Roxi Thompson

  "Ambiguity is the enemy. Any successful change requires a translation of ambiguous goals into concrete behaviors. In short, to make a switch, you need to script the critical moves." (p. 53) I just finished Chapter 3 of the book " Switch, " and I've been thinking a lot about how I can do a better job at "scripting the moves" to better support our teachers as they try new strategies and tools in their classroom. In particular, I have been reflecting on how I can use the steps in the 5-Step Coaching Model to help with this. Here are some ideas: Identify a specific challenge During the first step of the coaching cycle, coaches work collaboratively with teachers to identify a specific challenge. This is an essential step if we want to help script the moves teachers will need to make in order to change and improve their practice.  Sometimes teachers are so overwhelmed with challenges that it's difficult to get them to focus on just one. They keep jump...

It's Day 4 - we're getting close to the end of ISTELive!  I loved the talk from  Richard Culatta  about our relationship with technology. I spent the morning reflecting on how I can help shift our conversations away from being narrowly focused on what NOT to do and instead model how we can use tech for good. I learned so much in "Beyond COVID: Preparing Preservice Teachers to Integrate Technology Now and Post-Pandemic" with  Jessica Herring Watson  and  Michael S. Mills . I have been t hinking about how these strategies can be applied to shorter PDs and coaching cycles with teachers. My last session "Intentional Coaching Through Purpose and Understanding" with  Nancy Garvey and  Brian Timm  was fantastic! They shared some really awesome resources they created with their teams called "The Coaching Interactions Matrix" and the "Educator Continuum." A few things I really liked about these documents: They articulate interactions beyond...

Day 3 of ISTELive! I started my morning by listening to Leslie Odom, Jr. on the Mainstage. He encouraged leaders to give people permission to fail, described the positive impact of his 5th-grade teacher, and then he sang "Room Where It Happens"! It was an amazing Monday morning! 🤩 Later that morning I had a great time attending "Connect, Create and Collaborate: Edtech Coaches PLN Best Practices and Favorite Tools." I was super excited to  connect with other coaches, learn some new strategies, and hear about some helpful tools! One of the awesome things about ISTELive being virtual is that ALL of the sessions are being recorded. So, I was able to catch up on a session from the weekend called, "A Pandemic's Impact on Online Learning: A Panel." The panel members were  Michele Eaton ,  Diana Gill ,  Dr. Marcus Vu , John Watson, and  Claudio Zavala . They made some great points about choice, student self-efficacy, and the importance of collaboration when s...

  That's a wrap on Day 2 of ISTELive! It was another day of great sessions, and there was definitely a central message running through all of them - the importance of collaboration. The day started with a message from Noelle Silver  on the Mainstage. I love her passion for the power of AI as an inclusive tool to help students thrive. She had so many great messages, including the need for diversity of thought in the AI industry. Next was "Collaboration to Transformation: Tech Coaches in Schools" with  Bonnie Chelette ,  Georgina Dean ,  Jared Johnson ,  Becky Lim , and  Shannon Moore . This group always leads such fun and engaging sessions! I loved learning not just from these awesome coaches, but also the participants who shared tips and ideas on the Jamboard and chat. In the afternoon, I attended a poster session called "The Hybrid Coach — Coaching Teachers in a Digital Space" with  Molly Lutt s and  Tracee Keough . They shared som...

  In Google's  5-Step Coaching Model , the majority of coaching time is typically spent in Step 4: Implement. This is when teachers are implementing the chosen strategy in their classroom. During coaches camp last week, we talked a lot about the " meet-visit-meet cadence " that should happen during this stage. This includes three types of interactions: Goal Setting Meetings - Meet to discuss strategy, and plan ways to put it into practice. Classroom Visits - Visit the classroom to co-teach, model, or observe instructional practices. Follow-Up Meetings - Meet to debrief strategy implementation, and identify ways to improve. The idea is to go through this "cadence" several times throughout the coaching cycle.  We broke up into small groups and talked about the reasons these interactions are so important. A few things mentioned by the group were: Frequent, informal classroom visits are essential in order for coaches to fully understand the teacher's realiti...

