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The Value of Video

What Is Instructional Coaching?


     For me, the word "coach" calls to mind the image of a football coach. I guess that is because we live in the South where our football coaches are paid big bucks to produce winning teams. Sports coaches analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the individuals and the team as a whole in order to develop a plan of action that can be implemented to get that big win. Their playbooks contain both tried and true plays that have worked in the past. Coaches also develop new plays in response to how their team is performing. Instructional coaching is very much the same, but also has several differences.

                                             Photo by Akash Rai on Unsplash

     When I first began reading about the process of instructional coaching, I found it interesting to learn about the goals of an instructional coach. "Instructional coaches partner with teachers to help them improve teaching and learning so students become more successful" (Knight, 2018, p. 2). Isn't that our ultimate goal as educators? We want to hone our teaching skills in order to help our students reach their full potential. Teachers can do that when they partner with an instructional coach. Working with an instructional coach is NOT an evaluative process, but rather an opportunity for professional growth (Frommert, 2021).

What Are The Coaching Styles?

There are three different styles of coaching:
  • Facilitative
  • Directive
  • Dialogical


     Although each of these styles has its place, the style that I feel to be the most beneficial is the dialogical coaching style. With this style, the coach has valuable information to share with the teacher for improvement, but it is shared through collaboration. The teacher is the decision maker, and the coach is there to ask questions and help the teacher make decisions that will lead to goal attainment. "A dialogical coach embraces inquiry, asking questions that empower the collaborating teacher to identify goals, strategies, and adaptations that will have an unmistakable impact on students' achievement and well-being" (Knight, 2018, p. 13). This type of coach will walk beside you as you work towards identifying and reaching goals.

How Can Technology Foster Improvement?


     In order to truly make an impact, both the instructional coach and teacher must have a clear picture of reality (Knight, 2018). One of the most effective ways to get that clear picture is through the use of video recordings. Video is powerful because "it provides an objective perspective on a lesson" (Knight, 2018, p. 29). It is also a great tool because it is so accessible. 

     When I was a student in the education program we were required to record several lessons as part of our practicum. I remember using a video camera that had tapes. My, how things have changed! I now have access to a video camera built right into my phone.

     I can personally attest to how powerful a video recording of a lesson can be. I recently went through National Board Certification. As part of the process I had to record a lesson. I watched that lesson over and over, each time with a different lens. The first time I watched it, I was extremely critical of how I looked and sounded. I also noticed that I talk with my hands a lot! After I got over all of that, I was able to watch the video for both teaching moves and for what the students were doing. With each viewing, I noticed new things, and also found that I was able to identify both areas for improvement, but also areas of strength.

     In addition to video recording, "one powerful way to get a clear picture of reality in a classroom is to ask the students for their opinions about what they are experiencing" (Knight, 2018, p. 40). Technology tools can be utilized to gather information from students. Some examples of this could be through digital writing prompts, surveys and questionnaires, or exit tickets. Even younger students can  utilize technology to give their input by using picture symbols to communicate, like emojis.

     Reviewing student work is another powerful tool. Doing so helps the teacher and instructional coach get a clear picture of the work being done by the students (Knight, 2018). Technology tools can be helpful during this process for organization and identifying trends, such as charts and spreadsheets. Color coding, and if/then conditional formatting can make interpreting the data easier. These documents can also be shared between the instructional coach and teacher so they can collaborate on the project. 

     I worked with our AMSTI specialist to do just this. She helped me analyze some student work samples and sort them based on specific criteria related to multiplicative characteristics. Then we recorded where each student's work fell in the continuum.  After utilizing Google Forms, I can see how this could be a great tool for an application like the one I described. The results from the form can be used to populate a Google Sheet which has some pretty great features for sorting and coding data.

     Powerful professional development can occur when a teacher is willing to partner with an instruction coach to gather evidence through video, student input, and analysis of student work. Teachers who work with instructional coaches can grow as educators and see the benefits in student engagement and performance (Frommert, 2021).

References

Frommert, C. (2021, March 15). 4 ways to maximize the benefit of having an instructional coach. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/4-ways-maximize-benefit-having-instructional-coach

Instructional Coaching Group. (2018, November 28). Instructional coaching. 

Knight, J. (2018). The impact cycle: What instructional coaches should do to foster powerful improvements in teaching. Corwin.

Comments

  1. Brittanni BrownOctober 1, 2021 at 7:46 PM

    Hi Valerie,
    I thought the most profound statement from your blog was where you mentioned how powerful professional development can occur if the teacher is a willing participate with an instructional coach. I have seen too many times where teachers do not see the value in professional development because they are not invested. This is where I think Knight's (2018) partnership approach to coaching is so valuable. It helps foster positive working relationships between the coach and teacher, and Knight (2018) even mentioned it builds trust. Knight (2018) stated that the purpose of coaching is to foster improvement. If teachers trust their instructional coach, they will in turn be more likely to see the benefit of offered or presented professional development which will hopefully lend itself to improvement.

    References
    Brown, A., & Green, T. (2020). The Essentials of Instructional Design: Connecting Fundamental Principles with Process and Practice. Fourth Edition.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittanni BrownOctober 1, 2021 at 7:58 PM

      I'm sorry. I put the wrong reference.
      Knight, J. (2018). The impact cycle: What instructional coaches should do to foster powerful improvements in teaching. Corwin.

      Delete

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