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and cognitive coaching, yet meaningful dialogue cannot occur if there is a lack of
trust, empathy, care, or genuine attention given to each individual in the partnership.
A skillful coach understands the importance of utilizing probing and questioning
to push teachers to think metacognitively and actualize their strengths and areas of
growth. In this facilitative conversation, the coach serves as a thought partner and
empowers the novice to develop action steps that will support his or her teaching
and student learning. As a teacher progresses toward his or her goals, coaching
interactions may continue to support the teacher or their work together may conclude. Dr. Julie Bell is Assistant
Professor of Secondary
Coaching Vignette Literacy Education at the
University of Nebraska
Amanda Steiner: As I reflect on my preservice experience and first year at Omaha. juliebell@
of teaching, I know that my career transpired because of the support I unomaha.edu
received from strong mentors and coaches, yet I also know my experience
is not representative of everyone’s. That is why 8 years ago, when I was
invited to help a university create and implement instructional coaching with
preservice teachers, I jumped in. After attending training from Jim Knight
on instructional coaching and a workshop on mentoring, my colleagues and
I set off to work.
As I began to develop a partnership with my preservice students and
observed their work in field-based practicums, I quickly found myself in
uncharted waters. Classrooms are complex spaces, and as I observed
instruction, I found myself overwhelmed with where to direct my attention
during observations. As I grew in my practice, I narrowed my focus during
observations to the big four: classroom management, content, instruction,
and assessment for learning (Knight, 2007). I collected observational data in
these four areas and used cognitive coaching (Costa & Garmston, 2002) to
frame questions that allowed the teacher candidate and me to have a targeted,
inquiry-based conversation. From this experience, I became aware of how
the context of a question aided in facilitating the conversation.
As I practiced my craft, I grew in my understanding of the power of
listening. This allowed me to meet preservice teachers where they were to
provide individualized support. Engaging in reflective dialogue led to setting
goals with clearly defined action steps. As teacher candidates made progress
toward their goals and grew in their practice, the duration of my work with
each teacher candidate became more episodic. This allowed my work to
evolve by developing new partnerships or providing more targeted support
(i.e., planning, modeling, co-teaching) to others. Ultimately, as a coach I
knew how important it is for teachers to reflect on their practice and set
actionable goals, yet through this work I quickly learned that it is equally
important for coaches to also engage in reflection, so they can grow as well.
Opportunities and Challenges
Traditional mentoring practices (i.e., expert and buddy mentoring) are rooted
in a more knowledgeable other providing support to a novice teacher. Traditional
mentors use their expertise to advise novice teachers or provide resources (Trevathan
& Sandretto, 2017). The foundation of mentoring is built through establishing a
relationship between the mentor and mentee. Establishing a relationship is also a
key component of educative mentoring and coaching, yet a noted difference between
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