Culturally Responsive Leadership: A Culturally Responsive
Cognitive Coaching Approach Elizabeth B. Kozleski January 6 &
7, 2010
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The Agenda Coaching is Part of a Learning, Improving Culturally
Responsive System Culturally Responsive Leadership Essential for 21
st Century Research Foundations of Culturally Responsive Coaching
Brass Tacks
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http://www.niusileadscape.org/
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Systemic Change Coaching is Part of a Learning, Improving
Culturally Responsive System
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Systemic Change Framework
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Practitioners
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School
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District
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Coaching: An Integral Part of the School Improvement
Process
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Culturally Responsive Leadership: A 21 st Century
Essential
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School leaders often engage in coaching in order to respond to
a problem or react to a specific incident. 1 Marzano, R. J.,
Walters, T. & McNulty, B.A. (2005). School Leadership that
Works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development. These kinds of conversations are necessary to manage
school operations, but they do not address the type of deep change
necessary to transform school practices to be inclusive of all
students. 1 Why this kind of coaching?
Learning Sciences Third Space Dialogue Multicultural Research
Cultural Historical Activity Theory Foundations of our Coaching
Approach
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How People Learn, Learning occurs when we teach (tell) people
how to Learning results from how individuals actively make meaning,
engage, resist, contest, and build their own mental schemas about
the world around them and their role in it Learning scientists
concur: Deeper conceptual understanding comes from active
participation in ones own learning (Sawyer, 2005)
Respect, Reciprocity, and Responsiveness ThirdSpace
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Dimensions of the Culturally Responsive Matrix Contributi ons
Diversity Additive Trans- formation al Social Action From
Understanding Cultural Contributions to Action for Equity
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Understanding Culture as a Variable
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Understanding Culture as the Dynamic Ingredient in Human
Interaction What people bring with them Whats already there Whats
already there The work people do together The work people do
together Cultural Histories The Institutional Culture The Culture
We Create
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Down to Brass Tacks: How To Do It!! Steps to :
TechnicalContextualCritical
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Components of a Coaching Conversation Engage Create ThirdSpace
Develop Insights Reframe Practice Scripts Set Goals
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Coaching Discussion Critical prompts guide the coachee to
examine underlying beliefs and practices that maintain and sustain
the status quo in power and privilege and the coachees role in that
process. Critical Technical coaching conversations support coachees
in solving specific and direct problems of practice in their
schools. Technical Contextual prompts reveal underlying beliefs and
cultural practices of a school that afford and/or constrain
culturally responsive practices. Contextual Three ways of entering
coaching discussions
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Progress Monitoring Identify Current Practice Assess Current
Practice Identify Specific Changes Identify What Needs to be
Learned What will be practiced When practice will be initiated Who
will coach Technical coaching conversations support addressing
changes in practice
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Example of Technical Prompts The significant problems we face
cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we
created them. Albert Einstein Focus Identify Practices Assess
Effective- ness Determine Changes Identify Role Plan Moves Assess
Progress Difficulty implementing co- teaching practices In what
ways have you ensured that your teaching team works together during
shared planning time? How are your planning sessions helping to
differentiate lessons with students. What procedures need to be
established to make these sessions more effective? What will your
role be in establishing these procedures? What actions are needed?
When and how will you determine if the new procedures are
effective?
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Identify contextual factors Identify historical patterns
Surface institutional values Identify coachees goal Plan moves/
activities to initiate change Establish how progress will be
monitored Contextual coaching conversations help to make school
culture transparent
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Example of Contextual Prompts We dont see things as they are,
we see them as we are. Anas Nin
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Identify critical issue Probe for deeper reflection Expand
awareness Identify coachees goal Plan moves/ activities to initiate
change Establish how progress will be monitored Critical prompts
guide the coachee to examine her own beliefs and practices in
supporting CR practices. Critical coaching dialogues examine power
and privilege, who benefits from school practices, and how to bring
students who have been marginalized into the center of school
culture Plan moves/ activities to initiate change Expand
awareness
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Example of Critical Prompts He who cannot change the very
fabric of his thought will never be able to change reality, and
will, therefore, never make any progress. Anwar Sadat
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Critical, Contextual, or Technical? How are divergent
viewpoints honored and shared in your staff culture? In what ways
do you consciously infuse awareness of power and privilege in your
team discussions? In what ways are your IEP meetings structured to
encourage team discussion and sharing of ideas?
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Items DiscussedStatus/Progress Next Steps Hot Topic : Budget
cuts Bob concerned about losing paraprofessional support for
inclusion Address in team planning week of 4/5/10 Focus topic:
Supporting students with severe disabilities in Mathematics classes
Bob concerned that support sometimes looks like doing for rather
than adapting for students with high needs. Discuss shared
expectations in team meeting, identify shared goal. Prompts Used:
Access Points : (Critical, Contextual, Technical) In what ways do
you and Ms. Merino communicate to plan for support of your students
with high needs? Contextual, identify context 5. Summary of Issues:
A place for your reflections on: 1) the development of inclusive
practices in this class; 2) changes in the coachees understanding
of inclusive practices, and 3) The relationships among the coachee
and other team members. Bob seems frustrated with Ms. Merinos
approach, but hasnt clearly communicated his own high expectations
for students with disabilities. He is more comfortable doing it all
by himself than spending the time to establish common ground with
her. 6. Next Steps: Bob will initiate a conversation with Ms.
Merino during Fridays planning time to express his own expectations
and hopes for the students and elicit hers in order to establish a
common goal.
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Coaching for Culturally Responsive Practices includes...
establishing cognitive, reflective frameworks for action...
ThirdSpace CoachCoachee Developing a culturally responsive
ThirdSpace... where you can work together to target equity
outcomes!
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Use ThirdSpace to develop a shared understanding of inclusive
practice Collaborate to create shared expectations of
collaboration, participation, and differentiated instruction Use
cognitive strategies to help others broaden their perspectives Dont
spend all of your time in a problem-solving space!
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If there is any great secret of success in life, it lies in the
ability to put yourself in the other person s place and to see
things from his point of view as well as your own. Henry Ford
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Download from our website:
http://www.niusileadscape.org/docs/FrameworkCulturally_Web_031810.pdf
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For more information about NIUSI- LeadScapes community of
inclusive, equity- minded school leaders
http://www.niusileadscape.org/application/LS_Application.pdf
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Summary Coaching is Part of a Learning, Improving Culturally
Responsive System Culturally Responsive Leadership Essential for 21
st Century Culturally Responsive Coaching builds on learning
sciences, CHAT, Third Space Dialogues, and Multicultural Research
Brass Tacks