How Principals Can Use Video-Enhanced Coaching to Grow Teachers and Raise Student Achievement
This is part 1 in a 9-part series. Get access to all 9 videos in once place by clicking on the button below!
On-Demand AccessWith school ending, reflective administrators all over the country are already planning for next school year—and I encourage them to begin their planning by answering the “key question” that Covey posed over a decade ago in his book The 8th Habit—From Effectiveness to Greatness:
What’s the best thing I can do under the circumstances?
I imagine some of the more challenging “circumstances” that school leaders might commonly identify include:
- High teacher turnover rates
- Fewer resources to systematically improve teacher effectiveness
- Stagnant or falling student test scores
- Increasingly frequent classroom disruptions
- Higher numbers of discipline referrals
As reflective administrators consider the “best thing” to do under their circumstances, I hope they will consider a relatively new and transformative solution—video-enhanced coaching. Dr. Tonya Goree, an expert at meeting challenges, is using video this way—and you should, too. Here’s why…
When you have a response that meets the challenge, you have success
As an experienced principal in a large district north of Houston, Texas, Dr. Tonya Goree is an expert at having a response that meets challenging circumstances. What was her go-to response in the fall of 2015 when she prepared to enter her newest elementary school assignment: Utilize video-enhanced coaching to increase teacher effectiveness.
Specifically, Dr. Goree applied what she had learned while earning her doctorate and reading about the MET (Measures of Effective Teaching) project:
- If we want teachers to learn more, they must become students of their own teaching—see their own teaching in a new light
- Teacher growth occurs by providing the feedback every professional needs to strive towards excellence
Striving towards excellence
Through a systematic plan and process, Dr. Goree and her team helped to transform the elementary school she entered in the 2015-2016 school year in significant ways by following a specific plan and process.
The plan & process:
- Study common research on effective coaching
- Identify instructional goals/guarantees for the school year
- Calibrate the members of the instructional leadership team on giving feedback
- Introduce video-enhanced professional learning to the faculty
- Create a calendar that includes a minimum of three coaching cycles for every member of the faculty—separate coaching from evaluating
- Cycle 1 – Self-reflection & coaching
- Cycle 2 – Teacher-driven coaching goals
- Cycle 3 – Coach-driven goals
The outcomes:
In February, Dr. Goree was named elementary principal of the year in her district. In addition, as the 2015-2016 school year ended, here are her school’s stats:
- There was a 92% reduction in teacher turnover from the previous year
- Classroom disruptions decreased 90%
- Behavioral referrals decreased 68%
- Student achievement as measured by the state test (STAAR) increased overall as follows:
- Math – +23%
- Reading – +15%
- Writing – + 24%
- Science – + 26%
Want to learn from Dr. Goree and Sibme?
Sibme and the Principal Center, are sponsoring a 9-part webinar series. This webinar series is designed to take administrators through the process of using video-enhanced coaching to improve teacher effectiveness and impact student achievement.
Each month, Dr. Goree will prepare the participants for the tasks they will need to attend to in the month that follows. She will give participants the tools to make this process work for them and Sibme will power your work.
What’s the best thing you can do?
Although we cannot change our circumstances, we can always choose to do the best thing under the circumstances. Next time you ask yourself Covey’s key question, I hope your answer will be to commit to using video-enhanced coaching to increase teacher effectiveness…and I hope you will join Dr. Goree who is excited to show you how!
