Coaching Plan
Coaching Plan
Introduction:
Team A selected Mrs. Annamarie Mathews for their coaching plan. Mrs.
Mathews is a veteran kindergarten teacher at Kelsey Elementary school in the Kelsey
Unified School District. She considers “each year a new adventure” as she prepares for her incoming students. The goal of her coaching plan is ensure she continues to be one of the top teachers in the district and a resource that can be called upon to share her expertise in the field.
Identification and Attributes of Annamarie Mathews
Reputation and professional integrity
Annamarie Mathews has a passion for teaching children, which has given her the reputation of an “excellent teacher”. Mrs. Mathews classroom is the “hubbub” for children to learn in a …show more content…
student-centered environment where learning activities are designed appropriately for the age groups of the children. Mrs. Mathews is noted by her peers for having professional integrity through the display of high moral and ethical standards.
Mrs. Mathews should continue to display the characteristics of a teacher whose primary goal is to engage with students in an environment built on trust and caring. Mrs.Mathews should consider serving as a mentor to less tenured teachers who have not yet mastered creating and fostering a learning environment rich with enthusiasm, trust, respect, learning activities and creativity. The mentoring activities can be two-fold, whereby the mentees will learn by observing Mr. Mathews in her classroom environment. Mrs.
Mathews should guide her mentees in creating learning activities structured specifically for the students and then share best practices regarding the implementation of the activities. The mentor/mentee relationship should continue throughout the year with
Mrs. Mathews meeting weekly with her mentee to perform formative assessments that will lead toward a final summative assessment: what is working well and where are the areas of opportunities. Mrs. Mathews is considered “Advanced” in her reputation and professional integrity.
Teaching experience
Mrs. Mathews is a tenured teacher with many decades of teaching experience under her belt. Mr. Mathews has earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Child Development and a Master of Arts degree in Curriculum and Instruction, plus a teaching credential from a state university. Although Mrs. Mathews has an impressive educational background, it would be wise for Mrs. Mathews to continue her educational endeavors and consider earning a Doctorate degree. There are several schools that cater to busy working adults with which Mrs. Mathews could continue her studies to make an even greater impact on education in her district. It is recommended that Mrs. Mathews research her options and discuss the viability of such an endeavor with her superiors in 60 days. Mrs. Mathews is considered “Advanced” in her teaching experience.
Continuing education
Mrs. Mathews enjoys the learning process and stays current with education trends, concerns, ideas, and immediate issues through industry journals and professional magazines. Mrs. Mathews belongs to professional organizations and attends professional workshops on a regular basis. According to Mrs. Mathews profile, her focus is on developing children as a whole, with her primary focus on brain development and emotional development. Mrs. Mathews should continue to enhance her knowledge by staying up-to-date on current events within education. A helpful plan of action would be for Mrs. Mathews to brief her colleagues on her findings during a quarterly meeting, which would serve to reinforce Mrs. Mathews personal learning and add value to the school through the enlightenment of other teachers. Mrs. Mathews is considered “Advanced” in her efforts toward continuing education.
Teaching style
Mrs. Mathews teaching style is kinesthetic in nature. She believes that children learn best through the efforts of playing with one another and discovering their world through a more collaborative, philosophical approach of socio-cognitive learning. Mrs.
Mathews begins her activities by modeling the steps the children need to take and using specific language to to identify what is being learned and to aid in retention. Mrs.
Mathews communicates freely with her students by asking them qualifying, open-ended questions to solicit feedback to determine if the children understand the lesson--this is a formative strategy. Mrs. Mathews keeps the students engaged at all times and encourages them to provide peer support through the positive acknowledgment of applause. Mrs.
Mathews personality is jovial and kind but with a serious agenda for learning. Mrs.
Mathews character speaks to qualities of an excellent teacher. Mrs. Mathews should continue to demonstrate her skills in this area and provide her students with on-going challenging activities and soliciting feedback.
Formative strategies for monitoring student outcomes should be reviewed every 30 days. Mrs. Mathews is considered “Advanced” with her teaching skills.
