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Strengths-based coaching supports teachers during COVID
By Karye Wells and Elizabeth Foster
Categories: CoachingApril 2022
Two years after the onset of the pandemic, COVID-19 continues to take a toll on educators’ morale and well-being. Educators’ needs for sick and bereavement leaves have increased, staffing and substitute shortages are worsening, and the occasional requests to cover another teacher’s class or bus duty have become regular — and exhausting — occurrences. At the same time, the need to strengthen relationships between educators and students is growing. Isolation, anxiety, and dysregulation leave students vulnerable and educators stretched. The social and emotional needs of students and adults have become increasingly widespread and complex, leaving teachers overwhelmed and in need of immediate support. Coaching, especially a positive and personalized program of coaching, is a way to provide that support. This article showcases how one evidence-based
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RESOURCES
For more information about the MTP-S coaching program:
Foster, E. (2021, January). Seeing teaching through a different lens. Learning Forward. learningforward.org/report/myteachingpartner-secondary-coaching-model/. This paper highlights three strengths of MTP coaching: the use of short video clips so teachers can observe and analyze their own instruction; the intentional focus on teachers’ successes in the classroom as a basis for coaching that is strengths-based; and the systematic attention to how classroom interactions can be used to improve student engagement and learning.
Flowers, J.A. (2019, December). Accentuate the positive: Video can motivate teachers to improve their skills. The Learning Professional, 40(6), 36-39. learningforward.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/accentuate-the-positive.pdf. An experienced coach’s firsthand perspective on the power of the MTP coaching cycle.
Foster, E. (2019, December). A window into teaching: With evidence-based coaching, teachers observe and reflect on student interactions. The Learning Professional, 40(6), 33-35, 40. learningforward.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/a-window-into-teaching.pdf. Excerpts from an interview with Robert Pianta, who developed the evidence-based MyTeachingPartner 1:1 Video Coaching program (MTP).
Karye Wells (kawells@air. org) is research associate with American Institutes for Research (AIR).
Elizabeth Foster is the senior vice president of research and strategy at Learning Forward. She leads the organization’s research efforts for partnerships, programs, and fundraising. Elizabeth co-wrote the Standards for Professional Learning (2022) with Tracy Crow and now facilitates learning sessions about the standards and develops resources that support their use and implementation.
Categories: Coaching
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