I Already Do That! Helping the Reluctant Teacher

1. Dr. Elizabeth A. Erickson Grandview University 2nd Annual Literacy Coaching Conference Corpus Christi, April 2010 I Already Do That! Helping the Reluctant Teacher

2. What research states about secondary coaching • My journey as first year coach • The context • Challenges • Successful strategies Session Goals

3. Help design and facilitate professional development • Work with teachers, demonstrating instructional strategies and guiding teachers as they model • Evaluate students’ literacy needs and collaborate with teachers on how to meet those needs • Provide teachers with opportunities to learn from each other Purposes of literacy coaching (Casey, 2006)

4. Be excellent classroom teachers and teachers of reading • Be able to observe, model, and provide feedback to teachers • Be knowledgeable about reading processes, acquisition, assessment, and instruction • Have experience working with teachers to improve instructional practices • Be excellent presenters to lead groups, facilitating reflection and change. IRA Criteria (2004)

5. “ . . .the advent of literacy coaching occurred before a significant body of research could offer guidance concerning how to implement it to its optimal advantage” (Walpole, McKenna, draft). • “. . .coaching is situated and will take on new and different relational dynamics in different contexts” (Rainville, Jones, 2008, p. 440) • “ . . . coaching is embedded within schools and classrooms and is responsive to the specific challenges faced by teachers in their daily work with students” (Steckel, 2009, p. 14). Research states . . .

6. “It is essential to consider coaching in the context in which it occurs. The embedded nature of coaching makes it a powerful agent of change but also often frustrates its success” (Steckel, 2009, p. 14).

7. The smallest (1170 students) HS of five in an urban setting • District Graduation rate-82% • ITEDS- city (59.3) this school ( 52.8 ) on reading, 2009 • 4th years SINA, first year Title I • Poverty rate 74.6% • 41 % White/59% Non White (9% ELL) • Bottom 5% of student achievement in the state My Story: Context

8. Bring reading scores to proficiency • Minimum “safe harbor” • Scores from 52.8 – 57.5 • Proficient Goal 79.3 • Work with primarily English/reading faculty My Story-the Challenge

9. ‘Blank page’ to start-little direction • Team building • Vision • School is an exciting place of thinking & inquiry • Work with students’ strengths • Curriculum should teach big ideas, led by essential questions to explore • All reading should be on individuals’ levels with as much individual choice as possible within the concepts of curriculum • Textbooks should be used as resources only My Vision

10. Met with English department on their needs and desires Collected baseline data on observations in all English classrooms Asked faculty to be ‘invited in’ To start . . .

11. Organization of the lesson • Are strategies evident? • Are the vocabulary lessons within tier two? • Is there guided practice? • Are students engaged? • Classroom environment • Is student work displayed? Observation Data

12. Don’t ever tell me what to do • I already do that! • We did that 20 (30) years ago • Do you have to come in my room? • OK, I complied. Anything else? • I have a reading endorsement • It is not us, it is the kids. • Fix the kids. Problems?

13. Teacher Conversations • School had 25 minute advisory daily, not used • 1-2x/month facilitated conversations on the school-wide vocabulary building goal • Group grounding • Modeled 1 strategy • Gave theory • Exit slips varied depending on what I heard from faculty Successful Strategies

14. What three aspects in your classroom would improve student achievement? • Based on ‘Am I looking in a mirror or a window” activity & comments like “just get the kids to work” • Results • Comments coded, then created into an activity for the second PD session using word sorts vocabulary

15. Continued with theory on tiered words • Had faculty practice using own text, types of words to teach • Exit slip, ‘What is your role in PD?” • Results • Very ‘politically correct’ • We know what is expected- how do we model? Second session-

16. Sharing of vocabulary strategies that are currently modeled and are working in your classroom • Started having faculty share good ideas and student work • Exit slip, “How comfortable do you feel about addressing the reading needs of your students? If not comfortable, sign up for a conference at your convenience • Results-6 new faculty wanted help! Third session

17. More sharing of vocabulary activities from faculty • Modeled double-entry journals • Kicked off a reading incentive • Exit slip, “If you were to sign up for training, what area would you prefer?” • Gave handout with several strategies we could model Fourth session

18. First-modeled thinking while I read strategies for faculty • Gave 6 bookmarks with 4 questions • Ask students to read 2 books of choice in 5 weeks using 6 bookmarks for each book & discussing the books with advisory teachers • Modeled in two advisories • Results-32 students ‘won’ a trip to a book store and chose a $10. book with grant money Three Reading Incentives

19. Modeled double-entry journals for faculty • Gave students 2 weeks to read one book of choice, fill out 6 entries, and discuss with advisory teacher • Results-55 ‘winners’ • Third incentive pending---using a metacognitive ‘reading map’ created by the 9th gr. reading t’er 2nd & 3rd incentive

20. Student engagement • Modeled • use of texting from cell phones to journal • clickers • anticipatory sets to start lessons • word ladders Half-day Pd

21. Had the first Scholastic Book Fair for this school • Scholastic piloted a high school • Teamed with local university • Results • Much excitement from students • Earned $550. for books to place in classrooms • Teachers who create a thematic mult-text unit will receive book sets Book Fair

22. Still pending Slip Knot lead singer, ‘Cory’ is a native of this city Asked him to share his past and how graduation became possible Will add ‘centers’ for younger children, places for our reading incentive winners to share read alouds from books purchased by school Parent Night

23. Needed 11th test data to make safe harbor • Created 3 IRIs at grade level • Showed students data from each, modeled how I think as I read & how to use QAR for test questions • Discussed percent/percentile and sustainability (if you can do well on one IRI, sustain efforts for the ITEDs • Motivated students to do well for themselves and for the school (we compete for sports . . .) 11th grade IRIs

24. Build bridges with faculty • Model ideas, show theory • Get students excited • Get resources for teachers • Get teachers to share successes • Offer to teach a class, so teachers can observe each other • Be very visible in halls and classrooms Bottom line . . .

25. Casey, K. (2006). Literacy coaching. The essentials. Portsmouth, NJ: Heinemann. International Reading Association. (2004). The role and qualifications of the reading coach in the United States. Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Rainville, K. N. & Jones, S. (2008). Situated identities: Power and positioning in the work of a literacy coach. The Reading Teacher, 61(6), pp. 440–448. International Reading Association. References

26. Questions?