RUNNING HEAD: COACHING JOURNAL

Coaching Journal

Krofton Montgomery

ITEC 7460 Professional Learning & Technology Innovation

Mr. Rotjan

Kennesaw State University

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Introduction

Coaching sessions during the Fall of 2017 took place over the month of October

and early November. The instructional technology coach I worked with is Mrs. F, an 11-

12 grade Psychology teacher. The idea of these coaching sessions was to involve

modeling through a peer-to-peer coaching model. Needs assessment, planning, modeling,

observing, and reflecting are the parts of the model that Knight includes (Knight, p. 22).

Knight indicates that instructional coaches get teachers in the coaching process through

informal conversations at school. This is exactly how my coaching colleague was picked.

I already had an established professional relationship with Mrs. Fickey. The coaching

relationship began through informal conversations about technology integration that were

sparked by Mrs. F’s willingness to adopt blended learning using technology.

Coaching Session 1: October 2, 2017

Strategies

The first formal coaching session took place before school in my classroom. Mrs.

F wanted to come to my room to see my set-up of technology. I must include Mrs. F’s

first statement at the beginning of the session. She stated, “Technology should enhance

teaching not replace it”. I thought that was a relevant statement to include from the

beginning. Goals for the beginning session were to introduce her to coaching methods,

and assess her current use of technology. Developing a coaching plan is the end goal for

the first session. Mrs. F had taken the two surveys and most recently the change adapter

survey. I had a glimpse into where she needed help. One area of Knight’s book that I

wanted to make sure I followed was observing and providing feedback (Knight, p. 29). I

did this by using a checklist of technology indicators. I was able to complete this by
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observing one of Mrs. F’s classes and made sure to keep it focused on just usage of

technology. It allowed me to ask Mrs. F follow up questions when going through general

technology use during the coaching session itself.

The partnership philosophy is what I chose to use in the instructional coaching. I

made sure to give Mrs. F choice in making sure not one individual was making decisions

for one another (Knight, p. 24). Mrs. F has been a teacher for 28 years and has seen

many changes. She had never actually had one-on-one coaching from a colleague before.

I made sure to show her the philosophy and strategy that we would be using. I let her

look at the Knight book so she understood the background. Mrs. F acknowledged that

she appreciated the opportunity to choose the coaching topic and to engage in dialogue.

Mrs. F believed the one on one instruction was preferred to professional learning

workshops she has attended because she was able to alter the learning based on what she

wanted to use. Reflection is something I encouraged Mrs. F to note as she explored

Canvas on her own. I encouraged her to if she could adopt strategies we talked about into

her own classroom.

Before the first coaching session, I went back through the technology survey

results. The responses on the survey rehashed my memory to remind me what my

colleague felt and wanted out of technology coaching. Results from the change adapter

survey and technology implementation survey was a good starting point for discussion.

Communication and analyzing the results in a conversation led to the start of the coaching

plan.

Results from the change adapter survey and technology implementation survey

helped Mrs. F make suggestions verbally of the skills she wanted to learn. The most
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specific technology tool was the Canvas interface that our school uses. She wanted to

know how to administer a formative assessment on the program and use the many tools

the system offers.

Knight’s tactic for managing change effectively is something I kept in mind

having just read the chapter in his book. I wanted Mrs. F to pick something she felt was

something she could use often. Canvas has become a large point of the schools SIP goal

and Mrs. F wanted to be on the positive side of blended formative assessments instead of

the needs improvement.

At conclusion of the first session, Mrs. F decided that she wanted to focus on

learning how to use technology as a formative assessment tool. The specific platform we

focused on is Canvas. Mrs. F. wanted to learn how to use a platform that so many

colleagues are already using. Conversations amongst my colleague and me allowed for

easy transitions into just showing her what I already knew. We spent 5 to 10 minutes just

looking at Canvas interfaces and tools.

