Teacher Leadership Newsletter
March 23, 2015
Why We Need Coaches
"Everyone, no matter how great of a teacher or leader they may be, has a blind spot. They need someone who will show them those areas of weaknesses and strength that they do not see. Just like a coach can help an athlete see areas of weakness and strength, IC's can do the very same thing."
-From It's Time to Stop Ignoring Data by Peter DeWitt
Coaching Principles: Reflection
Having the freedom to consider ideas before adopting them is central to the principle of reflection within coaching. Reflective thinkers by definition have to be free to choose or reject ideas, or they simply are not thinkers at all. Reflection enables teachers to ask profound questions about what, how, why, and who teaches.
As coaches, we often hear "tell me what you think I'm doing wrong." That is not why we are here. We are here to help you reflect on your teaching and focus on the areas you want to improve. We can never know your teaching or your students as well as you do. We believe self-directed learning is always more powerful than learning controlled and directed by an "other."
BONUS
Coaching Topic: Praise and Corrective Feedback
In High-Impact Instruction Jim Knight encourages teachers to "be a witness to the good."
"We need to encourage and reinforce students to act within the boundaries laid out by what we have created and taught. One way to do this is by paying attention to students when they act consistently with expectations. If we let them know that we see them acting appropriately, we increase the amount of appropriate behavior. A teacher's attention is an extremely powerful reinforcer." (page 315)
"If a teacher only attends to students who misbehave, correcting students when they don't act consistently with expectations but failing to comment when they act consistently with expectations, the teacher may unintentionally encourage misbehavior." (page 316)
Are you a "witness to the good" in your class?
Contact a coach if this is an area you would like to explore.
Coaching Schedules
Paula’s Schedule
Monday: Colo
Tuesday: Colo
Wednesday: Zearing
Thursday: Colo
Friday: Zearing
Mike’s Schedule
Monday: Zearing
Tuesday: Colo
Wednesday: Colo
Thursday: Zearing
Friday: Colo
Ricardo’s Schedule
Please look for an email from Ricardo every Wednesday with his schedule.
Becky’s Schedule
Please see Becky’s webpage for her weekly schedule.
Contact Information
Email: bslater@colo-nesco.k12.ia.us
Website: http://www.colo-nesco.k12.ia.us
Location: 919 West Street, Colo, IA, United States
Phone: 641-377-2282