Mentoring and Coaching Capacity Building Project

1. Mentoring and Coaching Capacity Building Project Philippa Cordingley, Paul Crisp, Miranda Bell Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education

2. Mentors identify learning goals and supporting progression Specialist Coaches provide support to clarify learning goals model, observe, articulate and discuss emerging practice support review and action planning support planning by questioning provide guidance, feedback and direction raise awareness reflect on and debrief shared learning experiences assess, appraise and accredit emerging practice active listening share learning experiences (e.g. via observation or video Experiment with new approaches support planning by reciprocal questioning Analyse evidence from shared learning experiences develop mutual understanding of shared goals share review and action planning interpret implications of shared experiences Peer Coaches Promote reflection

3. Headline similarities and differences • Mentoring – working with more experienced, senior colleague to make significant career transitions • Coaching – drilling deep into skills to polish practice or add new repertoire • specialist to model and raise awareness • peer to motivate, embed specialist input and sustain commitment

4. Conceptualisation and Ownership Building • A process of research and evidence informed policy making • Iterative testing of evidence from field and literature with… • In all around 700 colleagues in schools, LEAs, HEIs and the national agencies

5. Key elements 5 potential components of the framework: • a framework of principles • definitions of core concepts (eg feedback, active listening) • clarification of similarities and differences • clarification of ‘why, who, what, where, when’ • identification of skills • a glossary

6. Interim Findings & Key Messages • Mentoring and coaching recognised as powerful forms of CPD • New wave of activity - strong but nascent enthusiasm, aspirations and intentions • Current descriptions are confused and overlap • Providers and leading edge colleagues welcome definitions – many practitioners not ready yet

7. Key messages • In England at present most models are hierachical • Power and hierarchy affect the organisational context for mentoring and coaching • A few use peer coaching to embed specialist input into day to day practice or sustain effort • Many emphasise protocols to establish buffer zones between coaching & accountability • Little if any training needed for peer coaching

8. Interim Findings & Key Messages • Some tensions – between those who advocate for specialist knowledge and those who advocate for process expertise: process models depend on and fuel growing tacit expertise of the coach/mentor and prior diagnosis &/or self awareness?

9. Coaching Expertise Leadership Organisational Specialist Expertise NQT CPD EL Leadership of Learning Specialist Expertise Pedagogic Expertise NQT= Newly Qualified Teacher CPD= Continuing Professional Development EL= Emerging Leadership AST/Lead Learner Coaching Expertise

10. Interim Findings & Key Messages • Significant pedagogic benefits for mentors and coaches – not yet systematically recognised or harnessed • Some accredited mentor training, but there is little evidence of ongoing support for the further development of mentoring and coaching

11. Interim Findings & Key Messages • Peer-coaching – some fear cosy recycling of weak practice but evidence suggests this offers the most profound experiences of learning through coaching • Significant demand for protocols • Existing resources & expertise in developing skills and protocols not in the public domain – behind “plan, do, review”

12. Effective coaches & professional learners engage in: • professional dialogue, rooted in evidence and structured to make explicit existing beliefs and practices - a learning conversation • building trust by agreeing and upholding ground rules to manage imbalances in power and accountability - a learning agreement • combining access to specialist expertise to extend horizons and peer support to sustain commitment and relate specialist inputs to day to day experience – specialist and peer support • an evolving process in which control and leadership pass from the coach to the professional learner over time as skills, knowledge and self awareness increase – learner agency • choosing and refining goals that build on prior experience, knowledge and concerns and align school, individual and specialist priorities – differentiation and ownership

13. Effective coaches & professional learners engage in: • developing a repertoire of skills and strategies and a deep understanding of the theory that underpins them to enable adaptation in a range of contexts - transferability • harnessing the privileged and effective learning opportunities that coaching creates for the school, the coach and for the professional learner - reciprocity • observing new strategies at work to enable analysis, reflection and to refine action planning – observation and modelling • creating a safe-to-fail learning environment that supports risk-taking and innovation by committing to reciprocal learning or enquiry – experimentation • using time creatively between meetings for action and reflection – prioritising learning

14. Taxonomy of key models Video material Case studies Protocols/tools A-Z of national M&C activity Summaries of key literature Activities & tasks Questions for providers Short video clips of aspects of mentoring/coaching with supporting activities Observation schedules, learning agreements etc CD ROM Resources Comparison of the various models and approaches to mentoring & coaching 6 schools – detailed & structured illustrating practice in context Summaries of key resources: overview plus key practical matreial eg EPPI, Joyce & Showers, Smith et al Analysis and ‘map’ of M&C policies of key agencies Probing questions for schools to put to M&C providers E.g. Mystery Game, odd one out, Diamond 9

