Royal Orchid Sheraton, Bangkok, Thailand
Diane Sweeney
Coaching Consultant; author of Student-Centered Coaching: The Moves, and Student-Centered Coaching: A Guide for K-8 Coaches and Principals.
Full Bio
DIANE SWEENEY is the author of the bestselling books, Student-Centered Coaching: The Moves (Corwin, 2016), Student-Centered Coaching: A Guide for K-8 Coaches and Principals (Corwin, 2011) and Student-Centered Coaching at the Secondary Level (Corwin, 2013).
Each of these books is grounded in the simple but powerful premise that coaching can be designed to more directly impact student learning. Her first book, Learning Along the Way (Stenhouse, 2003) shares the story of how an urban elementary school transformed itself into a learning community.
Ms Sweeney spends her time speaking and consulting for schools and educational organizations. She is also an instructor for the University of Wisconsin, Madison. When she isn’t working in schools, she loves to spend time outside with her family in Denver, Colorado.
- Preconference Workshop: March 30
- Workshop 1: Friday, March 31
- Workshop 2: Saturday, April 1
- Handouts
Preconference Workshop: March 30
Reaching Our Goals with Student-Centered Coaching
Thursday, March 30 - Royal Orchid Sheraton, Bangkok
Student-centered coaching shifts the focus from ‘fixing’ teachers to collaborating with them to design instruction that targets student outcomes. This approach has taken off because it makes sense to increase student achievement and develop teacher capacity. . .at the same time. As a result of years of supporting coaches, we have landed on a coherent set of core practices that are designed to make our coaching about student learning most effective.
In this session, participants will focus on using student evidence within a variety of venues of professional learning. While it seems straightforward, there is no shortage of landmines when it comes to using student evidence (or data) with teachers. This session will uncover some of these challenges and provide strategies for putting student data at the center of our work.
Finally, we will look closely at a success criteria for coaching. Discussion around questions such as, ‘What does it take to be an effective coach? And, how can I continue to learn and grow?’ will anchor the end of our day together. Come as an individual, or bring a team. This session is geared towards any practicing coaches.
Outcomes: Participants will. . .
- Learn strategies for embedding student evidence (or data) into a variety of venues of professional learning.
- Analyze coaching videos using success criteria for student-centered coaching.
- Understand how to measure the impact of coaching on student and teacher learning.
- Reflect on how to continue to develop as a coach.
Prerequisites: K-12 Coaching Role / School leaders who are interested in coaching.
Target Audience: K-12 Coaches, School leaders who are interested in coaching
Continuum Levels: 2, 3 = Deepening Understanding; Initiating Implementation
NESA'S Learning Continuum:
Learn more about how NESA plans Professional Learning
Workshop 1: Friday, March 31
Student-Centered Coaching: Sorting Student Work
Teachers often share that they experience a sense of dread or extra stress because they don’t feel they have time to go through piles of tests or other assignments. Teaching is a tough enough job as it is, and adding to that stress is certainly not the intent of most coaches. Therefore, we advocate for a streamlined approach to co-planning with teachers.
One of our favorite coaching moves is to sort student work with teachers because it is a productive way to help them see - and act upon - the different needs of their students. Sorting student work is used throughout the coaching cycle. At the beginning of the cycle, we sort student work to collect baseline data. Throughout the cycle we sort student work to make daily instructional decisions. At the end of the cycle, we sort a post-assessment to determine who has met the goal and make follow-up plans for any students who haven’t.
After we sort student work, we co-plan with teachers. Working through questions like, “How will the learning targets be introduced? What will the students do to engage in new learning? What will be modeled? How will student dialogue be supported? What kinds of problems or tasks will make the students’ learning visible?” are how we create a vision for effective instruction.
Outcomes: Participants will. . .
- Learn a variety of strategies for sorting student work.
- Connect sorting sessions with a larger goal of formative assessment.
- Practice coaching conversations that are focused on co-planning.
Target Audience: K-12 coaching role / School leader with a coach in your school.
Continuum Levels: 3, 4 = Initiating/Extending Implementation
NESA'S Learning Continuum:
Learn more about how NESA plans Professional Learning
*Please bring your laptop to this workshop.
Workshop 2: Saturday, April 1
What is Student-Centered Coaching?
Have you ever been a part of instructional coaching in your school? Did participating in coaching impact your students? Did it impact you as a teacher? While these are the goals of most coaching programs, many fall short of getting there. Either coaching is too directive, thus making teachers feel judged or evaluated, or it’s too casual, leading teachers to wonder if it was worth their time.
With coaching in so many of our schools, it’s time to take a close look at whether it’s making the desired impact. That’s where student-centered coaching comes in. Teachers can be assured that student-centered coaching will move student learning forward because it occupies the space between where students are and where they need to be. It is driven by the standards and employs the use of data – such as student work – to help teachers make informed decisions about their instruction.
Outcomes: Participants will. . .
- Learn how student-centered coaching compares with other coaching models.
- View video clips of coaching with student outcomes as the focus.
- Understand the core practices that are used in a student-centered coaching program.
Target Audience: K-12 Teachers, K-12 Coaches, School Leaders.
Continuum Levels: 3, 4 = Initiating/Extending Implementation
NESA'S Learning Continuum:
Learn more about how NESA plans Professional Learning
*Please bring your laptop to this workshop.
Handouts
Save paper and effort where possible!
For your convenience, and to support our efforts in being "green", all handouts/files posted here have been notated with an A, B, C or D indicating the following:
(A) hardcopies needed at workshop
(B) electronic version on laptop is sufficient (for viewing during the workshop)
(C) required reading PRIOR to the workshop
(D) file not needed for workshop itself, but simply material of additional interest/reference
Preconference Workshop
Workshop 1
(A) or (B) Student-Centered Coaching - Sorting Student Work
(A) or (B) Chapter 7: Sorting Student Work
Workshop 2
(A) or (B) What is Student-Centered Coaching?
PODCAST: Literacy Coaching and Student Work with Diane Sweeney