Peer Coaching 1
1. PARTICIPANT -SELF My name is Denise Donahue. I am a partnership resource teacher working for Hillsborough County Schools serving at the University of South Florida. This is my first year as a PRT and supervisor for elementary education interns. My background consists of 20 years as a classroom teacher in grades K-6, all subjects, and 3 years as a peer evaluator for the district. My degrees are in Elementary Education and Exceptional Student Education (ESE)/Gifted. I am certified in the areas of elementary education, ESE K-12, early childhood, and middle grades science (5-9). This is my first semester in the doctoral program at USF. 2. PARTICPANT-PEER COACH I observed Lakesia Dupree on Feb. 17th, 2015. Ms. Dupree spent 4 years in the classroom teaching 3rd grade, and 2 years as a math coach in grades K-5. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and a Master's of Arts in Teaching (MAT). This is her second semester in the doctoral program (full time student). She is studying Elementary Education with a Math Education Focus. This is her first year as a math coach for UTRPP (Urban Teacher Residency Preparation Program). 3. CONTEXT AND RATIONALE FOR WORKING WITH THIS PERSON I observed Ms. Dupree conduct a pre-conference as part of her coaching cycle. She spoke with a pre-service teacher in her final internship at a local title 1 Elementary school regarding her upcoming math lesson for a 2nd grade group of students. I worked with Ms. Dupree to gain insight into how a math coach for UTRPP (Urban Teacher Residency Preparation Program) conducted her coaching sessions. I offered my services to her in the form of data collection, specifically identifying what portion of her conversation and questioning focused on pedagogy and what portion focused on the math content. She was interested in examining the amount of time spent on each. I also shared my professional insights into the conferencing process as a whole, with a focus on her areas of strength. Ms. Dupree observed me on Feb. 19th during a post-conference with a level II intern, Maria. The intern had been observed by me in a 5th grade classroom setting at a local elementary school. The purpose of the post conference was to reflect upon the lesson observed, discuss the effectiveness, and discuss future goals. I asked Ms. Dupree to observe and gather data regarding my coaching style, particularly as to how it aligned or did not align with cognitive coaching. Additionally, I asked for feedback on my overall coaching skills. 4. DESCRIPTION OF THE EXPERIENCE I recorded my evidence for Ms. Dupree on a T-chart, with designated headings for “math content” and “pedagogy” (See below). My information was evidence based and included quotes and times for particular comments and topic changes. The nature of the pre-conference was for the math coach and the intern to discuss her plans for an upcoming math lesson. I was able to sit and observe their interactions and conversation, while manually recording notes. My role was observational. Ms. Dupree observed my post-conference and collected data regarding the types of questions I asked, the feedback I provided, and how my coaching style aligned with the cognitive approach, as outline in Cognitive Coaching: A Foundation for Renaissance Schools (Costa & Garmston, 2002). My goal is to measure what my current style of conference coaching is, and move towards a less directive approach when beneficial to the pre-service teacher. Therefore, I wanted data on my current coaching style and how often I implement the newer strategies. Ms. Dupree’s data collection format was a three column note chart, with headings of “supervisor”, “intern” and “feedback”. She recorded specific quotes, topics and her ideas and interpretation (See below). Both conferences were recorded with the intern’s knowledge and permission. After each observation, Ms. Dupree and I met and debriefed, discussing the collected data and sharing ideas collaboratively. 5. REFLECTION ON THE EXPERIENCE I learned a great deal from this experience. Ms. Dupree conducted her conference using the nondirective approach, as described by Glickman, Gordon and Ross-Gordon (2004). She asked guiding questions and probed the intern’s thinking. “How do you think that will go? How might they make a connection between what they do know and what they don’t know? Will you have enough data to group and assess students?” She did not provide answers for the intern, or share her own particular strategies. Instead, she allowed the pre-service teacher to arrive at her own conclusions based on the line of questioning. The intern did indeed eventually come up with some new strategies and ideas which she worked into her lesson plan, for the benefit of the students. This required patience on the part of the math coach, and a full hour of conversation. Ms. Dupree modeled how a conference can run which allows the PST to take full charge of modifying and adjusting a planned lesson, based on the questions of the coach. One of the most important ideas I took away from the feedback I received from Ms. Dupree on my post-conferencing style was limiting feedback which can influence the intern. Here is my reasoning. If the approach is to let the intern choose their own goals and ideas on how to implement these, then my positive affirmations need to be eliminated. In my mind, I was encouraging students by offering feedback. They are young, inexperienced, and looking for support. I am a nurturing person, and want to