Collegial Coaching in a Special School

Fifteen staff at Bundaberg Special School became Collegial Coaches recently.  This means that they undertook two days of workshops where they learned and practised the skills of coaching.  This was followed up by in-class practice where they both received and gave Type A feedback to each other in the 'real world' of the classroom.

In this photograh Jackie Rose (Teacher Aide) is pre-conferenced by Barb Atkinson (Early Years teacher)

Jackie commented that she now had a heightened awareness of her role in the learning process, something she hadn’t thought of before. All the little things are significant in the process - not separate but important in the learning process.

Collegial Coaching in Bundaberg

Collegial Coaching workshops are two days long.  During the workshops participants learn about the three part process of Collegial Coaching, the pre conference, the lesson observation and the post conference.

The process of coaching provides the opportunity for the coach to gather data relating to agreed to observation criteria and to give this information to the inviting teacher to self evaluate.

This positive process engages teachers in continuous improvement in classroom practice.

Fifteen people have participated in the two day workshop and we are about to go into classrooms where the trainee coaches will coach each other.  A coach trainer then gives feedback to ensure that the trainee coaches develop their skills and confidence in this complex yet powerful process.

Check out this link to find out more about this program.