How To Plan And Implement A Peer Coaching Program

The author describes how schools can implement a peer coaching program that serves as a professional support group.

This book explains how to develop a collaborative, learning-focused culture and build trust among colleagues; offers strategies for participating in difficult conversations that yield useful feedback; clarifies how to develop, sustain, and evaluate peer coaching efforts; and showcases exemplary peer coaching practices used in real schools.

Teachers are better together! Nationally and internationally, educators are excited about Les Foltos’ techniques for effective peer coaching. The model for Peer Coaching outlined in his 2011 TED talk has been implemented in 40 countries and counting with powerful results. Now you have it in this concise guide to effective coaching! Train teachers to help each other refine their classroom strategies and tailor them to 21st Century needs. Foltos’ insights include How peer coaching that makes a difference involves much more than just one teacher offering another advice. How a coaching relationship is first built on trust, and then on the willingness to take risks. Why peer coaching should focus on adapting teaching methods to the technological future of education. For schools to effect the changes the future demands, teachers must learn how to collaborate effectively. With this book, Les Foltos shows the way. "Not only does Peer Coaching explain how to effectively support and leverage peer coaches, it specifically addresses how these coaches can be a critical element in supporting 21st century education and the ‘4 C’s’. It′s a great contribution to the 21st century PD literature." —Ken Kay, CEO of EdLeader21

Teachers are better together! For schools to implement the classroom changes the future demands, teachers must learn how to collaborate effectively. This book details the deeply-researched peer coaching method formulated by Les Foltos and implemented in over 40 countries with powerful results. Its insights include: How peer coaching that makes a difference involves much more than just offering advice. How a coaching relationship is first built on trust, and then on the willingness to take risks. Why peer coaching should focus on adapting teaching methods to the technological future of education.

This third edition of the bestseller by Pam Robbins and Harvey B. Alvy serves as a personal mentor for principals and provides ideas, approaches, strategies, resources, tools, techniques, and reflective opportunities to help practicing and aspiring administrators facilitate educational improvement. Principals will find guidance in such critical areas as leadership skills, developing vision and mission, teacher evaluation and supervision, curriculum, technology use, conducting faculty meetings, and more. The revised edition reflects changes taking place within a wide range of educational issues, including: Data-driven decision making and high stakes accountability Shaping school cultures to promote professional learning communities Instructional implications of brain research Social justice Social and emotional learning Examining the high school dropout crisis Ethical leadership Cyberbullying and social responsibility Federal legislation and its effect on instructional practices

This book provides information for teachers and administrators about peer coaching, and it centers on classroom observation by other team members. The book describes stages of the observation process, explaining how a peer coaching program can make teachers more effective and co-learners with colleagues. Each chapter includes scenarios describing the benefits of peer coaching. The book highlights one peer coaching program in a large suburban school district. Chapter 1, "What is Peer Coaching?" describes the process and its benefits for professional development. Chapter 2, "Peer Coaching and Professional Growth," shows how peer coaching fits into staff development programs and is an implementation tool for school change. Chapter 3, "Implementing a Peer Coaching Program," explains how to get the program underway. Chapter 4, "The Peer Coaching Session," describes steps involved in observing colleagues. Chapter 5, "Research Supporting the Peer Coaching Concept," discusses how peer coaching fits current understandings related to brain research, constructivism, and adult learning theory. Chapter 6, "Making Time for a Peer Coaching Program," covers how to allot time inside and outside the school day for peer coaching and how to enhance the program using technology. Chapter 7, "Evaluating a Peer Coaching Program," presents program evaluation tools. (Contains references and an index.) (SM)

How can educators work together more effectively to improve professional practice in a way that enhances student performance? The answer, says author Pam Robbins, involves combining collaborative activities and peer coaching—teachers supporting teachers. This book describes how any school can implement these proven practices and experience positive changes in teaching, school culture, and learning. Robbins explains how to develop a collaborative, learning-focused culture and build trust among colleagues; offers strategies for participating in difficult conversations that yield useful feedback; clarifies how to develop, sustain, and evaluate peer coaching efforts; and showcases exemplary peer coaching practices used in real schools. She also includes coaching tools, scenarios, process guidelines, and reflection questions that make it easier to transfer these ideas into a school setting. Peer coaching offers a job-embedded learning strategy; it’s a valuable structure for supporting schoolwide and districtwide priorities such as analyzing data, improving instruction, integrating technology, and implementing standards. In short, it creates an effective way to support the growth of every teacher and enrich learning processes in any school. Pam Robbins is a former teacher, coach, director of professional development, and school leader. She consults with high-performing and low-performing districts and designs and conducts workshops on leadership, school culture, organizational change, mentoring, and peer coaching.