Coaching Journal

Ashley Allgood
PL & Technology Innovation (ITEC 7460)
Kennesaw State University
Ed.S. Instructional Technology, Fall 2015

The following five reflections document my experience as an instructional coach. During

this experience, I worked with a colleague who wished to integrate more technology into her
lessons. We selected technology based on her goals, content matter, and interest. For each
session, I would demonstrate and train her in a new piece of instructional technology. After each
session, I would reflect on how the session went, what could have been done better, and what we
might work on next time.
Journal Entry One
In order to begin our coaching experience, we sat down to discuss what she hoped to gain
from our time together. I asked about her goals, concerns, interests, previous knowledge, and
prior experiences with instructional technology. It was important to provide her an opportunity
to voice her opinions, and this session helped me establish an open line of communication. I
employed active listening strategies, as outlined by Knight (2007), such as clarifying,
communicating my understanding and listening for contradictions to my assumptions. These
strategies facilitated my listening and understanding of my colleagues opinions. The
information gained from this discussion facilitated outlining a basic plan for our coaching
sessions. I found Knights (2007) statement to be true: If coaches start by understanding their
audience, they then can frame their message so that it will be heard (p. 65). Our conversation
set the tone for the partnership approach to coaching because through my listening I was able to
show my colleague that I value her as an equal (Knight, 2007).
After our conversation, I observed her teach a lesson in her standard format. Through my
observation, I was able to create a simple needs assessment. I discovered the technology
available to her in her classroom. I discovered which technology she uses most frequently and

how she incorporates it into her lesson. For example, she used her document camera and
projector to display the daily warm-up handout. I observed the activities of the students, which
mostly involved passive roles. I assessed the LoTi level of her lesson and discovered that the
technology usage was teacher center.
When the class was over, I asked her some questions to deepen my understanding of her
teaching methods. She expressed a strong desire to create more student-focused lessons where
the students use the technology; however, she did not want to throw out all of her old lesson
plans and start completely from scratch. Therefore, I selected one aspect of her lesson, her warm
up activity, and discussed ways to enhance it. She stated that the purpose of the warm up activity
is to reinforce the previous days lesson. This activity gave the students a chance to apply the
new knowledge, and it gave her the opportunity to assess them informally. In spite of the
benefits of the warm-ups, she stated that the students do not enjoy these assignments. They
found warm-ups boring and frequently did not complete them. Therefore, we discussed ways to
make them more engaging. I suggested that she try Plickers, a paper-based student response
system. I explained to her how they work and showed her an online tutorial. We discussed how
Plickers would continue to provide her with the benefits of her warm-ups but while increasing
student participation and engagement. She was very interested, so we created an account and
practiced making questions. We decided that during the next observation, I would model
Plickers with her class.
Overall, this first coaching session was very positive. I believe that we established
rapport and opened the lines of communication. I gained a better understanding of her goals,
personality, interest, knowledge, feelings, and teaching style. As Knight (2007) points out,

creating a connection with the collaborating partner is as important as knowing the content. I
was energized by our discussions and brainstorming.
Journal Entry Two
During this second coaching session, we created a plan for co-teaching a lesson using
Plickers. We designed the activity using questions that she had prepared. Additionally, we cocreated the observation form (see Appendix B) that we would each use when watching the other
present the lesson. I asked her to consider what behaviors that she would like me to look for
based on her perceived areas of growth. We agreed to both use the observation form to document
what we see when the other one teachers.
I led the warm-up using Plickers as she observed me. For the next class period she led the
lesson herself. Both the students and teachers enjoyed using Plickers. The level of participation
and enthusiasm was higher than in the previous class that did not use Plickers for the warm up.
The level of increased engagement also resulted in improved student performance. The students
were noting their mistakes and correcting them for the next question. Students were alert,
participating, and excited. After the completion of the lesson, we each filled out an After-Action
Report (see Appendix A), and then we discussed what we had written. A great discussion arose
from our reflections. As Knight (2007) asserts, this reflection time provided each of us insight
into our teaching styles.
And so, I believe that our second session was a great success. We collaborated well in
the creation of the lesson plan and the Plicker activity. The method of observing, modeling and
practicing was very effective. I plan to continue using this method in some of our other sessions.
Additionally, our coaching session had a direct effect on student achievement. Due to the newly

