Running head: Coaching Journal

Coaching Journal
ITEC 7460
Spring 2015
Jeff Barron

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Kennesaw State University

This school year every

department at my school, Haralson County High School, has been involved in

a book study. As the Science Department Chair, I had the responsibility of
choosing the book for my department. I chose the book Flip Your
Classroom by Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams published in 2012. The
purpose of these coaching sessions was to help Steve, a colleague of mine in
the science department, develop the skills to implement the Flipped
Classroom model in at least one of his classes.
Session 1
Strategies:
My goal for this first session was to develop rapport and trust. While I have worked with
Steve for several years, we have spent very little time working on anything together. The
majority of our interactions have been related to departmental procedures such as purchasing
supplies, discipline referrals or assigning courses taught. On occasion, I have helped him with
technology issues but never with the implementation of any instructional strategies or technology
integration. Steve and I spent time talking about the book Flip Your Classroom and what a
flipped classroom looks like. We discussed advantages and disadvantages of the model. We also
spent time evaluating the skills needed to implement the model. After exploring the concept of
the flipped classroom we decided on outcomes that we would like to see from these coaching
sessions. We agreed to continue with the schedule we had previously discussed prior to this
session. Following this session, we planned to meet twice a week for two weeks. The sessions
were set for after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

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In this first session, I was careful to apply three aspects of the Partnership Approach (Knight,
2007). I applied the strategy of developing a relationship that included equity, choice and voice
Knight, 2007). I felt that establishing these three during our first session was critical to success.
As suggested by Knight (2007), I tried to show Steve that his opinions were important and that I
intended on drawing heavily on his knowledge and experience with his subject matter as we
progressed through our sessions. I did this by asking a similar question to that which was
described in Knight (2007). I asked Steve whether or not he thought the Flipped Classroom
strategy would work with his students (Knight, 2007). Steve replied, Yes I really do. Steve
went on to say he thinks that not only would it work with his students but would also score him
points with his observing administrator. It was at that moment, I knew it was going to be easy
to get Steve to buy in 100%. It also seemed important to be clear to Steve that my goal in this
process was not to coach him on what to teach but to help facilitate his instruction. I also asked
Steve several more questions to get his opinion on how he thought we should proceed. I gave
him voice in the process and gave him choice in what technology we would use to accomplish
flipping his classroom.
Skill and Affective Changes:
No skill was learned during this first session. This session was about building rapport and
defining goals to be accomplished. I did however observe some changes in Steves attitude
toward technology and differentiation. In the years that I have known him, Steve has always
shied away from the use of new technology in his classroom. His classroom is equipped with
lots of technology. He has an interactive white board, which he only uses as a projector screen.
He has a set of student clickers that have never been taken out of the box. He also has Wi Fi
access, of course, but he does not allow students to use their on technology in his room. His

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attitude definitely changed as we talked about flipping his classroom. He had lots of ideas about
how much better his instruction could be using this model. Building on his enthusiasm, I assured
Steve that we would take our time and that I would be there to help with the technology issues
any way I could.
Reflection on Challenges and Solutions:
Steves change in attitude toward using more technology in his class was a huge boost to my
coaching outlook. I honestly did not expect that sort of response. I attribute his openness and
attitude change to the strategies I used which were directly form Knight (2007). I developed
rapport and a sense of trust with Steve by showing this was going to be an equitable process and
that he would have both choice and voice in how we proceeded. I will definitely do my best to
begin every coaching endeavor this way in the future. I believe it has application on any scale
whether it is in a one on one situation or a large group. I see that if the Instructional Coach can
apply these strategies in the beginning he will have a higher lever of buy in from participants.
Session 2
Strategies:
This session was about deciding on a lesson and content to be flipped and identifying what
technology was needed. At this point I wanted to be sure that my technology coaching would
support Steves instruction. I focused our direction by discussing with Steve the Big Four as
mentioned in Knight (2007). I encouraged Steve to discuss with me issues of classroom
management, content, his typical instructional techniques and his formative assessment plan.
Steve began speaking while I simply listened and took notes using listening strategies described
by Knight (2007). Having discussed the concept of the flipped classroom and having read the
book, Steve already had a lesson in mind. He described the standard to me and briefly outlined

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how he had covered it in the past. He went on to discuss how this flipped lesson should support
how he usually teaches this lesson. He described how he thought it would fit naturally into his
instruction. Steve then discussed how he thought his students would behave during the
classroom portion of the lesson. He expressed to me that he has struggled with classroom
management during times when he was lecturing a great deal. We discussed how this model had
potential to help reduce his frustration with students behavior during lecture. I stressed to Steve
that it was going to be critical that his video and face-to-face lessons be done in a way that
ensured that students master the content. We both agreed that this was of utmost importance. I
suggested that we take a look at his formative assessment he planned to us at the end of the unit.
Steve showed me his unit test he planned to give to his students. We briefly discussed how to
incorporate self-checks for students in a video lesson. From there the conversation turned to how
we would create a video and how we would provide students access to it. We discussed several
options for both recording the video and delivering it. We decided on using Steves phone to
record, his computer with iMovie to edit and his class web site to post the video. With a plan in
place, we both felt confident as we ended the session.
Skill and Affective Changes:
There was no skill acquired during this session. The purpose of this session was to develop a
plan for our next 3 sessions. Through this planning phase Steve has continued to maintain a very
positive attitude toward implementing the flipped classroom model. I attribute this continued
positive attitude to the partnership techniques used so far. I have been very careful to maintain a
level of equality in our sessions. Just as described in Knight (2007), this has fostered a
relationship were Steve feels valued and his opinions matter in this process.
Reflection on Challenges and Solutions:

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The challenge in this session was to be a good listener. It was extremely important in this
stage to foster Steves trust in me. I found it more difficult than I expected to employ authentic
listening as described by Knight (2007). While difficult, I feel that I did a good job allowing
Steve to discuss his feelings and concerns about the process of flipping his classroom. I believe
listening and taking note of his concerns demonstrated to Steve I was involved in the process to
support his efforts.
Session 3
Strategies:
This session was an introduction to iMovie. Steve and I both have MacBook computers with
iMovie installed as part of Apples iLife suite. I first made sure Steve had basic computer skills.
I ensured he could open and close applications as well as import and save files. We then turned
our attention to his iPhone. We used his phone to record several short videos. Using a modeling
strategy, I used Steves MacBook Air and phone to demonstrated how to import video clips. I
then used these video clips to demonstrate the basic functions of iMovie. Once Steve was
comfortable with recording and importing, I demonstrated how to do simple video editing.
During the last portion of the session Steve recorded a short video, imported the video into
iMovie and made simple edits. This demonstration and practice followed the I do, we do, you
do strategy detailed by Knight (2007). At the end of this session Steve was ready to record and
edit a video for his first flipped lesson. I understand that the I do, we do, you do modeling
strategy in Knight (2007) was described as a technique that an instructional coach could share
with teachers in order to improve student mastery but I found it a very good strategy for teaching
Steve the skills needed to shoot and edit video clips using his iPhone and iMovie.
Skill and Affective Changes:

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Steve acquired the skills to record, import and edit video using his iPhone and MacBook Air.
At the end of this session Steve was able to take a video he had recorded with his phone and
transfer it to his computer. He was then able to preform simple edits on the video using iMovie.
Reflection on Challenges and Solutions:
A challenge faced during this session was Steves lack of familiarity with importing and
editing video files. Never having used any type of video editing software the learning curve for
him was very steep. The solution to this challenge was to use the modeling strategy from Knight
(2007). I first demonstrated how to transfer and edit video. Then Steve and I worked together
on transferring and editing a file. I then handed the entire process off to him. He followed a few
simple steps and was able to transfer and edit his video with no problems.
Session 4
Strategies:
The focus of this session was to upload Steves first video for his flipped lesson. My plan was
to demonstrate for Steve how to upload a video to his school website. The session did not go as
planned. Before showing Steve how to upload a video, I previewed his video on his computer.
The video was much too long and needed some improvements. This gave me the opportunity to
employ the tactic confronting reality mentioned in Knight (2007). I could have complimented
Steve on his efforts and we could have moved on to the next phase. I felt that would have been a
mistake for several reasons. I remembered a quote from Knight coaches are most effective
when they act as critical friends, simultaneously providing support and empowering teachers to
see areas where they can improve (2007, p. 26). I discussed the problems with Steve and to my
relief he responded very well to the criticism. We discussed several ways to improve his videos
going forward.

