Coaching Experience and Debrief

Master of Science in Education, Walden University

EDUC 6655: Teacher Leadership: Mentoring, Coaching, and Collaboration with Colleagues

Dr Suzanne Wesson

August 14, 2022

 Coaching Experience and Debrief

Miss Andrea Watson (pseudonym) is a newly qualified teacher with one year teaching

experience. She struggles to maintain effective classroom management, and this affects students'

learning. She is assigned to work with a coach who will provide the necessary guidance and

support needed to improve her practices and students' learning outcomes. Andrea is very

passionate about teaching and has a burning desire to see all students excel. She is open to new

ideas, highly motivated and describes herself as having an amiable personality. Individuals with

amiable personalities tend to focus on people, seek sincere appreciation…well organized,

easygoing, likable, empathetic, dependable, and practical . She emulates the characteristics

outlined of an amiable personality.

Pre-Conference

During our planning session, Andrea and I sat down to discuss how we will move

forward with the planned lesson and my role in the observation process. We both relied on the

partnership philosophy because we see ourselves as equal partners. During the pre-conference

Andrea and I spoke about the areas that she wanted me to observe. We analyzed and discussed

what needed to be done, the objectives to be met and the expected outcome. Going into the pre-

conference, I asked Andrea several questions to understand her thought process and ascertain

how she was thinking as it relates to the lesson to be taught. She mentioned to me that she wants

to create an animated video as an introduction to her lesson as her students learn best when all or

most of their senses are engaged. The lesson objectives were centered around understanding the
need for classroom rules, the importance of adhering to classroom rules, and the consequences

associated with noncompliance of the rules.

Observation

Andrea’s observation was completed, and it was observed that students listened keenly

and had lots of questions to ask throughout the lesson. The animated video captured students'

attention and was an excellent way of introducing the lesson to the students.It was observed that

one student wanted to know the consequences for not adhering to rules and this was answered by

other students who felt that some form of punishment should be administered by the teacher for

rule violation. At the end of the lesson, students were placed in groups and asked to brainstorm

and provide rules that they would like to see implemented in class. Students were excited and

even gave their suggestions for rewards. The class ended with students completing an exit ticket

with three questions.

Post-Conference

During the post-conference, Andrea and I had some great discussions and I allowed her

to reflect on her lessons. She was able to say what went well or did not go well and what changes

if any she would make. Andrea reflected on the recorded video and critically analyzed her

lesson. She was able to pinpoint areas in the lesson where she could have been more vocal when

the discussion went off on a tangent. I highlighted and commended her on the use of the think-

pair-share strategy and the group activity. Both activities got the reserved students talking and

engaged in the discussions. I was impressed with the students' ability to engage meaningfully

and respectfully in the discussion without being loud and out of control.

Coaching Reflection
 Andrea and I had a healthy and constructive conversation about the lesson. Active

listening was an essential part of how we communicated and shared our thoughts. I have learned

quite a bit from Andrea that will help me improve my professional practice and become a much

better coach, likewise, she too has garnered much knowledge from me. Andrea knew her

weakness and knew exactly what she needed from her coach. As an instruction coach and based

on the information presented to me, I was able to partner with her, select and implement

research-based instructional strategies necessary for her to create a more manageable and

structured learning environment. Andrea and I were able to delve into instructional strategies

that would allow all students to meet the objectives. It was unfortunate that I was not able to

observe Andrea in previous lessons. I do believe if I had this opportunity, it would allow me to

see her strengths in different areas and be able to evaluate more effectively the strategies and

approaches used in instructional delivery. This I believe would have allowed me to improve or

enhance my coaching experience with her. Based on Andrea’s comments and my own evaluation

it was evident that there are some areas that I need to improve on as a coach.