Skill and Affective Changes

I noticed very little change in personality or daily interaction with Mrs. F. One

thing I did notice was she was sending me emails asking about log in and different

technology tools found on the schools launch point interface. Mrs. F through casual

conversation said she appreciated the genuine concern to help her. Some of the skills I

saw her use involved having students use their chrome books to do their bell ringers on

Canvas. Mrs. F’s view of the coach- teacher relationship is that I was expected to show

her my knowledge and she was to use it to her benefit. She also felt at ease that I was
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not an administrator, and told me she could have conversations with me that were

genuine.

Mrs. F likes to look at things on paper. When I explained the partnership

approach to her I just opened Knight’s textbook to pages 24-25, it was all highlighted,

and she understood the stated goals. Mrs. F has 28 years of going to professional

developments where she did not feel she was receiving anything that was helpful in her

classroom. Partners are people that have a say and have the right to say yes or no

(Knight, p. 42). I promised that anything I showed her or helped her with would be only

what she uses in her room and she has a choice in what she utilizes. I felt confident we

were on the same page.

Reflection on Challenges and Solution

Knight mentions that “a starting point for instructional coaches is to work out

their beliefs about the partnership principles of equality, choice, voice, dialogue,

reflection, praxis, and reciprocity [and] to deeply understand these principles, first, so that

they can decide whether or not they will ground their actions in them” (Knight, p. 203).

These are the driving points for our coaching success to work. If these sessions were a

yearlong, I could see the process of coaching go through the many anecdotes Knight

Talks about in his book.

The time commitment required for coaching is my biggest challenge. I am a

football coach and teach three preps all honors level. I enjoy helping other teachers, but I

spread myself extremely thin in the fall. It makes me think about being a full time

instructional coach as something that requires a massive amount of time. I am not sure
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you could coach a major sport and be as effective as you would want to be. Three

coaching sessions are doable, but to have twenty over a year I am not sure I could have

my current schedule and pull this off. Most of our meetings we do at lunch during a 35

minute flex period where we talk about technology and professional learning sessions. I

generally use this time to grade and get my own lesson plans done. Adjustments on my

personal schedule will take place.

Knight talks about taking care of one’s self in order to be the best coach one can

be (Knight, p. 214). This is something I need to pay close attention too. I have trouble

saying no to a lot of things. I got to makes sure to distinguish my role from myself and

not take it personally.

Session 2: October 10, 2017

Time and implementation are crucial for success. I feel while coaching that

providing the materials allows Mrs. F to focus on the utilization in our limited time.

According to Knight, teachers do not try new teaching practices because “they do not

have the time or desire to put together all the materials necessary to try something new”

(p. 207). This is something that is evident amongst conversations with staff about the

coaching that Mrs. F and I were doing.

I emailed Mrs. F a list of resources she could explore on top of what we were

try to achieve with Canvas. One of my goals was to provide Mrs. F with how to tutorials

on the basics of Canvas. Mrs. F was confused at times, about what each tool did on

Canvas. She thought you could upload an assignment and it would automatically be in a

format for usage. That was when I decided to put instructions into a google folder so she

had access at all times. She is a visual learner so I made paper copies for her also.
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Before the second coaching session, Mrs. F wanted to let me know that she

wanted to use the Canvas discussion tool as a formative assessment during her IB

Psychology courses that is a requirement of the school lesson plan. This is something I

had to embed into Plan book to change her approach of what she wanted out of Canvas.

The second session took place in my room and the first thing we did was have Mrs. F

show me what she had done on Canvas. She particularly liked the PDF step-by-step

instructions on how to upload a google doc to canvas. Knight emphasizes the importance

of the coach and the teacher learning from each other, stressing that “the teachers’

knowledge and expertise” are just as important as that of the coach (Knight, p. 16).

Many factors are important in the partnership approach to coaching. Modeling is very

important when a teacher is trying to see the program in action. I want Mrs. F. to be a

“student” in my modeling lessons. It is always good to see it from both viewpoints.

