the teacher and observer. In addition, a teacher is more likely to change

practice if he/she understands why it is desirable to do something differently.]

Slide 23: Addressing Common Classroom Issues through feedback

Objective: To practice effective ways of giving feedback

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

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Materials: Different teaching scenarios on strips of paper (sufficient scenarios to have 1 per pair

of participants). The following scenarios can be used, or participants/facilitator can generate

local scenarios of common issues in classrooms based on their experiences.

Teaching

scenarios.pdf

Description:

This activity can be adapted to be about giving feedback in response to the teaching practice in

the videos that were viewed earlier.

1. Put all scenarios in a bag for each pair of participants to pick one randomly

2. Give participants 20 minutes to answer the following questions and then prepare a 3-

minute role play of the debriefing session:

1. Identify practices that you would want to encourage

2. Identify areas for improvement.

3. How would you encourage teachers to reflect on their practice? What questions

would you ask to promote reflective practice? For the role play, the participants are free to make up additional details for the scenario.

3. Have each participant read their scenario and perform their role play for the group

allowing for a few comments from the audience after each role play as time permits.

Session 2: Organizing for coaching [1 hour]

Objective for participants: To develop a plan to apply learning from this workshop to coach

teachers.

Materials: ‘Teacher Professional Development plan’ handout, ‘Questions for Observation’

handout, ‘Observation Schedule’ handout [one copy of each per participant]

Description:

1. Tell participants that they will now have some time to think about how they will apply

what they have learned in this workshop to their contexts. Overarching questions for

participants to consider are:

a) What areas do you think teachers need the most support in?

b) What are you going to do to coach teachers you support (your commitment!)?

2. Assign participants with the following homework to be completed before the next

workshop, and invite feedback on feasibility (list homework on chart paper or a

PowerPoint slide):

a) Meet with teachers to explain the coaching process, establish professional goals, and

to fill out work with teachers to fill out a Teacher Professional Development Plan.

Guide teachers in creating action plans around specific, observable, achievable goals

they would like to achieve with the steps, resources and timeline required to achieve

them. :

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Teacher PD

plan.docx

Allow teachers to have some time to think of their goals, and ensure that the goals

will support improved literacy teaching. Teachers may struggle to identify objectives to

improve their own practice if they have not yet had any experience of reflecting on their

experience and being observed for the purpose of receiving supportive feedback. The

supervisor/coach may decide to introduce goal-setting after the first lesson observation.

Note to facilitator:

If using an adaptation of this template, take about 5-10 minutes to go over the

template, talking through how you might fill it out together as a group with a

sample objective.

b) Observe and give feedback to xx teachers (number to be suggested by participants

depending on what they anticipate will be possible) keeping in mind questions

considered during this workshop as well as any that participants think should be

added to the list:

Questions for

observation.pdf

c) Identify one particular common need that teachers have and provide targeted support

for this area

3. Invite participants to plan when and how they will be completing the tasks listed above.

Encourage them to include as many details as possible in their plans as well as to

consider including coach learning meetings during which coaches can meet to reflect and

learn together (If possible, participants can type their plans and then send a copy to the

facilitator)

4. Organization tip for participants: Suggest that participants keep a file/folder for each of

the teachers they will be supporting. This folder can contain all of the observations and

notes on the teacher so that the teacher and instructional supervisor can follow the

progress of the teacher’s professional growth. The file can also contain an observation

record like this:

Observation

Schedule.docx

5. At the end of the session, thank participants for their attendance and hard work at the

workshop, and wish them well with putting their learning into practice. Request that they

keep notes of things they tried, successes, and challenges to share at the beginning of the

next workshop. In addition, request that participants bring their folders with handouts that

were distributed during this workshop to the next workshop.

Note to facilitator: After the workshop,

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consolidate all materials developed during the workshop and share a compilation

of these materials with all workshop participants

program staff should check in with coaches in between workshops to support

coaches, to learn more about gaps that coaches notice, and to identify the most

relevant content to address in the next workshop

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WORKSHOP 2

DAY 1:


Session 1: Reflection and Sharing (1 hour)

Objective for participants: To share and reflect on their experiences with coaching activities

since the previous workshop and to use these reflections to consider implications for future

coaching activities.

Description:

There are a variety of ways to facilitate a reflection. One way would be to organize participants

into groups of 3 or 4 so that every participant has a chance to share in small groups [40 minutes]

before bringing the small groups together to discuss highlights with the large group [20 minutes].

