Peer Coaching

Peer coaching, a mentoring process for individuals of equal status, is a highly effective, but underused professional development tool. This book provides the first rigorously researched and road tested three-part model for fostering peer coaching relationships at work.

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

Peer Coaching in Higher Education describes a simple, five-step method for the improvement of teaching in colleges and universities. Professors and instructors in small groups, as departmental faculty, or as inter- and intra-departmental partners can increase faculty collegiality and improve their teaching techniques for increases in student learning. Gottesman explains the theory and practice of peer coaching, specifically describing its application among the faculty and students of five universities. She provides directions for a faculty conducting its own peer coaching seminar, including necessary hand-outs and examples. Actual peer coaching exchanges give faculty ideas about the extended applications of this process.

Can teachers, principals, and professors lead their students toward profound learning until they have been there themselves? Peer coaching offers a remarkable vehicle to join with students as learners and together build a community of learners, and this volume presents it all with clarity, economy, honesty, and conviction.

Peer coaching is an often-overlooked but vital tool for bringing personal and professional development to employees. In “Peer Coaching: The Wave of the Future,” Shana Montesol Johnson details the ins and outs of this low-cost, high-impact, customizable training option, explaining: · what peer coaching is and its various forms · potential benefits and pitfalls as well as how to address them · methods to set up successful peer coaching · ways to test peer coaching before launching a full program.

Peer Coaching is a collaborative, reciprocal practice where faculty members observe, reflect, and improve their instructional practices with the goal of improved learning for all students. This edited book includes chapters describing faculty peer coaching initiatives in universities world-wide. Section one includes chapters that give an overview of what faculty peer coaching is and what the benefits of faculty peer coaching can be. The second section of the book explores the theoretical and practical implications of engaging in faculty peer coaching and the trust and vulnerability that comes along with opening up your instructional practices to a colleague. Section three of the book includes several examples of peer coaching initiatives across various disciplines in higher education settings. Section four situates peer coaching in the broader institutional framework. This book is a must for leaders of faculty development initiatives, directors and staff from teaching & learning centers, department chairs, faculty, graduate students, deans, student services staff, chief academic officers, and educational consultants.

Aligned with state and IRA/NCTE standards, this book offers clear steps and reproducible forms for using student-to-student interactions to help adolescents become more proficient writers.

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.