Instructional Coach- A Friend Indeed

A few years back I had written about the concept of a critical friend. Every individual needs some input and insight to become better in some specific area or in general. The concept of a critical friend is to have someone very close to oneself who tells about one’s strengths and weaknesses. You all would be aware of SWOT- strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats at a workplace. We also talk a lot about teamwork and its advantages. Whether it is the development of the team or an individual, there is a need for a coach, because critical friends can help us in knowing about our weaknesses, but how to overcome them can be advised and suggested by a coach. A coach is someone who would help an individual grow and do better in a specific skill or field. Though in our country we do have an idea about the importance of coaching that is mostly in the field of sports and lately seen in the trend of cracking entrance examinations. The corporates have a culture of mentors who help the newcomers in adjusting to the new culture. But what happens once someone is at a workplace? In many cases, one is left to oneself and expected to perform the best and do better the next time. We all know very well that nobody is perfect and all need some support to gain confidence in the new field and also thereafter to improve. This is extremely important in the field of education, especially school education. In our country, I do not see it very often that schools have a culture of coaching (peer or otherwise). All say that the world is changing very rapidly and we need to empower our students so that they adapt without much problem. The important aspect of school teaching is the cognitive and emotional development of the students which go hand in hand. So instructional coaching becomes very important. I had always thought of this but could not agree more than what I did after reading the book written by Jim Knight titled, “The Definitive Guide to Instructional Coaching”, The book talks about the seven steps for success which I will touch upon in brief. These are basically to make self a better coach and help others to learn the same.

The writer has covered these under three major heads. One- who you are, comprising of three factors (the partnership principles, communication skills and coaches as leaders). Two-what you do, comprising of another three factors (the impact cycle, data, and instructional playbook). Three- where you work, comprising of one factor (system support). In the preface, the writer very candidly cautions the readers with a statement so true and I quote, “I share mistakes encountered along the way here so that you can avoid making them in your practice. As Roosevelt eminently said, “learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make your own mistakes and learn your own lessons.”

Though I like all the factors very much but was especially impressed with the data factor. We all are obsessed with data nowadays and the same has become the most sought-after profession by youngsters as there are many opportunities in private and government sectors. Before I venture into the journey of Data by the author, I would like to ponder, in brief, the concept of data and the field of data science. Though India had thought of data and statistics much before independence, its major impact was in the form of a planning commission set up by the government of India after independence. Writer Nikhil Menon authored a book titled “Planning History” and while talking to someone he mentioned that India had access to data much before any other countries and that led Nehru led government to push for the planning commission which essentially was the use of data for understanding and planning. The government of the day thought that most of the problems of the newly born independent nation would be solved using an interpretation of Data. The concept of data science came in the early 1960. A brief history of data science has been so well explained by Keith D. Foote in a paper published in 2021 and I quote from the same. In 1962, John Tukey wrote a paper titled The Future of Data Analysis and described a shift in the world of statistics, saying, “… as I have watched mathematical statistics evolve, I have had cause to wonder and to doubt…I have come to feel that my central interest is in data analysis…” Tukey was referring to the merging of statistics and computers when computers were first being used to solve mathematical problems and work with statistics, rather than doing the work by hand. Tukey talked about the same in 1962 but India had set up an institute named Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata in 1931. Though initially started in the building of Presidency College which later had its own campus and has now spread to three more cities.   

Data science continues to evolve as a discipline using computer science and statistical methodology to make predictions in a wide range of fields, be it science including astronomy or economical activities and business. This really helps in making smarter decisions.

In the past 50-60 years, Data Science has grown worldwide and youngsters see a future in this. The government are not only using it for social welfare but for its political gains especially during the elections when they are able to pitch their candidate on the basis of caste, colour, gender, religion or region. This has also become an important part of business and academic research. This includes AI, ML, robotics, the digital economy, and search engines. Though many people still say that data science at times bling us from the ground reality, the fact is that has helped in identifying the areas of concern so that corrective steps could be taken.

Data collection and interpretation are equally important in education and many countries are making quite a commendable use of the same, but that is generally done on the administrative level. This can be used at the micro level also and especially in the classroom by a teacher. So now I come to the point of how an instructional coach can help a teacher use the data to produce better learning outcomes for a larger group of students. The summary of the chapter is depicted in the picture (flow chart) of chapter 5 in the book instructional coaching. The flow chart explains the entire chapter in brief. The word ‘data’ in this article is about gathering data in the classroom by measuring achievement, engagement and teaching. The engagement has three components- behavioural, cognitive and emotional and I would focus on this and leave teaching and achievement for the time being. But before that let us try to understand why coaches need data. Data helps us see more, establish goals, measure progress and build teacher efficacy. The writer advocates following data rules –

It should be chosen by the teacher: when teachers choose the data, they are very motivated and have faith in that and hence will learn more. This does not mean that the coach cannot suggest, in fact, a coach should be involved in the process of deciding what data is to be collected but he/she should ensure that the teachers too feel the same, as they have done.

Should be Objective-This can be understood with an example. An athlete participating in a race, high jump, throw etc., would have minimum controversies but in the case of figure skating, there are bound to be more controversies as the data is subjective. Objective data is not personal but factual. So while collecting data personal opinions/ biases should be kept aside.

It should be collected frequently-If you use GPS and it informs you only when you reach your destination, it is not of much use. If the data is collected or used only once or twice a year then it may not be of much help. So the data should be collected as frequently as possible and used to correct the path so that we reach the correct destination without wandering here and there. Frequent data will always help to adjust and understand what works and what needs to be changed.

