Troubleshooting Coaching Cycles
Shari Frost
Last summer, we were fortunate to host Diane Sweeney at our coaching summer institute. Diane introduced us to the idea of coaching cycles. She assured us that coaching cycles would help us be more productive. The coaches were fascinated by the concept. Several confessed that their efforts to be everything to everyone had resulted in "drive-by coaching." After additional reading, discussion, and planning, the coaches were ready to dive in.
Some coaches strictly adhered to Diane's suggested model. First, they worked on building and solidifying relationships with teachers. Then they looked for openings to initiate a coaching cycle - remembering Diane's advice that student work is the best opening. When an opening was identified, the coach visited the teacher's classroom to watch current instruction. Finally, the coach and the teacher met to develop a plan, and the cycle began. Other coaches adapted this model, incorporating previously established practices. After everyone had gone through at least one coaching cycle, we got together to discuss our experiences.
While everyone agreed that coaching cycles made their work more efficient and productive, some of the coaches experienced some difficulty along the way. We didn't expect to flawlessly execute a coaching cycle on the first attempt, but the bumps in the road were disappointing. We talked through the pitfalls and came up with some ideas to make our next attempts at coaching cycles run more smoothly.
Getting the Administration on Board
The most prevalent obstacle to a successful coaching cycle was the principal. Principals presented two challenges. The first challenge was the principal's input in determining who would participate in a coaching cycle. One coach was initially thrilled that her principal absolutely loved the idea of coaching cycles. To the coach's horror, the principal immediately grabbed some paper and a pen to work on making a list of the teachers who needed a coaching cycle on a specific topic.
The coach, against her better judgment, attempted to implement a "principal-prescribed coaching cycle." She knew that it was probably not a good idea, but she thought that maybe coaching cycles might be more readily embraced by the teachers if they were viewed as "principal sanctioned." She scheduled a meeting with a teacher from the principal's list. The normally loquacious teacher was so upset that he only mumbled monosyllabic responses to the coach's efforts to engage him in a conversation about his current practice. During the cycle of instruction, the coach found herself teaching most of the lessons while the teacher sulked in the back of the classroom.
The solution to this challenge is straightforward. A principal's directive to participate in a coaching cycle is simply not the best opening. The teacher's perception is sure to be that s/he is "doing something wrong" and the coach is going to "fix it." That can be a recipe for disaster! An open and honest conversation with the principal about how coaching cycles (even coaching in general) work might go a long way toward overcoming this obstacle. It also helps to be proactive and establish regularly scheduled meetings with the principal. Part of these meetings would include educating the principal on best practices in literacy coaching.
The other challenge presented by principals was pulling the coach away from a scheduled coaching cycle activity to attend to some "emergency." If a coach misses too many planning or instructional sessions in a coaching cycle, it is destined to fail. The coach's credibility will also suffer. Principals ask coaches to attend meetings, administer assessments to new students, substitute, or engage in any of a variety of tasks that the principal perceives as urgent.
One coach found the perfect sentence to put a halt to this behavior. She would say something like, "Mrs. Jones and her fifth graders are waiting for me right now to do writing workshop." This sentence helps to remind the principal of something that most principals agree with but sometimes lose sight of, namely that instruction is the most important thing that happens in a school. Other coaches tried it out. They report that it always gets the principal's attention and usually works.
Full Disclosure of Gradual Release
Some coaches reported that teachers seemed to have misunderstood the terms of the coaching cycle agreement. The teachers were disappointed, and in some cases disgruntled, when they realized that the coach would eventually turn over complete responsibility of the instruction to them. The teachers really loved the co-planning and co-teaching and didn't want the coach to leave. The coaches that faced this problem were confounded. They were sure that the teacher had understood how long the cycle would last.
We decided that a more explicit agreement with lots of reminders was in order. The whole idea of a coaching cycle is to empower and support teachers in good instructional practices. The teacher cannot be allowed to get the idea that they can implement writing workshop (or literature circles, or guided reading, etc.) only if the coach is present. In the coaching cycle agreement, the co-teaching activities would be front-loaded, with their number gradually diminishing as the cycle progresses. In the last sessions of the coaching cycle, the teacher would be doing all of the instruction. The coach would still meet with teacher for planning and classroom visits - but not teach. Throughout the cycle, the coach should remind the teacher that there are only four weeks (or three weeks, or two weeks...) left in the cycle. In the final planning sessions, s/he should have discussions about how the teacher can sustain the practice and plan for follow-up visits to take place a few weeks after the end of the cycle. Chances are that the teachers will still be sad when the cycle is over, but they will be better prepared for it.
This raises the whole issue of co-teaching. Brooke O'Drobinak is a coach in Denver who has extensive experience with coaching cycles. She says that she does not do any co-teaching in coaching cycles. She co-plans only. When she visits a classroom during her coaching cycle, her role is to be an extra set of eyes and ears for the teacher. She engages in activities such as sitting just outside of a literature discussion group and transcribing the students' discussions. She and the teacher use the transcripts in their planning.
What about Me?
One of the biggest challenges related to coaching cycles was faced by coaches who had established the practice of working in all classrooms. They created schedules in which they'd get into each classroom weekly, or at least once every two weeks in larger schools or multiple schools. During their classroom visits, these coaches would conduct minilessons, confer with students, help teachers catch up on assessments, and engage in any number of activities that would enhance literacy instruction in that classroom. The teachers looked forward to their period with the coach. Many of the classroom sessions with the coach were planned at the weekly grade level meetings.
Imagine these teachers' surprise and disappointment when the coach didn't show up for their weekly session! Some coaches report that there was some overt hostility expressed toward the lucky teachers who got to participate in the first round of coaching cycles. Coaches did their best to reassure all the teachers that they would eventually get an opportunity to participate in a cycle. Some coaches even made the mistake of attempting to take on more cycles than they were able to comfortably support.
The solution to this challenge is a practice that had already been firmly established with all of the coaches in the network - a transparent schedule. The practice of posting a transparent schedule helps everyone in the building see where the coach is and what the coach is doing at any given time. The importance of the transparent schedule is elevated with the implementation of coaching cycles. Now the weekly posted schedules also report where the coaches are in their coaching cycles. For instance, a posted schedule might say:
10:30-11:15 Writing Workshop Room 210, Week 4 of a 10-week cycle
Even the most disappointed teacher will see and understand that the coach won't be in Room 210 forever, and her turn might come in only six weeks.
Looking Ahead
Literacy coaching is just in its infancy. We must continue to seek out ways to do the job more effectively if coaching is going to survive the test of time. A coaching cycle is a way to give a coach extended time working with teachers on solidifying good instructional practices. Of course, good instruction leads to improved student achievement.
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About
Jennifer Allen
