Advanced Training for Reading First Coaches Section 3 Strengthening Communication

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Advanced Training for Reading First
CoachesSection 3 Strengthening Communication
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Strengthening Communication Content

• Revisit What You Know
• Coaching Relationship
• Communication Strategies
• Sharpen Your Skills
• Evidence-Based Observation
• Evidence-Based Feedback
• Really Listening
• Consider Tips and Cautions
• Determine Next Steps

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Strengthening Communication

• Leaders have highly effective communication
  skills.
• They communicate in a clear, compelling, and
  convincing manner, frequently and with
  conviction.
• And, they really listen.

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Strengthening Communication

• Revisiting What You Know

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Revisiting What You Know The Coaching
Relationship
The Basic Expectations of a Positive Coaching
Relationship RAPPORT How you
establish/maintain positive relationships
with the individuals you coach CONFIDENCE
How those you coach feel about your skills
credibility TRUST How they feel about your
honesty. (You will do no harm.)
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Building Rapport, Confidence, and Trust

• Use your sticky notes to jot down ideas for
• Building rapport with teachers, principal, and
  others
• Building the confidence of others in your
  abilities as a coach
• Building trust among your school faculty and staff

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The Coaching Relationship Building Rapport

• Rapport
• Smile!
• Establish personal connections
• Promote team-building/really be a part of the
  team
• Engage on many levels
• Provide assistance
• Display interest
• Smile!

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The Coaching Relationship Building Confidence

• Confidence
• Follow through
• Deepen your knowledge on SBRR
• Develop expertise on schools program(s)
• Communicate with conviction
• Take responsibility when things dont work
• Encourage multiple options/solutions

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The Coaching Relationship Building Trust

• Trust
• Ensure confidentiality
• Clarify roles and responsibilities
• Align yourself with teachers

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The Coaching Relationship Building Trust

• Trust is especially important during classroom
  visits and observations.
• Focus on student learning
• Remind teachers that you are not an evaluator
• Respect instructional time
• Be open with notes
• Listen first

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Reflection Activity Rapport, Confidence, Trust

• Consider
• Your skills in the areas of rapport, trust,
  confidence
• What do you feel best about?
• What needs improvement?
• Be prepared to share
• Which areas you need to revisit
• What you will do to improve

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Revisiting What You Know Communication
Strategies

• Revisit communication strategies
• Practice use of effective strategies
• Share suggestions and challenges

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Communication Strategies Examples of
Effective Skills

• Nonverbal gestures reflecting positive, open,
  attentive attitude
• Active listening
• Nonjudgmental reflection statements
• Feedback that focuses on student outcomes
• Paraphrasing
• Questioning
• Summarizing

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Effective Communication StrategiesPractice

• Practice Activity prompt
• Brief scenario In a conversation with a teacher
  about mid-year data, she shows a high level of
  frustration after assessing her students reading
  performance. The results were not good.
• Table Practice
• Use 7 communication strategies.
• Respond to the scenario using each communication
  strategy.

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Revisit Effective Communication Strategies

• Discuss with your colleagues your experiences as
  a coach using these communication strategies.
• What gives you the most trouble?
• What tips do you have for making these strategies
  work?

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Strengthening Communication

• Sharpening Your Skills

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Strengthening CommunicationSharpening Your
Skills

• Three Key Areas of Expertise
• Evidence-Based Observation
• Evidence-Based Feedback
• Really Listening

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Professional DevelopmentAsk the Experts

• I spend a lot of time writing complimentary notes
  to teachers after I observe them. I know it
  builds trust and rapport, but it doesnt seem to
  change actions in the classroom. Help! What can
  I do?

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Sharpening Your SkillsUsing Evidence-Based
Observation Feedback

• JUST THE FACTS
• Its challenging to stay with the facts!

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Observation Skills The Evidence

• Evidence is
• Observable
• Not influenced by observers perspective
• Free of evaluative words
• No conclusions drawn

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Observation Skills Opinions

• Opinion
• Makes inferences
• Depends on observers perspective
• Includes evaluative words
• Draws conclusions

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Observation Skills Evidence or Opinion?

• With a Partner .
• Mark either Evidence or Opinion for each
  statement.
• Try turning opinions into evidence-based
  statements.

