As you think about teacher coaching and mentoring, you think of administrators who create the coaching environments and the schools who implement coaching/ mentoring among their teachers. Most of the readings I have reviewed in my instructional technology studies emphasizes the K-12 teachers but not much regarding faculty/ instructors in the college environment. Considering I am in higher education, I strongly feel that it's possible to coach and mentor faculty, although it is known they are usually seasoned and know their particular subjects very well. I also think that because we sometimes become caught up with that idea that we forget faculty need continuous classroom training along with professional development. The text states that "coaches can use the processes outlined in the book with any teacher in any school to improve performance" (Marzano & Simms, 2013, p. 213). With this in mind, I feel coaching can be adapted and used in the college setting to enhance faculty teaching in the classroom.
Using coach-teacher conversations such as: "(1) reflecting, (2) facilitating, (3) coaching, and (4) directing", will allow faculty to be mentored by a faculty coach to help them become more effective in their instruction )Marzano & Simms, 203, p. 213) The video below provides a detailed description as outlined in our text:
As you consider the different kinds of conversations, one understands that many of the instructors are considered experts or seasoned in teaching, however, being coached on strategies to use in instruction may have an impact on student performance. In our college setting, we have an open door policy, which means we accept all students regardless of their test scores or high school GPA. It is a known fact a large amount of our students are under prepared and require additional support in understanding and learning so they are ready for college courses. They are placed in fundamental studies course that measures where they are and then curriculum designed and taught on various levels to improve their performance, increasing their achievement and be able to move to college level coursework. With this in mind, the coach-teacher conversation can be used to see how effective the strategies are and the areas in which the instructor could improve to maximize student learning.
The coach-teacher conversation is used to improve teacher instruction and improve student performance. Coaches use strategies to help teachers to recognize their strengths and weaknesses and develop growth goals so they are able to be more effective in their teaching. The following quote gives a description of what a coach is and does:Reflection on this quote, helps the teacher and coach see that the responsibility of the teacher is to create a learning environment for students where they can grow and increase their level of achievement. The responsibility of the coach is to show the teacher areas for growth and improvements to enhance their classroom instruction. I believe it would be a great idea to create a coach-faculty relationship on campus that uses coach-teacher conversations to help identify areas of improvement in classroom instruction that will in turn increase student achievement.
Sources
Marzano, R. J., & Simms, J. A. (2013). Coaching Classroom Instruction . Bloomington, IN: Marzano Research
PCG (2010, October 14). Improving Instruction through strategic conversations with teachers [Video file]. Retrieved from YouTube website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCyLeMH2Ucg&t=14s
