Cognitive Coaching: A New Approach to Building Effective Teaching Leaders
Cognitive Coaching
A New Approach to Building Effective Teacher Leaders
2/28/2013
Nicole L. Winsley |
A New Approach to Mentoring
A newly licensed teacher walks into her empty classroom on the first day of school. She has her curriculum guide, her pacing calendar, her unit instructional plan, and her lesson plans for the first week. She has her copies made and in her mind she has stored the countless hours’ worth of instruction she received for four years. The bell rings, and it is time for her first class. With a somewhat nervous breath, she watches as students begin pouring in. At the end of the day, this new teacher sits down at her desk – for what seems like the first time that day and begins to reflect back on the first day as a teacher. There is a knock at the door. Her mentor is coming by to have a quick meeting about her first day. She remembers the class she took in college about the importance of developing a good relationship with one’s mentor, and what was to be gained by listening and heeding a mentor’s advice. However the conversation does not go according to the textbook. The mentor, using a set of skilled active listening skills, forces this teacher pinpoint areas of concerns, however instead of offering suggestions, feedback, and tips, or the “correct” way to teacher, the mentor requires this young teacher make her own decision, determine what was and was not effective in her teaching methodology, and advises her that she will be making her own decisions regarding her growth as a teacher. She, not the mentor, will modify herself as a new teacher. The type of coaching introduced in the example above is a method that more and more mentors, coaches, and administrators are adopting when it comes to training up new teachers. This method is better known as Cognitive Coaching.
What is Cognitive Coaching? Cognitive Coaching, developed by Robert Garmston, and Art Costa, is where the coach takes on supervisory and peer role for
A New Approach to Building Effective Teacher Leaders
2/28/2013
Nicole L. Winsley |
A New Approach to Mentoring
A newly licensed teacher walks into her empty classroom on the first day of school. She has her curriculum guide, her pacing calendar, her unit instructional plan, and her lesson plans for the first week. She has her copies made and in her mind she has stored the countless hours’ worth of instruction she received for four years. The bell rings, and it is time for her first class. With a somewhat nervous breath, she watches as students begin pouring in. At the end of the day, this new teacher sits down at her desk – for what seems like the first time that day and begins to reflect back on the first day as a teacher. There is a knock at the door. Her mentor is coming by to have a quick meeting about her first day. She remembers the class she took in college about the importance of developing a good relationship with one’s mentor, and what was to be gained by listening and heeding a mentor’s advice. However the conversation does not go according to the textbook. The mentor, using a set of skilled active listening skills, forces this teacher pinpoint areas of concerns, however instead of offering suggestions, feedback, and tips, or the “correct” way to teacher, the mentor requires this young teacher make her own decision, determine what was and was not effective in her teaching methodology, and advises her that she will be making her own decisions regarding her growth as a teacher. She, not the mentor, will modify herself as a new teacher. The type of coaching introduced in the example above is a method that more and more mentors, coaches, and administrators are adopting when it comes to training up new teachers. This method is better known as Cognitive Coaching.
What is Cognitive Coaching? Cognitive Coaching, developed by Robert Garmston, and Art Costa, is where the coach takes on supervisory and peer role for
Bibliography: Abrams, J. (2001). A New Way of Thinking: Beginning Teacher Coaching Through Garmston 's and Costa 's States of Mind. National Council of Teachers of English. Retrieved from http://www.cognitivecoaching.com/pdf/newwayth.pdf Center for Cognitive Coaching. (2012). Overview of Cognitive Coaching. Retrieved from http://www.cognitivecoaching.com/overview.htm Dildy, D. (2001). Action Research: Cognitive Coaching as a Vehicle to Improve Teacher Efficacy. Alief Hastings Ninth Grade Center. Retrieved from http://www.cognitivecoaching.com/pdf/ActionResearch.pdf Stover, K., Kissel, B., Haag, K., & Shoniker, R. (2011). Differentiated coaching: Fostering reflection with teachers. The Reading Teacher, 64(7), 498-509. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/861741418?accountid=35812 What is Cognitive Coaching? Retrieved from http://www.scsk12.org/SCS/departments/Professional- Development/LearningCoaches/PDFs/What_is_Cognitive-Coaching.pdf