implemented technology, the students were more engaged in the lesson, which resulted in higher
student performance.
Journal Entry Three
During our pre-observation discussion, my colleague asked if we could discuss methods
of making test reviews more engaging. Her class had a midterm in a few days, so she wanted to
find engaging ways to help the student prepare. I talked to her about Kahoot, which is
interactive web-based game that turns electronic devices into student response systems. In
keeping with the partnership approach, we watched tutorials and discussed possible ways to
implement this tool in her classroom. She raised some concerns about the time necessary to
create these review activities. I showed her the sharing library where other teachers post their
activities. We found a few reviews that were designed by teachers using her same textbook, and
we copied them to her files. We also discussed using the copying and pasting questions from
tests, quizzes, and worksheets in order to speed up the creation process.
Even after the tutorials, she still wanted to see it in action. Therefore, I modeled a Kahoot
review activity for her while she acted as the student. I presented my example lessons, which I
had created specifically for this purpose. She used her phone to answer the questions. I had her
sit next to me at the computer so that she could have the teacher view of the activity while she
was also answering the questions in the role as a student. After seeing this site in action, she was
eager to try it with her classes. Therefore, we created a Kahoot reviews for her Spanish II Honors
class. Additionally, we co-created the observation form (see Appendix B) that I would use when
watching her present the lesson. On the form, we listed behaviors that we thought that I should

watch for. By the time our collaboration period was complete, she was excited to try out her new
reviews and decided to experiment with Kahoot in her French classes as well.
As she presented the lesson to the class, I observed. During my observation, I completed
an observation in order to provide her with direct, specific, and non-attributive feedback. Knight
(2007) states that this type of feedback enhances the quality and delivers better instruction. I
also made sure to focus on what my colleague did well in order to avoid discouraging her, which
Knight (2007) states can happen when instructional coaches focus on the teachers weaknesses. I
observed dramatic change in her students attention level. Students, whom I had witnessed
previously sleeping through instruction, were focused and participating. Students were asking
questions and strengthening their understanding of the grammatical concept. I was amazed at the
transformation.
After class ended, we individually completed the After-Action Report (see Appendix A)
and then discussed what we had written. This form gave us the chance to reflect on our
collaborative lesson and initiated a conversation on ways to improve and other methods for
implementation. Knight (2007) contends that reflection provides individuals with the chance to
consider ideas, and it makes them more aware of their actions and experiences. After her
reflection, the cooperative teacher had many positive things to say about Kahoot. She said that it
transformed her test review from a monotonous activity that students slept through to an
engaging activity which helped students learn. Based on the positive feedback from her and the
students, I would say that Kahoot will be a permanent institution in her class.

Journal Entry Four

Based on her answers and comments on the After-Action Report from session three, I
suggested trying Socrative and showed her a demo video. This application is similar to Kahoot
in the sense that it turns students electronic devices into response systems; however, it meets
more of her needs with its diverse options and applications. For example, the quick-question
feature enables her to create questions on the spot in class, instead of having to create a quiz in
advance. Additionally, she is able to create short answer questions, which provides her with
more assessment options. We brainstormed ways to use the quick-question and short answer
features and came up with a number of ways to use it in class. For example, she can ask the
students to input the answers to their homework, translate sentences, or write a Spanish sentence
as an answer to a prompt. Additionally, she liked in anonymous feature of Socrative, which
would enable reticent students could ask questions. After discussing the possible uses, we
decided to create a lesson where students work in differentiated centers. We created two
Socrative accounts and two different quizzes, one for advanced students and one for student
needing additional practice. Additionally, we created a new observation form to reflect the
desired behaviors to be observed during this lesson.
Just as before, I presented the lesson the first time while she observed. I provided the
students with the instructions and placed them in groups. The advanced group worked on a
student-paced Socrative quiz which contained a combination of multiple choice and short answer
response questions. The student-paced feature enabled the students to work at their individual
pace and to receive feedback as they progressed through the quiz. After the students completed
the Socrative activity, they created a five minute composition in Spanish, applying the
grammatical principles and vocabulary words that they practiced during Socrative. In the

meantime, the remedial group worked on a teacher-paced Socrative activity with the teacher.
This teacher-paced feature enabled her to set the pace of the quiz; therefore, she could provide
instruction and clarification as the students progressed through their practice. After the
completion of the Socrative activity, the students used the quick-question with short answer
feature to create their own questions to illustrate mastery of the concept. Then as a group, they
reviewed the questions and corrected any errors.
This coaching session was very successful. I was able to take her feedback from the last
session and suggest digital tool to meet her needs. Additionally, we were able to collaborate to
create a differentiated lesson, which is one of her perceived areas of growth. This type of lesson
permitted her to meet the varying needs of her students. During our discussions and
collaborations, I made sure to let her take the lead in order that she knew I respected her
autonomy. As Knight (2007) states, if instructional coaches fail to respect the autonomy of
collaborating teacher, they often sow the seeds of resistance before they really ever even begin
(p. 134). Throughout the four sessions together, my colleague and I continue to foster a
relationship of respect, equality, and collaboration. I have learned the value of the active
listening skills described my Knight (2007) and the power of reflection time. These two skill
sets have empowered me to be a more effective instructional coach.