It should be valid- valid means that it measures what is intended to measure. The teachers and the coaches must ensure that the data they gather actually measures what students are supposed to learn.

It should be reliable and mutually understood- When different people gather the same data and get the same result then it is considered reliable data and as per the researchers’ expectations this should be more than 95%. But in coaching, the teacher and coach must agree on a) what data to be gathered, 2) How to gather this data and 3) why to gather this data.

Now we come to an important one and I really liked reading this chapter- the engagement data. You would have already seen three aspects of this- behavioural engagement, cognitive engagement and emotional engagement. I was most impressed by this because if the children are gainfully engaged in the class, teaching and achievement data would definitely be better. Just before this, the writer discusses the impact cycle- Identify, Learn and Improve. And in order to identify the area of improvement, data is the key.

 An example has been taken from a school in which the management is very keen to improve the learning outcomes of the students. The principal has been getting complaints from the parents that a particular teacher is not able to manage the students in the class. Anybody passing that class would feel, that a school should not have such students or teachers because the students neither respect each other nor the teacher. The teacher is finding it difficult to make them learn anything due to which she is not able to sleep or be comfortable even at home. The instructional coach offered to observe this class and gather data (in consultation with the teacher). He knew that one way of measuring whether students appear to be engaged in class was to know the time on task. In this case, what he found, was just 30 per cent. To improve this, they worked only on the first 10 minutes of the class, using some techniques which would start the class smoothly. Under the guidance of the coach, the teacher worked very hard and this data increased to around 80 per cent for the first 10 minutes. Now the teacher realised that the issue related to disruption was not the students but the lack of engagement in the task. For understanding time on task the writer draws a T chart and explains what is considered time on task and what is not. I would like to quote a few here -

Time on task- Listening to direct instruction       Time not on task- Engaging in the side talks

Time on task - Group work                                   Time not on task- being out of the seat without permission

Time on task- Participating in activity                 Time not on task- Bothering other students 

And there are many more such examples that clarify the idea of whether the children are engaged on a task or not. 

All three engagement aspects are very important but behavioural engagement is the key to cognitive engagement. I shall quote examples from the book but the names of the teachers and coaches would be different. It is not that coach is needed by a teacher who is struggling but even by those who are doing well but want to do better. Teacher A is very enthusiastic about her subject and goes a long way in making students learn to do better. She partners with coach X and they start with a video recording of her lesson. They both watch videos separately and observe that the class is doing well but there is a pattern when children present some challenging behaviours. Students were passing comments and were involved in side conversations. Teacher A corrected them politely and the students followed her instruction for some time but again derailed from the lesson. Also, there were students who did not participate in discussions or in activities. Two students who were asked to remain quiet were talking to each other off and on. The two of them (the teacher and he coach) realised that the behavioural aspect is to be taken care of. But how to measure the behavioural data?  For this, four important points are to be considered:

Time on task Time on task means whether the students are doing what the teacher wants them to do.

Disruptions: The second aspect is –the number of times students say or do things which disturb the teacher and other students.

Student responses: In an engaged classroom most of the students will involve in classroom discussion.

Incivility: Students should be treated well in class, if they are insulted or put down, a sarcastic remark is passed which makes them feel stupid or inadequate, that would demotivate them.

To record this data teacher and coach can use a seat chart and check after regular intervals depending upon the severity of the issue. The possible way of recording is shown in fig below (courtesy of the book):

 

Time-on-task Data Collection Sheet (some changes made from the original)

 

There may be a situation in which there is no issue of behavioural engagement but teacher B still feels that the children are not achieving the standard that he/she intends. When students are cognitively engaged they experience what their teacher wants them to experience while doing any activity. The author says that cognitive engagement is equivalent to authentic engagement (Phill Schlechty) which is almost opposite to strategic compliance.  According to Schlechty, students who are strategically engaged do it only for getting awards or marks while the ones who are cognitively (authentically) involved do it because they enjoy doing it. So the students who do not do activities or are engaged only for the sake of scoring marks but enjoy learning (learning to learn) their engagement is authentic.

To measure cognitive engagement teachers and coaches can interview students, use exit tickets, check CAR (correct academic response) and record experience sampling. The figure below is courtesy of the book under discussion.

The children may be behaviourally and cognitively engaged but what if they are not emotionally engaged? Teacher C wants that her students should be totally safe in the school and the class. Are the experiences of her students positive in the class? Are they physically and psychologically safe in school? To measure emotional engagement, the following can be followed: interview students- like do they like coming to school, do they feel safe in the class etc.? Exit tickets and any other method to assess emotional engagement may be a fruitful practice.

 I caution all my respected teachers and coaches that it may not be possible to engage a hundred per cent of students but if around 90% of them are engaged then we should be happy (though there is no limit to improvement). The teachers must realise that if the children are behaviourally and emotionally engaged then cognitive (authentic) engagement will definitely happen. Though this is a difficult task in a large school setup (as we have in our country in most cases) yet efforts should be made so that we help our students to exploit their potential to the fullest. Another issue of having so many coaches, for this I found the idea of video recording the lesson by the teacher and watching it to understand the problem and find a solution. In most cases, teachers would be able to do so, but in cases they need help then they can approach the expert. I hope most of you will find it useful. For those of my readers, who are not teachers, I would like to say that this can be applied even in an office or business setup also. Only the questionnaire and process may change but the goals are the same. As this would be December end when this article will be out, so wish you all a very happy and eventful new year 2023.