The Perfect (Teacher) Coach E-Book

Jackie Beere

• Herausgeber: Independent Thinking Press
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

Many schools are now recognising that using a coaching model is the very best way to make sustainable improvements in the standard of teaching and learning across all departments.The Perfect Teacher's Coach presents a simple and practical guide to making coaching work well in your school in order to deliver consistently high standards. This is ever more important with Ofsted increasing the number of lesson observations and 'evaluation of teaching and learning' providing a key performance indicator, alongside student outcomes.Everything you need to know about what coaching is and how it works is provided in this book. This includes details of various models of coaching and how to implement a successful model suitable for your school, training your coaches and ensuring you have a sustainable performance management process that really works.

Leseprobe

Praise for The Perfect Teacher Coach

This is a book that will have a real impact on the development of coaching within schools. The authors present a straightforward yet powerful way of exploring and understanding the key aspects of building high quality coaching throughout a school.

Its simple, jargon free approach captures the concepts and practical elements that will help any school move towards a successful coaching culture.

Written from a ‘reflective and emotionally intelligent mindset’, the style of the book is utterly congruent with a coaching approach – encouraging the reader to question and challenge their own behaviours and thinking and become even better. Throughout, the passion and belief are evident and yet clear links to Ofsted and performance management frameworks ground it in the reality of today’s schools.

Any school leader seeking to build sustainable progress in pupil learning at the same time as developing well-being and resilience in their staff will have a better journey with this book at their side.

Andy Vass, Professional Coach

The Perfect Teacher Coach is just like the authors: solution focused and easy to follow. It’s a book you can read from cover to cover and know what you want to do next. But it’s also a good book to dip into if you’ve done coaching before, to give you new techniques to try, and sometimes it’s also good to have reassurance that what you’re doing is right! In the absence of having one of the authors at the end of the phone, this book is the next best thing!

Charlotte Johnson, Vice Principal (teaching and learning) Thomas Clarkson Academy Wisbech, Cambs

In good schools learning is fun, exciting, active, creative and developmental for teachers and for children. We all learn by mirroring ways of doing things from others who are excited by learning, positive, non-judgemental, keen to share and above all to listen.

Learning needs to take place in a secure environment where we have permission to take risks, experiment and at times make mistakes. Under these conditions all our learning journeys could be greatly enhanced by what I have described as a ‘lead learner’, someone brought into sharp focus in Jackie Beere and Terri Broughton’s book – The Perfect Teacher Coach.

In my school this approach was developed through colleagues training in counselling at the Tavistock Clinic, taking part in the in-house Masters programme delivered for us by the Institute of Education, experiencing our many home-delivered inset sessions such as teachers becoming students for the day, following students, teaching other teachers or planning, discussing and team teaching together on a regular basis, as well as engaging in the many cross curricular events that took place. The staff rooms became hives of learning conversations and the school a learning community as well as a community of learners.

What this book does superbly is provide an aide memoire for leaders at all levels in schools (both teaching and associate staff too, colleagues who are supporting staff development, middle managers and all teams such as departments, years/houses as well as senior leadership) in how to conduct constructive learning conversations. It will also be of value for students training to be peer tutors or mentors.

The value of this approach is well documented in this book and will certainly lead to successful learning for all. It is the means of keeping a school climbing ever upwards, one of the greatest challenges for all schools, especially those that think they have arrived. You never arrive! But that is was makes the whole learning game so exiting, creative and rewarding. This book provides a crucial tool for raising the achievement of staff and students in all schools.

Dame Tamsyn Imison, Former Head Teacher, Hampstead School 1984-2000, Editor Comprehensive Successes and All our geese are swans, Institute of Education

The Perfect Teacher Coach has a very friendly and easy to navigate layout, which allows you to follow the book and take a step-by-step approach to techniques and theories or ‘dip into’ and refresh skills that you haven’t used for a while.

Jackie and Terri are clearly passionate about the difference that coaching can make in an educational setting and this comes across loud and clear. The references to Ofsted and CPD give an edge of authority and make The Perfect Teacher Coach an essential tool for a busy teacher – not something additional or optional.

