Monday, August 22, 2016

#MTBoSBlaugust Day 22: What I really do as an Instructional Coach

I recently got a comment on one of my posts from an old coworker who said she was looking forward to hearing more about my position as an Instructional Coach and I decided that would be a great thing to blog about.

My official title is the Math NIET Master Coach but it really just means Instructional Coach since the campus stopped using the TAP program right before I was hired.  Officially my job description is as follows:

 

In case you looked at those images and said "yeah, I'm not reading all of that" here's my "I'm a math teacher and I like to be concise" explaination:

  • I lead regular Professional Development for the math teachers by PLC and department on strategies and district initiatives.
  • I am present for all PLCs in my department to help facilitate the conversations on instruction and data.
  • I also participate in the PLCs by creating lessons, assignments, etc that the team needs help with.
  • I analyze all the tests/assessments to ensure they are aligned to the TEKS/standards and at the appropriate level.  I also keep an eye out for any typos, misaligned columns, etc.
  • I do walk-throughs in classrooms to observe the teaching and learning going on.  This is often when I get inspiration for PD that I'm going to develop or when I determine what other teachers may need to present on some of the strategies they use in their classroom.
  • I co-teach in different classrooms and help facilitate small group learning.
  • I help create the Department Improvement Plan that is incorporated into the Campus Improvement Plan.
  • I observe teachers using the T-TESS rubric and evaluate them for the year.
Now that last one is not exactly what I had anticipated doing when I first got this job.  I always thought administrators did the observations and evaluations but with the new T-TESS rubric and the process you go through with the teachers it is much more of a coaching tool than a "gotcha during one observation" tool and I really enjoyed it last year.  I did not enjoy doing 3 observations in one day last year (I learned the hard way that's not how to do it!) but overall the teachers I worked with and I all enjoyed the process and learned about ourselves, our strengths and areas that need improvement from the process.

That's about it for this post!  I hope everyone is having a great Monday!

2 comments:

  1. Huge job! And an awesome opportunity to make a difference in students' lives. I hope you'll continue to share ... maybe about the PD you see needed or plan to provide!

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    1. Thanks Beth! I'll definitely post any thoughts and reflections on PD and how the teachers have implemented the strategies. That is if the campus doesn't flood before school starts! I keep trying to get a plan together for even the next 2 weeks and then something comes up that makes me toss the plan I've created. This is going to be an interesting start to the year!

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