Peer Coaching

Today, Heather Jung talks about peer coaching in her district.

During the summer months and throughout the school year, teachers are required to attend various staff development programs.  The purpose of these programs is to ensure that high-quality instruction is available to all students.  Many times the staff development that is offered does not accomplish the goals that it is trying to meet.  As school districts around the country face increased budget cuts, providing high-quality staff development is often one of the first things to go.  Often staff development is offered in a large group “one-size fits all” model, which teachers find frustrating.  This style of staff development cannot meet the unique needs of teachers and their students.

In my district, we have previously been offered time weekly to engage in onsite small group staff development that was differentiated to meet teacher’s needs and interests.  This year that time has been cut.  To meet the professional needs of our teachers we are trying a different approach to staff development.  We will be starting a peer coaching initiative at my school in the fall.  This peer coaching cycle will be based on each teacher receiving both a 10 minute coaching observation and a 15 minute feedback and planning conference every two weeks.  This format is based on research done by Joyce & Showers (2002) and Bambrick-Santoyo (2012). According to Joyce & Showers (2002), (see Fig A.) peer coaching has significantly higher outcomes than other forms of staff development.

Figure A. (Joyce & Showers, 2002)

TRAINING COMPONENTS AND ATTAINMENT OF OUTCOMES IN TERMS OF PERCENT OF PARTICIPANTS
	Outcomes
Components	Knowledge (thorough)	Skill (strong)	Transfer (executive implementation)
Study of Theory	10	5	0
Demonstrations	30	20	0
Practice	60	60	5
Peer Coaching	95	95	95

Peer Coaching builds independence and shared responsibility among teachers.  Using this approach we hope to be able to meet the individual needs of our teachers and focus staff development on meeting the unique needs of each group of students.   Meaningful learning “is based on a broader vision of learning that includes not only acquiring knowledge but also being able to use knowledge in a variety of ways (Mayer, 2002).  This is the kind of knowledge that is facilitated by peer coaching. Teachers involved in peer coaching develop strong pedagogy “with someone nearby to encourage, critique, and suggest next steps” (Cushman, 2010).  Having an expert listener available on a routine basis to notice and support growth encourages teachers to develop expertise.  There will be many challenges as we implement this initiative, both logistical and cultural, as we seek build a school climate that will support peer coaching, but the potential rewards are worth the risk.

Works Cited

Bambrick-Santoyo, P. (2012). Leverage Leadership: A Practical Guide to Building Exceptional Schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Cushman, K. (2010). Fires in the Mind. San Fancisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

Joyce, B., & Showers, B. (2002). Student achievement through staff development (3rd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Mayer, R. E. (2002, Autumn). Rote versus Meaningful Learning. Theory into Practice, 41(4), 226-232.