Elanor Westbury, SENCo and English Teacher, King’s Lynn Academy

An excellent, easily digestible guide to coaching in education settings, rooted firmly in the current climate of accountability and extraordinary expectation. This book navigates a path through the minefield of performance management whilst supporting a culture of humanity. Without emotionally intelligent leadership, schools and colleges act as dubious role models not only to staff but also to young people. Coaching supports high quality professional development and leadership in a way that excites and inspires those who learn and work in the organisation. The Perfect Teacher Coach is appropriately rich in addressing these issues and practical in supporting the implementation of high-end coaching.

Will Thomas, Performance Coach and award-winning and best-selling author

A must for any head teacher looking to use coaching to enhance their school improvement journey. Coaching must be part of the school’s culture for continuous improvement. Some great tips for all staff, teachers and teaching assistants looking to embark on the role as a coach. Great top tips – I will be using these with all my staff.

Eliza Hollis, Executive Head Teacher, Stoke Bruerne, Tiffield and Whittlebury Primary Schools

A well-structured, focussed and informative read, which still manages to maintain a conversational and highly enjoyable tone! Interspersed with opportunities to reflect on personal practice and to experiment with coaching techniques, the authors balance research, up-to-date educational practice and points of introspection extremely well.

I found myself nodding along in total agreement, furiously making notes on what we could immediately implement in school. The short plenary sections at the end of key chapters focus thinking and the carefully-worked examples are easy to follow and emulate.

This book puts into clear language the nuances and central essence of effective coaching within a school context, whilst maintaining a realistic and pragmatic understanding of school systems, performance management and school improvement.

I would heartily recommend this book to anyone embarking on coaching work for the first time or, equally, the experienced teacher-coach who wishes to re-articulate, consolidate, develop and reflect on their own personal and institutional practice.

Elizabeth Barratt, Teaching Coach, The Nottingham Emmanuel School

An excellent teaching and learning guide for prospective coaches, with step-by-step guidance and information about coaching. The Perfect Teacher Coach clarifies the differences between counselling and coaching and the importance of good feedback from colleagues and fellow coaches. It provides a great way of reflecting on performance and management, questions the methods and ideas that we use within the classroom and structures coaching conversations.

Hayley Lockey, SEN Teaching Assistant and advanced coach, Kings Lynn Academy

As a school we are certain that coaching is an incredibly powerful tool in teacher and student learning. Jackie provides a book that is easy and clear to read, just like The Perfect Ofsted Lesson/Inspection and that covers the basic premises behind coaching as well as developing strategies. The way the book is written creates a positive mindset for the reader in imagining what they might do in a particular situation. The wealth of suggestions and solutions coming from real examples and scenarios provides a real grounding for the skills that it develops. The chapter on questioning was one of the best that I have read - it provides clarity around the types of questionsand when and where they are best used. It also makes coaching look easy!

This book very cleverly made me realise that I often coach effectively and that this happens when I have genuine empathy with the coachee. It has also given me the confidence to think beyond a prescribed set of coaching questions as I develop my coaching still further.

This is a book that will support the development of coaching skills in all teachers, young or old, experienced or NQT, but it also highlights the importance of coaching skills in support staff and teaching assistants. A thoroughly enjoyable and informative read.

Phil Loveday, Head Teacher, Bridgnorth Endowed School

For Tony, Amy and Sam

Thank you for consistently showing me patience, sincerity, passion, enthusiasm and love. You are my world!

Terri

For Lucy, Carrie and Kirstie

Thanks for bringing us so much fun and happiness … and showing us the real meaning of teaching and learning … and coaching. I am looking forward to the next generation, in eager anticipation of more of the same.