Participants can organize their reflection and sharing around the suggested assignment

after the last workshop (assignment should be posted on Flipchart or projected so that

participants can refer to it):

a) Meet with teachers to explain the coaching process, establish professional goals, and

to fill out work with teachers to fill out a Teacher Professional Development Plan

b) Observe and give feedback to xx teachers

c) Identify one particular common need that teachers have, and provide targeted support

for this area

Small group reflections can generally follow 3 steps and should touch on all parts of the

homework assignment:

1. What? This involves reviewing details of the experience. Participants can describe

what they tried to do and how they tried to do it.

2. So what? This step is more interpretive. How was the experience for each

participant? What were the successes, challenges, and lessons learned? What

evidence do you see of teachers’ learning and development?

3. Now what? Future goals and action plan. What are the implications of the lessons

learned? What should future coaching activities with teachers focus on? What do

coaches need further support in?

For full group sharing, focus on the “So what?” to talk through challenges as a group, and

the “Now what?” to use the feedback of participants to shape the content of the next steps

for coaches.

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Session 2: Developing inclusive classroom practices (3.5 hours)


To understand that diverse learners in the classroom present a range of needs, and that

there are different modalities of learning and teaching

To recognize that inclusive practices benefit all students, not just those who are

struggling, and the teacher is responsible for meeting these needs

To know general strategies and adjustments that can be made to address the range of

needs that can exist amongst learners

To identify locally existing resources, professional services, and support systems that

support inclusion.








presentation.

Sample PowerPoint

Developing

Inclusive Classroom Practices.pptx

Slide 3: Who is not learning?

Objective: To recognize that a large proportion of children in the class are not learning, and to

understand that inclusive classroom practices are necessary to meet the learning needs of these

children.

Time: 10 minutes

Description:

Lead participants in a reflection on the graph by asking:

a) What do you notice? [Scores are not normally distributed. Large proportion of children

are struggling]

b) What do you think are some of the reasons why some children are not learning? [Record

the suggestions on Flipchart]

c) Explain that in this session, the group will further discuss why children struggle to learn

and what we can do about it

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Slide 4: Whose responsibility is it to meet the needs of all children?

Slide 5: What is an inclusive classroom?

Slide 6: Inclusive teaching benefits all children

Objective: To understand that inclusive teaching benefits all children and not just children with

special needs.

Time: 5 minutes

Description:

1. Ask participants to examine the cartoon and explain how the cartoon reflects the key

message being conveyed by it.

2. Ask for implications for teaching. Solicit examples of adjustments teachers can make

“for struggling learners” that benefit all learners

Slide 7: Different ways of Learning

Objective: To understand that diverse learners in the classroom present a range of needs, and that

there are different modalities of learning and teaching.

Time: 5 minutes

Description:

1. Ask participants to brainstorm responses to the following questions to introduce the idea

of diverse ways of learning: How do you like to learn a new skill? By someone

explaining it to you? By reading about it in a book? By trying it yourself?

2. Highlight the fact that learning is complex and each person has different preferred ways

of learning, depending on his/her strengths and weaknesses, as a transition to an activity

on multiple intelligences

Slides 8 & 9: Theory of Multiple Intelligences Activity

Objective: To understand that diverse learners in the classroom present a range of needs and that

there are different modalities of learning and teaching.

Time: 45 minutes

Materials needed: Copies of each activity document (one per participant), coloured pencils

Description:

Note to facilitator: Briefly mention Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences in case participants

have not heard about the theory before. Gardner proposed that people learn in different ways and

have different strengths/weaknesses. Instead of thinking about intelligence as a single, general ability,

he proposed 8 different intelligences which will be explored through the next activity.

a) Have participants individually fill out the following checklist:

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MI

activity_checklist.docx

b) Then give participants time to tally their responses and colour in the visual chart:

MI

activity_tallysheet.docx

MI activity_visual

chart.docx

c) Have each participant briefly present their chart before pinning it up for all

participants to see. Sample display:

Note: The activity checklist was aimed at an 8th grade level, western audience, so the

resulting multiple intelligences visual chart may not match participants’ perceptions of

their learning strengths and weaknesses. However, the main point to be made is that

learning is complex. How we learn can change depending on what/when we are learning

and each of us uses multiple ways to learn. People have different strengths, weaknesses

and preferences, even within a group of seemingly similar participants.

d) Discuss the implications for teaching.

o Ask: What might be the benefit of providing diverse types of learning experiences

in the classroom?

o Clarify that learning is complex and cannot be neatly categorized. The point is

not for teachers to teach to specific pathways but, the main takeaway from this

activity is that providing diverse types of learning experiences, that are purposeful

and coherent, benefits all learners.

Slide 10: Beyond the complexities of learning

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Slide 11: What can teachers do?