Creating Awareness
Develop a beneficial relationship with Mrs Mathews
Developing an action plan for such a tenured and highly respected teacher is a difficult thing to do. Care must be taken to ensure that Mrs. Mathews does not get the impression that she has done something wrong and is being punished in some way for it. Prior to developing any action plan it is important to speak with Mrs Mathews to “till the soil” as described by Zachary (2000). Having Mrs Mathews express what her expectation are from the mentor will be critical in developing an understanding between the mentor and Mrs. Mathews. Although Mrs. Mathews has been teaching for many years, she has expressed there are some areas she cold use some assistance in. The assigned mentor should take these areas into consideration when developing their action plan. Initially establishing this rapport with such a highly respected teacher will benefit the mentor as much as it will benefit Mrs. Mathews. Talking to Mrs. …show more content…
Mathews and hearing her concerns will help the mentor meet Mrs. Mathews needs without her feeling like she is being punished or disrespected in any way. In addition it will help the mentor learn techniques and methods from Mrs. Mathews. This creates a collaborative environment of learning and sharing.
Once the relationship is established it is imperative that the mentor and Mrs
Mathews meet to negotiate the details of the action plan. This allows Mrs. Mathews to fully understand what level of involvement the mentor will have in the process.
It also allows for Mrs. Mathews to express her concerns and where she draws the line for mentor involvement. It is best that at the end of this negotiation both the mentor and
Mrs. Mathew have clearly defined roles for the mentor. This period will also allow the mentor to have a clear understanding of where Mrs. Mathews wants to be at the end of the mentoring period.
Preferred Style
Have Mrs. Mathews go through and determine which is her preferred style.
Based on observations and reports the mentor can make an assessment on Mrs. Mathews natural style. This can be a good starting point in developing an action plan because the mentor can use this to develop an action plan that goes in line with Mrs. Mathews preferred learning style. This will help prevent resistance from Mrs. Mathews in reference to the action plan and mentoring. Based on the information provided the following is a list of Mrs. Mathews’ preferred style.
a. Extroversion or Introversion. Mrs. Mathews appears to prefer the extroverted style. She has lots of activities in her class with lots of interaction between the students.
b. Sensing or Intuition. Mrs. Mathews appears to prefer the intuitive style.
She enjoys giving students the liberty to be creative and individual.
c. Thinking or Feeling. Mrs. Mathews definitely prefers the feeling style. She enjoys having the children learn the fundamentals through playing and interaction. It appears that the relationship aspect of learning has a lot of precedence for Mrs. Mathews.
d. Judging or Perceiving. Although Mrs. Mathews does plan out her day she appears to be flexible enough to adjust as things in the class naturally progress. It seems like Mrs. Mathews prefers the perceiving style. She can easily flex the lesson to meet the learning that is occurring at that time.
Self-Assessments
Have Mrs. Mathews take the self-assessments found in the Coaching and
Mentoring Skills text by DuBrin (2005). Although Mrs. Mathews has been teaching for a while and she is very good at it, it never hurts to do a new self-assessment. By taking these self-assessments Mrs. Mathews can discover for the first time or anew how she operates in these specific areas.
a. How much empathy do you have? (Ch2 p.14)
b. Listening traps. (Ch3 p.23)
c. The Positive-Impression survey. (Ch4 p.35)
d. The assertiveness scale. (Ch4 p. 39)
e. How important do I make people feel? (Ch4 p. 43)
Compilation and review
Compile results and review with Annamarie to increase her awareness of her own styles and preferences. Provide reading material on the five states of mind. The purpose of providing the reading material with the five states of mind is to help Mrs. Mathews continue doing a self assessment. Understanding these states of mind will help her she where she is at and be more receptive to mentoring and action plan guidelines.