offer that support, through praise and positive comments. However, for some interns, this is not necessary and may unintentionally influence their decisions. They may be searching for what they think I want to hear, and will choose their words carefully to this end. If I want to avoid swaying them towards my opinions, and truly let them explore and discover their own solutions, then I need to refrain from overly exuberant responses. Another valuable piece of feedback I received was in how I began the conference, with an outline of expected topics, such as which students mastered the objective, what the evidence of this is, what were areas of strength and focus of the lesson, and what are your future goals. I always begin conferences with this outline, to guide students in what areas I expect them to address. As Ms. Dupree and I spoke after the conference, she suggested I might leave this off in future meetings, and allow the intern to decide on the direction of the conference and what topics will be discussed. This was a new idea for me. “Consider if the intern has something he/she would like to talk about that does not necessarily fit into the “flow” that has been established at the beginning. Is there a way to open the post conference through a more student centered approach?” I can use these discoveries in future conferences with interns who are capable and mature enough to manage their own reflections while serving as a support facilitator and not a directing supervisor. My area of growth is in the knowledge of where my current skills align with cognitive coaching and where I need to focus in the future to more closely align my actions with this type of approach when conferencing. The questions that arose for me are, how will my interns react to the lack of praise and encouragement during a post-conference now that they are used to receiving this? Will they take it as a vote of no confidence from me? Would it be best to explain to them up front that I will be trying a new approach and thus refraining from sharing my own personal ideas and strategies? Which of my interns are ready for this less direct approach, and which ones still need a more guided experience? How else can I measure my current conferencing style? How can I gauge the interns’ perceptions of the changes? How can I gauge the effectiveness of these new strategies? Name: L. Dupree Date: 2/17/15 1:35 Title: observation notes Math content pedagogy 1:42 intern references math goals within lesson 1:38 LD asks intern to choose her area of focus LD- Asks questions to narrow the focus LD -Gets info. on student background 1:46 “Is this their first exposure to line plots?” -LD 1:41 “What would be your goals for your students?" 1:47 Is there a way in your thinking that you might Incorporate if they haven’t had exposure yet? –LD 1:49 “How do you think that will go? How 1:51 LD references possible gap in math knowledge might they make a connection between For students regarding line plot. Seeks intern what they do know, with what they don’t? Input on how to address this possible gap. Is there some kind of activity where you LD provides reinforcement and feedback. could launch the lesson where they might have to compare?” 1:56 LD asks if intern will have enough data to group and assess student learning 1:57 LD asks what type of questions intern will ask, referencing content 1:58 LD probes. “Do you think this is some- thing they will naturally get or…” “How can you get them to really dig in and interpret, to really get them to take more ownership of that creation in the beginning? Just kind of getting you to shift, putting it back on them, so you can facilitate with them to say what’s going on and how they feel about line plots?” 2:00- LD asks about interns plan to gather 2:05 line plot and tally chart discussion -LD Evidence, providing scenarios, create Discussions. Provides think time. 2:13 discusses vocabulary 2:02 Asks about situating new info. 2:06 asks about students who struggle 2:08 asks for questions to solidify thinking 2:10 LD offers support as coach LD- preps intern to be prepared for misconceptions and a back up plan 2:16 details, questioning, explanation, Assessment, data collection Random notes: straight to business Many conversation points are a mix of pedagogy and math content Post Conference Feedback: Supervising Teaching II Observation Assignment Supervisor Intern Feedback Opens the conference with a layout of how the post conference will flow (13 sec.) Consider if the intern has something he/she would like to talk about that does not necessarily fit into the “flow” that has been established at the beginning. Is there a way to open the post conference through a more student centered approach? Possible Opening: As you reflect upon your lesson, what did you discover about ______________( i.e. your teaching or student learning? Supervisor offered the intern the opportunity to start where she would like and go on from there (based on the outline of the post conference given by the supervisor) Intern given the opportunity to speak and talk about her feelings about the lesson (student made a list)
