Pennsylvania Institute for Instructional Coaching — A Partnership Between the Annenberg Foundation and the Pennsylvania Department of Education
PIIC Welcomes Participants to 2013 with January PLO PDF Print E-mail
Wednesday, 23 January 2013 15:53

PIIC held its second Professional Learning Opportunity (PLO) of the school year from January 7-9, 2013 at the Penn Stater Conference Center in State College, PA. The PLO nearly doubled in attendance from October with 138 participants from 18 PIIC-participating IUs across the state.

After a brief introduction by PIIC Executive Director Ellen Eisenberg, participants engaged in conversations with their fellow coaches, mentors, and Regional Mentor Coordinators (RMC).  The format of the table talk session afforded participants the opportunity to network with others with whom they don't usually work and created networking opportunities for everyone involved.

Breakout sessions immediately followed the table talk conversation. Participants preselected one of the following breakout sessions via an online registration form: Coaching 101: PIIC Instructional Coaching Model, the BDA Cycle and the 4 Quadrant Framework, facilitated by Ellen Eisenberg; The Coaches' Role in Using Data to Inform Practice and Improve Instruction: Accessing and Analyzing Student Achievement and Growth Data, facilitated by IU PIIC Mentors Evelyn Wassel and Cindy Shaffer; Coaching to the Core: How Coaches Work 1-on-1 to Support Implementation of PA Common Core Math, facilitated by IU PIIC Mentors Pam Wolff, Missy Petrilak, and Terri Lewis; Helping Coaches Use Formative Assessments to Make Classroom Decisions, facilitated by IU PIIC Mentors Bethann McCain, Brandy Sheneman, and Diane Hubona; Digital Tools and the Common Core: The Coaches' Role in Supporting the Strategic Use of Technology, facilitated by IU PIIC Mentors Stevie Kline and Lori Ceremuga; and Coaching the Adult Learner, facilitated by IU 22 PIIC Mentor Carol Adams and RMCs Virginia Glatzer and Tom Sebastian.

Day 1 concluded with Educator Effectiveness Updates, a general session facilitated by Theresa Lynn Barnaby, the director of the Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality from The Pennsylvania Department of Education. The session included the most current information on Educator Effectiveness and fielded questions from participants.

Day 2 began with a brief agenda review. Participants then rotated to their preselected breakout sessions, including: Literacy: Building a Foundation through PLN, facilitated by Penn Literacy Network (PLN) Director Joe Ginotti; Coaching to the Core: How Coaches work 1-on-1 to Support Implementation of PA Common Core Reading, facilitated by IU PIIC Mentors Pam Wolff, Missy Petrilak, Mike Derman, and Terri Lewis; Supporting Rigorous Mathematics Instruction Aligned to the Common Core, facilitated by RMC Gen Battisto and IU PIIC Mentors Nancy Neusbaum and Loriann Ruddy; Digital Tools and the Common Core: The Coaches' Role in Supporting the Strategic Use of Technology, facilitated by IU PIIC Mentors Stevie Kline and Lori Ceremuga; Making Connections: Instructional Coaching, Literacy, and Digital Learning – PIIC's Online Course for Coaches, facilitated by RMC Virginia Glatzer and IU PIIC Mentor Carol Adams; and Coaching to Distinguished: Unpacking the Components of Educator Effectiveness, facilitated by IU PIIC Mentors Jeremy Gabborin and Christina Steinbacher-Reed.

The group reconvened for Joe Ginotti's general session, Building the Coaching and Literacy Connection: Practical Ways to Connect Coaching and Literacy Across Content Areas, before moving into groups again for the Carousel of Learning session, a mini "Speed Dating" activity. Participants chose 3 of 4 areas of study (Science, Math, Social Studies, and ELA) to address two main questions with their colleagues: What are examples of effective small group activities in which you have participated or have put into practice with teachers related to this content area? How do you use data (formative, summative, course, or other) in your work with teachers to help them improve their instruction in this content area? Participants spent 20 minutes addressing these questions with colleagues before rotating to their next topic. 

Participants finished the day in their IU teams sharing ways to apply their newly acquired strategies in their work with teachers.

The final day of the PLO began with preselected breakout sessions following a short agenda review. Some sessions offered were repeated from the first two days of the conference. Available sessions included: The Coaches' Role in Using Data to Inform Practice and Improve Instruction: Accessing and Analyzing Student Achievement and Growth Data, facilitated by IU PIIC Mentors Evelyn Wassel and Cindy Shaffer; Helping Coaches Use Formative Assessments to make Classroom Decisions, facilitated by IU PIIC Mentors Brandy Sheneman, Diane Hubona, and Bethann McCain; Instructional Learning Visits: How, Why, When? How Coaches Lead the Process, facilitated by PIIC Associate Director Bruce Eisenberg and Education Consultant Skip McCann; Coaching the Adult Learner, facilitated by RMCs Tom Sebastian and Virginia Glatzer, and IU PIIC Mentor Carol Adams; Coaching to Distinguished: Unpacking the Components of Educator Effectiveness, facilitated by IU PIIC Mentors Jeremy Gabborin and Christina Steinbacher-Reed; and Coaching 102 Deepening the Cycle of Instructional Coaching, facilitated by PIIC Executive Director Ellen Eisenberg. Breakout sessions were followed with a Birds of a Feather activity, a session where topics evolve throughout the course of the PLO and participants continue their conversations with colleagues honoring their voice and choice.

Feedback from the PLO was positive:

"Sessions lead by PIIC mentors are wonderful examples of PD at its best."
-District Administrator

"The greatest gift the PIIC conference offered me was the opportunity to network with other coaches.  From the very beginning to the very end, I was able to learn what was working in other parts of the state and with other coaches.  I now have contacts to further the discussions on my own time and within the PIIC framework.  I have new book recommendations, new strategies to try, and new friends for further collaborating. All of that is very exciting!"
-Full-Time Instructional Coach

"This is a true learning community. I always feel supported and believe that my coaches feel supported, as well. The structure of the PLO provided opportunities for sharing, learning, and problem-solving."
-IU PIIC Mentor

You can read more feedback from this event by accessing the Testimonials page. The agenda from this event is available on our Past Professional Learning Opportunities page. You can also find photos from this event in our PIIC Photo Gallery. Our next PIIC Professional Learning Opportunity will be April 22-24, 2013 at The Penn Stater Conference Center in State College, PA. Details can be found on our Events page.