Establishes Realistic Goals and Objectives
Implement state and district classroom mandates in a developmental manner
To quote Mrs. Mathews profile; “she believes her biggest challenge is to be sure that the academic demands of the district curriculum and state standards are presented to her students in a developmentally appropriate way.” As part of her coaching plan,
Mrs. Mathews will be attending the equivalent of 30 hours of professional development activities throughout the school year. Part of those hours will be dedicated to the subject of state and district classroom mandates. As a veteran teacher in the system, Mrs.
Mathews can share what she has learned with the rest of her team after she returns. The successful implementation of these standards will be evaluated as part of her annual observation evaluation. The observer will be looking for specific evidence that the state and local mandates are being met.
Understanding the student’s and parent’s needs
Mrs. Mathews considers communications with the student’s parents to be one of her talents. She desires interaction with the parents and wants the parents to be a part of their child’s academic successes. As part of the schools coaching/mentoring plan Mrs.
Mathews will be asked to lead a training session with novice teachers on this subject. It has been said that the best way to know a subject is to teach it. By leading this session,
Mrs. Mathews will remain at the forefront of the subject and she will be able to share her successes with other teachers. The continued positive communications between Mrs.
Mathews and the parents will be evidence that she is succeeding in this area.
The students brain and emotional development
Mrs. Mathews is passionate about the development of a young child’s brain. She has read extensively on the subject and attended many professional workshops on the topic. It was noted in a recent observation evaluation that her lesson is well prepared and it included the needed learning materials. It is clear that Mrs. Mathews is implementing much of what she has learned in her classroom. As part of her professional development plan, she is encouraged to continue to attend these seminars and share what she has learned with her colleagues. Future observations will continue to look for evidence of these successes.
The scope and sequence of the classroom program
It was noted in Mrs. Mathews last observation that she needed to begin each lesson “with a clear explanation of the objectives”. It was also noted that she needed to “provide closure” at the end of the lesson. If this continues to be an ongoing concern in her classroom, Mrs. Mathews could work with a coach who is an expert in classroom management to help her sharpen these skills. The noted deficiencies were small and a conversation with an expert on the subject would help to make this part of her lesson as strong as everything else she does in the classroom.
Formative and summative review of goals and objectives
As was noted on Mrs. Mathew’s last evaluation checklist she has no deficiencies and is only working to develop a few skills. She was encouraged to continue to work on modifying her materials to “meet the needs of diverse learners” and continue to work on the standards. The principle gave her high marks for her efforts. As she works to keep her skills sharp, Mrs. Mathews is encouraged to share her experience and expertise with the other teachers in the school, which will effectively make the whole elementary school a better place to learn.
Designing an Action Plan
Objective(s):
To maintain and foster a classroom environment that is challenging and conducive to student learning and development. To facilitate continued professional development and growth in the instructor for the purpose of furthering student learning.
Student Learning
Student learning is one of the most important aspects of being an effective instructor. Student learning is the goal and purpose of teaching. Every decision and choice that an educator makes on behalf of the students should be to further student learning and achievement. However, an instructor can not improve or further student learning without a clear and concise plan that ultimately leads to success. A teacher must carefully and constantly consider his/her teaching strategies and how they will affect student learning.
Learning outcomes can only be measured through constant and consistent assessment. There are countless ways to assess student learning and the effectiveness of instruction. This information must be used carefully to guide instruction across the curriculum. Assessment should be at the core of all instructional decisions.
In order to provide a positive learning environment, realistic goals must be established along with meaningful learning experiences. Realistic goals should be set early on in the school year. These goals must be made known to the students as well as faculty in order for accountability. These goals must be met with meaningful learning experiences that further student learning and achievement. These meaningful learning experiences must be derived from assessment, student need and interests.
Student effort and involvement is important to the success of the class. The students must be “active participants” in their learning. In other words, they must be actively engaged in whatever they are learning. Using a variety of instructional methods and being sure to engage all of the learning modalities in the lesson will make students active participants. For example, a lesson that requires students to use critical thinking skills, creativity, and hands on materials is a great way to ensure they are engaged in the learning process. When students are “active participants” they tend to take more responsibility for their learning and growth.
