Pennsylvania Institute for Instructional Coaching — A Partnership Between the Annenberg Foundation and the Pennsylvania Department of Education
Coaching Tip of the Month
June 2013 PDF Print E-mail

Well, here it is... June! Many of our instructional coaches from around the state are focusing on tying up loose ends for the year and thinking about how to begin in September. As you reflect on your practice, think about the questions you need to ask yourself as you plan for school opening... Should I assemble teachers into cohort groups to coach so everyone can practice the B, D, A cycle of coaching? How should I recruit teachers to work with me? How can I hit the ground running and build partnerships with staff members who may be very comfortable doing what they have always done in class? How do I remove the stigma of working with teachers where coaching is mandated and not developed through a collaborative process?  How do I support teachers in a part-time position? These are all process questions: how do I engage teachers, support their diverse needs, and provide ongoing professional learning that is tied to CCSS, teacher practice, research, and student outcomes? In planning how to start, however, don't forget the essential questions that influence your actions: 1) What am I doing as a coach to help teachers change and improve their practice; and 2) What am I doing as a coach to help teachers improve student engagement and outcomes?

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May 2013 PDF Print E-mail

From April 22-24, 2013, PIIC hosted the third statewide professional learning opportunity of the school year. Several instructional coaches, mentors, administrators and other school leaders shared the learning and collaborated in ways that provided multiple opportunities to network, offered numerous chances to connect with colleagues in professional conversations, and engaged in a multitude of ways to receive personalized feedback and talk about issues of common interest. Throughout the entire conference, one theme kept emerging... coaches were meeting and working with a variety of teachers, all of whom wanted to practice their craft better and help students improve their skills.

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April 2013 PDF Print E-mail

Ah, April showers bring May flowers... and with the spring-like atmosphere, many students are ready for school to end and their summer vacations to begin. Right along with them are their teachers who need to bring the focus back on content as they begin the testing cycle in schools.

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March 2013 PDF Print E-mail

Your role as a coach supports a robust effort for whole school transformation through the BDA cycle of coaching and the PIIC 4 quadrant framework. The PIIC instructional coaching model is a teacher professional development pathway aligned with the common core and designed to enhance teacher effectiveness and improve instruction. Your work is a structured, yet flexible, way to provide job-embedded professional learning everyday for every teacher and administrator.  You help teachers, administrators, and other school staff identify school-wide goals, refine their skills, enhance their knowledge base, understand and use data, implement innovative instructional strategies, and promote literacy learning across the curriculum.

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February 2013 PDF Print E-mail

Well, here it is February and some coaches continue to be challenged in their quest to support teachers across all content areas and their administrators. They continue to be stretched thin as they try to support classroom teachers in school, district and statewide initiatives. In some cases, they are charged with providing the support to staff members and accepting the responsibility to offer them ongoing professional learning opportunities without the daily flexibility in their schedules to provide the side by side encouragement that is needed to create change.

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