  "To find bright spots, we need to ask ourselves: "What's working, and how can we do more of it?"" (p. 45) Chapter 2 of the book "Switch" has me thinking about how my team can do more to seek out bright spots and use those to spark change throughout the district.  Here are some ideas for next school year: Celebrate examples of teachers using technology in impactful ways When we ask our teachers to try something new and innovative in their classrooms, that can make many of them feel vulnerable. We need to make sure we encourage our teachers to take those risks and try new things by celebrating their successes as much as possible. I have tried to do that by sharing their stories on social media platforms, such as Twitter and Instagram. However, I could definitely do a better job of sharing these stories on more in-district communication platforms, such as our district websites or school newsletters.  Bring in other teachers to observe impactful techno...

The first step of the challenge-based coaching model is to identify and understand the teacher's challenge. The Google coaching curriculum provides some questions coaches can ask during the initial meeting. I really like the following question: ⭐ What strategies have worked and what have not? Why?    A few reasons I find this question really helpful: It provides teachers the time and space to think about WHY a particular strategy didn't work. They often gain new insights just by talking it through out loud. It helps me understand how they are defining "success" when trying new strategies. That will be super important when we select a strategy and plan implementation. It opens the door for a conversation about moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach. This is especially true if they mention that some strategies have worked for some of their students, but not for all of them. What questions do you find effective when trying to better understand a teacher's cha...

  "It is tempting to ask coaches to work only with teachers who seem to be having difficulties with instruction or classroom management. We discourage this "fixer" approach to coaching for several reasons. First, if coaches are perceived as working only with those who struggle, other teachers may not reach out to coaches for support. Second, the coaching relationship becomes less about providing support for all teachers and more about remediation, in which only "struggling" teachers are assigned to the coach." - Jacy Ippolito and Rita M. Bean Based on the conversations I've had with coaches, this seems to be a common challenge. Coaches often struggle to get teachers to volunteer for coaching cycles because teachers don't want to be viewed as someone who needs coaching - like it's a negative thing. However, the truth is that ALL educators can benefit from good coaching. I think this is why it is important to try to c reate a diverse coaching ros...

What are the elements that make coaching an effective form of professional development? The Google for Education Certified Coach Curriculum identifies four main elements: Partnership Active Learning Personalization Sustained How might you build a coaching partnership? So, let’s look at the first element, partnership, along with some suggested strategies from the curriculum. 🙋‍♀️ Make coaching voluntary This seems super important, but I’m not sure how common it actually is in school districts. I think it is fairly common in some districts that coaches are assigned to teachers who don’t necessarily want or think they need coaching. A lot of that has to do with the fact that coaching is often seen as only meant for “struggling” teachers, and many teachers don’t understand how it could benefit their teaching practice or their students. I know I didn’t when I was a classroom teacher. So, how might we change that narrative and create a positive culture of coaching? 🤝 Make coaching non-eva...

Next year, my district will be launching its first "Distance Learning Program," and I am super excited that I will be taking on a new role as the Instructional Tech Coach for our DLP teachers! I'm a little nervous, but I know this is going to be an awesome opportunity to learn and grow.  My goal this first year is to focus on the following advice I have received from experienced coaches: Connect with other coaches as much as possible Focus on building relationships with teachers Reflect, reflect, reflect!  I'm going to dig deeper into each of these topics in future posts, so more to come on that! =)

I recently listened to a great podcast episode called “The Power of the Pause” from the 3 Caffeinated Coaches podcast . One of the pauses they discussed was the “processing pause.” We commonly refer to this type of pause as “think time” when using it with students. They pointed out that we don’t often give the same thinking time to adults during meetings, training sessions, coaching conversations, etc. However, it is really important to make sure we incorporate processing pauses into our interactions with the adults we support. Some takeaways I had from this discussion: 1.  Some adults take longer to process new ideas than others, so we need to make sure we build in the time they need to analyze and think about the new information that has been shared. (I am one of those adults 🙋🏻) 2. When including processing pauses, be deliberate and set norms. Otherwise, the pauses could feel forced or stifle creativity. Also, we need to consider the context and reflect on whether the occasi...