Instructional Practices
Effective instructional practices used in the classroom are essential to student success and growth. In order to plan effectively for instruction a teacher must be organized and prepared daily to deliver instruction. The objectives for each lesson must be made clear from the start of the lesson. Every lesson must follow a pattern or have a defined structure that is recognizable to an observer and to the students. This structure provides clarity and consistency across the curriculum. Consistency is so important to creating a structured learning environment that is conducive to learning.
Effective communication is important to implementing instructional practices.
Before and after lesson/day an educator should ask him/herself at least two of the following questions:
Was my lesson clear to the students?
Was I enthusiastic about my lesson topic?
Did I use examples to help them further understand the concepts?
Did I use practical applications of the concepts I was trying to convey?
Did I emphasize important points?
Did I answer questions or provide further explanations?
It is important to use effective communication strategies while teaching. Being an effective communicator also means being able to be a good listener. Being a good listener requires one to listen for understanding. An instructor’s responsibility is to “listen for understanding” from the students.
Using effective instructional practices fosters positive teacher/student interactions.
Students are motivated to learn when they are in a positive learning environment. When there is structure, consistency, and clarity present a classroom there will automatically be a mutual respect between the teacher and students. When a good rapport exists between teacher and student the learning possibilities are endless.
Monitoring Progress
Monitoring Progress is an important aspect of the coaching plan. The major goal involved in monitoring the progress is to establish proper and clear goals for Mrs.
Mathews that will lead to successful educational experiences for her students. Monitoring progress will also help by setting proper expectations of goal completion from Mrs.
Mathews’ immediate supervisor. Mrs. Mathews’ supervisor will serve as her coach and thus will use various forms of encouragement, rewards, and will continually review the established expectations and goals that the two decide to focus on and discuss.
Mrs. Mathews and her supervisor will begin by developing a progress plan. This progress plan will focus on 2-3 areas of opportunity for Mrs. Mathews to improve upon.
The progress plan will be reviewed and a new one will be developed every semester.
When completed successfully each progress plan will have new goals and focus areas.
While creating the progress plan, Mrs. Mathews and her supervisor will discuss and document what success will look like if each of the goals are achieved in regards to certain outcomes which benefit the students. Mrs. Mathews and her supervisor will also discuss and document the proposed benefit for the students for each goal.
Each goal that is entailed on each progress report should be a SMART goal
(specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely). The progress on each of the current goals will be discussed in bi-weekly one on one meetings with Mrs. Mathews and her supervisor. The supervisor will review how goal completion is going for Mrs.
Mathews. The supervisor will also give feedback to Mrs. Mathews to include, positive reinforcement, kudos for positive trends, constructive feedback, areas of opportunities, and a review of expectations.
At the end of each semester, completion of the semesters progress plan will be reviewed. Upon review, the supervisor will give feedback on whether each goal has been reached successfully. The supervisor will also identify and document whether the goal should be abandoned. The supervisor will also include any other feedback in regards to reaching of the goals and the subsequent activities that took place in the reaching of the goals. During the review, Mrs. Mathews and her supervisor will have a documented discussion about what issues and or challenges that Mrs. Mathews faced. The supervisor will also give feedback about how the challenges were met along with any suggestions of alternative solutions.
Coming to Closure
Determine whether Mrs. Mathews feels like the plan is reasonable. Negotiating the details of the action plan and the role of the mentor provides the boundaries and the strategy for implementation of the action plan. At the end of it all Mrs. Mathews and the mentor should know exactly what roles they have and what they expect to get out of it.
During the negotiation phase Mrs. Mathews and the mentor will establish how often they will meet to discuss concerns and observations; how often the mentor will be observing and helping Mrs. Mathews, and how often they will meet to continue developing the professional relationship they have initiated.
During this phase the mentor and Mrs. Mathews will establish guidelines and rules for how they will deal with any obstacles or stumbling blocks they encounter on the way. They will also develop a plan for how they will adjust the action plan as required by the circumstances they encounter on the way. Basically the action plan becomes a living breathing agreement that changes and grows also without losing site of the goals.