Knight suggests five effective strategies to accelerate teacher learning—

“collaborating, modeling, observing, providing feedback, and providing support”

(Knight, p. 27). These strategies are straightforward and easy to understand. My second

collaboration with Mrs. F was about using the Canvas platform to as an effective

formative assessment tool. The data that it can create instantaneously is something she

loves to try to shape her instruction. “Coaches make it possible for teachers to take time

to have real conversations about teaching”. (Knight, p. 28.) From this comes a

partnership that Mrs. F and I were able to establish. We agreed upon me showing

students how to take their assessments on Canvas and the logistics that go with it.

Reciprocity that Knight deems as important was evident in our partnership approach

(Knight, p. 206). Mrs. F was interested to know how the students would do with the
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function of the program and the end result data. She was worried they would be off task

and surf the web. I assured her that the program keeps students within its software.

It is important to understand the coaches and teachers role in the coaching model.

Mrs. F and I concluded that I would model and teach the class and her most of the

material we were trying to achieve. I decided to model the assessments, notes,

discussions, and upload features for the students and Mrs. F so she could see it as well as

her class at the same time. This was decided upon because she wanted to learn as much as

she could in limited time. I wanted Mrs. F and her students to be aware that we were

going to use a class period that Mrs. F picked for me to come in and go through the

features she wanted to use. Knight discusses that in a partnership philosophy the

instructional coach and the teacher should construct observation forms together in order

to increase teacher buy-in and to make sure both the coach and the teacher understand all

the items listed on the form (Knight, p. 46). At the end of the second session, Mrs. F and I

went over the observation form (Appendix A) that would help us put our focus in the

right area (Knight, p. 30).

Skill and Affective Changes

Changes took place before, during, and after the second coaching session. There

was a different vibe and pace employed. By the end, Mrs. F was positive and

enthusiastic. Before this coaching session, Mrs. F had never administered a formative

assessment on Canvas. She was able to do this and grade it with my instruction and

modeling. Mrs. F amazes me at her willingness to learn new things especially having

been in a classroom for 28 years. She took the PDF’s of instructions that I created

(Appendix B) and was able to do most of the goals that we had already listed. Her
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confidence was high and she immediately wanted to share the grading feature with other

veteran colleagues.

Reflection on Challenges and Solution

The first challenge I had with Mrs. F was getting her to trust the process of

Canvas tools. She was not keen on me using a coaching form or strategy and wanted me

to show her how to use the program. She felt that it was a hoop to jump through instead

of any substance. I explained to her that the coaching form is something that I was using

to make sure I did not miss anything and enhance our sessions.

Looking at the first obstacle it would have been easy to throw in the towel and say

let us go through the motions. Instead, I trusted Knight’s strategies and stayed with it.

Knight states that collaborators “should be free to say what they think and their opinions

should count” (Knight, p. 43). I made sure that Mrs. F knew that her opinion was valued

and could voice it to me. I value Mrs. F’s willingness to work with me and understood

her concerns. I explained that an observation form would allow us to make sure we got

everything we could out of the coaching session. I let Mrs. F go to Knight’s website to

look at all the forms and other materials that existed. She liked the ability to see what I

was coaching.

Reflection is something Knight’s book talks about often and something I

wholeheartedly agree with. Acceptance or rejection has to be available before a teacher

will adopt an idea (Knight, p. 47). Reflection “in action” compared to reflection “on

action” are two separate entities (Schon, 1987). During the coaching sessions, both types

of reflection were taking place. Reflective “in action” example was Mrs. F telling me she
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wants to run all her class procedures through canvas while discussing how to put a quiz

on the assignment tabs. She was thinking about the usage while in practice.

Session 3: October 26, 2017

The final coaching session we moved into Mrs. F’s classroom. I spent countless

hours going through the content of the developed lesson that Mrs. F and me had put

together to execute. Some of the tactics that were used included confronting reality

(Knight, p. 209). I had to understand that 28 years in a classroom is a long time.

Routines are hard to break and to make sure improvement takes place I had to be real

with what we were trying to accomplish. To make sure I was ready for the modeled

lesson I spent multiple nights going over my instructions, PowerPoint, and logistics for

the training. I referenced the coaching form to make sure I was touching on the facets of

coaching that were important.

