The Art of Coaching (Introduction)

I started to read a book about coaching about 2 years ago. Having been an instructional technology coach for an untold number of years, it seemed a bit redundant or late for reading a book of this nature. However, despite my experience, I find this book refreshing in that it puts ideas I have into a structured and cogent manner. I feel as if I have a way to describe my experiences in order to leverage them AND GROW.

The book is The Art of Coaching: Effective Strategies for School Transformation by Elena Aguilar.

I find reading other opinions of this book to be helpful. So, as I read it (and reread portions of it), I will blog my thoughts and experiences with the topics.

Introduction:

In the beginning of the text, Elena discusses her motivations for writing this book. She is correct in that there are not many books on the subject. She didn't have anything when she started and she had to learn it through experience. YES, I have had the same experience. I don't think that I am the worse for it, however. Learning though experience emblazons those lessons even deeper than if I had read it in a book. Heck, I may even read something and not believe it UNTIL I EXPERIENCE it. I would vouch that others are like me. But reading about it in hindsight (reflect) can help us move forward. I appreciate her introduction, explaining the source for her expertise.

I really like this part, "This book is an attempt to make what goes on in an effective coach's mind visible - to make a coach's thoughts, beliefs, knowledge, core values, and feelings explicit so that they can be replacated by others. Coaching is an art, and just as the process of producing a piece of art can be broken down, so can coaching." (Introduction).  It is a complex dance of working with the specialty, the teachers (in all respects), and the visions and practices of a school district.

My role has evolved from "break and fix", "click and point" to "what does LEARNING mean"? ecause in the end, the technology is secondary. Student and teachers and LEARNERS is my current focus. But I didn't come to this realization my first year. I have seen many technology and learning (and sometimes they were separate things) come and go. What do they say? Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it. I think my point is that there are many things that go through an experienced coach's mind whenever anything is brought up. This book appears to break down the thoughts that should be going through an effective coach's mind.

She focuses on Coaching for Transformation. Particularly, "..transformation of the adults with whom I work, the institutions in which they work, the lives of the children and communities they serve, and our society as a whole." These are lofty goals and well worth pursuing. Looking at the big picture may be difficult at first for new coaches but it's ultimately the lens they need to have. Without these end goals in mind, it is difficult to find meaning in coaching.  When I speak to teachers, especially when a "new educational initiative" has been unveiled, I tend to hear complaints that the new thing is just a fad and another thing being foisted upon them. Having a larger vision allows a coach (and teacher) to put things in perspective and to gauge their journey toward the educational goal.

Elena addresses equity as a goal for transformational coaching when she explains that "equity means that every child gets what he or she needs in our schools -every child, regardless of where she comes from, what she looks like, who her parents are, what her temperament is, or what she shows up knowing or not knowing." There is a lot in this statement and can alone guide a coach in their approach to working with teachers. But she goes onto say something equally profound, "Until we address the social, emotional, and learning needs of educators, we won't be able to transform the experience for students". I think that's where coaches come in.

But coaching alone will not transform a school. Coaching in a vacuum won't work. Certain conditions must be established in an educational context in order for it to be effective. (Leadership, culture, etc). Also, educational funding and educational policy and reform efforts affect this.  When student standardized test scores are factored into their yearly evaluations, teachers are less apt to try something new as it appears risky toward their teaching careers.  I hear the refrain, "I have to cover the curriculum" at every turn. Instead of addressing learning gaps, teachers are often more concerned about "covering the curriculum".

Elena breaks down that I will find in her book:
Part One - Foundations of Coaching - for those new to the field
Part Two - Establishing Coaching with a Client - how to build trust, get to know a client, determine a coaching focus
Part Three - The Coaching Dance - the listening, questioning, conversational approaches with common challenges
Part Four - Professional Development for Coaches - (Wow, what a concept!) - proposes some structures and activities that coaches can engage in either independently or in teams.

I look forward to sharing my thoughts on this book! Here we go!

Moodle Online Course Reflections

After three weeks of the Moodle Basics Online course, I have made a few observations.

1. Only a few teachers attended the optional in person kick-off session that was offered. Since it is an online course, this is not unusual. However, the theory was that this session would bring a sense of community to the participants that attended. Only one of the participants that attended actually is following through on the course so far.
2. The teachers really seemed to enjoy the forum regarding how they envision using Moodle in their classrooms. 
3. While a number of the teachers needed a beginner's class to Moodle, some wanted something quite more advanced. In fact, I received a request to learn how to create screencasts. 
4. Some content I would change:
1. Take out the tutorial about adding widgets/Voki
2. Add optional content about creating screencasts for course
3. Take out instruction for participants to hide their course.
5. I am asking participants to give me their feedback about the course in the form of a survey. This will help me make more modifications on how this course is run again.

I'm looking for ways to have teachers share their module with the other teachers at their school. I am considering creating a video .

Introducing Prezi to Ninth Graders

I was asked to help some ninth grade students learn a new presentation tool, Prezi.
http://www.prezi.com

Prezi always seemed a bit - strange to me. Sure, it is a presentation tool, but the concept of zooming in and out was not quite clicking with me.

I went to the site to see their support and tutorials. I was in luck -- they have wonderful basic tutorials to get started on http://prezi.com/explore/staff-picks/.

Your Very First Prezi is a great way to learn the tool. It is tagged as public and reusable, so when you click on the name, you will see a new page with a button to Copy the Prezi.

You need to enter edit mode when opening the copy of the prezi to view the tutorial properly and make changes.

They cover concepts such as: zooming aspect of the tool to focus on parts of the big picture, adding text, manipulating and adding images, adding frames and changing the path of the presentation.

After running through the tutorial with the students, I directed the kids to create a new Prezi and choose one of the templates.

So, from start to finish, here was the sequence:

1. Create Prezi account (free) at www.prezi.com.
2. Once in, go to Explore topic. 
3. Then click on Staff category on next page.
4. Then scroll down to the Learning to Use Prezi category.
5. Select My Very First Prezi.
6. Click on Make a Copy.
7. This will take you back to My Prezis. Hover over the Copy of My Very First Prezi and click on the Edit button.
8. Run through each slide (follow directions on Prezi).
9. Close out at the end to go back to My Prezis.
10. Create a New Prezi and then select from a template to start with own individual prezi.

I think for some groups, going through each one as a class was not very exciting. Perhaps in the future, I will make it a small group activity instead of a large group activity.

OR, perhaps creating a sample prezi with the kids, showing them the tools along the way would be helpful.