Introduction:
Team A selected Mrs. Annamarie Mathews for their coaching plan. Mrs.
Mathews is a veteran kindergarten teacher at Kelsey Elementary school in the Kelsey
Unified School District. She considers “each year a new adventure” as she prepares for her incoming students. The goal of her coaching plan is ensure she continues to be one of the top teachers in the district and a resource that can be called upon to share her expertise in the field.
Identification and Attributes of Annamarie Mathews
Reputation and professional integrity
Annamarie Mathews has a passion for teaching children, which has given her the reputation of an “excellent teacher”. Mrs. Mathews classroom is the “hubbub” for children to learn in a …show more content…
student-centered environment where learning activities are designed appropriately for the age groups of the children. Mrs. Mathews is noted by her peers for having professional integrity through the display of high moral and ethical standards.
Mrs. Mathews should continue to display the characteristics of a teacher whose primary goal is to engage with students in an environment built on trust and caring. Mrs.Mathews should consider serving as a mentor to less tenured teachers who have not yet mastered creating and fostering a learning environment rich with enthusiasm, trust, respect, learning activities and creativity. The mentoring activities can be two-fold, whereby the mentees will learn by observing Mr. Mathews in her classroom environment. Mrs.
Mathews should guide her mentees in creating learning activities structured specifically for the students and then share best practices regarding the implementation of the activities. The mentor/mentee relationship should continue throughout the year with
Mrs. Mathews meeting weekly with her mentee to perform formative assessments that will lead toward a final summative assessment: what is working well and where are the areas of opportunities. Mrs. Mathews is considered “Advanced” in her reputation and professional integrity.
Teaching experience
Mrs. Mathews is a tenured teacher with many decades of teaching experience under her belt. Mr. Mathews has earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Child Development and a Master of Arts degree in Curriculum and Instruction, plus a teaching credential from a state university. Although Mrs. Mathews has an impressive educational background, it would be wise for Mrs. Mathews to continue her educational endeavors and consider earning a Doctorate degree. There are several schools that cater to busy working adults with which Mrs. Mathews could continue her studies to make an even greater impact on education in her district. It is recommended that Mrs. Mathews research her options and discuss the viability of such an endeavor with her superiors in 60 days. Mrs. Mathews is considered “Advanced” in her teaching experience.
Continuing education
Mrs. Mathews enjoys the learning process and stays current with education trends, concerns, ideas, and immediate issues through industry journals and professional magazines. Mrs. Mathews belongs to professional organizations and attends professional workshops on a regular basis. According to Mrs. Mathews profile, her focus is on developing children as a whole, with her primary focus on brain development and emotional development. Mrs. Mathews should continue to enhance her knowledge by staying up-to-date on current events within education. A helpful plan of action would be for Mrs. Mathews to brief her colleagues on her findings during a quarterly meeting, which would serve to reinforce Mrs. Mathews personal learning and add value to the school through the enlightenment of other teachers. Mrs. Mathews is considered “Advanced” in her efforts toward continuing education.
Teaching style
Mrs. Mathews teaching style is kinesthetic in nature. She believes that children learn best through the efforts of playing with one another and discovering their world through a more collaborative, philosophical approach of socio-cognitive learning. Mrs.
Mathews begins her activities by modeling the steps the children need to take and using specific language to to identify what is being learned and to aid in retention. Mrs.
Mathews communicates freely with her students by asking them qualifying, open-ended questions to solicit feedback to determine if the children understand the lesson--this is a formative strategy. Mrs. Mathews keeps the students engaged at all times and encourages them to provide peer support through the positive acknowledgment of applause. Mrs.
Mathews personality is jovial and kind but with a serious agenda for learning. Mrs.
Mathews character speaks to qualities of an excellent teacher. Mrs. Mathews should continue to demonstrate her skills in this area and provide her students with on-going challenging activities and soliciting feedback.
Formative strategies for monitoring student outcomes should be reviewed every 30 days. Mrs. Mathews is considered “Advanced” with her teaching skills.