Slide 12: Addressing Challenges in the Classroom--Practice

Objective: To know general strategies and adjustments that can be made to address the range of

needs that can exist amongst learners, and to recognize that inclusive practices benefit all

students, not just those who are struggling

Time: 45 minutes

Materials needed: Strategies and Accommodation reference sheet, Flipchart, markers

Description:

1. Organize participants into groups of 3

2. Assign each group 1-2 challenges from the following list (depending on how many

participants there are)

a) A child often behaves poorly

b) A child struggles to focus on tasks and is easily distracted

c) A child appears to have a hearing impairment

d) A child appears to have a visual impairment

e) A child has difficulty understanding directions

f) A child has difficulty with physical movement

g) A child takes more time than peer group to process information, complete

assignments and respond to questions

h) A child struggles with spelling (compared to peer group)

3. For each challenge that they are assigned, groups need to generate a list of

strategies/accommodations that a teacher can make to address the challenge within a

classroom of diverse learners, keeping in mind that teachers can change: o the way they present information

o the learning environment

o time and scheduling o expectations for how assignments are done

Each challenge with its list of strategies/accommodations should be on a separate sheet of

Flipchart paper. Groups should post their completed lists on the wall [15 minutes]

4. Gallery walk: invite participants to walk around the room to read the different lists of

strategies and accommodations [10 minutes]

5. Invite participants to reflect on and discuss the strategies/accommodations that they

generated as a group, reiterating that most of the accommodations are good for all

children. [10 minutes]

6. Hand out strategies and accommodations reference sheet for participants to adapt, add to,

and use with teachers

Strategies and

Accommodations Reference Sheet.pdf

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Slide 13: The Teacher is not Alone—what other resources are available?

Objective: To identify locally existing resources, professional services, and support systems that

support inclusion

Time: 15 minutes

Description:

1. Remind participants that while teachers can recognize and accommodate challenges in

the classroom, they are not trained to diagnose learning disabilities in children, and they

are not experts on learning disabilities. Teachers should be encouraged to access external

resources to support their endeavour to have an inclusive classroom. 2. Ask participants to brainstorm locally existing resources, professional services, and

support systems that can support the inclusion of all children in the classroom. Record

suggestions on Flipchart paper like the sample list below:

3. Ask coaches to brainstorm a list of things that they can do to help teachers teach all

children including the struggling learners (remind them of the bi-modal graph showing a

large proportion of struggling learners), and record these suggestions on another Flipchart

sheet.

4. Refer participants to external resources for more information, such as:

UNESCO ILFE Toolkit, booklet on teaching children with disabilities:

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001829/182975e.pdf

Slide 14: Supporting Differences in the Classroom

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001829/182975e.pdf

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Objective: To integrate general strategies and adjustments that can be made to address the range

of needs that can exist amongst learners into planning for lessons

Materials needed:

Index cards with one learning challenge written on each (from the strategies and

accommodations reference sheet) so that there are 3 for each group

Extra index cards

A plastic bag

Local curriculum/textbook

*Index cards can be replaced by paper

Time: 80 minutes

Description:

1. Ask participants if there are specific learning challenges that they have observed in

children in the early grades that have not yet been discussed by the group. If so, give

them an index card to write one challenge on.

2. Collect the index cards (if any) in the plastic bag and mix them with the pre-prepared

index cards.

3. Organize participants into groups of 3

4. Have each group select 3 index cards. Each card should be different, so if a group selects

a card it already has, it should return the card to the bag and pick another.

5. Assign each group with an early grades lesson from the curriculum/textbook

6. Each group has 50 minutes to create an inclusion plan for their assigned lesson for the 3

learning challenges in their classroom represented by the index cards they picked

(Pointing out that real classes will have many more learning differences). Remind groups

that presenting things in different ways (orally and visually, for example) and providing

different learning experiences (e.g., small group work, large group presentations,

projects, practice and repetition) is beneficial for all children. The plan should include:

Learning objective(s) for the lesson

An outline of the lesson’s activities

A clear explanation of how each learning need/challenge (on index card) will be

addressed in the classroom for the particular lesson

The role of the coach and external resources that will be used (if applicable)

7. Give groups 2 minutes each to share the highlights of their plan with the full group

Note to facilitator: Collect inclusion plans in writing from each group. These can be typed up

later to create a resource of lesson-specific suggestions for coaches

Session 3: Planning demonstration lessons (2.5 hours)

Objectives for participants: To develop demonstration lessons using local textbooks/curriculum

that include integrated reading and writing activities, appropriate teaching/learning aids, and

materials to enrich the print environment.

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[Note that participants should be integrating their learning on effective literacy instructional

practices and inclusive classroom practices when developing their demonstration lessons]

Description:

1. Explain to participants that one way of supporting the development of teachers is to

model lesson planning and teaching, so in this workshop, participants will be practicing

lesson planning and modeling lessons with an emphasis on literacy instruction.

