1. Coaching and Supervision:
Darkening the Dotted Line
Kim St. Martin, Ph.D. Caryn Ward, Ph.D.
November, 2016

2. Outcomes
Distinguishing between “coach” and “leader as supervisor” roles
Steps to prevent confusion between both roles
Steps to repair confusion between both roles

3. Defining Key Terms
Educational Supervision: identifies work duties of administrators to ensure the educational institution operates efficiently, effectively, and within the legal requirements
Educational Leadership: work with teachers to improve the educational processes in districts / schools
Above and beyond management and administrative tasks (e.g. supervision)

4. Defining Key Terms (cont.)
Coaching: Regular, embedded professional development designed to help teachers and staff use the innovation as intended.
Effective Innovation: A set of defined practices used in schools to achieve outcomes that have been proven to produce desired results

5. 1.0 Unpacking the “Coach” and “Leader as Supervisor” Roles
Functions (purpose) of roles are different

6. Coaching Role Coach functions:
Develop knowledge, skills, and abilities of teachers / practitioners
Encourage reflection and accurate self-reporting using data
Provide personal support
Time coaches spend on each of the three areas depends on how new the learning is for the recipient(s) of coaching

7. Critical Features of Coaching
Multiple methods of coaching including:
Observation* Prompting
Modeling Teaching
Consultation
Intensity (frequency X duration) of coaching based on competency of the coachee (use of fidelity data
Feedback
Communication

8. Supervisor functions:
Supervisor Role
Supervisor functions:
Leadership
Problem-solving
Decision making

9. Principal Leadership Research
Literature review identified the following critical features of leadership:
Distributive leadership
Establishing priorities and defining goals
Aligning existing resources to priorities
Coordinating the instructional program

10. Principal Leadership Research (cont.)
Leading teacher learning (defined as ensuring high quality PD is accessible to teachers / staff)
Acquiring and applying important knowledge of what leaders are leading staff’s use
Solving complex problems
Addressing personnel issues while maintaining trust

11. Activity Read the summary from the Leadership White Paper.
Agree, disagree / why?
“When looking at the purpose of coaching and the methods coaches will use, aspects of the leadership role related to effective innovations are not synonymous with the coaching role.”

12. Alignment to Leadership Critical Features
Coach vs. Supervisor
Supervision functions:
Leadership
Alignment to Leadership Critical Features
Distributive leadership
Establishing priorities and defining goals
Leading teacher learning (defined as ensuring high quality PD is accessible to teachers / staff)
Acquiring and applying important knowledge of what leaders are leading staff’s use

13. Alignment to Leadership Critical Features:
Coach vs. Supervisor
Supervision Functions:
Problem-solving
Decision making
Alignment to Leadership Critical Features:
Aligning existing resources to priorities
Coordinating the instructional program
Solving complex problems
Addressing personnel issues while maintaining trust

14. Activity Fold a piece of paper in half (length wise)
One side: Coach; One side: Supervisor
Reflect on your current position.
Under coach, identify the name of your Coach and list what supports you have received.
Under supervisor, Identify the name of your Supervisor and list what supports you have received.
How are the supports similar and/or different?
Share your reflections with a partner.

15. 2.0 Preventing Confusion Between Roles

16. Prevention Strategies
Use a high-quality selection process
Create a formative assessment to be used to assess background knowledge for the sole purpose of developing a plan to strengthen staff’s skills to successfully use an innovation
Work with the district to develop a coaching system to ensure staff are supported based on individualized needs – will tease out shortly

17. Prevention Strategies (cont.)
Always create support plans for staff (new or existing) that are starting to learn how to effectively use an innovation

18. Support Plan Components
Individuals (team) that will be “go-to” people to support identified staff
Professional learning needs
Mechanism to develop individual
Timeline
Things to do in preparation for learning
Known dates to add to calendar
Possibilities for dates based on identified learning needs

19. All of the prevention strategies will increase the likelihood individuals are supported by specific people best equipped to develop the specified knowledge, skills and abilities. This is all before an evaluation is conducted.

20. Leader’s Role in Prevention
Supporting use of high quality selection process (e.g., reviewing interview protocols to ensure opportunities for skill assessments)
Ask to review data from selection process and help to identify areas to be targeted in training
Work with team to develop a system to support coaching which will require problem solving, allocation of resources, and decision making.

21. Coaching System: Definition
Coaching System: includes essential guidelines and procedures for how to support staff in their use of effective innovations
Outlines roles and responsibilities for:
Coach
Recipients of coaching

22. Unpacking “Selected Staff”
Selected staff means:
Staff that are either already working within the district / school or are newly hired to work within the district / school
Focus is on staff that have been selected to use the components of Effective Innovations”

23. Unpacking “Selected Staff” (cont.)
Examples:
School leadership team members
New teachers
Current teaching staff in their use of a new effective innovation used to support the core curriculum
Title / interventionists supporting groups or individual students with academic supports
Social workers, counselors supporting groups or individual students with behavior supports

24. Coaching System Components
Identifies the following:
Coaching service delivery expectations
Coach roles and responsibilities that can be embedded into job descriptions
Selection guidelines and procedures
District decisions (time, incentives, decision-making authority, etc.)
Supervision and accountability structures

26. Elephant: No Coaches or Coaching System
Short term solution:
Think about a specific group of staff you want to focus on (e.g., title teachers, paraeducators, new teachers to the building or grade level)
List out the major bodies of work the group / staff must know how to do to be successful in their role
Develop a formative assessment outlining specific questions or application activities

27. No Coaches or Coaching System (cont.)
Short term solution (cont.):
Outline the people in comparable roles that would have “nailed” the formative assessment
Outline what you would like those individuals to do to deepen the groups / staff knowledge
Outline independent learning for the groups / staff since the reality is to learn something really well requires a combination of instructional methods (independent study, observations of others, co-planning, co-teaching / facilitation, product development)

28. No Coaches or Coaching System (cont.)
Short term solution (cont.):
Outline the supports in a table with timelines, people responsible, and links to any important info
Outline how you will check in with the people receiving the supports and the people providing the supports

29. Example Staff Support Plan

30. Leader Benefits to Individualized Plans
Realistic expectations
Clarity about what the focus is of learning, who is responsible for aspects of the learning, and when the learning is expected to occur
Leadership evaluation should focus on the focus of learning (where possible)
Transparency

31. Staff Benefits Realistic expectations Clarity Transparency
Keeps the coaching functions and supervision functions separate

32. Activity
What are the facilitators and barriers to developing individualized plans?
Be prepared to report out.

33. 3.0 Steps for Repairing

34. Repairing Strategies
Implement the short term solution listed in the previous slides
Provide a disclosure of confidentiality, including how when, and what information used for supervision – this is especially important since the support plan process is new and coaching / supervisor roles were muddied

35. Repairing Strategies (cont.)
Be transparent and explicit which role are you functioning within
Coachee ask for it be identified
Coach brings in colored cards noting which when conducting observations
Prioritizing coaching for budgeting
Data to indicate need for coaching

36. Activity
What are the facilitators and barriers to developing individualized plans?
Be prepared to report out.

37. Thank You
Kim St. Martin, Ph.D. MIBLSI Assistant Director
Caryn Ward, Ph.D. NIRN Associate Director