Technology Coaching Guide

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For module 2 in my EDTC 6105 course, I focused on indicator f in the ISTE Coaching Standard 2. The indicator focuses on coaching teachers in and modeling research-based best practices of technology integration into their planing. 

As a teacher, I’ll admit sometimes I don’t know the research behind the practices I’ve been taught or am teaching. As an elementary school teacher, I am teaching: math, science, social studies, technology, coding, engineering, reading, writing, health, social-emotional skills, art, and the list goes on. It would be overwhelming for me to try and delve into the research in each of these domains and be able to name them. As teachers, we are taught these best practices through our teacher preparation programs, through professional development, PLC’s and researched based curriculums. So I don’t discount that I have been taught these research-based strategies. What I wonder is how as a coach I can teach or model research-based best practices in technology that teachers will remember and could name. In order to achieve this, I need to ensure as a coach I have a process or procedure that includes these best practices.

Two research-based practices I know and am confident in using and modeling as a technology coach are TPACK and The Triple E Framework. If you are interested in learning more about those two frameworks and research behind them I linked a previous blog post here. 

In this blog post, I will share a technology guide that I created to use as a technology coach. It contains steps I may take, including the modeling and use of researched-based technology practices when I am working with teachers. The steps below have been shaped by my own experiences as a teacher working with coaches and collaborating in PLC’s and other PLN’s. I hope to use this guide as a starting point and anticipate it evolving as I continue to learn and grow.

Tech Coach Planning Guide:

 

Relationship Building

Check in to see how the teacher is doing as a person. 

Possible talking points:

  • How are you?
  • What’s new in your life? 
  • What’s something going well in your classroom?
  • Connect or check in on something previously shared. 

Establish/ Review Norms

Co-create norms together at the beginning of the partnership and review each time you meet.

Possible talking points:

  • Norms will help us to facilitate the work of our team and enable us to stay focused and accomplish our goals. 
  • Use the google form to co-create norms
  • As a reminder lets start with our norms. They are…

Agenda

Go over the agenda.

Possible talking points:

  • Does this agenda look right? 
  • Is there anything missing?
  • Is there anything we need to prioritize?

Understanding students 

Understand class and their diverse needs? May only need to establish at the beginning of the partnership, but can check in as needed.  

Possible talking points:

  • Tell me about your class? Any learners with diverse needs?
  • How are your students doing? What are their strengths and challenges?
  • Do you have any students you are concerned about?
  • What else do you want me to know about your class? 
  • Would you feel comfortable with me coming in to observe and/or work with them? Is there anything you want me to notice?

Teacher Goals

Discuss the teacher’s goals for the coaching partnership and for their classroom. May only need to establish at the beginning of the partnership, but can check in as needed.  

Possible talking points:

  • What do you hope to accomplish working together? 
  • How can I support you? 

Digital Tools

Discuss digital tools available for integration and set a goal for use. 

Possible talking points:

  • Do you have a digital tool(s) you are wanting to integrate into your classroom or instruction?
  • What level of integration do you want in your classroom by the end of the school year? 
  • What skills are applied to nearly all tools (e.g., saving a file, naming a file, finding a file, logging in and out of accounts)? Have your students mastered these basic skills?

*Evaluating Digital Tools*

Model or practice using TPACK and Triple E Framework to evaluate the selected digital tools.

TPACK Resources

Triple E Framework Resources

Final Decision/ Check-in

Check in that the teacher is ready to begin implementing digital tools.

Possible talking points:

  • Do you have any questions or concerns about implementing this tool into your instruction?
  • What are the goals that we are established?
  • Are they realistic based on time and resources?

Actionable Next Steps

Create the next steps. 

Possible talking points:

  • What are the next steps you/we need to take?
  • What specific steps must you or we need to take to achieve the goals set?
  • Do we need to communicate anything to admin or parents? 
  • Is there a planning format you would like to use?
  • When are we meeting next? What do we hope to have accomplished at this time? 
  • Would you like me to check in with you throughout the process?

Check-In/ Support

Check-in based on plan from action steps. 

  • Email, in-person formal or informal, over phone, text, etc. 

Reflect

At the next meeting reflect on the action plan and how things are going. 

Possible talking points:

  • How is it going so far? Any discoveries?
  • What were some of my most challenging moments and what made them so?
  • What were some of my most powerful learning moments and what made them so?
  • Is there anything you want to problem-solve or talk about?
  • Did we accomplish our goals? Is there anything we would do differently or that went well that we want to continue to do?

 

References:

ISTE Standards for Coaches. (n.d.). Retrieved July 29, 2019, from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-coaches 

Kolb, L., Professor. (n.d.). About the Triple E Framework. Retrieved July 29, 2019, from https://www.tripleeframework.com/about.html 

Kolb, L., Professor. (n.d.). Triple E Lesson Planning. Retrieved July 29, 2019, from https://www.tripleeframework.com/triple-e-planning-tools.html 

Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Framework for Teacher Knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017–1054. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.523.3855&rep=rep1&type=pdf

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