HMS Instructional Coaching Website
Donna Spangler, Ed.D.
Welcome to the Instructional Coaching site for Hershey Middle School in the
Derry Township School District.
Derry Township School District.
Two Vision Questions for Teachers
- When you became a teacher, what were your greatest hopes for the difference you would make in your students' lives?
- What were your greatest hopes for the difference teaching would make inside your own?
What is an Instructional Coach?
An instructional coach is someone whose chief professional responsibility is to bring evidence-based practices into classrooms by working with teachers and other school leaders.
A coach engages teachers in regular, systematic thinking about their teaching practice so they can better meet the diverse needs of their students. It is an established professional practice building teacher expertise, raising student achievement, and advancing school reform.
At its core, coaching is one-on-one and small group professional development. Instructional coaching involves two people: the classroom teacher and the coach. Coaches work one-on-one and in small groups or team with teachers, providing guidance, training, and other resources as needed. Together, they focus on practical strategies for engaging students and improving their learning.
Coaching is high-quality professional development. It is job-embedded, addressing issues teachers face daily in their classrooms. It is ongoing, not a one-shot workshop and its goal is twofold: improved instructional practice and improved student learning.
Coaching is an essential component of an effective professional development program. However, coaching alone, is not a panacea for our education system. Ravitch cautions,"In education, there are no shortcuts, no utopias, and no silver bullets" (Ravitch, 2010, p. 3). The transformation of our educational system will need to happen on many levels from the macro to the micro, from educational policy changes and education funding equity through curricular improvements and interpersonal relationships between people in a school.
But coaching is one piece, and essential piece, of the multilayered approach that will be necessary to change schools. Coaching can build will, skill, knowledge, and capacity because it can go where no other professional development has gone before: into the intellect, behaviors, practices, beliefs, values, and feelings of an educator to access and implement new knowledge, foster conditions for deep reflection and learning, encourage a teacher to take risks to change practices, and engage in powerful conversations where growth is recognized and celebrated.
A coach engages teachers in regular, systematic thinking about their teaching practice so they can better meet the diverse needs of their students. It is an established professional practice building teacher expertise, raising student achievement, and advancing school reform.
At its core, coaching is one-on-one and small group professional development. Instructional coaching involves two people: the classroom teacher and the coach. Coaches work one-on-one and in small groups or team with teachers, providing guidance, training, and other resources as needed. Together, they focus on practical strategies for engaging students and improving their learning.
Coaching is high-quality professional development. It is job-embedded, addressing issues teachers face daily in their classrooms. It is ongoing, not a one-shot workshop and its goal is twofold: improved instructional practice and improved student learning.
Coaching is an essential component of an effective professional development program. However, coaching alone, is not a panacea for our education system. Ravitch cautions,"In education, there are no shortcuts, no utopias, and no silver bullets" (Ravitch, 2010, p. 3). The transformation of our educational system will need to happen on many levels from the macro to the micro, from educational policy changes and education funding equity through curricular improvements and interpersonal relationships between people in a school.
But coaching is one piece, and essential piece, of the multilayered approach that will be necessary to change schools. Coaching can build will, skill, knowledge, and capacity because it can go where no other professional development has gone before: into the intellect, behaviors, practices, beliefs, values, and feelings of an educator to access and implement new knowledge, foster conditions for deep reflection and learning, encourage a teacher to take risks to change practices, and engage in powerful conversations where growth is recognized and celebrated.
What does research say is the biggest "game changer" in improving student learning and student achievement?
Teachers.
Many factors contribute to a student’s academic performance, including individual characteristics and family and neighborhood experiences. But research suggests that, among school-related factors, teachers matter most.
Teachers are making a positive difference.
- Teachers who think differently are making a positive difference.
- Teachers who emphasize building authentic relationships are making a positive difference.
- Teachers who are willing to try new things and "fail forward" are making a positive difference.
- Teachers who are taking ideas and putting them into action are making a positive difference.
- Teachers who are shifting the focus from "engagement" to "empowerment" are making a positive difference.
- Teachers who are sharing with and learning from their professional colleagues in their buildings, their districts, their communities, and with others around the world are making a positive difference.
Teachers matter more to student achievement than any other aspect of schooling.
What are research findings regarding Instructional Coaching?
To date, one of the most thorough and comprehensive studies on coaching was conducted in 2004 by the Annenberg Foundation for Education Reform. It reports a number of findings that offer powerful validation for coaching.
First, the report concluded that effective coaching encouraged collaborative, reflective practice. Coaching allowed teachers to apply their learning more deeply, frequently, and consistently than teachers working alone.
A second finding was that effective, embedded coaching and professional learning promoted positive cultural change. The conditions, behaviors, and practices required by an effective coaching program can positively affect the culture of a school or system by embedding instructional change within broader efforts to improve school-based culture and conditions.
Thirdly, coaching was also linked to teachers' increased in using data to inform practice. Coaching programs guided by data helped create coherence within a school by focusing on strategic areas of need that were suggested by evidence, rather than by individual and sometimes conflicting opinions.
Another key finding was that coaching promoted the implementation of learning and reciprocal accountability. The likelihood of using new learning and sharing responsibility rose when colleagues, guided by a coach, worked together and held each other accountable for improved teaching and learning.
Finally, coaching supported collective leadership across a school system. A critical feature of coaching is that it uses relationships between coaches, principals, and teachers to create conversations that lead to behavioral, pedagogical, and content knowledge change. Effective coaching distributes leadership and keeps the focus on teaching and learning to improve student outcomes.
First, the report concluded that effective coaching encouraged collaborative, reflective practice. Coaching allowed teachers to apply their learning more deeply, frequently, and consistently than teachers working alone.
A second finding was that effective, embedded coaching and professional learning promoted positive cultural change. The conditions, behaviors, and practices required by an effective coaching program can positively affect the culture of a school or system by embedding instructional change within broader efforts to improve school-based culture and conditions.
Thirdly, coaching was also linked to teachers' increased in using data to inform practice. Coaching programs guided by data helped create coherence within a school by focusing on strategic areas of need that were suggested by evidence, rather than by individual and sometimes conflicting opinions.
Another key finding was that coaching promoted the implementation of learning and reciprocal accountability. The likelihood of using new learning and sharing responsibility rose when colleagues, guided by a coach, worked together and held each other accountable for improved teaching and learning.
Finally, coaching supported collective leadership across a school system. A critical feature of coaching is that it uses relationships between coaches, principals, and teachers to create conversations that lead to behavioral, pedagogical, and content knowledge change. Effective coaching distributes leadership and keeps the focus on teaching and learning to improve student outcomes.
You have something inside of you that no one else has. You are unique. You have a set of experiences; a set of beliefs; and, a set of skills and talents that no one else can bring to the world. Your job is not to engage in self-judgment and decide whether that is useful or not; whether that is compelling or not; or, whether that is valuable or not.
Your job is to share that with the world.
Your job is to share that with the world.
References
Annenberg Foundation for Education Reform. "Instructional Coaching: Professional Development Strategies that Improve Education." Providence, RI: Brown University,
2004. Retrieved from http://annenberginstitute.org/sites/default/files/product/270/files/InstructionalCoaching.pdf
Ravitch, D. The Life and Death of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education. New York: Basic Books, 2010.
Annenberg Foundation for Education Reform. "Instructional Coaching: Professional Development Strategies that Improve Education." Providence, RI: Brown University,
2004. Retrieved from http://annenberginstitute.org/sites/default/files/product/270/files/InstructionalCoaching.pdf
Ravitch, D. The Life and Death of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education. New York: Basic Books, 2010.