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iCOACH™
PROPOSAL
Consultant: John R. Kongsvik
TESOL Trainers
Client Contact: Steve Malmberg
The College of the Marshall Islands
April 27, 2007
Introduction: The following
proposal pertains to the implementation of a Coaching model specific to the
needs of the College of The Marshall Islands. In addition to the Coaching
model, all support materials will be created for use by the full time teachers
working in this institution. In order to provide the maximum level of support,
teachers will receive on-going training and support in their implementation
Best Practices using iCOACH™ {Connecting, Observing,
Assisting, Collecting, and Helping}
Rationale:
Providing teachers with on-going and targeted
support helps teachers create positive changes in their teaching practices,
helps them alter their approach to planning, teaching and assessing.
Introducing and training coaches in a uniform manner of interacting with
teachers helps coaches grow in their abilities to provide teachers with the
best support possible in the varied situations and levels they find themselves
in.
Benefits: The benefits of
ICOACH™ are as follows:
Participants develop strong reflective teaching skills.
Participants show demonstrable confidence in using the
Experiential Learning Cycle as a vehicle for supporting change.
Participants build knowledge of how to create a safe,
supportive learning environment.
Participants develop skills in being about to communicate
their strengths and challenges.
Participants learn how to interpret data objectively and use the
data to promote changes in their approach to teaching and
learning.
Participants expand understanding of positive teaching
practices.
Participants portray demonstrable confidence in using
Best Practices in the classroom.
Participants demonstrate competence in employing Best Practices
in the classroom.
Participants improve in their ability to plan using Best
Practices.
Participants receive key strategies in giving and
receiving feedback.
Having a uniform Coaching System throughout the college
facilitates training, success, and accountability.
Participants may have the option of receiving graduate
credit for successful completing of iCOACH™ from the School
for International Training {SIT}.
About the Consultant:
John Kongsvik has spent the past 16 years teaching and teacher training in
public and private institutions. For the past 7 years, John Kongsvik has
trained and coached teachers nationally and abroad in TESOL methodology,
Sheltered Instruction, Best Practices, and
Differentiating Instruction. He has trained trainers and coached
coaches. John has designed curricula and professional development programs for
schools, public programs and universities. Moreover, he runs a Teacher
Training Institute in Santa Fe, NM in conjunction with the School for
International Training, one of the most well recognized teacher training
institutions in the world.
All courses, workshops, and trainings reflect experiential
learning, interactive teaching, reflective teaching practices, and
research-driven strategies and techniques that promote learner-centeredness.
Due to the experiential nature of all courses, all participants leave having
experienced the technique as a learner, explored the technique as a
teacher/learner, and examined it for use in the classroom as a teacher. As a
result, they leave with a deep understanding of the strategies and a clear
vision of how to use them in their context.
Guiding Philosophy:
The design and implementation of these courses are based on the principles of
experiential learning, learner-centered teaching, and reflective teaching
practices. All course design is centered on providing students with the
support they need to achieve the objectives of the course. The curriculum in
each course is designed to be highly interactive and engaging.
Scope: The
objective of this project is to implement a Coaching framework, iCOACH™,
for the College of the Marshall Islands. The course also will also help
participants develop skills to support the learning and success of all
teachers and students regardless of their native language, challenges, or
needs. Included in the proposal package are:
All supporting materials defining and exemplifying each facet of the
Coaches responsibilities and routines.
Two day information gathering session at the end of AY 2006-2007 (Can
be done in conjunction with the following phase).
Two full day workshops at the start of AY 2007-2008 to introduce
iCOACH™, and its components to the participants.
Four follow up on-site trainings throughout AY 2007-2008 (dates TBA).
One full day workshop at the end of AY 2007-2008.
Optional intersession support via the online Blackboard Learning
Platform.
Overview of iCOACH™
|
COACH |
Role |
Responsibilities |
|
C onnect |
Coaches primary goal must be to connect with her
colleagues. In doing so, a Coach is able to let their peers know what
role they play, what skills they have to offer, and how they may be able
to help. The first step in any coaching relationship is to create a sense
of trust and mutual respect. From that, grows a positive relationship of
sharing, support, and success. |
1. Coaches must inform teachers of the role a Coach plays.
2. Coaches must foster a safe environment of trust.
3. Coaches must educate teachers on what skills a Coach can offer.
4. Coaches must learn from their teachers on how best to support
them.
|
|
O bserve |
Coaches are keen observers. They observe their
fellow teachers as they interact with their subject, students, and
strategies. They observe the students as they work in the learning
environment. Finally, and equally important, they observe themselves and
how they interact within the learning community. |
1. Coaches observe teachers in order to help them grow, not to
evaluate them.
2. Coaches observe students in order to meet their needs, not to
assess them.
3. Coaches observe themselves in order to adapt to the needs of each
individual teacher and every unique situation.
|
|
A ssist |
Coaches assist teachers on a variety of levels. They
assist in the understanding of strategies and the learning/teaching
paradigm. They assist their peers in planning and implementing strategies
and techniques. Coaches also assist by modeling positive teaching
practices and in any technique their teachers are striving to develop. |
1. Coaches assist teachers as colleagues not as experts.
2. Coaches assist teachers in planning not to do the planning for
them.
3. Coaches assist teachers in modeling based on their level of
comfort.
4. Coaches assist teachers in acquiring positive teaching practices
using varying degrees of support depending on the teacher’s needs.
|
|
C ollect |
Coaches collect data. They collect information on
what is working, what isn’t, and, of primary importance, why. They collect
information from their fellow teachers that highlights how they may best
be of assistance. They collect information from the students that points
towards which approaches are most beneficial in helping every learner
succeed. They collect data on themselves in order to direct their own
growth as coaches. |
1. Coaches collect data to gain insight into how best to help
teachers.
2. Coaches collect information to target their efforts and support.
3. Coaches collect information to raise the awareness of individual
teachers.
4. Coaches collect information to improve their ability to support
the teachers in and out of the classroom.
|
|
H elp |
Coaches help raise the level of awareness. They help
teachers identify strengths and challenges. They help them build strong
reflective teaching practices. They help their fellow teachers make
concrete action plans in order to create positive, sustainable change in
their teaching practices. They help themselves become more aware of their
interactions with their peers and what effects these interactions have. |
1. Coaches help teachers identify their strengths and their
challenges.
2. Coaches help teachers create targeted personal action plans for
growth.
3. Coaches help teachers raise their awareness of self, students, and
subject.
4. Coaches help one another identify their own strengths and
challenges and how to address them.
|
Objectives
By the end of the first year of iCOACH™, participants will be able
to:
Use the Experiential Learning Cycle {ELC} as a means of reflecting
on what happened, why it happened, and how past experiences affects future
interactions.
Introduce the ELC to peer teachers as a vehicle for positive change
in teaching practices.
Promote a safe, collaborative, and healthy working relationship
with peers.
Use constructive communicative techniques in speaking with peers
about the teaching and learning paradigm.
Observe with objectivity all facets of the learning environment
including teachers, students, and their interactions with the content.
Deliver knowledge and skills to teachers in a learner-centered
manner.
Encourage the use of effective teaching practices using the 4-step
model: Teacher does as students watch; teacher does as students help;
students do as teacher helps; students do as teacher watches.
Give teachers feedback in a manner that supports autonomy, growth,
and responsibility.
Identify the level of support teachers need based on individual
needs and environments.
Assist teachers in planning to implement strategies and techniques
in the classroom.
Assist teachers in identifying what is working, what isn’t, and
possible future actions.
Model strategies effectively inside and outside of the active
classroom.
Collect and use data as a means of identifying areas which need
short and long term attention.
Help teachers identify their own strengths and challenges.
Help teachers create observable personal action plans to stimulate
positive change.
Project Outline:
Phase One: Information Gathering Sessions
Dates: Two Days of
Observation of teaching practices at the end of AY 2006-2007 (This can be
done in conjunction with Phase Two).
Description: The initial phase of the project is to meet the
current teachers prior to the implementation of iCOACH™.
Purpose:
To meet current teachers personally.
To observe teachers in their work environment.
To collect data from teachers, students and administrators on their
needs surrounding this initiative.
To discuss with teachers their experiences, their strengths and the
challenges they face.
Comments: It is imperative to take into consideration the needs of
every facet of the learning community. By meeting with these individuals,
the program they will use the following year will not be foreign boxed
solution but a familiar, welcomed initiative.
Phase Two: Introduction to iCOACH™
Dates: Two Full Day workshops prior to the start of AY 2007-2008
Description: The initial phase of the project is to introduce
Coaches to iCOACH™
Purpose:
To provide Coaches with an overview of each aspect of iCOACH™.
To introduce the Experiential Learning Cycle as the framework for
working with teachers.
To uncover the fundamental aspects of reflective teaching practices and
their benefits for ISTs and teachers alike.
To discover ways to create a safe, supportive collaborative
environment.
To develop strategies designed to communicate the Coaches job.
To create a framework for speaking with teachers about teaching and
learning.
To explore past successes and challenges.
To create personal action plans for individual growth for each Coaches.
Comments: Beginning with an overview of the initiative, iCOACH™,
and grounding their work in the Experiential Learning Cycle and reflective
teaching practices, participants acquire a baseline from which they will be
able to recognize their own strengths, their own challenges, and create
observable action plans to meet those challenges. If we are asking our
teachers to adapt their approach to teaching, we must be willing to adapt our
own.
Phase Three: AY Academy
Dates: Four follow up visits throughout AY 2007-2008 (dates TBA).
Description: The third phase of the project focuses on building
Coaches skills and deepening their understanding of the iCOACH™ model.
It involves observing the Coaches in their working environment and providing
explicit modeling when appropriate and/or requested. Each Coach will be
observed on an average of four times during the academic year depending on
their needs and those of the institution.
Purpose:
Different aspects of the iCOACH™ initiative: Connecting,
Observing, Assisting, Collecting, Helping.
Increasing participants’ understanding of the Experiential Learning
Cycle and reflective teaching practices.
Specific topics based on the immediate and future needs of the Coaches.
To observe Coaches implementing the strategies and techniques in
iCOACH™.
To model positive coaching practices.
To gain feedback on the successes and challenges Coaches face.
Comments: Learning is not linear but cyclical. Providing
participants with continuous opportunities to deepen their knowledge, skills,
attitudes, and awareness supports their growth and provides an excellent model
for working with their colleagues. Providing observational and modeling
support to Coaches increases their ability to create positive change within
themselves, their peers, and the students they serve. It also serves as an
explicit model for the principles espoused in the iCOACH™ initiative.
Phase Four: Post-AY Academy
Dates: One full day workshop at the end of AY 2007-2008.
Description: This is the wrap up stage in the iCOACH™
initiative.
Purpose:
To help Coaches reflect on their successes and challenges during the
academic year.
To share experiences with fellow Coaches.
To create an individualized action plan for the next academic year.
To assess the effectiveness of the program and the support offered.
Comments: After the first year of the program, Coaches need an
opportunity to stop, share, and reflect. They also need a structure for
identifying the successes they’ve had, challenges they’ve faced, and an
opportunity to create an action plan for the next year in this role.
Revised:
10/10/07
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