Jackie

Contents

Title Page

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Introduction: Who this book is for

1. What is coaching?

2. What makes a ‘perfect’ coach?

3. Coaching with edge, for performance management

4. Creating a culture of coaching

5. The skill of questioning

6. A coaching framework

7. Embedding the coaching culture for the long term

Appendix 1:Coaching agreement

Appendix 2: Coaching evaluation tools

References and further reading

Copyright

Acknowledgements

We would both like to acknowledge everything we have learned from all the excellent teachers and leaders we have worked with over the years, and the trainers and coaches who have inspired us – especially Andy Vass, Will Thomas and Mike Hughes. We particularly wish to thank the staff and students at King’s Lynn Academy, Attleborough High School, Rawlins Community College, Swaffham Hamond’s High School and Campion School who have supported and inspired us and all the individuals who have been willing to take the risk of making a change and doing things differently. Thanks also for the patience and commitment of our wonderful publishers, particularly Caroline Lenton at Crown House Publishing.

Special thanks must go to the coaches from King’s Lynn Academy and from Swaffham Hamond’s High School (now the Nicholas Hamond’s Academy) for giving permission to use quotes from them throughout the book.

Most of all, thanks to our husbands for their unstinting support, particularly for the many hours spent by Jackie’s husband, John Beasley, sorting out our ideas through his genius editing and for giving us the confidence to complete this book.

Jackie Beere and Terri Broughton

A personal note from Jackie:

I would like to thank Terri. Some years ago she asked me to be her coach and my response was ‘What do you mean?’ After working with her, I now believe coaching is simply the most effective way to support and grow our fantastic teachers to be the very best they can be in today’s high-stakes, judgemental climate. I have learnt so much from Terri about the ways she has used coaching at her school and in how she conducts her life. Thanks, Terri.

Foreword

The ‘Perfect’ series is making quite a name for itself in my school. We have excitedly ordered each as they have come out and the staff have taken real comfort in the support they have been given. So I am really flattered to be asked to write the foreword for The Perfect Teacher Coach.

Coaching has been a buzz word in education for many years but I am not certain how successful it has been on a wide scale because teachers have spent far too long telling people what they need to do to solve a problem. Let’s be honest, within ten seconds of someone coming to get support for something that is challenging them we, as teachers, have normally assessed what we think they need to do and all we are waiting for is for them to pause for breath so we can jump in and tell them what they need to know and do! We are busy people and we think that this will let us get back on with our own work. However, anyone that truly understands coaching and what it can do realises that actually the person you have helped will soon be back with a similar problem as they want the comfort of being told how to solve it. This absolves them from responsibility, to some degree.

As a Head Teacher, I have long since learned that trying to ‘convince’ anyone that coaching is something they can benefit from when they don’t really know what coaching is leads to extra stress – and a lot of moaning in the staffroom.

What The Perfect Teacher Coach does is to clarify what coaching is and its power. Having worked hard to introduce a coaching culture in my own school, the hurdles have always been to make sure staff don’t confuse coaching with something much more fluffy! So if you are dubious about coaching, just readingChapter 1, that clarifies the differences between coaching, mentoring, counselling etc, will help you decide whether you have the skills and patience to be a great coach – not everyone does.

Like all of the ‘Perfect’ series, the honesty with which it is written means that anyone can pick it up and not feel they are being ‘sold’ something. There is little doubt that we are in a time of great change and increased pressure at all levels of our profession and the development of a ‘growth’ mindset is vital for any of us to cope. What this book delivers, that so many other coaching ‘manuals’ don’t, is the links drawn with the things that are causing lots of us stress – Ofsted, performance management and becoming an outstanding teacher, to name a few of the ‘biggies’!

As someone that is coached by a member of staff within my own school, a learning support assistant when I asked her to help, I know how much I have been supported by her skilful listening and questioning. It works and it helps me be better at the job I love. Coaching is non-hierarchical and non-judgemental – that is quite hard to find in our jobs currently!

The bottom line for all of us, as teachers and leaders, is that we want to make long-term and sustainable improvement for those that we work with – students and colleagues alike. The almost step-by-step guidance given allows anyone to take on the coach role if they want to. This book certainly explains the important skills and attributes we all need and has given me a new term to use with staff – ‘owning the change’. In a nutshell, that is what coaching does and that is what this book helps you to accomplish.

Vic Goddard, Principal, Passmores Academy, Essex