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Evidence-Based Observation Types of
Observation Evidence

• Verbatim Scripting
• Observed Behavior
• Numeric Information
• Aspect of the Environment

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Evidence-Based Observation Evidence Statements

• PRACTICE
• Write one observation statement for each type of
  evidence.
• TURN and TALK
• Take turns reading evidence statements. Group
  gives feedback on ..
• Whether it is truly an evidence statement
• Which type of evidence statement it is

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Evidence-Based FeedbackIneffective Notes

• Enjoyed it!
• The kids are so lucky to have you.
• Thanks for inviting me!
• Keep up the good work.
• Nice dress

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Evidence-Based FeedbackEffective Notes

• Four Components
• Claim Statement that ties teacher performance
  to a certain skill
• Evidence Quote or literal description of what
  the teacher did (documentation)
• Interpretation Statement of what the teachers
  behavior accomplished
• Judgment Sentence or phrase that tells the
  reader what the writer thought of the behavior

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Evidence-Based Feedback Effective Notes
Examples

• Four Component Statements
• I saw you make a student refer to the
  Sound/Spelling Cards.
• You said to Brenda, Look at the cards. Do you
  see vowels? A. You said, What sounds does A
  make?
• By having her look at the cards, she was able to
  identify a vowel and its sound.
• Continuing to do this will surely produce
  proficient readers.

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Effective Notes More Examples

• Four Component Statements
• I saw you monitor students pronunciation during
  the practice of alphabet letter names.
• You had the students practice x and h and
  showed them how they used their tongues.
• By doing this, students were able to correctly
  pronounce the sound of the letter.
• Keep it up, were sure to get good readers.

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Evidence-Based FeedbackThe See Me Note

• FOCUS Change in behavior
• The four components stay the same.
• Interpretation may point out a missed
  opportunity. Use questions to cue this.
• Judgment needs to be carefully worded.

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Evidence-Based FeedbackThe See Me Note

• AN EXAMPLE
• While I was in your room today, I saw you have
  students individually write words with er/ir/ur.
• You called individual students (three) to the
  board.
• By having students do this one at a time, you may
  have missed an opportunity to have all of your
  students participate in the learning.
• Lets meet after school today and talk about some
  strategies for increasing student engagement.

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Sharpening Your SkillsLISTENING

• The greatest compliment that was ever paid me
  was when someone asked me what I thought, and
  attended to my answer.
• Henry David Thoreau

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Sharpening Your SkillsLISTENING

• Are You Listening?
• Question What is the opposite of speaking?
• Many would say listening is the opposite of
  speaking. Yet, too often in conversations, the
  reality is that rather than listening, the
  listener is merely waiting to talk!

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Professional DevelopmentAsk the Experts

• I understand the importance of listening, but I
  feel pressured and find myself rushing to answers
  and solutions. Help! What can I do to become a
  better listener?

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Sharpening Your SkillsCOMMITTED LISTENING

• Effective coaching happens in conversations when
  the teacher walks away feeling inspired,
  empowered, and enabled to act.
• Hargrove, 2003
• The first step in these conversations is
  Committed Listening.

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Strong Reminders.. Really Listening

• Listening is the foundation for reaching
  agreement. It allows information to get out into
  the open. It also builds relationshipsOnce
  genuine listening is established, all things are
  possible.
• Glaser Glaser, 2006

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Strong Reminders.. Really Listening

• By holding our tongues we will interrupt our
  negative thinking
• and possibly be better able
• to influence and persuade those whom we are
  leading.
• Glaser Glaser 2006

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Another Reminder.. Really Listening

• Successful communication depends on one
  all-too-elusive ability to really listen.
  This requires that within conflict situations we
  quiet our minds conversation and stop planning
  our next response and defending ourselves against
  criticism. We simply need to be still, on every
  level and just listen!
• Glaser Glaser 2006

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Are You Listening?

• Practice really listening with a partner
• Have a partner talk for 3 minutes sharing a
  challenging or negative experience as a Reading
  First coach.
• Provide no verbal response during the three
  minutes. Just listen. Debrief.
• Trade roles. Debrief.

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Sharpening Your Skills Really Listening
Closing Comments

• Recognize that
• Sometimes we are not committed listeners
• This has a direct impact on our coaching
  effectiveness.
• THE GOAL
• Be a Committed Listener!

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Strengthening Communication

• TIPS CAUTIONS

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Effective Communication General Tips

• Be as clear and explicit yourself as you expect
  teachers to be with their students
• Focus on the issue
• Request and give feedback
• Invite more information

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Effective Communication MORE GENERAL TIPS

• Add POWER to your conversations
• Sounding like a broken record is not always bad,
  BUT..
• Responding to the I-dont-knowers
• Using we in coaching conversations to
  underscore the partnership
• Understanding importance of what were NOT saying

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Strengthening CommunicationThe Point

• Leaders have highly effective communication
  skills.
• They communicate in a clear, compelling, and
  convincing manner, frequently and with
  conviction.
• And, they really listen.

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Strengthening Communication

• Final Reflection Think of a teacher
  conversation that youd like to replay. What
  have you learned today that would help you do it
  better?
• Turn and Talk Share your reflection with a
  partner.
• Next Steps What communication skills will I
  work on?

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IN CLOSING

• Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used
  by mankind.
• Rudyard Kipling