Collegial Conversations

CEL’s webinar:  Colleagues from around the nation weigh in on the same topic.

“We are looking for tools to evaluate our coaching model, both in terms of collecting evidence of effects of coaching on students and teachers, as well as evaluating the coach.  Any suggestions?”

This question was posed by Cindy Stockwell, Assistant Superintendent of Nooksack Valley School District, to school leaders from across North America who participated in a live CEL webinar.  This online discussion on November 18th provided colleagues with an opportunity to deepen their learning about a critical topic in education:  how to improve classroom instruction in every classroom, for every child. 

Katherine Casey, nationally recognized author and coach, moderated the discussion. In response to Cindy’s question she shared, “I like to build into my coaching model artifacts, rubrics and ways to design assessment…I ask teachers to write reflections on how the coaching has affected their work. So are you gathering exit slips or evaluations, or other tools that teachers are commenting on how their work has changed? I ask teachers to take digital photographs of charts that they’ve made over time to see how they’ve changed over time—how their classroom environment or lesson plans have changed. We should talk with teachers: “We’re spending valuable time together, so how are we going to measure our growth? What are we going to collect from students? What do we collect from ourselves to help make that clear?”

This webinar was offered in conjunction with an online course titled, “Creating an Action Plan for Professional Learning.” This “do at your own pace” online course is specifically designed to support K-12 central office administrators, principals, coaches, and teacher-leaders as they develop a strategic action plan to support professional learning.

Pamela Van Nest, an instructional coach from Ontario, Canada shared, “Thank you for an informative and enjoyable session. The discussions helped to clear up some questions and challenges I face as an instructional coach. One action I plan to take is to start asking the teachers that I am presently working with for feedback about how coaching has impacted their students' learning, as well as how WE could measure that impact and our own professional growth.”

In addition to the online webinar, participants of the course are invited to provide feedback to one another on their respective action plans. This type of “in the moment” support is just one example of how CEL works with educators to improve the quality of instruction for all students. To learn about additional professional learning opportunities, click here.