2. Organize participants into 6 groups (hopefully, this will mean there will be about 3

people in each group)

3. Each group needs to plan a demonstration lesson from the early grades curriculum that

they will do the next day. The lesson should be the same length of time as lessons for

children in the local context.

4. The lesson plan should use the local lesson-planning format and should include:

A learning objective for children

Integrated reading/writing activities

Relevant teaching/learning aids (and when appropriate, related print material for the

classroom wall)

Consideration of inclusive classroom practices

Assessment: How will the teacher know if the learning objective has been met by

children in the class?

5. Each group should be prepared to do their model lesson on the next day, so all materials

to support the lesson should be created.

6. Lesson plans should be written (preferably typed if laptops are available) to be submitted

to the facilitator for consolidating and sharing.

DAY 2


Session 1: Lesson Demonstration and feedback (6 hours)


To practice modeling early grade literacy lessons

To practice observing lessons and providing feedback, applying lessons learned in this

area from workshop 1 and from post-workshop application of skills

Description:

1. Groups should do the lessons they prepared on the previous day in the way that they

would do them with children

2. Each group will have 1 hour to: 1) do their lesson, 2) reflect on it, and then 3) hear

feedback from the rest of the group.

3. When one group is modeling a lesson, 3 groups can role play students, and 2 groups can

sit at the periphery and be the official observers using the local teacher observation tool

(with any changes to it and considerations from workshop 1)

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4. The group roles should rotate

5. During the debrief of each lesson, both “students” and observers can share their feedback.

6. Observers should be looking for the following:

a. A learning objective for children

b. Integrated reading/writing activities

c. Relevant teaching/learning aids (and when appropriate, related print material for

the classroom wall)

d. Consideration of inclusive classroom practices

e. Assessment: How will the teacher know if the learning objective has been met by

children in the class?

Challenges should be discussed with the group.

7. If participants found the exercise of modeling and receiving feedback useful, they can

reflect on the possibility of fostering peer-to-peer observations at their schools [to be

discussed further during workshop 3]

Session 2: Organizing for coaching [1 hour]

Objective for participants: To develop a plan for supporting teachers with inclusive lesson

planning and modeling instruction strategies.

Description:

1. Share the following assignment to be completed before the next workshop, and invite

feedback on feasibility (list homework on chart paper or a PowerPoint slide):

a) Observe and give feedback to xx teachers (number to be suggested by participants

depending on what they anticipate will be possible)

b) Review Teacher Professional Development plans and update as necessary

c) Based on classroom observations, support teachers during lesson planning to ensure

effective instructional practices and meet the needs of diverse learners. Model and/or

co-teach when possible and appropriate





facilitator)

3. At the end of the session, thank participants for their attendance and hard work at the

workshop, and wish them well with putting their learning into practice. Request that they

keep notes of things they tried, successes, and challenges to share at the beginning of the

next workshop. In addition, request that participants bring their folders with handouts that

were distributed during workshop one and two to the next workshop.




program staff should check in with coaches in between workshops to support

them, to learn more about gaps that coaches notice, and to identify the most

37

relevant content to address in the next workshop

WORKSHOP 3

DAY 1:


38

Session 1: Reflection and Sharing (1 hour)


To share and reflect on their experiences with coaching activities since the previous

workshop.

To use these reflections to consider implications for future coaching activities

Description:

There are a variety of ways to facilitate a reflection. Similar to workshop 2, organize participants

into groups of 3 or 4 so that every participant has a chance to share in small groups before

bringing the small groups together to discuss highlights with the large group.

Participants can organize their reflection and sharing around the suggested assignment

after the last workshop. The assignment should be posted on Flipchart paper or projected

on a Powerpoint slide so that participants can refer to it:

1. Observe and give feedback to xx teachers (number suggested by participants)

2. Review Teacher Professional Development plans and update as necessary

3. Based on classroom observations, support teachers during lesson planning to

ensure effective instructional practices and meet the needs of diverse learners.

Model and/or co-teach when possible and appropriate

7. In small groups, have participants reflect on their experiences with the assignment after

workshop 2, noting key points for the “Now what?” portion of the reflection on Flipchart

paper. [30 minutes]

What? This involves reviewing details of the experience. Participants can describe

what they tried to do and how they tried to do it.

So what? This step is more interpretive. How was the experience for each

participant? What were the successes, challenges, and lessons learned? How is

teachers’ learning and development being impacted?

Now what? Future goals and action plan. What are the implications of the lessons

learned? What should future coaching activities with teachers focus on? What do

coaches need further support in?

