Instructional Coaching: What is it (to some people) and what can it be for us?

I work with teachers at one of the best high schools in the country.  I want to support teachers in any way that they may need me but most of the time I feel like a physical trainer: I get to work with the people who want to work with me.  

Classroom Support: 

• Observe class dynamics and identify strengths of teachers and work with them to strengthen areas of weakness.
• Develop plans with teachers who would like to see more student gains.

Instructional and Curriculum Specialist:

• Know the state standards and district curriculum and help teachers make sense of them.
• Work with teams of teachers to design common assessments.
• Let teachers know of fun, interesting, and/or effective new strategies that they could implement in their classes.
• Assist with differentiation for all students 
• Work with faculty to understand data that can be useful to instruction  

Professional Development Coordinator:

• Research and distribute high-quality resources that may help teachers improve instruction
• Identify the professional development needs of the faculty
• Plan, implement and follow through with professional development opportunities for teachers.
• Keep track of professional development that teachers participate in. 

Leadership:

• Continually work on and develop the best teaching in my own classroom
• Work with faculty and administration to create a culture of trust and respect that spawns creativity and innovation
• Develop cross-curricular teams
• Mentor new teachers 

My Vision:

Find creative and innovative ways to help students learn a rigorous curriculum in all classrooms.

STEM     -     Science   +   Technology  +   Engineering  +  Mathematics 

STEM Education is way to prepare students for a world that has a very high demand for people who can think scientifically; use, implement, and create new technology; develop engineering skills to uncover, understand and solve complex problems; and, develop and expand upon their use of mathematics to solve these problems. 

If you are an Arts or Literature teacher, here are some great resources to see what STEM might mean to you:

• STEAM=science, technology, engineering, arts, and technology
• STREAM=science, technology, engineering, arts, reading/wRiting, and technology 

STEM2STEAM_Creativity.pdf

NSF-STEM2STEAM.pdf

Turning STEM into STREAM.pdf

Student Accountability & Differentiation

• Differentiation: Allows for easy differentiation for any and all students without a whole lot of extra work for the teacher. 
• Structure & Bloom's: Curriculum Structure that clearly links Bloom's Taxonomy with the types of assignments that we give.
• For a C, students complete basic tasks, remembering and understanding
• For a B, students complete C tasks and can apply and analyze the concepts
• For an A, students complete C and B tasks and can evaluate and create with the knowledge that they have gained
• Student Choice & Learning Styles: There are multiple different ways that students can demonstrate that they have reached the levels of proficiency
• Students can choose different options that emphasize visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learning styles
• Students are responsible for choosing how they learn and must demonstrate that to the teacher in a comprehensive way.
• Accountability: Students are held accountable for their choices because they choose their grades
• Students must meet the requirements for the different proficiency levels before they can move on to the next level  

Standards Based Grading

Grading is controlled by the teacher and we want the grades that our students earn to mean something: that they are learning.  We want our grades to reflect the knowledge gained, the ability of students to apply that knowledge to novel situations, and their ability use that information in an original and creative ways. Standards based grading allows teachers to assess student knowledge and growth.  To get a good grade, students can't just "do the work", they must demonstrate that they know the material. Standards based grading diminishes the power of a copied assignment in the grade book because the grade is defined by defensible understanding, not a piece of paper.

Proposal