PIIC's Mission: To support instructional coaching which helps teachers strengthen instructional practice, increase student engagement, and improve student learning.
Vision: PIIC works to build teacher capacity as a means of increasing student engagement and improving student achievement.
PIIC defines an instructional coach as someone whose chief professional responsibility is to bring evidence-based practices into classrooms by working with teachers and other school leaders.
PIIC’s model of effective coaching to assist teachers in classrooms is based upon these core elements:
- PIIC advocates one-on-one and small group support for teachers, coaches, and school leaders using the BDA cycle of consultation
- PIIC focuses on collecting, analyzing, and using data to identify student needs, assess changes in classroom instructional practice, and measure student progress
- PIIC emphasizes the use of evidence-based literacy practices and research based instructional techniques
- PIIC supports reflective and non-evaluative practices
One-on-one and small group instructional coaching
- School-based
- Mutually supportive and confidential
- Collaborative problem solving and partnership building
- Supported by a mentor, the “coach’s coach”
Evidence-based literacy practices and instructional techniques
- Implementation across all content areas
- Ongoing job-embedded professional development
- Establishment of professional learning communities (study groups)
- Tied to standards, research, best practices, and student achievement
Coaches work with teachers, school leaders, other coaches and mentors to:
- Identify strategies for working with adult learners
- Help teachers re-focus time on task
- Co-teach, model, demonstrate units of study with teachers
- Co-facilitate school wide/district/IU wide professional learning
- Foster cross district/cross IU visitations
- Engage in peer coaching
- Plan and facilitate study groups
Coaches work one-on-one, in small groups, and in whole faculty groups in schools, districts, and intermediate units with teachers and school leaders to implement the PIIC model around:
- Using the B, D, A (before, during, after) cycle of planning, assessment and reflection
- Literacy based strategies from the PLN framework and other evidence-based literacy frameworks
- Using formative and summative assessments to guide classroom instruction
- Designing strategies for increasing student engagement and improving student achievement
- Promoting an understanding of the PA Standards-Aligned System, 21st century skills and the resiliency approach to student learning
- The partnership principles and the gradual release of responsibility
Mentors work one-on-one and in small groups with coaches and school leaders to:
- Mentors provide one-on-one and “over the shoulder” support to coaches and other school leaders
- Mentors help all school stakeholders become members of communities of learning and practice
- Mentors help coaches plan and facilitate professional learning opportunities for their schools
- Mentors review documentation of coaching support to facilitate reflective practices and collaborative planning
- Mentors help coaches re-negotiate relationships with their peers
- Mentors and coaches coordinate interdisciplinary classroom and cross school/district visitations
Mentors work one-on-one and in small or large groups to implement the PIIC core elements and to model these elements with coaches and school leaders around:
- Implementing the B, D, A (before, during, after) cycle of planning, assessment and reflection for coaches when working with teachers
- Integrating literacy based strategies from the PLN framework and other evidence-based literacy frameworks into curricula
- Using formative and summative assessments to guide classroom instruction
- Helping coaches collaborate with teachers and design strategies for increasing student engagement and improving student achievement
- Helping coaches promote an understanding of the PA Standards-Aligned System, 21st century skills and the resiliency approach to student learning through the coaching cycle of planning, visiting, and debriefing with teachers
- Incorporating the partnership principles and work towards the gradual release of responsibility
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