Creating Awareness
Develop a beneficial relationship with Mrs Mathews
Developing an action plan for such a tenured and highly respected teacher is a difficult thing to do. Care must be taken to ensure that Mrs. Mathews does not get the impression that she has done something wrong and is being punished in some way for it. Prior to developing any action plan it is important to speak with Mrs Mathews to “till the soil” as described by Zachary (2000). Having Mrs Mathews express what her expectation are from the mentor will be critical in developing an understanding between the mentor and Mrs. Mathews. Although Mrs. Mathews has been teaching for many years, she has expressed there are some areas she cold use some assistance in. The assigned mentor should take these areas into consideration when developing their action plan. Initially establishing this rapport with such a highly respected teacher will benefit the mentor as much as it will benefit Mrs. Mathews. Talking to Mrs. …show more content…
Mathews and hearing her concerns will help the mentor meet Mrs. Mathews needs without her feeling like she is being punished or disrespected in any way. In addition it will help the mentor learn techniques and methods from Mrs. Mathews. This creates a collaborative environment of learning and sharing.
Once the relationship is established it is imperative that the mentor and Mrs
Mathews meet to negotiate the details of the action plan. This allows Mrs. Mathews to fully understand what level of involvement the mentor will have in the process.
It also allows for Mrs. Mathews to express her concerns and where she draws the line for mentor involvement. It is best that at the end of this negotiation both the mentor and
Mrs. Mathew have clearly defined roles for the mentor. This period will also allow the mentor to have a clear understanding of where Mrs. Mathews wants to be at the end of the mentoring period.
Preferred Style
Have Mrs. Mathews go through and determine which is her preferred style.
Based on observations and reports the mentor can make an assessment on Mrs. Mathews natural style. This can be a good starting point in developing an action plan because the mentor can use this to develop an action plan that goes in line with Mrs. Mathews preferred learning style. This will help prevent resistance from Mrs. Mathews in reference to the action plan and mentoring. Based on the information provided the following is a list of Mrs. Mathews’ preferred style.
a. Extroversion or Introversion. Mrs. Mathews appears to prefer the extroverted style. She has lots of activities in her class with lots of interaction between the students.
b. Sensing or Intuition. Mrs. Mathews appears to prefer the intuitive style.
She enjoys giving students the liberty to be creative and individual.
c. Thinking or Feeling. Mrs. Mathews definitely prefers the feeling style. She enjoys having the children learn the fundamentals through playing and interaction. It appears that the relationship aspect of learning has a lot of precedence for Mrs. Mathews.
d. Judging or Perceiving. Although Mrs. Mathews does plan out her day she appears to be flexible enough to adjust as things in the class naturally progress. It seems like Mrs. Mathews prefers the perceiving style. She can easily flex the lesson to meet the learning that is occurring at that time.
Self-Assessments
Have Mrs. Mathews take the self-assessments found in the Coaching and
Mentoring Skills text by DuBrin (2005). Although Mrs. Mathews has been teaching for a while and she is very good at it, it never hurts to do a new self-assessment. By taking these self-assessments Mrs. Mathews can discover for the first time or anew how she operates in these specific areas.
a. How much empathy do you have? (Ch2 p.14)
b. Listening traps. (Ch3 p.23)
c. The Positive-Impression survey. (Ch4 p.35)
d. The assertiveness scale. (Ch4 p. 39)
e. How important do I make people feel? (Ch4 p. 43)
Compilation and review
Compile results and review with Annamarie to increase her awareness of her own styles and preferences. Provide reading material on the five states of mind. The purpose of providing the reading material with the five states of mind is to help Mrs. Mathews continue doing a self assessment. Understanding these states of mind will help her she where she is at and be more receptive to mentoring and action plan guidelines.
