On January 23, Learning Forward hosted a Twitter chat to discuss building equity through instructional coaching with special guests Tonikiaa Orange, director of the Culture and Equity Project at UCLA, and Jo Ann Isken, director of the UCLA IMPACT Urban Teacher Residency Program. They wrote the article “Coaching for equity,” based on their work creating the Reciprocal Learning Partnerships for Equity framework.
During this conversation, articles from the coaching-themed issue of The Learning Professional were shared along with additional resources.
In case you missed it, you can view the full chat using #LearnFwdTLP on Twitter or check out the recap of the chat below.
Special guests Tonikiaa Orange and Jo Ann Isken answered question one with the following:
Gaya Jefferson from Texas mentioned “reflecting on personal assumptions.”
Keri Heusdens from Wisconsin answered question one by highlighting the “coach and teacher partnership.”
Literacy Specialist Stacy Thompson from Minnesota brought up how coaching for equity “takes a lot of serious reflection and tough conversations.”
Myla Lee from Michigan reminded everyone about “noticing and disrupting the conscious and unconscious structures that perpetuate inequities.”
For question two, we mentioned Sarah Young’s blog post, “Culturally responsive coaching is more than just good coaching“:
Special guests Jo Ann Isken and Tonikiaa Orange answered question two with the following:
Bob Price from New Jersey brings up “colorblindness” when answering question two:
Kim Higdon from Texas reflects on how she would’ve answered question two earlier in her career versus now:
Here is what we asked participants for question three:
Our special guests Tonikiaa Orange and Jo Ann Isken answered question three with the following:
Tracy Lysne from Minnesota starts the self-examination process with “slowing down”:
Kristy Gaudio of Wisconsin mentioned the Johari Window Model when answering question three:
Question four addressed how challenging equity conversations can be and asked the participants how they create safe spaces:
Jo Ann Isken and Tonikiaa Orange answered question four with the following:
The writer of the blog post titled, “Culturally responsive coaching is more than just good coaching,” Sarah Young, answered question four with the following:
The following response came from the Richardson Independent School District:
Raquel Simms reminded us all what it is all about ― doing what is best for the kids:
Courtney Teague answered question four with explaining how coaches can set the tone:
Below was the final question of the chat:
Tonikiaa Orange and Jo Ann Isken helped end the conversation with the following pieces of advice:
Ryan Smith from Texas responded to the final question suggesting more collaboration between districts:
Instructional coach Kristy Gaudio answered the final question with a reminder to not only start the conversations around equity but to also keep the momentum all year long:
Others highlighted the demand for more Twitter chats like this one:
We want to thank everyone who participated in the chat, especially our special guests Tonikiaa Orange and Jo Ann Isken. There were many great contributions to the conversation and as we mentioned during the chat, it’s not easy to talk about equity, but it’s important to address it and work towards building it in all districts.
To be notified of future Twitter chats, follow us on Twitter @LearningForward and #LearnFwdTLP.
