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K-12 Initiative

This toolkit supports content coaching in the CS classroom. A coaching relationship is built on trust and shared expertise and is always consultative and never evaluative. The coaching cycle, as defined by West and Cameron, includes three components: co-planning, co-teaching, and reflection and feedback. In addition to supporting this coaching cycle, the cards in the CS Coaching section include Coaching Lenses, which give coaches an overall framework for guiding discussions, and Coaching Practices, which offers concrete, detailed strategies on working with teachers to achieve their goals.

Coaching Lenses give coaches an overall framework for guiding discussions with teachers and/or administrators. They can also be used to reflect on your own coaching practice to inspire or inform areas for further development or improvement.

Coaching Practices are a collection of strategies and best practices that offer coaches concrete detailed approaches that they may use when directly supporting the teachers, administrators, or other stakeholders with whom they work.

Co-planning is a primary way that coaches can build relationships with teachers and help build their content knowledge and pedagogy. It occurs prior to classroom implementation in the coaching cycle as a time to choose curriculum, plan, modify, create curriculum resources, and review how lessons will be enacted. It is also the time to build in actions to improve from prior reflection session.

Co-Teaching is a time when teachers teach a CS lesson with the coach present. A coach, while ensuring a joyous and positive collaborative time with the teacher, focuses on building teacher’s CS practice and pedagogy. A coach actively engages during lesson implementation through modeling, co-teaching, or observing to later provide feedback.

Intervention cards are to be used during a Co-Planning session to establish the agreed upon role of the CS Coach in the classroom as a teacher facilitates their lesson. They are meant to create transparency in how a coach will support or intervene while a teacher facilitates. removing any uncertaintiy and establishing a stronger coach/teacher relationship.

Look Fors are specific classroom characteristics that a coach may consider and identify during a Co-Teaching session.

Reflection and feedback is a time when both the coach and teacher communicate about a lesson taught and then collaboratively design a set of actions or next steps to take during the next co-planning or teaching session.