Supervisor validates the intern’s comments about her confidence (“I could see that.”) What evidence could you provide that supports that your confidence has improved? Intern talks about her voice and how the students can pick up on her voice Supervisor makes suggestion that the student can “smell the fear.” Continuing to reflect on the lesson and talked about all the different components of the lesson (assessments, play dough, reading, ect)…expressed her concern about being able to control the students/classroom management Supervisor Intern Feedback Follows up with a question to elaborate on intern’s feelings “How did you feel about that looking back now?” Thought that supervisor was referring to assessment. Clarified that she meant to reflect on classroom management. Student reflected that she felt that she did good with that. Provided evidence:
Responded with feelings about the intern’s performance “I was cheering inside for you when I heard you do that.” Provides additional feedback by informing intern that it makes a big difference when providing expectations to the students. Put it back on the student in question form:
Referenced specific evidence within the lesson about how her expectations helped set the stage for the students’ improved behavior Supervisor Intern Feedback Intern moves the conversation to talk about student learning and the use of specific science vocabulary. Refers specifically to student data Responds with “wow” (supervisor’s feelings)
Felt that she gave chances for students to give feedback. (for her students to ask questions?) Student responded that she doesn’t know why she had forgotten to do that many times before. Supervisor provides a possible rationale for why. (caught up in the moment)
Supervisor Intern Feedback Supervisor revoices intern’s feelings in question form, ”So what I think that I you felt good….” Intern agreed Moved on to an unexpected question in her lesson about the blue moon; intern admitted that she wasn’t prepared for that and suggested that she should have looked at deeper content Confirms intern’s feelings, “You never know what they are going to ask. And it’s good to be prepared.” Asked about a specific teacher move by the intern, “in the video, you stated you would have to check into that.” Intern admits that she didn’t know the answer to the student and that she didn’t want to teach them anything wrong Supervisor confirms that was a correct move Questioned if he intern had a chance to follow up Intern did and explained how she followed up and researched the answer for the students How could you have made that moment more student centered You helped to focus the intern on how she could involve her students in finding the answers their own questions instead of giving the answer Intern suggests a few ideas Elaborated more on the suggestion (students could report to their classmates their findings) Supervisor Intern Feedback Intern expressed that she did not want the students to get behind in their science content because they were moving into a new topic Asked the intern what she would do if she had her own classroom You helped to assist the intern to think of how to apply the strategy in the future even though she may not have been able to in her current placement. Provided feelings about what intern was saying about making more time for the students to explore the topic in her own classroom (“I love that”) Suggested an idea for how the students could share questions that they had (i.e a mailbox) Provided feelings “I like you mailbox idea.” “That’s kind of cute” “Oh my goodness, that is so cute” “That’s cool.” Provided suggestions about the parking lot and asked the intern share idea during seminar. Discussed the challenges of the students watching the video and having to fill out a worksheet at the same time (students were forgetting to fill out the paper). Intern talked about a possible solution (pause the video) You allowed student to talk her way through to a possible solution Intern reflected on second block (not observed); played the video twice so that the students Questioned intern about the effectiveness of playing the video twice Intern reflected and expressed what she wishes had gone differently with 1st block You helped the student to reflect on how to build strategies that she could use in future lessons with the 1st block Supported what intern had stated about implementing different things with 2nd block after teaching the lesson during 1st block Supervisor Intern Feedback Missing components of lesson (real world) only could think of one thing Brought it back to student centered learning “What could you be asking them?” Helped to focus the intern back on her students and their learning Student was trying to think of questions that she could have asked students Suggested that she could think of that when she is in her own classroom and incorporated discussion about the Super Moon that happened recently. Asked intern if she had discussed it with her students Intern talked about missed opportunity and how it could be a resource that she could have used with her students Provided suggestions and feedback about students making connections and how powerful it is for students to make their own connections. Pointed out that we learn best by making our own connections Intern agreed Differentiation was an issue; expressed that it was difficult and identified that as a struggle; talked about areas that she grew in (assessment); she attributed it to science lessons So where are you at with that now? Asked her to reflect on differentiation (no matter the amount) Allowed the intern to think more deeply about the lesson for evidence. Intern began to list a possible strategy and then stated that she didn’t know what else to do. Thinking of differentiation as pulling groups Supervisor Intern Feedback Student again expressed her concern with classroom management