Vision of Coaching
Vision of Coaching
The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement’s vision of coaching involves developing and supporting highly effective teachers. Coaching cultivates environments to inspire, support, challenge and celebrate ALL teachers. GOSA deems coaching to be an inroad to improving teaching and learning. GOSA believes coaches should: be trained how to coach; use the language of coaching; and have built-in support structures that will foster their growth. It is important to note that coaches are developing their own knowledge and skills while they are supporting teachers.
A prerequisite for coaching teachers is establishing trust in order to begin the heavy lifting of supporting instruction. Coaches should be non-evaluative and non-judgmental in order to not influence what the educator would like to accomplish within their teaching practice. Great coaching involves skillful inquiry and challenging conversations.
The coach’s work with all teachers must be grounded in standards (i.e. Danielson’s Framework for Teachers, New Teacher Center’s Professional Teaching Standards, National Board Professional Teaching Standards, academic standards and respective state standards). GOSA suggests several tools be included in every coach’s toolkit.
- Weekly log used to track the work day
- Protocols for engaging in discussion about instructional practices, analyzing data, lesson planning and providing feedback
- Meeting tools inclusive of agenda format, meeting planning form, minutes format and template for creating norms
- Characteristics of effective coaches
- Sample stems from coaching language (i.e. clarifying, probing, mediational, etc.)
- Goal setting template and action plan template
GOSA understands that exemplary coaches must establish and maintain trust and be intuitive with their ability to know what the teacher needs. Therefore, the goal of the Reading Mentors Program: A Language and Literacy Partnership is to ensure all Language and Literacy Specialists (LLSs) have the ability to develop autonomous, efficacious teachers, thus positively impacting student learning.