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Teacher Coaching and Development Process

Necla Kucuk

Grand Canyon University: EAD-530-0501

May 25, 2022

Teacher Coaching and Development Process

Observation Pre-Conference

A pre-conference allows the educator to go over the lesson with the administrator and

receive feedback about the lesson that is going to be taught. The administrator goes over the

lesson and walks through it with the teacher to provide support for the lesson. Then the teacher

can reflect and make adjustments if he/she needs to depend on the feedback and the new ideas

received from the administration. When I had my pre-observation, I went through a similar

process except where I had to answer pre-observation questions in advance and submit them to

my administration. Then during the pre-observation, I went over my lesson and my answers to

the questions and talked about the strategies I would use and how I would know if my strategies

would be effective. I received some other strategies that I could use and adjusted them according

to the conversations. So, except for answering the questions in advance, the rest of the process

was very similar to that I had in the past.

According to the resources, during pre-observations, coaches and administrators asked

many guided questions such as: What are the objectives, details of the lessons, activities that the

teachers are going to use to engage students? How are the lessons are connected with prior and

future knowledge of the students? How the students will be assets for understanding and what

the observer should focus during the observation? The elementary school principal conducted a

pre-observation with a second-grade teacher to provide a specific example. The lesson was about

identifying the text's primary purpose by using close reading strategies to pull the information.

The principal started the conversation by asking about the objectives and expectations of the

lesson. Then she moved on to the details and asked if there would be an introduction for the

lesson and if the students were familiar with this strategy. After each question, the principal took
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notes on the lesson plan and continued to ask how the teacher would assess and check the

students' understanding. The principal also asked how the lesson was related to students' prior

and future knowledge of the students. In this example, the teacher was pretty comfortable about

the lesson and the expected outcomes.

Planning a well-developed lesson is a challenge for many educators, but according to the

examples, the teachers were well prepared for their lessons, and I could understand this from

their answers during their pre-observations. Each teacher provided detailed information about

their lesson and the activities to engage students. For example, the second-grade teacher

mentioned an inside-outside circle activity to allow students to talk about the lesson and share

ideas with their peers. Then the math teacher provided sample math questions related to the

lesson and specific expectations from the students, such as accuracy and explanation of their

answers. The science teacher talked about how she differentiated the lesson by providing four

articles for the students and how the students will be discussing the topic by analyzing the

reading passages.

Classroom Observation

When the leaders are observing a lesson, they need to look for many things, such as

classroom environment, classroom management, how the students are engaging with the lesson,

how the teacher is responding to the students and the time management of the lesson. Moreover,

transitioning between one activity to another, student participation, how the lesson is delivered,

the relationship between the teacher and the students are only some of thing that administrators

look for during the observation. I mentioned classroom environment and classroom management

first because if the environment and the management are poor, then the instruction will not be
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effective. However, in a well-managed classroom, the engaging and well-planned activities will

support students to grasp the concept and help them process what they learned.

After viewing the lessons, coaches and administrators should provide positive feedback

and ask guided questions to show that the observations are not to judge teachers but to provide

support in improving their instruction. I think observers should focus on classroom management

first. When the classroom management is not strong or not present, learning is not happening.

However, if the classroom management is present, then the observers should focus on the

effectiveness of the lesson and the activities to engage students. By self-reflecting, teachers can

identify activities that allow students to actively participate and engage with the lesson.

During the observation, coaches and administrators should not provide feedback or

support because leaders must be objective and fair to all teachers. Their job is to observe and

write down what they see, not what they think about the lesson. They have to save their feedback

for the post-observation to support and help the teachers. Also, if the observers get involved

during the lesson, it would not be fair for the teacher, which might affect the teacher-student

relationship and classroom management.

Post-Observation Conversation Opening Comments and Specific Evidence

When watching the post-observation videos, I noticed that the coaches were very calm,

and they started the conversation by thanking the educators. This positive opening helped the

candidate and the observer have a productive and positive conversation where coaches ask

questions and provide suggestions to improve the lesson.

The coaches used specific evidence from the observations during the post-conference

when giving the teachers feedback. For example, the second-grade teachers mentioned using

shorter passages for next time to improve her lesson. Providing specific evidence during post-
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conference will help the teachers improve their lessons and help them with what they can do

better next time. When you are teaching, it is not easy to see and understand the effectiveness of

your lesson. When someone shares their honest opinion, and provides suggestions, it will help

you to see your lesson from another perspective. So, solid evidence during post-observation

helped the teachers create a positive conversation regarding improving their teachings in the

sample lessons.

The coaches/administrators were adequate in providing positive feedback about the

lesson. They also provided specific evidence from the observed lesson to help the teacher

improve the lessons. In my opinion, the evaluators validate the lesson's strengths by observing

the student-teacher engagement, student performance, and formal and informal assessment.

These observations and coaching were successful because they followed the three coaching

cycles by informing the educators about the evaluation process, allowing teachers to go through

the lesson, providing immediate feedback using solid evidence and an opportunity to reflect on

the lessons.

When providing constructive feedback, it is an excellent strategy to ask questions; this

allows teachers to reflect on their teaching and develop different ideas to improve the lesson.

Also, self-reflection will allow teachers to understand that planning a good and effective lesson

is a complex and thoughtful process where they need to find activities, procedures and materials

to support all learners. However, asking questions help the evaluators to form a positive

conversation without frustrating the teacher by directly stating the areas of refinements but by

guiding the educator with questions and helping them identify their areas of improvement.
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Post-Observation Positive Feedback and Areas of Refinement

Conducting an observation in the school building and offering collaborative opinions to

teachers regarding their lessons is a distinctive occasion that allows administrators and teachers

to discuss, ask questions, and collaborate to improve all students' academic success. Blasé &

Blasé suggest that effective principals present teaching techniques during their meetings with

educators and in the classroom to support positive interaction among students and motivate

teachers (Blasé & Blasé, 2000). Administrators usually collect more evidence during the

observation, but leaders need to focus on one or two areas that need the most improvement and

provide feedback on those areas to have a productive post-observation. 

The goal of post-observation is not to overwhelm the teachers but to identify what the

teachers need and create goals to improve these needs so the student's learning can be affected

positively. According to Smith & Andrews (1989), principals always make intended

recommendations and provide feedback to teachers during pre-and-post observation,

conferences, and day-to-day relations that positively affect teachers' inspiration, happiness, self-

esteem, and effectiveness (Smith & Andrews, 1989). Therefore, principals need to continuously

work with the teachers and support their confidence while celebrating their development and

growth. Kaufman mentioned that teaching and learning methods could be linked to educational

theories such as Constructivism, Self-efficacy and Self-directed learning that will enhance the

development of knowledge, skills, and positive attitudes in teachers' overall improvement when

teaching (Kaufman, 2003). Sometimes teachers lack motivation, and if that is the case,

administrators need to provide a different path or focus point to the teachers by using educational

theories and research-based learning strategies to provide a new perspective. So, the overall goal
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of the coaching, observation and given feedback process is about understanding the teachers’

instructional needs and providing necessary support and resources without overwhelming them.

Reference:

Blase, J., & Blase, J. (2000). Effective instructional leadership: Teachers’ perspectives on how

principals promote teaching and learning in schools. Journal of educational administration.

Smith, W. F., & Andrews, R. L. (1989). Instructional leadership: How principals make a

difference. Publications, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 125 N. West

Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 (Stock No. 611-89142; $14.95)..

Kaufman, D. M. (2003). Applying educational theory in practice. Bmj, 326(7382), 213-216.