Hand-outs or Hands-on activities:

 

 

Rubric (If appropriate)

 

 

Assessment:

 

 

Mini-lesson:

 

 

Student Work Period/Centers:

 

 

Closure:

1.    Think of a personal habit that you would like to establish or change (e.g., going to bed earlier, eating healthier, exercising more). Have you made prior attempts toward this change? Why haven't you been successful?

2.    Compare this "conscious moment" with the descriptions of the Conscious stage. List possible similarities between yourself and a Conscious-stage teacher.

3.    In your own words, explain the role of a Motivator/Strategist. How does this role best suit the needs of a teacher in the Conscious stage?

4.    What is the capacity-building goal for a teacher in the Conscious stage? Why is it important for an instructional coach and administrator to have this goal in mind when working with a Conscious-stage teacher?

5.    Think of a teacher you know who might be in this stage. What reflective tendencies and classroom characteristics does he or she exhibit? Write down one instructional strategy that you would like to build consistency around. Now look over the coaching strategies listed in this chapter. Identify several strategies that you would like to use with this teacher, and then create a month-long plan to implement these strategies. At the end of the month, don't forget to schedule time to sit down and reflect on the outcomes of your specific coaching plan and create a new plan for the following month.

1.    Think of the last time you made the decision to positively alter something in your life and followed through with your decision. How did it feel?

2.    Compare this "decision to take action" with this chapter's description of the Action stage. List possible similarities between yourself and an Action-stage teacher.

3.    In your own words, explain the role of Teacher as it relates to an instructional coach. How does this role best suite the needs of a teacher in the Action stage?

4.    In your own words, explain the role of Teacher as it relates to an instructional coach. How does this role best suite the needs of a teacher in the Action stage?

5.    What is the capacity-building goal for a teacher in the Action stage? Why is it important for an instructional coach and administrator to have this goal in mind when working with an Action-stage teacher?

6. Think of a teacher you know who might be in this stage. What reflective tendencies and classroom characteristics does he or she exhibit? What instructional strategy does this teacher want to improve? Now look over the coaching strategies listed in this chapter. Identify several strategies you would like to use with this teacher, and then create a month-long plan to implement these strategies. Don't forget to schedule time at the end of the month to sit down and reflect on the outcomes of your specific coaching plan and create a new plan for the following month. 

1.    Consider the classroom described on page 93. Think of a time when doing the "right" thing can be wrong or doing the "wrong" thing can be right, as it relates to classroom instruction.

2.    John Murray, a professor of higher education administration at Texas Tech, says, "While transformative learning begins in self-reflection, it requires a community to sustain it" (2005, paragraph 6). What does this statement mean to you? How does it relate to a teacher in the Refinement stage?

3.    In your own words, explain the role of Collaborator. How does this role best suit the needs of a teacher in the Refinement stage?

4.    What is the capacity-building goal for a teacher in the Refinement stage? Why is it important for an instructional coach and administrator to have this goal in mind when working with the Refinement-stage teacher?

5.    Think of a teacher you know who might be in this stage. What reflective tendencies and classroom characteristics does he or she exhibit? Now look over the coaching strategies listed in this chapter, and then identify several strategies that you would like to use with this teacher to build his or her capacity. Create a month-long plan to implement these strategies. Don't forget to schedule time at the end of the month to sit down and reflect on the outcomes of your specific coaching plan and create a new plan for the following month.

1.    Consider the demands of a building administrator and plot them in a diagram of Covey's Time Management Matrix (see Figure 9.1 on page 109). Where do most of the tasks land? Where do you (or an administrator you know) spend most of your time?

2.    What is a personal strategy you have employed to help you prioritize items on a list? (This could include budgeting, shopping for gifts, determining how to spend your free time on weekends, or anything related to work.) Ask some friends and colleagues about their prioritization strategies. Which ones might work for you even more successfully than those you have used before? Why might you try a new time-management strategy?

1.    What do you really know about the people who work with you? Get a staff list, and next to each person's name, write down some notes. What are some of this individual's most notable characteristics? What does he or she do for fun? What is his or her family like? What are his or her goals? What are three words with which you might describe this person? If you were stuck in an elevator with this person for three hours, what would you talk about?

2.    What is your response to the Buckingham quote on page 115?

3.    In your school or district, do you have the right people on the right seats of the bus? How do you know? How closely matched are the individuals' strengths to their job responsibilities and positions? Are you in the right seat on the bus? How do your strengths match your position in the organization?

4.    After reading the guidelines for identifying individual goals for teachers in each stage of the Continuum of Self-Reflection, write down a sample goal for each stage. What are the key characteristics of each goal? What do you notice about the goals as you scan from stage to stage?

5.    What experiences do you have in setting SMART goals with teams?

6.    How might the team's goal mesh with an individual teacher's goal? How much does each teacher's location on the Continuum of Self-Reflection affect the creation of and support needed for the team's goal?