Establishes Realistic Goals and Objectives
Implement state and district classroom mandates in a developmental manner
To quote Mrs. Mathews profile; “she believes her biggest challenge is to be sure that the academic demands of the district curriculum and state standards are presented to her students in a developmentally appropriate way.” As part of her coaching plan,
Mrs. Mathews will be attending the equivalent of 30 hours of professional development activities throughout the school year. Part of those hours will be dedicated to the subject of state and district classroom mandates. As a veteran teacher in the system, Mrs.
Mathews can share what she has learned with the rest of her team after she returns. The successful implementation of these standards will be evaluated as part of her annual observation evaluation. The observer will be looking for specific evidence that the state and local mandates are being met.
Understanding the student’s and parent’s needs
Mrs. Mathews considers communications with the student’s parents to be one of her talents. She desires interaction with the parents and wants the parents to be a part of their child’s academic successes. As part of the schools coaching/mentoring plan Mrs.
Mathews will be asked to lead a training session with novice teachers on this subject. It has been said that the best way to know a subject is to teach it. By leading this session,
Mrs. Mathews will remain at the forefront of the subject and she will be able to share her successes with other teachers. The continued positive communications between Mrs.
Mathews and the parents will be evidence that she is succeeding in this area.
The students brain and emotional development
Mrs. Mathews is passionate about the development of a young child’s brain. She has read extensively on the subject and attended many professional workshops on the topic. It was noted in a recent observation evaluation that her lesson is well prepared and it included the needed learning materials. It is clear that Mrs. Mathews is implementing much of what she has learned in her classroom. As part of her professional development plan, she is encouraged to continue to attend these seminars and share what she has learned with her colleagues. Future observations will continue to look for evidence of these successes.
The scope and sequence of the classroom program
It was noted in Mrs. Mathews last observation that she needed to begin each lesson “with a clear explanation of the objectives”. It was also noted that she needed to “provide closure” at the end of the lesson. If this continues to be an ongoing concern in her classroom, Mrs. Mathews could work with a coach who is an expert in classroom management to help her sharpen these skills. The noted deficiencies were small and a conversation with an expert on the subject would help to make this part of her lesson as strong as everything else she does in the classroom.
Formative and summative review of goals and objectives
As was noted on Mrs. Mathew’s last evaluation checklist she has no deficiencies and is only working to develop a few skills. She was encouraged to continue to work on modifying her materials to “meet the needs of diverse learners” and continue to work on the standards. The principle gave her high marks for her efforts. As she works to keep her skills sharp, Mrs. Mathews is encouraged to share her experience and expertise with the other teachers in the school, which will effectively make the whole elementary school a better place to learn.
Designing an Action Plan
Objective(s):
To maintain and foster a classroom environment that is challenging and conducive to student learning and development. To facilitate continued professional development and growth in the instructor for the purpose of furthering student learning.
Student Learning
Student learning is one of the most important aspects of being an effective instructor. Student learning is the goal and purpose of teaching. Every decision and choice that an educator makes on behalf of the students should be to further student learning and achievement. However, an instructor can not improve or further student learning without a clear and concise plan that ultimately leads to success. A teacher must carefully and constantly consider his/her teaching strategies and how they will affect student learning.
Learning outcomes can only be measured through constant and consistent assessment. There are countless ways to assess student learning and the effectiveness of instruction. This information must be used carefully to guide instruction across the curriculum. Assessment should be at the core of all instructional decisions.
In order to provide a positive learning environment, realistic goals must be established along with meaningful learning experiences. Realistic goals should be set early on in the school year. These goals must be made known to the students as well as faculty in order for accountability. These goals must be met with meaningful learning experiences that further student learning and achievement. These meaningful learning experiences must be derived from assessment, student need and interests.
Student effort and involvement is important to the success of the class. The students must be “active participants” in their learning. In other words, they must be actively engaged in whatever they are learning. Using a variety of instructional methods and being sure to engage all of the learning modalities in the lesson will make students active participants. For example, a lesson that requires students to use critical thinking skills, creativity, and hands on materials is a great way to ensure they are engaged in the learning process. When students are “active participants” they tend to take more responsibility for their learning and growth.
