Entry #1 – Enrolling a Coachee

I felt happy to learn about Jim Knight’s suggestions regarding how to enroll a colleague in a coaching
session. Finding a person to coach was my first concern when I started this process. I debated printing
flyers and placing them in colleagues’ mailboxes; I debated delivering a presentation and showing
teachers what to expect through the coaching process. My actual technique? Sending an email to all of
the Language Arts teachers at Brookwood High School. A copy of the email is below:

Hey, team.

I'm in the process of earning my Ed.S in Instructional Technology. One of my assignments for this
semester requires me to enroll a teacher into a teacher/coach partnership and assist the enrollee in
achieving one of their instructional goals. The goal can be increasing student engagement, increasing
achievement (measured by formative assessments), or any other student-centered goal you've set
this year.

The stipulations involve filming an actual lesson and meeting to discuss the lesson and plan strategies
to help assist you in making the adjustments you want to make (these meetings are filmed, too). In
total, I believe we'll need to meet four or five times throughout the semester (maybe fewer). I will
have a timeline once I have someone enrolled.

I'm sure all of you are eager to work with me, but for this assignment, I'm only required to enroll one
teacher. For this reason, I'll take the first colleague that's interested in this once in a semester
opportunity. Thanks, y'all.

As is expected in one of the most demanding professions, my colleagues did not rush toward this
opportunity. I hope I don’t appear to be cynical, but I do want to appear realistic. Fortunately, one
colleague took the bait. He is a former Brookwood Teacher of the Year, and I know for a fact that I will
learn a good bit from him and his practice.

I do hold reservations about this experience because I still view myself as a new teacher; I’m not even in
my 5th year of teaching. I wonder how teachers will react to me coaching them through this process
when they are have been teaching 3-4 times longer than I have.

Entry #2 – First Coaching Section (Identify)

My coachee is currently scheduled to film his class, and I should be receiving that video soon. To prepare
for my first coaching session, I’ve reviewed and studied Jim Knight’s chapter that includes identifying
questions. I find them valuable in keeping the conversation going and having a question to fall back on if
the conversation strays. I’ve also prepared by watching the videos within the Corwin resources. I plan to
imitate the videos but also try to keep the conversation natural.

After reviewing the video, there were a few things that I noticed:

1. The students certainly appear to be listening to the teacher and the engagement level is high.
 2. The teacher has certainly developed a positive rapport with the students and the students feel
comfortable sharing their thoughts and opinions on the poem.
3. The think-pair-share activity worked and students had plenty to share, but some students
repeated what had been talked about

My coachee and I met during a teacher's workday to discuss the video and the data we collected from
the video observation. During this first coaching session, we noticed that our observations were very
similar to each other’s, and we both developed a clear reality of learning and teaching. One aspect of
improvement we looked at involved increasing active listening from the students. Some students repeat
what others have just said, and even often repeat directions previously stated. To improve active
listening, we decided to focus on adapting the research-based Think-Pair-Share to Think-Trio-Share. I’m
still struggling to come up with the technology aspect to implement the Think-Trio-Share. I’m going to
have to reference some of my other books and resources I’ve collected to see what we think will work
best.Artifacts from Coaching Session 1 (Identify)
 Entry #3 – Second Coaching Session (Learn)

As I was still thinking about the technology tool to use to help my colleague reach his goal of active
listening, I spoke with him in the hallway. During our conversation, he motioned with his hands to have
them type something on their phone and then display on the board so others could see. I immediately
remembered a technology tool I learned about at the Gwinnett Digital Learning Conference, and a tool
that I have used in my class: Mentimeter.

To prepare for this second coaching session (Learn), I again studied Jim Knight’s text, reviewing the ways
way to model the strategy and use the tool with the teacher. I also made sure to utilize the resources in
the book, especially the Think-Pair-Share and the Thinking Prompt checklists. I reviewed both checklists,
and I determined that I don’t need to adjust or adapt the content on them, except for the fact that on
the Think-Pair-Share checklist, students need to know who their trio is, not just a partner.

During our meeting, we decided that it be best for me to model the tool with the teacher without
students around. Since the teacher was already aware of how Think-Pair-Share works, I thought it was
best to only model the tech tool. To prepare for this, I already created a presentation using Mentimeter,
and I showed the teacher what it would look like in the classroom. A code pops up, the students enter
code, the students respond to the questions, and their response anonymously posts on the board.
Together we decided that it would look like a traditional Think-Pair-Share, but it would include an extra
individual to record the conversation between the two people.

Next on our agenda was for him to decide on when he would implement the strategy and the tool. He
did say he would like to try it out with another class before he does the full show and record it, so we’ll
see what I get.

Our next meeting is set, and we are set to wrap up our last coaching session.

Entry #4 – Third Coaching Session (Improve)

I just finished watching the video of the teacher implementing the strategy and tool, and from my
observation, I saw an increase in active listening and a decrease in repeating what other students said
during the discussion. As I watch, I also completed the checklist, and the teacher nailed all of the items
on the checklist, as each one was either evident in the video or evidence that it had been planned so
that it was visible in the video. The teacher placed into practice what we discussed in our previous
meetings, and I enjoyed seeing the transformation not only in just the goal being hit but also the
increase in engagement throughout the lesson and activity. I also prepared for this late coaching session
by closely reading Jim Knight’s book and looking for help on how to navigate this last session.

During our coaching session, we monitored progress toward the goal of increasing active listening in the
classroom by reviewing the data from the video and the checklists provided during the previous
meeting. I provided my feedback from what I observed, and then the teacher provided his. Our
comments echoed one another’s, and we both determined that the teacher met the goal. He was very
enthusiastic about how it went, and he’s already decided how he could implement this tool to help his
AP Literature students analyze and synthesize poems to help them prepare for their AP Literature exam
next semester. He also raved about the ability for students to share at once and allow all voices to be
heard (or read) when sometimes that’s not possible.

After determining we reached the goal, we did decide to take a break for now. As is normal when the
end of the semester looms, stress and pressure build, so we determined it was best to step away from
coaching for the meantime, but we both agree that it was equally beneficial.

After reflecting over the whole experience, my initial reservations subsided pretty quickly. I was worried
that the coachee questioning my place in the coaching world, as I am such a new professional in the
education world. However, I think a stronger relationship formed, as we were able to discuss teaching
and aspects of teaching that connect both of us. The fact that we both teach Language Arts does help
the relationship, but I truly believe it was a partnership. To be honest, at first, I found the partnership
principles and Jim Knight’s golden rule mantra to be a little cheesy. Now, I think it’s proof that these
principles provide a sturdy framework and guide to helping all coaches be successful. I found the
experience to be highly beneficial and rewarding.