8. “Gallery Walk”: Have groups tape their chart papers around the room. Give participants

time to silently walk around the room to look at the posters of other groups. [10 minutes]

9. For full group sharing, invite reflections on the following questions, encouraging

participation from all small groups: [20 minutes]

Reflection Questions

How are you incorporating what you have learned in workshops 1 and 2

into your daily work with coaching and supporting teacher development?

How has your newly acquired coaching and observation skills impacted

teachers’ learning and development?

Are there any challenges or assumptions you would like to discuss

regarding any of the prior sessions or your coaching experiences so far?

39

Going forward, are there things that you need to do differently to support

teacher professional growth?

Session 2: Classroom Visits: Preparation and Field Visit (4 hours 10 minutes)


To practice classroom observations and feedback in early grades classrooms.


The logistics for the field visit need to be organized in advance.

The Coach Training should be located as close to schools as possible to minimize

travel time to and from schools

There need to be sufficient early grades classrooms for a maximum of 2 coaches

to visit each classroom (more than two visitors at a time will be too disruptive),

so the number of schools will be determined based on the number classrooms

required and the number available at each school.

Schools need to be informed of the purpose, day, and time of the visit in advance

as well as the format of the visit. Remind head teachers to explain the purpose of

the visit to the teachers who will be observed and obtain their informed consent:

1. Meet with the head teacher (15 minutes)

2. Meet with the teacher briefly (5 minutes)

3. Observe the lesson (40 minutes)

4. Reflection and Feedback with the teacher (30-45 minutes)

5. Debrief the head teacher (15 minutes)

Request the school’s support to arrange for classes that will be observed to be

taken care of during the Reflection & Feedback sessions with the teachers so

that children do not lose class time. If the classroom observation is scheduled at

the end of the school day and the teacher was available and willing, the

Reflection & Feedback session could be scheduled after children have left for

the day.

When possible, a small camera on a tripod can capture the lesson on video with

the teacher’s prior permission. The teacher needs to be informed about how the

videos will be used so that he/she can give informed consent. This needs to be

cleared with the school and teacher in advance. Cameras/tripods should be

obtained where permission has been granted. These videos can be used in future

Coach Trainings.

Vehicles to transport participants to and from schools to the Coach Training site

need to be arranged

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The sample PowerPoint presentation can be used as a guide for the session, but it needs

to be adapted so that the examples and general content are contextually relevant.





presentation.

Sample PowerPoint

Observation and

Feedback_Field Visit.pptx

Slide 3: What are the Goals of Classroom Observations?

Objective: To review the goals of classroom observations for the coach and the teachers prior to

the field visit

Time: 5 minutes

Description:

3. Ask participants what the goals of classroom observations are. Specifically, what are the

goals of classroom observations for coaches, and what are the goals of classroom

observations for teachers?

4. Think-Pair-Share

Think: Participants think about the questions and note down responses individually (1

minutes)

Pair: Participants discuss their thoughts with a partner (2 minutes)

Share: The pairs share their ideas with the rest of the group (2 minutes)

Slide 4: Review of “Questions to Consider When Observing an Early Grade Classroom”

Objective: To review the “Questions to Consider” Handout prior to classroom visits to frame

coaches thinking about the visit.

Materials: ‘Questions for observation’ handout (one copy per participant).

*Note: These worksheets were passed out during Workshop 1 and participants should have them

in their folders, but make a few extra copies just in case

Questions for

observation.pdf

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Time: 5 minutes

Description:

1. Give participants a few minutes to review the questions on the worksheet. At the bottom

of the worksheet, have participants review the additional questions they suggested during

Workshop 1 and add any that may be missing.

2. Invite participants to share any additional questions with the group and discuss.

Slide 5: Review of “Observation Protocols”

Time: 20 minutes

Objective: To review the observation protocols for before, during, and after a classroom

observation in preparation for the field visit.

Materials: Flipchart Paper (3), each with a different heading: 1) Before an Observation, 2)

During an Observation, 3) After an Observation; Markers

Description:

1. Remind participants that following established protocols for before, during and after

classroom observations helps to build trust between teachers and coaches, so these

protocols will be reviewed prior to the field visit.

2. Divide participants into three groups and give each group one of the three pre-prepared

flipchart papers and a marker

3. Have each group brainstorm and list the important elements to remember during the stage

of the observation process assigned to the group. [10 minutes]

4. Invite each group to choose one or two people to present. After each presentation, give

the other participants time to respond with any additional key points that were not raised.

[10 minutes]

Slide 6: Review in Pairs--Effective Feedback to Teachers

Time: 15 minutes

Objective: To review elements of effective feedback for post-classroom observation meetings

with teachers.

Description: Participants will review what effective coaching feedback is prior to their scheduled

classroom observation.

1. Have participants work with a partner to think through what effective feedback is and is

not. [10 minutes]

2. Invite participants to share with the full group. Record key ideas on Flipchart paper

before sharing the contents of the slide [5 minutes].