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During the last part of our session I demonstrated how to upload a video to Steves class
website. This went very smoothly. I uploaded a short video we created during our 3rd session.
The video uploaded very quickly and played from the website with no problems. Using the I do,
we do, you do modeling strategy in Knight (2007), I then took the video down from Steves site
and gave him the opportunity to upload the video for practice. He followed the few simple steps
and was able to upload the video with no problems. Before ending the session Steve and I
discussed the next steps. Steve expressed the desire to create a new video and maintain the same
schedule for conducting his flipped lesson. I was very impressed with his attitude and continued
enthusiasm.
Skill and Affective Changes:
In this session Steve acquired the skill of uploading video to an Internet site. Beginning this
school year, Steve has maintained a website for his classes. He has only posted text documents
and PowerPoint presentations to his site. Before this session he had never uploaded or embedded
a video to a website.
Reflection on Challenges and Solutions:
The challenge during this session was similar to our previous session. Steve had no
experience with uploading video to the Internet. Again, I employed the modeling strategy to
instruct Steve on how to upload video. Just as before, Steve responded well to this strategy.
An additional challenge that arose in this session was the quality of Steves video he had
recorded and edited. The video was too long and shot from an angle that made it difficult for the
viewer to make out what was being shown on the white board in the back ground. This
challenge was overcome by being direct but very tactful in my critique. I was able to help Steve

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visualize the material from the point of view of his students (Knight, 2007). He responded very
well to the criticism and continued to maintain a very positive attitude.
Session 5
Strategies:
In this final session, I used the strategy collaboratively exploring data detailed in Knight
(2007). This session took place following Steves flipped lesson. During this session we spent
time discussing how the lesson went. We looked at how the video turned out and how much
participation he got from his students. Steve expressed that he was pleased with the video and
very encourage by the positive feedback he received from his students. He showed me samples
of classwork completed by his students after they had watched his video. We both agreed the
student work samples showed very good progress toward meeting the standard his lesson
covered. Our discussion then turned to ideas and concerns regarding implementing the flipped
classroom model on a larger scale. Steve expressed that he was concerned that all students may
not have access to the technology to watch the videos outside of class, as the model requires. We
discussed several options for students that are not able to access the Internet outside of school.
The options discussed centered on providing students with the videos in a format that did not
require Internet access such as DVDs or USB drives.
We both agreed that this was a great beginning to the implementation of the flipped classroom
model at our school. In an effort to bring the partnership approach presented in Knight (2007)
full circle, I asked Steve if he would be willing to give a presentation to our entire department
describing his experience with trying the flipped classroom model. He said he would be glad to
present at a department meeting and volunteered to help anyone who wanted to begin

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implementing the model. This will be a great example of reciprocation of the coaching process
(Knight, 2007).
Skill and Affective Changes:
A major change that was very evident was Steves increased confidence with using
technology. Steve generally shies away from using new technology. In the past he has been very
resistant to changing his instructional strategies. During this process, Steve has grown a lot in
his computer skills in a very short period of time. I believe his new confidence and enthusiasm
is a result of the way the coaching sessions progressed. I did my best to encourage and support
Steves efforts to implement the flipped classroom model. It turned out that Steve had the desire,
he just needed a partner to work with in developing the skills necessary to create the video
content.
Reflection on Challenges and Solutions:
Steve and I both came away from this experience with valuable knowledge that will help
other teachers at our school go forward with flipping their classrooms. I gained some experience
coaching technology integration and Steve gain some practical video editing skills. Another
fortunate outcome from our sessions has been Steves increased confidence in trying new
technology. Steve has shared with me several times during this process how much more
comfortable he feels trying new things on his computer. All he needed was a little push and
some support.

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References:
Knight, J. (2007). Instructional coaching a partnership approach to improving instruction.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

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