Journal Entry Five

During the final coaching session, I watched her present a lesson that she designed on her
own. In our meeting before her lesson, we created an observation form based on what she
wanted me to observe. She also stepped me through her plans for the lesson and explained to me

her reasons for why she decided to utilize the technology in that certain manner. When the bell
sounded and the students began entering, I found myself full of anticipation to watch her fly solo.
As per usual in her class, the students started their warm up activity at the start of the
class. However, instead of doing so on paper as in the past, the students pulled out their devices
and completed a student-paced quiz on Socrative. In was clear by the students behavior that
they have used Socrative for their warm up activities in this class before this day. I was
delighted to see that my colleague has been continuing to implement technology even without
me around. After the students completed the warm up, the teacher projected the warm up
questions on the screen and went over them as a class. The students were engaged and asked
many questions to clarify their understanding.
With the completion of the warm up, the teacher showed a short video clip of a Spanish
dialogue about soccer. The teacher showed the clip three times in order to ensure the students
total comprehension. After viewing the clip, the teacher passed out the Plicker cards in order to
assess the students comprehension. The teacher asked the students ten questions about the clip
and the students used the Plickers to answer. After each student answered the question, the
teacher would reveal the answer. The students acquired instant feedback on their comprehension
of the story. They could also see how their individual comprehension compared to the class as a
whole with the Plickers percentage correct feature. This feature also permitted the teacher to see
which questions needed to be discussed.
Once the questions had been reviewed, the teacher asked the students to find a partner.
With this partner, the students would write three sentences in Spanish as a response to the video
clip. The students would share these sentences with the teacher using Socrative. The teacher

used the quick question and short answer features of Socrative in order to collect the students
responses. The students worked collaboratively for ten minutes to create their sentences. As
soon as all submissions had been received, the teacher selected a handful of sentences for the
class to review. From this activity, the students could see common mistakes and discuss them as
a class. I was impressed with the variety of ways she used technology throughout her lesson.
Her transitions between activities were flawless, and she did not have any issues using the digital
tools. Overall, I was very impressed with and proud of her.
After the students left, I asked my cooperating teacher about her thoughts on the lesson.
She was delighted on how it went and said that there were many positive improvements since her
implementation of technology. Previously, the students tended to space out during the warm up.
She said that many kids would not complete it or would just wait until they went over the
answers as class. Now, however, by using Socrative or Plickers, the teacher can monitor the
students completion of the assignments. Additionally, both the teacher and students get instant
feedback on the questions. She said that the feedback has resulted in students asking more
questions to solidify their understanding, which in turn has led to increased performance on
assessments.
For the Plicker activity, the teacher stated that she enjoyed that Plickers allowed her to
ask questions spontaneously, instead of having to prepare the lesson in advance. She said that
this feature not only saves her preparation time but also gives her the ability to tailor the
questions to the needs of each individual class. She stated that on the days when students have
forgotten their devices, using Plickers lets her to continue to provide students with instant
feedback.

Lastly for the quick question Socrative activity at the end of class, the teacher mentioned
that she uses this feature frequently now. The flexibility of this feature lends itself to many
applications in her classroom. For example, she also uses it to have the students summarize their
learning or ask questions at the end of class. Overall, she said that all of the digital tools that we
used together have allowed her to increase student engagement and provide students with more
frequent and timely feedback. She said that both of these changes have resulted in increased
student achievement. She said that our coaching sessions have inspired her to seek out additional
digital tools to incorporate in her classroom.
I was very proud to see how my cooperating teacher has implemented technology into her
daily lessons, especially when I am not observing her. Her desire and ability to implement, even
without my coaching, show me that our sessions have been very successful. I have been able to
provide her with tools and guidance that she can implement seamlessly into her class. Her
confidence with her technical abilities has increased. This experience has taught me valuable
collaborative skills. I was able to gain her trust and respect by using the partnership approach. I
strived to have an attitude of service towards my cooperating teacher throughout the coaching
experience. I have taken Knights (2007) advice and not made a show out of sharing my
knowledge and expertise, but rather I have been respectful to listen to my college and
acknowledge her expertise and needs. Through our collaborative efforts, we were able to bring
about effective change in her classroom. Even though the formal coaching experience is over,
she and I plan to meet monthly to continue our collaboration.

Appendix
Appendix A After-Action Report
After-Action Report
Date: ________________
New Digital tool/Strategy: ______________________________
Lesson: _____________________________________________
What was supposed to happen? What was the goal/intent?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____
What did you like about the lesson/new technology?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____
What did you not like about the lesson/new technology?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____
What should be done differently next time?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____
How else could you use this tool in your lessons?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____
_____________________________________________________________________________
_
Additional Comments
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
___
Based on the University of Kansas Coaching forms.

Appendix B Observation Form

Observations Form
Date: ______________________________

Class/Level: _________________________

Teacher: ____________________________

Lesson: _____________________________

Teaching Practice

Comments

Possible digital tools

Based on the University of Kansas Coaching forms.

References
Knight, J. (2007). Instructional coaching a partnership approach to improving instruction.
Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.
Resources | Instructional Coaching. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2015, from
http://instructionalcoach.org/resources/coaching-forms.