Our coaching methodology centers on the principles of action research, and job-embedded best practices to provide the most personalized and differentiated approach to meet the needs of our participants. This professional learning is designed to support each participant with what they need, not a one-size-fit all approach. In curriculum implementation, the needs of educators vary greatly based on their experience, implementation level, and mindsets. Our EL Education coaches use the “Try, Measure, Learn” approach to encourage narrow, actionable shifts as they refine their knowledge of the curriculum, make formative decisions around student learning progress, and build their own student centered literacy skills. These areas, and others, fall into three key aspects of coaching around EL Education: Content, Craft, and Instructional Leadership.
This coaching model and support was developed for teachers, instructional coaches, and teacher and school leaders implementing the EL Education curriculum.
Because coaching is personalized, participants will move through awareness of the curriculum, to understanding and application, to ownership. Curriculum coaching usually moves from support with materials, to support with content, to support with craft, but not always in that order.
We have seen that common challenges in a standards-based, student-centered curriculum include pacing, assessing mastery, supporting student independence, and structuring discourse. We believe that the only way to support implementation for teachers and leaders is to prioritize both content and craft support, as these ideas are interwoven and connected. For example, pacing challenges may arise from a need to understand how skills spiral throughout and across Modules and/or structuring protocols effectively with clear routines and expectations. In supporting participants with implementation of the EL Curriculum, certain Design Principles guide our work. These principles serve as undercurrents to the type of support and coaching we aim to provide:
