This quarter in my studies in Digital Education Leadership at Seattle Pacific University, I am studying the practice of peer coaching. Throughout this quarter we will explore the ISTE coaching standards and specifically standard 1: Visionary Leadership.
While I received peer coaching as a new educator and continually distribute peer coaching as I continue in my career, it is interesting to see how experts define the process.
What is peer coaching?
In the Digital Promise piece created by the Center to Support Excellence in Teaching at Stanford, it states three of the most widely held definitions of peer coaching. “Some define coaching as a tool to develop teachers’ ability to identify how helpful an instructional strategy is in supporting student learning (Russo, 2004). Others describe teacher coaching as a mechanism to achieve fidelity of implementation of novel teaching practices (Devine, Meyers, & Houssemand, 2013). Salavert (2015) describes coaching as an “apprentice-based approach to support professional and personal development towards achieving set goals” (p. 2). Sutton et al. (2011) add that a coach “works collaboratively with a teacher” (p. 15).” But as we attempt to drill down a definition I appreciate something simple like “Coaching can… give educators the knowledge and skills they need to grow professionally and, in turn, serve the diverse needs of their students” (Digital Promise, 2017). We as educators and professionals need to always keep the student in mind. I intend to focus heavily on this element in my explanation of what is essential to peer coaching especially as it connects with edtech development.
What is essential in a peer coaching relationship?
Coaches can take several different approaches to the relationship they create when they enter into a peer coaching arrangement. As we can see in the image there are four “common forms of coaching” and although I believe that the coactive approach is what I want to focus in on for my purposes this quarter. It “entails the coach taking more a holistic approach by striving to help the client feel fulfilled and balanced” (Digital Promise, 2017, pg 6). If the teacher who has entered into this relationship does not feel like their life is balanced and their schedule can handle a peer coaching relationship – how will they be able to learn anything from the situation? 
Of course, there is also more to the arrangement but I want to keep those elements at the forefront to the rest of the setup of peer coaching. As Les Foltos establishes in Peer Coaching: Unlocking the Power of Collaboration that there are the four C’s to keep in mind when it comes to student success; Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, and Creativity. As a peer coach to a professional educator though I will need to keep in mind other themes.
Participation
A coaching relationship needs to consist of willing participants, who are open to building trust with one another (Foltos, 2013). This trust is the root of a working relationship that encourages boldness and growth.
Benchmarks
It is essential to set goals and norms collaboratively. While it can begin with a school or district goal, it can also stem from goals set by the coaching partnership (Foltos, 2013).
Respect & Kindness
Setting a practice of respect and kindness is a separate consideration from participation. It is crucial to address time as a factor and be sensitive to both sides in a coaching relationship, and recognizing certification hours and/or compensation for work being done outside of the school day can adequately value the process.
What does it mean for a “coach” to implement a comprehensive use of technology to support a digital-age education for all students?
This year I have a new role outside of public education, and I am working with teachers in different states, different countries, and with decades of more experience than I have. But as I have read more and more research there is a clear divide between how teachers feel about using technology in their daily lives and how students think. In a recent presentation, I heard a stat that blew my mind “92% of teenagers are online every single day, and 24% are constantly and continually connected to the internet (Pew Research 2017). With that being the case some of our educators are not only out of touch but with the continued exponential growth of data the divide is growing larger each day instead of each year or decade. I know that each generation has felt this divide due to age and what is now as the “digital native” but I think something different is happening as I watch education professionals almost ward against technology instead of embracing it.
In a recent survey we did internally at Edmodo, we asked teachers who were active users last year to tell us why they did not come back. We had about 11% of those who answered the survey (~400) tell us they went back to paper and pencil or paper and email instead of using an LMS. When asked why they made this decision they said it is just “easier for them” and when I read that I can see those teachers who back away from technology. Those teachers though are doing a disservice to our students and not meeting them where they are. They can even create a sense of anxiety when they do not use technology because they are less accessible for the student.
Coactive Learner-Centered Peer Coaching
At first, when I started listening to the recorded panel discussion it was just for work, but then I realized that what they were talking about correlates with our peer coaching discussion. As I look to the future and see the creation of plans which are really for the benefit for the administration and policymakers I want to address meeting the students where they are and what it means for a “comprehensive digital-age education for students.”
I believe that the peer coaches need to meet the peer or student where they are in their learning, time of day, and the mode of communication that works best for them. The coach is a guide and cannot do the work for the person but must have a light nurturing touch when it comes to coaching. Experienced peer coaches understand that one way to show respect to their peers is to learn with and from them. It is very similar to teaching “the coach needs to show respect to get respect” (Foltos, 2013, chapter 1). I had used this phrase in teaching on several occasions when students were out of line or acting out, and they did not like my response. “Well you have to show respect to get respect, ” and they would roll their eyes because they were teenagers but it works the same with peer professionals.
As in the panel discussion put on by Higher EdSurge, it demonstrates that coaching on a one-on-one basis is vital at all levels of education and professional development. If we can suspend the idea that we are teachers and not students I think that several of these ideas correlate with our reading.
Regarding student success especially a digital-age student what does that mean? Success is hard to measure – and even more so because it depends on who you are asking and they will give you different metrics to measure that success against. But for the panel discussion, it was college completion and how colleges are trying to help with success. Less than ½ of college students today finish their bachelor’s degree in four years. Minority and low-income students are graduated at the campus average.
An example of how one company is trying to improve student success through coaching Dwight Smith (Assistant Director of Programs at Beyond12). He explains the experiences Beyond 12 provides and the intentional use of the word “Coaches.” These people wear so many hats and interact with students in unique ways. The word coach is a catch-all for all that they do for the students. Beyond 12 does not see their work as a replacement to traditional advising in college but more of a compliment. Encourage students to take advantage of that is available at the colleges they attend. Coaches are recent college graduates, and the majority of them are first in the family to attend college. Coaching comes from a place of understanding where the students are coming from and what they are going through. Near-peer model or virtual coaching – texting. Facebook, Snapchat, online and not necessarily in person. Beyond 12 believes in the “Co-active coaching model, students are creative and resourceful on the whole.” Guide them in curriculum, activities, and support in social-emotional issues, and the coaches try to balance. Continually communicate the college completion is one step in the process and is not the finish line. It is an important step in the process, but it is not the end of the line for their life.
Then Charles Thornburgh (CEO at Civitas) a big data analytics company, we are an outcomes company that secondary success for the economy by 2025. Right now in the U.S., just 60% of students complete their bachelor’s degree and take on average six years to get there. For two-year college programs, only about a third of students achieve their certificate or associate degree within three years. The numbers are even more troubling when placed alongside rising tuition costs, which prevent many students from adding extra semesters to finish their program.
Some institutions are thinking about how to change that through tech-augmented academic advising. That can take some forms: from early-alert systems that flag students in need of extra support, to predictive analytics, to online (and increasingly self-service) degree-planning services. But technology alone doesn’t help students get through the hardest parts of college: people do. In this meetup, EdSurge will ask experts about the shifting role of advisors, as well as how, when or even if technology should be used to intervene with students.
Finally, something in the K-12 arena needs to change, and I think that starts with providing this same type of human-to-human and tech-augmented peer coaching. We do not want to lose any more teachers due to burn out. We need to show them how technology can not only help their lives become more comfortable but will inevitably create produce students who will be much more successful in their future endeavors outside of college and university.
Reading and Resources
Ehsanipour, T., & Gomez Zaccarelli, F. (2017, July). Exploring Coaching for Powerful Technology Use in Education (Center to Support Excellence in Teaching – Stanford University, Ed.). Retrieved October, 13, from http://digitalpromise.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Dynamic-Learning-Project-Paper-Final.pdf
Foltos, L. (2013). Peer coaching: Unlocking the power of collaboration. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Higher EdSurge: Panel Discussion Coaches, Computers & College Completion: Can Tech Get More Students to a Degree? (2017, September 27). Retrieved September 29, 2017, from https://www.facebook.com/higheredsurge/videos/vb.372280739820732/469617456753726/?type=2&theater – https://www.facebook.com/higheredsurge/
