Building Partnerships at Your School

Coaching Teachers to Improve Instruction

Lisa King

Session Objectives

• Understand how adults learn• Reflect on the nature of change• Define the Partnership Principles• Explore ideas for getting teachers on board

Discuss your challenges.

Six Stages of Change

• Pre-contemplation• Contemplation• Preparation• Activation• Maintenance• Termination

Pre-contemplation“What? I don’t see a problem”

• Ignores or is not aware there is a need to change

• Blames others

Contemplation“ I should do something about this”

• Begin to consider why they might need to change

• Weigh losses and gains• May decide they must change• We often get stuck here!

Preparation“In order to change I need too…”

• Make the plans for change• Planning to take action• Go to a workshop, bought a book

Action“Just do It”

• Initiate the change in behavior for which they have been preparing

• Need a system of accountability• Remove every barrier that the teacher might

face

Maintenance

• Doing the change and it is becoming part of the routine, but you still have to think about it

• Don’t overlook this teacher

Termination

• Part of your routine• Automaticity

What stage of change are your teachers in?

Schools engage in self-destructive behavior

Attempt

AttackAbandon

“as the number of changes multiplies, and as the time demands increase, people approach a dysfunction threshold, a point where they lose the capacity to implement changes”

Darryl Conner, Managing at the Speed of Change

Getting Buy-In/ Enrollment

• Build a relationship with the teacher, listen to their goals and challenges they face

• Use active listening, share your stories• Let them know how you can support them

Research to Practice

• Clarify: read, reread, take notes, talk• Synthesize: be able to summarize what is most

important about what you are teaching• Break it down: Manageable Components• See it thought the teachers’ eyes (students’

eyes)• Simplify: make the complex clear through

stories, anecdotes, analogies,ect

Think about something you have learned during the ELA Network this year that you will share with teachers.How can you break it down into manageable components?Simplify it for teachers?

Managing change

• Do I know what is expected of me?• Do I have the materials and equipment I

need?• Is their someone at work who encourages my

development?

Adult learners

• Problem Centered• Results oriented• Self Directed• Often skeptical about new information• Seek education that directly relates to their

needs, timely and appropriate for their situation

Strategies for Teaching Adults

• Use them as resources, provide many opportunities for dialogue

• Clarify their expectations of the learning/session

• Give them some control over the pace• Show how new learning can be applied to

current situations, direct application• Variety of teaching materials

“Begin with the end in mind”

• What do I want teachers to know or be able to do as a result of the session?

• What will start to look different in classrooms tomorrow?

Planning PD

How will I follow up after the session?

• Materials• Observations and feedback• Planning with teachers

Thinking about the strategy you want to share with you teachers, what are some ideas you just heard that would help you get buy-in?