21st Century Leadership Skills
for Peer Coaches

Meeting the Challenge of
21st Century Teaching

Overview and Philosophy

Webster's Dictionary Definition: Coach (koch) n: 1) to train intensely by instruction, demonstration or practice, 2) to direct the movements of, 3) to instruct, direct or prompt.

Classroom Application: Coach, Facilitator, Guide, Support Teacher. Peer Coaching is simply two or three teachers rotating roles and sharing in a conversation, focused on a teacher's reflection and thinking about his/her instructional processes, that leads to a refinement of classroom practice. It creates an environment where teachers and students can be secure, connected, competent and empowered.

Purpose: 1) To ensure success for teachers and students, 2) stimulate Professional Growth and Development, 3) provide a structure for supporting staff development, 4) create an arena for sharing successful strategies, 5) an opportunity to collaborate and engage in professional dialogue using a common language and vocabulary.

Principles of Peer Coaching:

1. Continuous process of assessing student's success based on mutually understood set of skills.
2. Focus is primarily to increase student and teacher success while supporting professional dialogue.
3. Assumes equal participation in assessing and discussing lessons.
4. Foster decision making based on objective data that is recorded from the lesson and not on the personal biases of the observer.
5. Establishes a structure for building instructional leaders among the staff.
6. Utilizes different models of coaching for different objectives.
7. Focuses on only ONE conference objective (grow on).
8. Requires pre-planned conferences to ensure successful implementation.

All teacher skills are assessed for their critical attributes (objective vs. subjective).

TCI Peer Coaching Beliefs

All students can learn and want to be the best students they can be.
All teachers can learn new ways of teaching and want to be the best teacher they can be.

Outcomes

The Workshop

Leadership Conferencing Skills The use of effective conferencing skills form the basis for creating a colloquial and comfortable working relationship among peer coaches. There are four areas to consider when preparing to share information, encourage professional growth and collaborate with a peer in a coaching situation:

1. The Personal Relationship,
2. The Prerequisites necessary for a successful experience,
3. The Parameters and agreements for the coaching session and
4. Mutual Participation in the process.

These are the key ingredients effective leaders use in any environment in order to prevent problems and ensure success.

MODELS OF COACHING