15. Two systematic research reviews • First review – Collaborative CPD Evidence of links between specialist coaching and peer coaching, sustained over time, and positive teaching and learning outcomes. • Second review – Collaborative AND individually oriented CPD Findings supported and extended those of the first review

16. Individual and Collaborative CPD: fewer studies of individually oriented CPD overall and fewer still (only 3 compared with 31) met the pupil impact data criterion; either evidence of impact is weak (eg teacher self report) or evidence of weak impact; detailed comparisons of processes not meaningful; do have more detailed data re natureof collaboration 1st steps to taxonomy. Review findings

17. CPD Processes and Characteristics Built on the findings of the first review: • the use of external expertise linked to school-based activity; • observation; reflection; • an emphasis on peer support; • scope for teacher participants to identify their own CPD focus; • processes to encourage, extend and structure professional dialogue; • processes for sustaining the CPD over time to embed practices own settings; and • recognition of individual teachers’ starting points.

18. Nature of Collaboration Some evidence that: • within school, classroom-based CPD may be more effective than off-site CPD • collaboration focused around active experimentation more effective than reflection and discussion alone; • collaboration may be an effective vehicle for securing teacher commitment and ownership where not possible for teachers to select focus; • paired or small group collaboration may have a greater impact than larger groups

19. Fieldwork: what are schools and agencies in the UK doing? • 17 country-wide seminars and group work with approximately 700 colleagues from the field. • Mailshots of emerging principles and invitation to submit details of practice • Website publicity • Leads from national and regional agencies • Scoping interviews • In-depth site visits

20. Mentoring and coaching growing • Much enthusiasm & emerging body of practice & expertise • Most established practice remarkably consistent with review • Coaching practice mostly recent, mentoring (ITE) longer track record • Sustained activity is building in a range of ways eg: • Blaise Primary - started with two coaching teachers. • used EAZ membership to build skills for two teachers • 2 core teachers rolled out peer coaching until all involved and school views coaching as integral to CPD. • Newall Green piloted maths & science with year 9 • evaluated pupil impact • pilot impact convinced rest of school of potential; and • secured owndership for participation in Manchester Collaborative Coaching Network

21. Linking external expertise to school-based activity • Three main types of external expertise exemplified in case study schools • External consultants work with staff in their classrooms on developing subject teaching skills (Sweyne Park, Blaise) • Senior mentor from the SCITT works with ITE students in school on professional skills eg behaviour management (Oakdale school) • Expert trains teacher coaches. Teachers then coach each other in school (Newhall Green, Hayes Park)

22. Research and Practice: the use of observation • Observation key to coaching for pedagogy • Coaching for distributed leadership aimed at problem solving not pedagogy. In this context observation mainly used with NQTs • Observation mainly separated from monitoring, performance management • One school uses observation as part of integrated PM and line management complemented by separate peer coaching • Observation used to model practice as well as develop practice

23. Research and Practice: peer support • Organised peer support in all case study schools Models vary: • Ravenswood coaching triads • Blaise coaching pairs • Newhall coaching pairs and reflective group • Oakdale more experienced/senior mentors • Sweyne Park teacher subject ‘experts’ plus reciprocal peer coaching • Hayes Park staff train as coaches; teachers request coaching

24. Research and Practice: teacher ownership • All provide scope for teachers to identify own coaching focus separately from PM and monitoring systems. • Leadersip (Hayes Park) examples include handling meetings, dealing with parents. • Others teaching based: questioning skills, peer assessment, literacy teaching • Teachers, ITT trainees and managers all stress role of school culture in encouraging & structuring professional dialogue & risk taking • Coaching helps build ownership of CPD & other changes eg of coaching overcoming opposition to inclusion

25. Research and practice: the nature of collaboration • All coaching school-based. Teachers describe as ‘deeply professionally satisfying.’ • All schools committed to sustaining coaching over time – eg Newhall Green pilot 1 year • regular structured opportunities for group reflection and discussion eg Newhall Green and Sweyne Park encourage active experimentation • one uses a ‘reflective’ group to share the results and experiences of paired coaching; • one has weekly staff development sessions where staff focus on a particular topic

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