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Lindsay Nowakowski

EDAD 543
WWU Fall 2016
Supporting a Colleague

Inquiry Cycle:

Inquiry Cycle: Supporting a Colleague Developing your Coaching and


Mentoring Skills
AWSP Leadership Standards

Element 3.4 Assists staff to use data to guide, modify and improve classroom
teaching and student learning.
Element 4.2 Assists staff in aligning best instructional practices to state and
district learning goals.
Element 5.3 Assists staff in implementing effective instruction and assessment
practices.

In your current role or in a future position, you will be asked to mentor and coach colleagues or supervise/
evaluate your staff. To better understand your abilities, set up a time when you can support a staff member
about their current Inquiry Cycle. Your final product can be a written paper or a video.

Part 1: Cycle of Inquiry Interview with a classroom teacher


The teacher I interviewed is a 3rd Grade Teacher in our district. Her identified problem of
practice for student learning is that 24% of students in their classroom are below
benchmark for reading fluency based on the DIBELS oral reading fluency. The teacher
identified her subgroup of students based on analysis of several benchmark assessments,
selecting students who were low in both fluency as well as comprehension. Her area of
focus is aligned with the district wide criterion 3 focus- assessment and differentiation; as
well as, our district wide literacy goal of getting to know our readers in order to better
close the achievement gap using strategies to meet their needs during small group
instruction and individual with conferring. The classroom teacher will engage in a variety of
learning and feedback opportunities with her PLC, TOSAS, principal, etc; such as
professional development opportunities, book study, literacy lab, coaching, etc. As a result
of her implementation of teaching strategies she learns while working with students during
small group and conferring, students reading performance will increase. The teacher will
monitor and assess for student growth of her subgroup of six students using multiple
sources of both qualitative and quantitative data.

Part 2: After the interview, take time to reflect on this conversation by answering
these questions:
The conversation between the third grade teacher and myself was comfortable as
well as productive. As we sat together at her small group table in the back of her
classroom; the teacher appeared at ease and relaxed, mentioning that it is helpful to meet
with me due to my current TOSA role, rapport between each other, and knowledge of
literacy and 5D/TPEP requirements. Since the meeting to review her student growth goals
was requested by the teacher, I allowed her to begin by talking me through her goal and the
thought process behind it. I asked several guiding questions such as how did you
determine your sub group of students based on data? What multiple measures will you
use to measure student growth? And, How does measuring fluency connect the larger
purpose of becoming a stronger readers, specifically comprehension? I do my best to
listen, rephrase and ask questions to probe for deeper understanding as well as uncover
possible misconceptions for both the teacher and myself.
This coaching experience is directly connected to the AWSP goals I have selected to
improve my leadership. During this meeting I was able to assist the teacher in analyzing
a variety of assessments to identify individual student need and select appropriate
growth goals. By narrowing her goal focus to fluency, and a better understanding how
fluency impacts comprehension, the teacher can now implement continuous new
learning around effective instruction and assessment practices to better meet the needs
of her struggling readers, ultimately closing the achievement gap. As a result of our
conversation (as well other similar meetings with teachers) I am able to identify which
next steps I will take as a coach and literacy leader to help support teachers. These will
include providing learning opportunities specifically around research and best practices
for developing reading fluency, as well as how to use formative assessment to decide on
a teaching point while conferring with students. Two of my strengths as a coach include
the supportive and positive relationships I build with staff members, as well as using
questioning to elevate a particular topic or focus area. An area I would like to continue to
improve upon is how to take the many observations I make throughout a day, week, etc.;
and develop a larger, long-term vision for whole staff learning. The scaffolding between
district vision goals and building readiness in teachers using a strengths based approach.

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