Dr. Jim Knight, a leading instructional coaching expert, recommends four things for instructional coaches, and these suggestions are transferable to our collaborative work on behalf of language learners.
Partnership approach
A long-lasting, dynamic co-teaching partnership is anchored in our ability to develop a positive, affirming relationship with our colleagues. We must approach our work like builders coming to a shared plot of land. The land holds countless potential for building, but it requires both educators to actively construct together.
A positive co-constructive relationship requires that we
- Recognize that our co-teacher has expertise we might not have, especially when it comes to content-specific knowledge and skills
- Value each other’s experience, such as years of teaching highly demanding content and curriculum
- See the relationship as collaborative
- Build the trust through dialogue, not directives
Instructional Process
Dr. Knight offers the empirically proven Impact Cycle as an effective approach to instructional coaches (2017). The core of this cycle is to identify (the goal), learn (a strategy),and improve (one’s use of the strategy). As language specialists, our goal is to raise student achievement, not to develop our colleagues’ skill sets.
Dr. Knight’s Impact Cycle is transferable to our co-planning practice if we adapt it in the following way:
- Identify the content, language, and cultural objectives
- Describe the content-specific language requirements (Staehr Fenner & Snyder, 2017)
- Scaffold the lesson to meet the language demands of the lesson/assignment
Embarrassingly, I used to “co-plan” without having a clear process. I would just listen to the teacher’s description of an upcoming lesson or assignment. Then I would look for opportunities to support students. However, this relaxed approach lacked structure, which diminished opportunities for true co-teaching.
Therefore, prepare for co-planning meetings with a consistent process that produces clearly defined learning objectives and builds scaffolds that position language learners to meet those objectives.
Collaborating without co-planning is like traveling without a map. It sure will be an adventure, but you won’t get to your desired designation.
Communication skills
Language specialists must be Jedi knights of soft skills. Most teachers have never co-taught before, so co-teaching can be unchartered waters for many. This uncomfortable experience can lead to defensiveness if we unintentionally criticize our colleagues with our well-meaning suggestions. We must be hyper-aware of our communication style when collaborating.
Language specialists must:
- practice attentive listening (e.g., pay attention to body language, rephrasing, device-free, eye contact, no interruptions, etc.)
- avoid evaluative language (e.g., It would be better if…, A more effective strategy would be…,)
- refrain from dismissive language (e.g., Let’s try a different approach, Instead of that idea, let’s go with…)
- employ collaborative language (e.g., In addition to your idea, let’s…, What if we…)
Strategic Knowledge
Language specialists must also have a foundational knowledge of literacy for language learners (Cárdenas-Hagan, 2020) and language development (Honigsfeld, 2019). Our colleagues and students depend on our expertise in language acquisition. Our expertise is in supporting multilingual students to be successful in learning grade-level content using the sheltered instruction approach (Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2016) and other research-based strategies that establish comprehensible input and output (Ferlazzo & Sypnieski, 2018).
This means we have to take charge of our professional learning, engaging in activities such as:
- attending trade conferences (e.g., WIDA, SIOP, NCTE)
- participating in language learner-specific book studies (see #MLLchat_Bkclub)
- watching webinars connected to language learners (e.g., Corwin, Seidlitz)
- networking with other language specialists on social media (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).
As our field is constantly evolving, we must stay at the forefront of the latest research. This way, we can offer informed suggestions and be of most use to our colleagues.
Conclusion
We can learn a lot from instructional coaches and especially from Dr. Jim Knight. We are not in the business of advice-giving but of supporting teachers to reach their goals. Additionally, we need to move from evaluative language to affirming, co-constructive discussions. Finally, we need to let go of trying to change our teachers’ minds. Instead, spend that energy experimenting with ideas and supporting teachers.
If we can implement these approaches, we will look back and feel positive about how we have come together to support students.
Cárdenas-Hagan, E. (Ed.). (2020). Literacy Foundations for English Learners: A Comprehensive Guide to Evidence-Based Instruction. Brookes Publishing.
Corwin. (2021). Webinars. https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/webinars
Echevarria, J., Vogt, M. & Short, D. (2016). Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP Model. Pearson.
Ferlazzo, L., & Sypnieski, K. H. (2018). The ELL Teacher’s Toolbox: Hundreds of Practical Ideas to Support Your Students. Jossey-Bass.
Honigsfeld, A. (2019). Growing Language and Literacy: Strategies for English Learners. Heinemann.
Knight, J. (2017). The Impact Cycle: What Instructional Coaches Should Do to Foster Powerful Improvements in Teaching. Corwin.
Knight, J. (n.d.). The Impact Cycle. Instructional Coaching. https://www.instructionalcoaching.com/downloads/pdfs/Impact-Cycle-Handout.pdf
#MLLChat_BkClub. (n.d.). #MLLChat_BkClub: Improving instruction for multilingual learners one book study at a time. http://mllchatbkclub.blogspot.com/
Seidlitz Education. (n.d.). Webinars. https://seidlitzeducation.com/webinars/
Staehr Fenner, D., & Snyder, S. C. (2017). Unlocking English Learners′ Potential: Strategies for Making Content Accessible. Corwin.