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Slide 7: Classroom visits

Objective: To practice classroom observations and feedback in early grades classrooms.

Time: 3.5 hours

Materials: Classroom observations tools (one per participant), Flipchart with school assignments

for participants, vehicles to transport coaches to and from schools, cameras & tripods where

approval to use them has been obtained in advance

Description:

1. Participants will travel to nearby school sites to observe a classroom lesson in pairs and

practice their coaching skills. Go through the plan for the school visit:

a. Travel to schools (30-40 minutes)

b. Meet with the head teacher (15 minutes): Head teachers will be expecting the

coaches and will already be prepared for the visit, but a brief preliminary meeting

is an appropriate formality.

c. Meet with the teacher briefly (5 minutes): Teachers should know in advance about

the visit and its purpose. During this brief meeting, coaches can ask teachers for

the learning objectives of their lessons and if there is anything in particular the

teachers would like the coaches to observe. Five minutes is not sufficient time to

conduct a proper pre-observation meeting with the teacher. Teachers will already

be missing class time with their students by participating in the reflection and

feedback session, so the pre-observation meeting has been kept minimal.

d. Observe the lesson (40 minutes)

e. Reflection and Feedback with the teacher (30-45 minutes): Since two coaches

observed each class, coaches should decide ahead of time how they will co-

facilitate the reflection & feedback session with the teacher

f. Debrief the head teacher (15 minutes)

g. Travel back from schools (30-40 minutes)

Session 3: Classroom Visit Debrief (1 hour 50 minutes)


To debrief classroom visits by sharing observations and feedback

To identify trends in teachers needs and collectively develop specific strategies to support

these needs

To identify their strengths as coaches as well as their areas for growth






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presentation.

Sample PowerPoint

Debrief classroom

visits.pptx

Slide 3: Pair comparisons

Objective: For participants who observed the same classroom to have the opportunity to compare

and contrast their observations and impressions.

Time: 35 minutes

Description:

1. Participants should sit with the partner who observed the same lesson

2. Each participant should individually complete their Observation Tool using their notes

(and rate the teacher if this is part of the tool) [10 minutes]

3. Pairs should then compare and contrast their notes as well as how they filled out the

observation tool. While they will already have a sense of similarities and differences

from their Reflection and Feedback session with the teacher, they now have the

opportunity to do a detailed comparison. [15 minutes]

4. Peer feedback: Participants should be encouraged to share observations they made about

their partner during the Reflection & Feedback session with the teacher [10 minutes]

Slide 4: Full group discussion

Objectives for participants: To debrief classroom visits by sharing observations and feedback

with the full group. To identify trends in teachers needs and collectively develop specific

strategies to support these needs

Time: 50 minutes

Description:

1. Facilitate a group discussion that is guided by participants’ interests. Use the following

questions to guide the discussion when appropriate:

a. Report on pair comparisons

b. What did the teacher do well?

c. What was important to discuss after the observation?

d. What suggestions did you make for the teacher?

e. What are the teacher’s needs for professional development?

[If time allows and participants have a compelling scenario to share and discuss for which

video was collected, share video snippets.]

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2. Record trends that emerge in teachers’ professional development needs on Flipchart

paper and solicit suggestions for how coaches can help to meet these needs.

Slide 5: Journaling--Self-reflection

Objective: Participants will identify their strengths as coaches as well as their areas for growth

Time: 15 minutes

Description:

1. Invite participants to independently journal about their experiences in the field in their

notebooks using these questions as writing prompts: [10 minutes]

a. Did you take notes with concrete examples of classroom instruction and children

participation?

b. Did you focus on student learning and how this was happening? Give examples

c. Were you able to promote reflection on the part of the teacher? Give examples

d. What did you do well as a coach?

e. What did you learn as a coach from this experience?

f. What are your areas of challenge as a coach?

2. Allow participants to share any of their reflections with the full group if they would like

to [5 minutes]

DAY 2


Session 1: Professional development within schools (5 hours)


To discuss contextually appropriate opportunities for professional development within

schools (for example, the formation of Teacher Learning Circles or peer observations).

To understand the role of instructional leaders in creating these opportunities for teachers.


The sample PowerPoint presentation can be used as a guide for the session, but it needs

to be adapted so that the examples and general content are contextually relevant.

Activities, Discussions and group planning during the presentation allow trainers

to practice strategies and/or to discuss how they would be applied to their

context. These activities and other parts where participants are engaged during

the presentation are explained below in the order in which they appear in the

PowerPoint presentation.

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Sample PowerPoint for Professional Development Within Schools:

Professional

Development Within Schools.pptx

Slide 3: What is Professional Development (PD)?