and how she was afraid to implement the small group model (differentiation); giving reasons why it works in math but not science Will the intern feel comfortable implementing differentiation strategies if she has concerns about classroom management? Asked for suggestions from supervisor Possible question: What strategies that you have successfully used with math groups that you think that you could try with your science groups? Provides feedback and ask questions about instructional planning class? You are allowing the intern to think about what knowledge she currently has on differentiation before giving suggestions. Provides suggestions and provides feedback “you’re on the right track…” and gives intern some different perspectives to think about when differentiating (shows DI book) Intern thanks supervisor and writes down the name of the book Suggests implementation plan (i.e. start slow, put one thing into place) gives feedback on personal feelings “I liked it.” Ask intern if there was anything else and then responds with, “Let’s talk about student progress” Intern asks, “exactly what do you want to know?” asks for further clarity on what the supervisor was looking for Referred to student learning and talked about how she though that they did (referred to their assessments as learning) Supervisor Intern Feedback Also talked about confusions (and referred to coloring how the students colored in the moon. Stated that they technically were right, and that she knew what they meant) which appeared to be a misconception but she later goes on to talk about how she addressed it with her students Allowed the student to talk through their thinking and their students’ thinking and how she addressed the misconception Stated that it was pretty engaging. Provided the suggestion that the CT could have brought in the flashlight. Possible question, “Instead of telling the students about the flashlight, is there a way that you could have made the connection more real world (or interactive) for the students?” To help push the intern to think of more student centered/problem based learning scenarios for her lessons Confirmed the interns actions that it was good that she addressed the misconception and not allowed the students to go home with the misconception in their minds Talked about observational notes (and gave general feedback, good, this other group got it when using the play dough) Talked about how she will know that students were not focused (it would be reflected in their assessment) Asked the intern what she was going to do with the information Provides an opportunity for the intern to synthesize the findings from the student evidence. Also provides her with opportunity to decide where to go next. Supervisor Intern Feedback Also talked about confusions (and referred to coloring how the students colored in the moon. Stated that they technically were right, and that she knew what they meant) which appeared to be a misconception but she later goes on to talk about how she addressed it with her students Allowed the student to talk through their thinking and their students’ thinking and how she addressed the misconception Stated that it was pretty engaging. Provided the suggestion that the CT could have brought in the flashlight. Possible question, “Instead of telling the students about the flashlight, is there a way that you could have made the connection more real world (or interactive) for the students?” To help push the intern to think of more student centered/problem based learning scenarios for her lessons Confirmed the interns actions that it was good that she addressed the misconception and not allowed the students to go home with the misconception in their minds Talked about observational notes (and gave general feedback, good, this other group got it when using the play dough) Talked about how she will know that students were not focused (it would be reflected in their assessment) Asked the intern what she was going to do with the information Provides an opportunity for the intern to synthesize the findings from the student evidence. Also provides her with opportunity to decide where to go next. Talked about how she used the data (to address misconceptions same day) Supervisor Intern Feedback “That’s nice, get that immediate feedback.” Possible question:
Allows student to set goal or set what she want to focus on for the next observation. Possible question:
Goes on to talk about wanting students to give feedback and not wanting her to be talking all the time Starting to discuss a different area that she would like to work on maybe at another time (amount of student talk during lesson vs. teacher talk during lesson) Talks about where the support can come from (i.e. instructional planning course) Gives intern places to look for potential ideas that she would like to try out (puts the ownership back on her to add to her knowledge base of differentiation) Sketches out a possible plan for the next time (we can discuss in preconference, we will collect that data for you, we will discuss that in our post conference specifically Possible Question:
Gave feedback on how you think the post conference went Supervisor Intern Feedback
Giving the intern an opportunity to provide feedback on how the video assisted with reflection She recorded both lessons and intern was reflective about what she saw Encouraged intern to give herself credit for what she did that was good Discussed uploading video
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