#BirdvilleBlended 4/10/17
spotlights, resources, & celebrations from Birdville Blended
Animal Farm, Fahrenheit 451, persuasion, propaganda, and National Poetry Month celebrations all could be found in 9th grade ELA classrooms this week. Plans for blended summer professional development are underway, and onboarding for 8th and 10th teachers and coaches continues in the Year 2 Canvas course and PLC work with deans. Year 2 campus-specific plans are being finalized this week with principals, CA Group, and the RBL team.
TNTP Blended Core Rubric Observation & Coaching Cycle
Part of the Raising Blended Learners support for the first year of implementation was a year-long training and practice of a blended coaching model to better support blended teachers in this work. TNTP revised their national teaching rubric to add in elements unique to blended classrooms (mostly Student Agency) and introduced the TNTP Blended Core Rubric in the fall to the BISD RBL team and later to the principals and district leaders in San Antonio at the Inacol conference. TNTP's Jeff Wilson has provided two virtual trainings and two face-to-face trainings for the coaches and deans this spring, at HHS and at RHS. He will return for a final coaching training visit in May. During the last 6-weeks, academic deans and Tosh will be practicing the TNTP observation/coaching cycle with every 9th grade RBL teacher at least once.
With the multitude of rubrics out there, it is important for teachers to know that the TNTP Blended Core Rubric is not evaluative at all, and that it is strictly a tool for coaches/deans to use to be able to "hone-in" on a specific "core teacher skill" to discuss with the teacher during the coaching session. It also provides a way for the teacher and coach to discuss the lesson as a whole and not all of the other factors that can be observed in a classroom.
What to Expect: TNTP Observation & Coaching Cycle
20-30 minute classroom observation (scheduled or non-scheduled, coordinate with your dean/coach)
15-20 minute coaching session Coach will follow a coaching formula for efficiency and clarity.
Click here to see the Coaching Conversation Guide.
Clear and specific steps for the coaching session to ensure that the coaching time is maximized and actions are clear for the teacher.