Knight shows how a modeled demonstration is supposed to look through a middle

school instructional coach in his book. That personal anecdote was something that stuck

out when going through this process. Students understood Mrs. F and I were

collaborating teachers. I was just the teacher that was showing with confidence how to

use the digital tools Mrs. F wanted her students to be using. I was just the assist to get

them going in the right direction. I made sure Mrs. F students understood my learning

objective and we were able to go through all the apps Mrs. F wanted me to get through.

During the lesson Mrs. F was in the “I Watch You” mode and was taking notes, which

was pleasantly surprising (Knight, p. 121).

Mrs. F and I met after lunch (during flex) to talk about the demonstration lesson.

Mrs. F steered the conversation into what she felt we should do for her students. We
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discussed how students responded to Canvas and the change in her teaching style in the

last month. Mrs. F thought they were shocked that she had started to have them gather a

chrome book when entering the room. She went from using a paper bell ringer to a

discussion prompt online that engaged the students and pleased her efforts. She loved the

organization of having their responses in front of her at all times. We decided to look

into the quiz tool to eliminate the need for paper and hand grading. The time left in the

third session we conversed and worked on adding in Module quizzes that Mrs. F planned

on administering. After the lesson, Mrs. F was all in on using Canvas. She was not

afraid to tackle to challenge.

Skill and Affective Changes

Mrs. F’s flexibility to using Canvas is growing on a daily basis. Her initiative to

work on the platform has enabled her students to get immediate feedback and have a

central location for many activities. Mrs. F stops me in the hall with questions during the

week often and I will stop in and show her something real quick to help her. I have

responded by bookmarking many sources and giving her paper handouts. I am impressed

Mrs. F is still eager to keep learning new approaches. I know that Mrs. F will utilize the

tools that she has learned through our coaching experience after I am through coaching

her.

Mrs. F’s excitement is not as much for the technology tools as it is for

convenience. She still prefers the old school method, but loves the face that Canvas can

grade quizzes immediately and students can see their scores. She also feels that coaching

and learning these skills would be important if she had ten years left in the classroom.
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Reflection on Challenges and Solution

I wanted to be very clear on the information that I shared with my coaching

colleague (Knight, p. 204). At the same time, I wanted to praise my colleague when she

did well with some of the tools we were working with. As Mrs. F became more proficient

in her knowledge of Canvas and all its tools, she started to explore the platform herself.

Knight stated, “Together as equals so they can share ideas, create new knowledge, and

learn” teachers and coaches will have a true partnership (Knight, p. 46). I think this is a

very true and profound statement for instructional coaching. Some challenges I

encountered was making sure that extra chrome books were available in case there were

any problems with the technology tools that were present.

In closing, I want to address “Tacit Knowledge,” which Knight describes as the

techniques experienced teachers use that are not included in teaching manuals (Knight,

2007, p. 119). Modeling the Canvas tools for Mrs. F and her students gave me an

opportunity to reflect on what I do well and what I can improve on. I believe by

modeling the lesson students and Mrs. F were able to get two to three things that can truly

use in their daily classroom instruction. I truly enjoyed the experience of helping Mrs. F

with her Canvas usage. Mrs. F thanked me through email and in person for all of my

help these past few months.

References

Knight, J. (2007). Instructional coaching: A partnership approach to improving

instruction. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

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Schön, D.A. (1987) Educating the Reflective Practitioner. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Publishers
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Appendix A

coaching tools

Coaching Plan
Enroll

Identify

Explain

Mediate

Model

Observe

Explore

Refine
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Appendix: B

Sharing Documents in GoogleDrive to Canvas

1. Create or Upload Folders for each unit

2. Within the Unit Folder- add a student folder

3. Drag and Drop documents that you want students to see- (it doesn’t make a copy, it
just moves location)
4. Click on the folder, but do not go into the folder
5. Click on the link button - Click share settings

6. Click get shareable link

7. Set link to anyone at Hallco can view

8. Copy the URL and paste into your Canvas Unit Resource page (you can also type words
and then highlight and hyperlink if you that looks cleaner to you)
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