Coaching - a review of the first year

As we enter the final month of this school year I wanted to write a short blog post to share the impact that tech integration coaching has had in my school division. We recently conducted a feedback survey, the results of which were extremely positive. This year all the coaches were trained in at least the first 4 days of Cognitive Coaching, with some completing Days 5-8. We have focused on planning and reflecting conversations.
At the start of each year, all teachers and teaching assistants set a tech goal.  For the teachers the goal is connected to the ISTE Standards for Teachers - this year we are focusing on Standard 2 designing and developing digital age learning experiences and assessments.  Our teaching assistants based their goal on Standard 3, modelling digital-age work and learning.

According to the survey

• 73% of teachers indicated that Tech Integration Coaching has supported effective digital age learning environments that maximise the learning of all students
• 57%  indicated that coaching has had an impact on using technology for assessing student learning
• 43% said the coaching has helped them provide rigorous and engaging learning experiences for their students, and
• 32% said it has helped them differentiate instruction

Teachers were also asked about the coaching conversations they had been engaged in with their coach.  These were ranked on a scale of 1-4, with 1 and 2 being low satisfaction and 3-4 being high satisfaction.

• 81% of teachers gave a 3 or 4 to being engaged in planning conversations
• 72% of teachers gave a 3 or 4 to being engaged in reflecting conversations
• 66% of teachers responded with a 3 or 4 when asked about how their coach had engaged them in data collection
• 86% responded with a 3 or 4 for help they had received from their coach with artefact collection for the Tech Audit, and
• 80% gave a 3 or 4 for support in problem resolution

The teaching assistants were asked about support they had received when working on their personal tech goals.

• 64% of assistants indicated coaching had helped them collaborate using digital tools and resources to support student success 
• 36% said coaching had supported them in using a variety of digital age media and formats, and
• 50% said they could transfer their knowledge to new technologies and situations.

TAs were also asked to rate their coaching sessions. We had a rating scale of 4, with 1 and 2 being low and 3 and 4 being high. TAs responded in the following way:

• 73% of TAs gave a score of 3 or 4 based on their engagement in planning and reflecting conversations
• 59% of TAs gave a score of 3 when asked if tech coaching has helped them with problem resolution.
• 82% of respondents indicated that tech coaching has helped them learn new tools.

This data will be invaluable to us as we reflect on our first year of tech coaching - and as we build on this to support teachers and assistants next year.

Photo Credit: Ruthven Moonwolf via Compfight cc