Instructional Practices
Effective instructional practices used in the classroom are essential to student success and growth. In order to plan effectively for instruction a teacher must be organized and prepared daily to deliver instruction. The objectives for each lesson must be made clear from the start of the lesson. Every lesson must follow a pattern or have a defined structure that is recognizable to an observer and to the students. This structure provides clarity and consistency across the curriculum. Consistency is so important to creating a structured learning environment that is conducive to learning.
Effective communication is important to implementing instructional practices.
Before and after lesson/day an educator should ask him/herself at least two of the following questions:
Was my lesson clear to the students?
Was I enthusiastic about my lesson topic?
Did I use examples to help them further understand the concepts?
Did I use practical applications of the concepts I was trying to convey?
Did I emphasize important points?
Did I answer questions or provide further explanations?
It is important to use effective communication strategies while teaching. Being an effective communicator also means being able to be a good listener. Being a good listener requires one to listen for understanding. An instructor’s responsibility is to “listen for understanding” from the students.
Using effective instructional practices fosters positive teacher/student interactions.
Students are motivated to learn when they are in a positive learning environment. When there is structure, consistency, and clarity present a classroom there will automatically be a mutual respect between the teacher and students. When a good rapport exists between teacher and student the learning possibilities are endless.
Monitoring Progress
Monitoring Progress is an important aspect of the coaching plan. The major goal involved in monitoring the progress is to establish proper and clear goals for Mrs.
Mathews that will lead to successful educational experiences for her students. Monitoring progress will also help by setting proper expectations of goal completion from Mrs.
Mathews’ immediate supervisor. Mrs. Mathews’ supervisor will serve as her coach and thus will use various forms of encouragement, rewards, and will continually review the established expectations and goals that the two decide to focus on and discuss.
Mrs. Mathews and her supervisor will begin by developing a progress plan. This progress plan will focus on 2-3 areas of opportunity for Mrs. Mathews to improve upon.
The progress plan will be reviewed and a new one will be developed every semester.
When completed successfully each progress plan will have new goals and focus areas.
While creating the progress plan, Mrs. Mathews and her supervisor will discuss and document what success will look like if each of the goals are achieved in regards to certain outcomes which benefit the students. Mrs. Mathews and her supervisor will also discuss and document the proposed benefit for the students for each goal.
Each goal that is entailed on each progress report should be a SMART goal
(specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely). The progress on each of the current goals will be discussed in bi-weekly one on one meetings with Mrs. Mathews and her supervisor. The supervisor will review how goal completion is going for Mrs.
Mathews. The supervisor will also give feedback to Mrs. Mathews to include, positive reinforcement, kudos for positive trends, constructive feedback, areas of opportunities, and a review of expectations.
At the end of each semester, completion of the semesters progress plan will be reviewed. Upon review, the supervisor will give feedback on whether each goal has been reached successfully. The supervisor will also identify and document whether the goal should be abandoned. The supervisor will also include any other feedback in regards to reaching of the goals and the subsequent activities that took place in the reaching of the goals. During the review, Mrs. Mathews and her supervisor will have a documented discussion about what issues and or challenges that Mrs. Mathews faced. The supervisor will also give feedback about how the challenges were met along with any suggestions of alternative solutions.
Coming to Closure
Determine whether Mrs. Mathews feels like the plan is reasonable. Negotiating the details of the action plan and the role of the mentor provides the boundaries and the strategy for implementation of the action plan. At the end of it all Mrs. Mathews and the mentor should know exactly what roles they have and what they expect to get out of it.
During the negotiation phase Mrs. Mathews and the mentor will establish how often they will meet to discuss concerns and observations; how often the mentor will be observing and helping Mrs. Mathews, and how often they will meet to continue developing the professional relationship they have initiated.
During this phase the mentor and Mrs. Mathews will establish guidelines and rules for how they will deal with any obstacles or stumbling blocks they encounter on the way. They will also develop a plan for how they will adjust the action plan as required by the circumstances they encounter on the way. Basically the action plan becomes a living breathing agreement that changes and grows also without losing site of the goals.