The Literacy Coaching Challenge. McKenna & Walpole (2008). Notes on Chapters 1-4.

McKenna, M. & Walpole, S. (2008). The literacy coaching challenge: Models and methods for grades K-8. New York: The Guilford Press.

Notes on Chapter 1-4

Chapter 1: Models of Coaching

In this chapter, McKenna & Walpole briefly address coaching standards, and then examine 5 models of coaching, elucidating each models strengths and weaknesses.

Mentoring New Teachers-

-Intended to support new teachers and help them "keep their head above water" p. 5;

-Context is important. Often done by teachers in specific schools.

-Strengths: flexibility and responsiveness.

-Weaknesses are the expense and time required of mentors. Some districts are assigned a mentor role to a district person who visits several new teachers. When districts choose to do this, the relationship and context strength are not as evident.

Cognitive-Coaching-

The focus is "to mediate the invisible thinking that guides a teacher's work.

-Goal: "facilitate the self-directed learning of teachers" (p. 5).

-Strengths are relationships, reflection and flexibility related to instructional focus.

Peer Coaching-

-Based on the work of Joyce & Showers (1996);

-Goal: "Build a bridge between formal professional development and classroom implementation." (p. 7).

-Traditional PD delivered outside the classroom and then peers "coach" each other in development.

-Fairly inexpensive

-Non-threatening for teachers

Program Specific Coaching-

-Targeted and outcome oriented

-Examples from Reading Recovery and Success for All

-Goal: fidelity to a program

Reform Oriented Coaching-

-"a moving target" (p. 12)

-Student data dictates how model changes

-Teachers must recognize current practices "are not yielding acceptable outcomes" (p. 12).

-Requires much of teachers and coaches

-Grade level collaboration; guided by coaches (chart on p. 13)

-Strength-"comprehensiveness" and "choice" (p. 13)

-Weakness-extreme demands placed on teachers and coaches

Chapter 1 concludes with a brief discussion of "soft coaching" with its invitational nature and "hard coaching" (p. 14) with its blunt, sometimes confrontational nature, and challenge to teacher expertise.

Chapter 2: Serving Adult Learners

-Discussion of principles of adult education and characteristics of adult learners. It includes tips for planning a good presentation (p. 30) that is based on NSDC standards.

Chapter 3: Serving Adult Learners in School Contexts

In this chapter, McKenna & Walpole address the importance of creating a professional learning community. Issues of authority are discussed.

-Chart on p. 36-38. "Characteristics of more- and less-effective principals" based on the work of Murphy (2004)

-Stress on distributed leadership.

* cite the work of Fullan (2005) and his assertion that "the very best leaders 'have a dual focus on performance and development of leadership in others' " (p. 31, as cited in McKenna & Walpole, p. 39).

*share Copeland's (2004) five themes of distributed leadership: 1) persistent, public focus on learning 2) the use of inquiry 3) development of enabling structures 4) shared responsibility for decision making and 5) personal participation as a learner (p. 226, as cited in McKenna & Walpole, p. 39).

-Tips to strengthen partnership between coach and principal: 1) be helpful 2) communicate 3) become colearners 4) discuss pressure 5) maintain confidences and 6) Be creative

-Suggestion is made that coaches need to learn first, then plan and finally act (p. 42).

-Issues of curriculum and assessment are also discussed.

Chapter 4: The Role of Assessment in Coaching

This chapter begins with a discussion of the different types of assessment: screening, diagnostic, progress monitoring, and outcome measures. Coaches are encouraged to survey the available assessment data at the school, to examine it critically, and to develop a system. The authors note the importance of data to guide instruction and coaching.