Because we have that trust-ing relationship, they’re going to start opening up to me about things as things start to come up,

evidence it helps stu-dents academically as well

an instructional coach. “Every single teacher can be developed and every single teacher can grow,” she says. “As a result of growing every teacher, we’ll be growing and supporting every student. That way we can ensure that every one of our students has the best teacher standing in front of them.

Teacher modeling should provide students with examples of the thinking and language required to be successful

o help establish an outside support network, start by arranging meetings between teachers par-\ ticularly at the beginning of the year. Reach out using social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter \ or simply send out a mass email to any colleagues who might be interested. You might also organize logistics (such as deciding a meeting time and finding a location), bring snacks, provide reflection ques- / tions and discussion starters, or offer to host a question-and-answer session. / ff Meetings can be strictly professional, strictly personal, or a combination of the two. For professional meetings, publicly post a discussion topic using social media or an electronic mailing list. Teachers who are interested in the topic can voluntarily attend the meeting. Sample topics for professional meetings might include: ¢ Creating a community of learners in your classroom ¢ Pacing a lesson or unit ¢ Communicating with parents ¢ Mastering work-life balance e Understanding the evaluation process e Increasing student engagement * Connecting assessment and grading e Managing student behavior ¢ Fostering technology skills in the classroom ¢ Using homework and enrichment efficiently / ¢ Participating in action research In a personal meeting, simply allow attendees to get to know one another. To break the ice, present some conversation starters on cards at tables or on a projection screen. These could include questions such as the following.

and

Mentors

CONTENT KNOWLEDGE.

The ultimate aims of these interactions are to support self-directed learning by protégés and enhance their capacities for engaging in productive collegial relationships.

Co-teaching is the practice of sharing responsibility equally between the coach and the teacher during the instruction of a lesson. Both teacher and coach plan the lesson using the curriculum and a lesson plan- ning tool. The co-taught lesson always follows the natural course of the curriculum rather than deviating from it to accommodate the co-teaching. Coach and teacher determine in advance the role each will play in the les- son

teaching

progress

video-record their own lessons and watch the video with their mentor to receive focused feedback. The process of video recording need not be cumbersome or expensive; most modern technology tools—such as smartphones, tablets, and computers—have video-recording capabilities. Video recording can be particularly beneficial if a mentor is unable to observe a mentee in person because of scheduling issues. It also allows a mentor and mentee to pause the video to discuss specific steps or aspects of the strategy.

Table 5.1: Generic Scale for Measuring Teacher Progress

By focusing on routines right away, mentors and mentees can create an environ- ment in which students understand the class expectations and can gauge how well their own actions align with those expectations.

one category of lesson segments at a time.

instead of seeing the first year as a trial run, a warm-up, or a practice year, mentors should offer targeted instructional support, challenging mentees to improve their instructional skills and expand their repertoire of effective strategies.

alancing directive coaching with collaborative and non-directive coaching can be difficult, especially when nov- ice teachers seek specific direction from their mentors. Using a gradual release model with new teachers is essential to supporting novice teachers. By helping novice teachers move along a continuum of development, coaches encourage them to become expert profes- sionals who make instructional decisions that make a positive impact on student learning

Mentors ensure that new teachers and those new to the school or district are acclimated and acculturated into their new workplace.

professionals

ImplicitinFigure1.4isthenotionthattheschool (as opposedto thedistrict)istheproperfocus for reform.Indeed,thisisacon-sistentconclusionintheresearchliterature(Scheerens&Bosker, 1997;Reynolds&Teddlie,2000;Wang,Haertel&Walberg,1993).WhileIshareChubbandMoe’scon-cern that district-level centraladministrationcansometimes impedeschool reform,Ibelievethat thecurrent structureofpubl

teachers

ofthestudentswhoattendtheschool.Specifically,theseschoolsprovide interventionsthataredesignedtoovercomestudentbackgroundcharacteristicsthatmightimpedelearning.Theseinterven-tionsaredetailedinSectionIIIof thisbook.Fornow,itis-sufficienttosaythatthisisaremarkable possibility—onethatprovidesgreathopeforpublic education.

ssertion 4: The schools that are highlyeffective produce results that almostentirely overcome the effects of studentbackground.

tletobearonachild'sachievementthatisindependentofhisbackgroundandgeneralsocialcontext; andthatthisverylack of anindependenteffectmeansthatthe inequali-tiesimposedonchildrenbytheirhome,neighborhood,andpeerenvironmentarecarriedalongtobecometheinequalitieswithwhichtheyconfrontlifeattheendofschool.(p.325)

(1959)forwardedthepositionthatpubliceducationwas weakening the intellectualcapacity of our students. Rickover’s book,Education and Freedom, made direct linksbetween the securi