Objective: To activate participants’ prior knowledge on what professional development is

Time: 5 minutes

Description:

1. Invite participants to share words/phrases that they think of when they hear “professional

development” and generate a list of these on flipchart paper

2. Use participants’ thoughts to discuss what professional development is.

3. Invite participants to share some examples of PD. If not done so already by participants,

share some examples from the list below (in particular, share examples (a) to (e) which

are likely to be more realistic for the context than (f) to (h):

a. trainings/workshops

b. engaging in informal dialogue with peers on how to improve teaching

c. observation visits to other schools

d. mentoring and/or peer observation and coaching

e. participation in a Teacher Learning Circle

f. education conferences

g. qualification programme (e.g. a degree programme or courses)

h. research, or reading professional literature

Slide 4: Professional Development Review

Objective: To identify existing opportunities for professional development that are available to

teachers as well as barriers for teacher involvement

Time: 1 hour

Advance preparation: Prepare “bus stop” signs

Description:

4. Arrange 4 bus stops around the room with the prompts written on different sheets of

flipchart paper.

5. Divide participants into four groups, ensuring that each group has representatives from

schools and the ministry of education, and assign each group to one bus stop. Give each

group 5-7 minutes at their bus stop to answer the question/prompt and record their

thoughts. Then have groups rotate until each group has visited and added input to all

four bus stops.

6. Review and summarize each bus stop with the full group.

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Bus stop 1: Policy: What is the system or policy established by the MOE or school to support

PD? Is it implemented? How much of Professional Development is led and managed within

schools?

Bus stop 2: Opportunities: What kinds of professional development opportunities are

available for teachers? It may not be called “professional development”, so think of any

opportunities teachers have to develop their skills and knowledge

Bus stop 3: Topics: What are the topics that Professional Development activities focus on?

Bus stop 4: Barriers/Challenges: What are the barriers or challenges to teacher participation?

(Suggest solutions to each barrier)

7. With guidance from participants, put a star by the items on the Bus stop 2 list that are PD

opportunities within schools (organized by schools and available to teachers at schools)

8. Invite ideas from the group on the advantages of having school-based opportunities for

professional development [increased accessibility for teachers, more sustainable,

empowering—teachers are sources of expertise for each other].

Slide 5: Reasons to invest in school-based PD

Slide 6: Brainstorm--Investing in School-based PD

Objective: To reflect on the 70-20-10 framework (slide 5) and think about why only 10% of

learning happens through formal training

Time: 5 minutes

Description:

Ask participants to generate possible reasons to explain why only about 10% of learning (in this

case, learning of teachers) happens through formal training. Then discuss the contents of the

slide (if not already discussed by participants).

Slide 7: Two school-based PD activities will be discussed in detail--Peer Observation and

Teacher Learning Circles

Slides 8 & 9: What is peer observation and how is it done?

Slide 10: Benefits of Peer Observations--Reflection

Objective: To reflect on the benefits of organizing peer observations in schools

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Time: 20 minutes

Description:

1. Organize participants into pairs and have them reflect on the benefits of organizing peer

observations in their contexts. [10 minutes]

2. Discuss pair reflections and generate a group list of benefits on flipchart paper by calling

on a different person in each group to share one until there are no more different

contributions. [10 minutes]

Slide 11: Challenges of Peer Observations--Reflection Objectives:

To reflect on the challenges of organizing peer observations in schools and to identify

requirements for successful implementation.

To practice proposing the idea of peer observations in a way that would convince teachers to

want to participate.

Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Description:

1. In pairs, have participants reflect on the challenges of organizing peer observations in

their contexts. For every challenge that is listed, participants need to suggest possible

solutions [10 minutes]

2. Discuss pair reflections and generate group list of challenges (with suggestions) on

flipchart paper by calling on a different person in each group to share one until there are

no more different contributions. [10 minutes]

3. Keeping in mind the list of challenges, ask participants to think of all the requirements for

the successful implementation of peer observations. [15 minutes]

For example:

Teachers need to understand what peer observation is (and is not) and how it will

work—the coach plays a role in explaining and promoting the activity

Teachers who are observing another lesson will need someone to cover their lesson

(perhaps the head teacher could do this?)

Teachers will need to be trained on how to give effective feedback

As with the coach-teacher relationship, trust is foundational to an effective teacher-

teacher peer relationship (brainstorm effective ways to establish this climate of trust)

4. Individual task: If you had to propose the idea of “peer observations” to the teachers at

your school, how would you do so to convince teachers to be willing to try them?

Prepare what you would say to the teachers you would work with [15 minutes]

5. Role play: Ask for one or two volunteers to role play their prepared proposals with the

group in the same way they would do so with teachers. The group can ask questions and

offer feedback. [15 minutes].

