The ACA Forum
Issue 1, November 2018
Welcome!
Hi everyone! Welcome to our first edition of The ACA Forum! We are looking forward to continuing our work with our UF Lastinger Certified Coaches. Our newsletters will have a variety of information, including professional reading, opportunities for self-reflection, tips for coaching, and more! We also want to spotlight the great work you are doing, using the tenets learned in the Advanced Coaching Academy. We hope you enjoy our first newsletter!
ACA Certified Coaches - 2017
ACA Certified Coaches - 2018
What Good Coaches Do
In the article What Good Coaches Do, Jim Knight describes seven partnership principles for coaches to consider when working with teachers. As coaches, we must always develop a relationship of mutual trust and respect with the teacher we are supporting, and incorporating these seven partnership principles will help strengthen this relationship.
The seven partnership principles include:
- Equality
- Choice
- Voice
- Reflection
- Dialogue
- Praxis
- Reciprocity
Please click below to access and read What Good Coaches Do. As you do so, self-reflect and consider which partnership principle is your strength and which partnership principle is an area of growth. After reading, please submit your responses in the Google form. *Be sure you are logged into your OCPS Google account to submit your response.*
Coach Spotlight
How are you incorporating what you learned in the Advanced Coaching Academy in your work? We want to feature YOU in our next newsletter! Please send Claire Steele an email by November 26th if you are interested in being featured in our Coach Spotlight for the December newsletter.
We recently had the opportunity to present at the FASD/Learning Forward Florida conference on the power and potential of instructional data and data displays to help teachers renew, reflect, and refine their instruction.
Kwani, Claire, and Dr. Dorene Ross from UF
Coaching Tips - Focus Questions
This month, our focus is on creating a strong focus question. During the teacher interview, the coach must help the teacher identify a focus. The focus question must be mutually determined by both the coach and the teacher. While building a relationship of mutual trust and respect is imperative, it is essential that you leave the teacher interview with a solid focus question depending on what the teacher has identified as their strengths and opportunities for growth. When creating a data display, the focus question should always be found at the top.
A focus question must always link teacher instructional practice to student outcome.
A strong focus question requires that the coach and teacher share a common understanding of the meaning of all key terms in the focus question. For example, if the teacher says engagement, it is important for the coach and teacher to have a conversation about engagement. Does this mean all students are actively engaged? Does this mean students are actively participating? Student engagement and participation are not the same thing and the coach and teacher must be on the same page, prior to data collection.
Examples of Strong Focus Questions
- How am I redirecting students to re-engage them in the lesson?
- How do I highlight critical content so students know what is important?
- How do my rules and procedures impact student behavior?
- How am I asking questions to help student access prior knowledge?
Thank you for reading the first edition of The ACA Forum! We value your feedback. If there is anything you would like to read in a future edition, please reach out to us!
Kwani Woods
Senior Administrator, Instructional Development
Professional Learning Department
Email: kwani.woods@ocps.net
Location: 445 West Amelia Street, Orlando, FL, USA
Twitter: @kwani_woods
Claire Steele
Program Specialist, Instructional Development
Professional Learning Department
Email: claire.steele@ocps.net
Location: 445 West Amelia Street, Orlando, FL, USA
Twitter: @clairesteele24