Mentoring, Coaching & Feedback for Teacher Growth...practice, awareness of their strengths and...

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May 8, 2015

STARTALK student and teacher programs share the goal of effective language teaching and learning. Current and future teachers benefit from a shared understanding of effective practice, awareness of their strengths and areas for growth, and access to peer mentors and instructional coaches. This session will explore the importance of planning systems of support for professional learning and skill development through mentoring, feedback and coaching within STARTALK summer programs.

I can communicate goals for teacher practice

I can visualize a professional culture supportive of teacher growth

I can plan systems of support for teacher growth

“…The single most important determinant of what students learn is what their teachers know. Teacher qualifications, teacher’s knowledge and skills make more difference for student learning than any other single factor.”

(Darling-Hammond, 2009)

Research shows that a teacher's contribution matters

more than anything else within a school. More than class size. More than school funding. More than technology. For decades, most initiatives to improve public education have focused on improving poor performing schools. But studies show that there are bigger differences in teaching quality within schools than there are between schools. This means that in the same school, a child taught by a less effective teacher can receive an education of vastly different quality than a student just down the hall who is taught by a more effective teacher. And the way evaluations are currently conducted don't provide a teacher who is struggling with a roadmap to improve.

Measures of Effective Teaching MET Study 2009

“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” (Albert Einstein)

“The past, present and future walked into a bar. It was tense!”

Think about a colleague whose interactions with you resulted in shifts to your practice.

What do you remember about what they did and its impact on you?

Share your observations and listen for shared elements.

Language proficiency and cultural learning is maximized through standards-based thematic curricula that integrate culture, content and language learning as the foundation for learner-centered classrooms, taught in the target language with authentic materials in which learners prepare for and demonstrate learning through performance assessments.

Standards-based thematic curriculum

Learner-centered classroom Comprehensible target language use Integration of culture, content, and language Culturally and linguistically authentic materials Performance-based assessment STARTALK Principle LookFors - TeacherFolio

Language Proficiency: Interpersonal, Interpretive, and Presentational

Cultures, Linguistics, Literatures, and Concepts from Other Disciplines

Language Acquisition Theories and Knowledge of Students and Their Needs

Integration of Standards in Planning, Classroom Practice, and Use of Instructional Resources

Assessment of Languages and Cultures Professional Development, Advocacy, and Ethics

Preparing, Advancing and Supporting Student Learning Through:

Environment Learning Experience

Collaboration Planning

Performance & Feedback Professionalism

Learning Tools

“Mindset change is not about picking up a few pointers here and there. It’s about seeing things in a new way. When people change to a growth mindset, they change from a judge-and-be-judged framework to a learn-and-help-learn framework. Their commitment is to growth, and growth takes plenty of time, effort and mutual support.” (Carol S. Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success)

Shift from private to community practice.

Coaches focus on improvement of instructional practice for student learning.

Mentors help teachers transition to new professional roles and responsibilities inclusive of, but not limited to, instructional practice.

Both mentors and coaches support and provide feedback to colleagues.

Effective teaching results from awareness of:

what the students know and can do (assessment

evidence) what the standards and curriculum identify as what

they need to know and do how to design and implement instruction to close the

gap in ways that are responsive to student needs

Key to Process: Formative Assessment

What is it we want all students to learn?

How will we know when each student has mastered the essential learning?

How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in learning?

How will we deepen the learning for students who have already mastered the essential knowledge and skills.

Identify

Desired

Results

Assessment

Evidence

Learning

Plan

Gradual Release of Responsibility

Fisher and Frey, 2007

General Observation/Note-Taking Tool (Student/Teacher Behavioral Evidence/Notes) Classroom LookFors & Evidence (STARTALK Principles in Planning, Learning Experience & Assessment) Peer/Self Assessment Observation Tool (Learner-Centered Classroom, Others in Development) Annotated Lesson Plan (Lesson planning - support and review)

Observe: Take notes on what you see and hear teacher and students doing

Describe: Describe what was observed using specific nonjudgmental language

Analyze: Look for patterns giving names to categories and patterns

Predict: Predict the impact of the observed patterns on student learning

Next Steps: Co-plan practices to build upon successes and improve upon areas for development

Adapted from Instructional Rounds in Education: A Network Approach to Improving Teaching and Learning (City, Elmore, Fiarman and Teitel, 2009)

Purpose of feedback is to close the gap between what is taught and what is learned.

Evidence for Feedback ◦ Self-assessment ◦ Student performance data ◦ Formative assessment info ◦ Videos ◦ Observation notes

Individual and Community Process

Effective Feedback ◦ Timely, Specific & Grounded in Evidence

◦ Highlights Strengths

◦ Balance between Message, Value & Relationship

Strategy for Empowerment & Transfer Think about the kind of question to ask

rather than how a problem might be solved.

Clarifies ideas or practice

Communicates positive elements to build upon

Communicates suggestions toward improvement

Invites reflection and collaborative planning

Supports respectful constructive relationships

Pausing Paraphrasing Posing questions Providing data Putting ideas on the table Paying attention to self and others Presuming positive intentions The Adaptive School: Developing and Facilitating Collaborative Groups by Garmston and Wellman, p. 45.

Trustful learning relationships Shared goals and high expectations Focus on student learning Effective feedback & support Time for reflection and planning Opportunities for professional consultation

Collaborative work in service to student learning. Every teacher has students with needs. Every teacher is a learner.

Facilitating Teacher Growth in STARTALK Programs

What has worked? How do you know?

What are the obstacles to growth and what ideas do you have to address those barriers?

Professional Consultancy

Consider how you will measure your program’s success with teacher growth?

Pam Delfosse

STARTALK Team Leader

languageleadership@gmail.com

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