You have been coaching Teacher A for 6 months. You’ve gotten to know each other well, you understand her classroom and some of the frustrations she has with the working environment. After your coaching sessions you’ve identified some issues and discussed solutions, but each time you return you discover the issues are the same and the solutions were never tried. As you leave you wonder, “what have I accomplished, why am I not seeing positive change, what am I missing?”
Teachstone is pleased to announce that starting June 3rd, we will be launching our public offering of the Child Development Associate with CLASS®. Enrollment will open on May 6. It is a comprehensive online program that supports learners seeking to fulfill the continued education requirements for maintaining their Child Development Associate (CDA) accreditation.
Group coaching has been proven to be effective at improving the quality of teaching. In group settings, teachers can motivate each other and learn from one another’s experiences. Coaches have a unique opportunity of building rapport within their cohort of teachers and supporting their growth.
Tweaking titles, choosing CLASS-themed swag, supporting presenters … it’s just another day at Teachstone with the 4th Annual InterAct CLASS Summit just six short weeks away!
We recently talked about why annual recertification is important (bottom line: it’s your yearly chance to test yourself against master-coded videos). But what about between recertifications? How do your observers ensure that they stay reliable throughout the year?
Think about your favorite group learning experience. What made it so memorable? Was it the collaboration with your peers? Learning from each other’s experience? Feeling supported in your practice?
Imagine you are steering a boat filled with precious cargo across the foggy surface of a lake. You need to deliver it safely to the other side so that it can be used to help the town. You can see some lights faintly through the fog, so you know the town is there, but you are really uncertain about finding the dock. You paddle forward tentatively, even a little fearfully.
Being an instructional coach or mentor is difficult. Sometimes it may feel like you don't have any support—especially when it comes to providing effective feedback to the teachers you work with. Have you, as a coach, ever asked yourself any of the following questions?
