Coaching Journal

Larrece Groover

1st Session: February 19th

Strategies:

Our initial coaching session concentrated on a one to one interview. The interview

allowed me to expand on the teacher’s responses to the surveys as well as found out what the

teacher felt was the most important need for her classroom. Knight (2007) stated one-to-one

interviews help achieve three goals all of which I felt were necessary in order to move forward

with the coaching sessions (90). The interview provided me the opportunity to build a

relationship, gather information specific to their individual challenge in the classroom, and

explain the partnership philosophy approach to coaching.

The teacher identified the main concern for her classroom was to be more effective with

using technology in the classroom through projects and Canvas which is our county learning

management system. The classroom has one-to-one chromebooks and several Ipads however the

teacher feels as if she is not able to create content and assignments effectively on Canvas.

Skill and Affective Changes:

The teacher is very willing to make changes to implement additional technology in the

classroom. I believe the reason the coaching will be effective because the teacher who was

identified is receptive to change. The teacher realizes her strengths relating to content and

weaknesses relating to technology integration so she is eager to develop her technology skills.

The goal for our next session is to work on creating content within Canvas.

Reflection on Challenges and Solution:

I felt this session went well because it allowed me to understand the specific need. I

found the surveys provided good information however there were contradictions. The surveys
showed a confident teacher who was effectively implementing technology well into the

classroom while the interview showed a teacher who felt she was not adequately using Canvas as

well as specific concerns and needs to integrate technology into the classroom.

2nd Session: February 26th

Strategies:

The focus during this coaching session was to explain and model how to create

assignments and set up assignments for her 4th grade Social Studies class. The students already

take pencil/paper notes each week however the time it takes to successfully get the information

copied down as well as the students losing the notes has been an issue. We discussed several

options for creating the assignment so they took take digital notes which will speed up the

lessons allowing the teacher to cover more concepts. The goal of the notes will provide the

students a digital study guide and provide information they can revisit when they complete their

end of the unit projects.

As I prepared for the session I used the five tactics for translating research into practice

Knight (2007) describes (103). Based on our previous session we decided on her specific goal so

I read the information relating to the specific assignments she could create. I clarified the steps

and broke them down so they were easier for the teacher to understand. The teacher explained

how she needed to “do” and not watch so I walked her through the steps of creating the

assignment. The session allowed me to provide a simplified process for the teacher to create the

assignments. The teacher is not confident in her abilities when using the learning management

system and finds it frustrating. By using the tactics, I was able to enhance my explanations

which led to her feeling confident to create a few more assignments on her own.
 As we concluded the session we reviewed the steps and setup a time for me to observe

her classroom when she would be using the newly created assignment in the class. We also

discussed an After-Action report template for the observation.

Skill and Affective Changes:

The teacher was able to successfully create the assignments at the conclusion of the

lesson. She was able to create a couple of assignments independently while we were together as

well as a couple of assignments later in the week. I believe the teacher was able to effectively

create the assignments because I was able to explain the procedures using the 5 tactics described

in the text and modeled the process. The teacher became confident through the modeling so she

could then independently develop the assignments.

Reflection on Challenges and Solution:

The coaching session was successful. I did start initially with another direction for my

coaching. I planned an independent project for the teacher to create but after assessing the time

frame for the unit we determined it would just add more stress to the students and teacher which

was not the goal. I did find a connection with the five tactics for translating research to

translating information of the learning management system for the teachers. Time is limited so

helping the teacher simplify the process was necessary. The tactics provided a framework so I

could go into the session feeling confident and prepared.

3rd Session: March 9th

Strategies:

The focus of the coaching session was to review the classroom observation of the teacher

using Canvas to take digital notes as well as discuss additional goals for the teacher relating to

Canvas and integrating technology. We discussed what technology was used and how the
assignment incorporated technology. We also discussed the difficulties during the lesson and

how they were resolved as well as whether they interrupted the lesson.

As the session progressed we focused on collaborating about the teacher’s needs. By

employing communication skills using the partnership philosophy as Knight (2007) describes we

were able to engage in dialogue which benefited the coaching experience (127). As I listened to

the teacher’s immediate concerns, I was able to provide troubleshooting support for a program

she had used for a project for the students.

We concluded the session by discussing the goals for the next coaching session. The

focus would be on importing and exporting assignments on Canvas as well as integrating

additional programs into the Canvas platform.

Skill and Affective Changes:

The coaching session allowed the teacher to develop a deeper understanding of how to

troubleshoot problems more quickly within two programs. The observation allowed me to

provide some troubleshooting ideas so she could remedy the problem quicker and get the lesson

on track. The teacher lacks confidence when using Canvas and programs partially because there

is always the fear something might not work. I think she is developing a greater confidence

because she describes additional implementation of newly created assignments for her 5th grade

Social Studies class which was not our goal.

Reflection on Challenges and Solution:

I feel like the coaching session was successful. I had to adapt my initial plan for the

session due to an immediate need the teacher had relating to troubleshooting the technology she

was using. As Knight (2007) explains it is important for IC’s to continually encourage each
teacher to develop which I think includes listening to the teacher’s needs and quickly adjusting

during the coaching (208).

4th Session: March 26th

Strategies:

The focus of this coaching session is to provide additional instruction on Canvas features.

The district provides modules for the teachers to use in Commons. The teachers have to be able

to import the modules into their classes as well as implement them with their students. My

coaching strategy was to model the procedure using a simplified approach after using the 5

tactics for translating research into practice. After modeling the procedures for importing the

district modules and assignment, I observed the teachers importing additional modules and

assignments into Canvas independently.

Skill and Affective Changes:

The teacher was able to effectively and independently create, import, and utilize modules

and assignments. I am seeing confidence in using Canvas as well as conversation about what she

plans to continue to create for her students on the learning management systems. I believe the

change has been effective because during the initial phase of implementation of the coaching

process the teacher who decided to enroll in coaching understood the need in her classroom and

wanted the change. I also believe the one to one interview provided an effective way to increase

her participation in the process.

Reflection on Challenges and Solution:

My opinion on coaching prior to completing this experience was limited to my

observations of the coaching within our building. Our coaches are pulled into so many different

directions and have limited opportunities to truly coach. Their opportunities are restricted to
grade level presentations with very little individual coaching. As a reflected on my experience I

feel like it creates a more positive experience for the coach and the teacher or teachers. I have

been able to use the partnership philosophy when planning lessons in my co-teaching

classrooms. I have also used the model, observe, and collaborate strategies when helping

teachers with gifted instruction and technology integration.