Pennsylvania Institute for Instructional Coaching — A Partnership Between the Annenberg Foundation and the Pennsylvania Department of Education
What is PIIC? PDF Print E-mail

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

Design Principles:

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

What do we teach coaches to do?
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

How do coaches coach?

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

What do mentors do?
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

How do mentors mentor?

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