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Slide 12: What is a TLC?

Objective: To activate prior knowledge about TLCs

Time: 10 minutes

Description:

1. Ask participants: What is a TLC? Have you ever been a part of one? Do they exist at the

schools you support (even if they are called something different)?

2. Review the description and characteristics of TLCs as participants share.

Slide 13: Characteristics of a TLC

Slide 14: Overview of a suggested TLC structure

Slide 15: Suggested TLC structure—Activities 1, 2, and 3

Slide 16-18: Suggested TLC structure—Activity 4

Slide 19: Suggested TLC structure—Activities 5 & 6

After going through all suggested activities for a TLC, distribute the following handout that

summarizes the suggested TLC structure:

TLC Meeting

Structure.pdf

Slide 20: Pair work--Plan TLC topics

Objective: To plan sample TLCs based on teachers’ needs

Time: 1 hour 10 minutes Description:

TLCs should be led by teachers, but it would be helpful to have some suggestions or samples to

model the process for teachers. The one stage of the suggested TLC sequence that changes is

stage 4, “New Learning about a chosen topic”, so participants will focus on generating samples

for this step.

1. In pairs, participants should: [30 minutes]

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a. Reflect on the needs of teachers in your schools

b. Select two different topics for TLCs based on these needs

c. Plan the content and format for these two TLC topics

If there is access to laptops, participants can type up their assignments and then share

them with the facilitator to collate and share with the group later.

2. Invite participants to present. Each pair will only have 5 minutes to share, so they can

choose to share key ideas for both topics or share more detail about a single topic. [40

minutes]

Slide 21: Steps to implement TLCs

Slide 22: Role play--Explaining TLCs

Objective: To practice proposing the idea of TLCs in a way that would convince teachers to want

to participate.

Time: 30 minutes

Description:

1. Individual task: If you had to propose the idea of “TLCs” to the teachers at your school,

how would you do so to convince teachers to be willing to try them? Prepare what you

would say to the teachers you would work with [15 minutes]

2. Role play: Ask for one or two volunteers to role play their prepared proposals with the

group in the same way they would do so with teachers. The group can ask questions and

offer feedback to strengthen the explanation/proposal. [15 minutes]

Slide 23: Other school-based PD opportunities

Objective: To consider other school-based PD opportunities that are feasible in the context

beyond Peer Observations and TLCs

Time: 15 minutes

Description: Invite participants to think about and discuss other school-based PD opportunities

that can be available in this context.

Slide 24: Role of the coach/leader in establishing and supporting school-based PD

Session 2: Organizing for Coaching (1 hour)

Objective: To develop a plan for classroom visits and the creation of at least one opportunity for

teacher-to-teacher professional development within schools

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Time: 1 hour

Materials: Copies of the tracker tools (1 per participant)

Description:

4. Share the following assignment, and invite feedback on feasibility (list homework on

flipchart paper or a PowerPoint slide):

d) Observe and give feedback to xx teachers (number to be suggested by participants

depending on what they anticipate will be possible)

e) Review Teacher Professional Development plans and update as necessary

f) Establish and support at least one school-based PD opportunity for teachers





facilitator).

6. Distribute the following tools to track Peer Observations and TLCs:

Peer observation

tracker.docx

TLC tracker.docx

7. At the end of the session, thank participants for their attendance and hard work at this

workshop and over the course of the 3-workshop coaching training, and wish them well

with putting their learning into practice.




program staff should check in with coaches in between workshops to support their

efforts.

Evaluation and Closing

Appendix: Video Resources Workshop 2

1) Video (English): Differentiated Instruction, Ghana Teacher Training, Sesame Street Production https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjqA_LKT0GA This video illustrates how students learn differently, and the teacher’s role in helping to differentiate instruction to accommodate different learning styles and needs including: a. Get to know each pupil, including interests and strengths b. Vary teaching approaches/strategies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjqA_LKT0GA

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c. Group children by ability d. Group children by interests

Workshop 3 Professional Development:

2) Video (English): Re-Thinking Learning, The 70:20:10 Framework

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6WX11iqmg0&feature=youtu.be This video illustrates the 70/20/10 principle and emphasizes the most effective learning and development happens on the job: 70% during on the job, 20% during coaching and mentoring, and 10% from formal training.

3) Video (English): Classroom Observation Strategies, Peer Observations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_W6tb35r3M This video demonstrates teachers observing each other’s practice and learning from one another, including offering constructive feedback to peers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6WX11iqmg0&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6WX11iqmg0&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_W6tb35r3M

Documents

Coaching Guide - Resource Centre · 1. Increased number and quality of classroom observation & feedback sessions (as reported by teachers and coaches) 2. Increased teachers’ perception