What Does it Mean to be Content-Focused and Job-Embedded?

In the April blog, we established that being a coach is the primary goal of Project CLEAR. However, what does the literacy coach need to know and be able to do in their role? The first aspect, highlighted in the Learning Policy Report (2017) Effective Teacher Professional Development, is that the professional development delivered by the coach is content focused and job embedded, as well as being context specific. If the school is configured as a K-8 building, how is the content differentiated across classrooms and intervention settings at various grade levels? Being context specific is essential.

Professional development that makes a difference in students’ learning is focused on the content that teachers teach. Teachers [AK1] [MOU2] are able to immediately apply new ideas learned in professional development, observe changes in students’ learning, and reflect on their teaching practices. Ideally, this professional development brings into focus school and district priorities with a focus on coordinated interventions, rather than random attempts to implement a variety of improvement initiatives (Bernhardt, 2017).

One example from Project CLEAR is that regardless of the educator’s role, each participant teaches children, uses books available in the school, and considers the California state and district standards in their teaching. They reflect on their teaching of children in a very consistent way that relates to the professional development they have been learning about. Coaches share their teaching of children with each other and with the teachers they are coaching. Everyone in the community collaborates to refine teaching and improve student outcomes in literacy. This is a powerful example of what it means to be job-embed, context specific, and content focused.

Accordingly, we invite you to visit a class and watch both the teaching and the coaching in action. Classes are offered in-person and virtually across the state. Further information about Project CLEAR can be found atwww.sdcoe.net/project-clear. Training is available for coaches and teachers who work in English and/or Spanish languages. 

References

Bernhardt, V. (2017). Data Analysis for Continuous School Improvement, 4th Ed. New York: Routledge.

Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., Gardner, M. (2017). Effective Teacher Professional

Development. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute.