To promote a culture that supports the growth of teachers and leaders, schools need to rethink professional learning programs just as they’ve reimagined how they engage with students. This year, the Danielson Group’s deeper engagement will focus on two specific needs: (1) support for new teachers and their coaches or mentors; and (2) redesigning professional learning programs. The Danielson Group can structure these engagements based on the needs and budget of individual schools or districts. Through a partnership with Whetstone, the DG can offer access to a powerful online instructional growth platform at a discounted price. Our coaching and support combined with Whetstone’s ability to capture, share, and follow up on instructional feedback and team meetings will give schools the tools they need to reimagine professional learning and respond to the needs of teachers and instructional leaders.
VIRTUAL INSTRUCTIONAL COACHING TO SUPPORT NEW TEACHERS
Those entering the classroom for the first time this year will need support that looks different than years past. This program will be tailored to work within schools’ existing coaching and mentoring program to provide training and support for instructional leaders who work with novice teachers. Using survey data and input from school and district leaders, the DG team will identify current professional learning gaps and will tailor a program to build coaches’ skills through live workshops, online modules, and coaching toolkits.
The following offerings are included in this program:
- Up to 20 hours of planning and support for school or district leadership teams responsible for instructional coaching and mentoring.
- Four hours of facilitated virtual classroom walkthroughs or video observations with recommendations presented to the school or district leadership team.
- Two hours of 1:1 coaching and support from a DG Framework Specialist per semester for each participating coach.
- A Coaching Circle experience for each coach to practice providing real-time feedback based on observations.
- Every-other-month surveys of new teachers and their coaches to identify progress, opportunities, and ongoing challenges.
- Monthly Professional Learning Community meetings for all participating coaches.
- Access to self-paced, foundational DG courses and other online resources for teachers and coaches.
- An annual subscription to the Framework Clusters powered by 2gnoMe personalized learning platform for all new teachers.
The DG strongly recommends that school partners use an online coaching and collaboration platform to support new teachers and their mentors. Through our collaboration with Whetstone, partners will receive a discounted rate on an annual subscription.
REMODELING PROFESSIONAL LEARNING PROGRAMS
The needs of teachers and coaches are changing, both in the immediate and long term. Schools and districts must rethink professional learning to build a lasting model that is relevant and meaningful as education evolves. While providing support for the immediate learning needs of teachers, the DG team will work with school and district leaders to develop adaptive models and practices in three areas:
Teacher-directed, collaborative learning
What can and should a teacher Professional Learning Community look like in this time and beyond? How can teacher-directed inquiry and innovation drive instructional improvement?The DG team will support getting virtual PLCs up and running smoothly and help rethink teacher learning for the long term.
Instructional coaching
What do the coaching practices we know and have come to rely on look like in a virtual context? How can we support teachers to better understand online teaching?The DG team will work with school and district leadership teams and coaches to quickly build skills in virtual observation and support, as well as think through the critical attributes within key components of instruction.
Data collection for continuous improvement
What is the role of evaluation during this time and should we even be doing it? How can we use evidence from observations to support continuous improvement?The DG team will prepare leadership and coaches to collect reliable, low-inference evidence from virtual observations and use that evidence to identify opportunities and challenges. We’ll also help leaders think through an approach that truly values growth over evaluation.
The following offerings are included in this program:
- Up to 32 hours of planning and support for district teams or school-based instructional leadership teams.
- Framework Certification for all coaches and administrators.
- Four hours of synchronous professional learning for instructional coaches.
- Four hours of synchronous professional learning for observers.
- Four hours of synchronous professional learning for PLC facilitators.
- Two facilitated virtual learning walks or calibration sessions for instructional coaches or observes from each participating school led by a DG Framework Specialist.
- Three reports of actionable recommendations (at beginning, middle, and end of engagement) based on observations of PLC meetings, coaching conversations, and teaching and learning.
- Access to self-paced, foundational DG courses and online resources for teachers and coaches.
- An annual subscription to the Framework Clusters powered by 2gnMe personalized learning platform for all teachers.
- Whetstone video observation platform for all participating educators to support observation, coaching, and collaboration.