Culture Building Relationships Strategy

Culture Building Relationships Strategy

Gregory (2008) states that, “to sustain a professional learning community, job embedded learning must be an ongoing activity” (pg. 11). I read a quote that says, “If you dare to teach, then you must dare to learn” (Anonymous). Alike students as learners, teachers as learners benefit from multiple opportunities to learn. Those opportunities are created when teachers are afforded the time, space, structures, and support to engage in job embedded development activities. These activities are like a learn-try-evaluate cycle that repeats over time with active teacher involvement and immediate implementation. It gives educators a chance to learn,
an opportunity to try it in their own classroom and then evaluate their performance. Teachers acquire these new skills and the capacity to materialize new practices that will and can lead to school improvement and increase student achievement. Coaching is a strategy that is based on a relationship established between two parties to meet a particular learning goal.
“It involves teachers in processes in which they collaborate, refine, reflect, conduct research, expand on ideas, build skills and knowledge, and problem solve in order to improve student learning and achievement” (Fullan, 1995). These relationships are built around shared purposes and mutual goals among the adults involved. Coaches can be any one ranging from principals, teachers, to even specialists who support instructional improvement in a wide variety of professional development activities. According to research, “coaching appears to be a promising approach because it strives to blend what is known about effective professional development with school-based and school-specific needs regarding both content and school climate” (Neufeld & Roper, 2003). Coaching emphasizes personal empowerment and responsibility towards the educator’s development. “Instead of telling or advising, the coach assists in self-discovery by using probing questions, active listening, reflection and objective feedback to assist the client in creating new possibilities for action” (Neufeld & Roper, 2003). It helps because it gives an individual a personalized plan, process or approach that best suits them therefore producing a transformational change. It can provide authentic learning opportunities based on teachers’ daily experiences. Coaching aids learning from and with
colleagues, sustained over time, where reflection, analysis, dialogue and problem solving strategies are applied. D. Foxman (2010) did a study on efforts of the Standard Elementary School District and Central Unified School District in California to provide professional development to educators. It mentions that both school districts have preferred to choose an old-fashioned capacity building and investing strategies through coaching and professional learning using the federal stimulus fund. “By combining the teaching of best practices in professional development programs with follow-up coaching on implementation, it ensured that educators and administrators translate ideas into action and produce measurable results” (Foxman, 2010). He also stated that, “the impact of coaching often goes beyond improving content instruction. The conditions, behaviors, and practices required by an effective coaching program can affect the culture of a school or system, thus embedding instructional change within broader efforts to improve school-based culture and conditions” (Foxman, 2010). A key element for any professional development especially coaching is setting goals.
I believe that establishing goals is one of the most essential processes that a person can accomplish. An article written People Management by D. Megginson discusses the importance of goal setting for coaching success. D. Megginson (2007) states that, “ setting goals is often seen as being at the core of coaching. Goals can provide you with direction and contribute to the process of forming a shared vision. In this article, it was argued that you MUST start a coaching session by having a person set a goal to achieve within their work and then have them set a goal for the coaching itself. Some felt that, “goals could oversimplify the relationship and lead to the dialogue being superficial and circumscribed from the start, not allowing deeper issues to emerge. Which raised the question of, would a rigorous goal regime best help this client, or is having an agreed direction for the conversation quite enough” (D. Megginson, 2007)? I believe that setting goals are important because it gives you an idea as to where you want to go or it pushes you for something to strive for. It does not take away from the conversation nor make a coach’s job easy because as long as a goal is set and achieved all is right in the educational field!
Coaching creates opportunities for professional development for teachers and principals. It can combine the complex skills of creating partnerships, establishing trusting
relationships, and aiding in instructional growth. Coaching is fundamentally about teachers, teacher leaders, and school administrators, examining practice in reflective ways, with a strong focus on student learning and results as the ultimate gauge of improvement.

References
Foxman, D. (2010). INVESTING IN PEOPLE for sustainable improvement. Leadership, 39(4), 18-19. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/ehost/detail?

Fullan, M.G. (1995). “The Limits and the Potential of Professional Development.” In Professional Development in Education, ed. T.R. Huskey and M. Huberman, 258-267. New York: Teachers College Press. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/ehost/detail?

Gregory, G. (2008). Differentiated instructional strategies in practice: Training, implementation, and supervision (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin.
Megginson, D. (2007). IS GOAL SETTING REALLY ESSENTIAL FOR COACHING SUCCESS?. People Management, 13(21), 48. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/ehost/detail?

Neufeld, B., & Roper, D. (2003). Coaching: A Strategy for Developing Instructional Capacity, Promises, and Practicalities. Washington, DC: Aspen Institute Program on Education and Providence, RI: Annenberg Institute for School Reform, 2003. Download available on the Web at .