All aspects of literacy coaching have the potential to impact the classroom and student learning, but coaching in the classroom places the focus squarely on the teachers and students. Virtual coaching places particular importance on classroom instruction with a majority of interactions surrounding videotaped classroom teaching. But we must not forget about the power of examining artifacts of student learning as part of our virtual coaching cycles, just as we would if coaching in person. Every interaction, observation and artifact of learning is data we can use to inform our instruction and understanding of student achievement, even virtually.  Here is a list of artifacts that could inform our virtual coaching:

  • Classroom conversations (student-student, teacher-student)
  • Writing Samples
  • Running records
  • Literacy stations artifacts
  • Lesson artifacts (graphic organizers, reading logs, worksheets, etc.)
  • Informal assessments (letter-sound inventories, sight word inventories, spelling inventories)
  • Formal assessments (reading inventories, computerized measures)

As part of your coaching conversations, teachers can choose a sampling of student work to analyze. Together, you might evaluate writing pieces or review running record data as part of your virtual sessions. Teachers can email you a few pictures or even upload them into the private software you use to share videos. By sharing your screens virtually during online meeting sessions, you can analyze student work together and use the results to guide your next coaching cycle. I follow three simple guidelines for my work with teachers:
  • Operate from a lens of strength: Teach teachers to notice what is going well in their teaching and what students know and can do. Often, teachers want to focus on what is wrong, or what is missing, but this does not move the conversation forward in productive ways.
  • Follow an ‘I Notice, I Wonder’ protocol: Make observations about the data in front of you and think carefully and critically about what it tells us. What other information might be needed? What assumptions do we need to unpack? What perspective are we taking? Whose perspective are we leaving out?
  • Link problems to solutions: It can be easy to focus on the things we cannot control, but we need to shift that mindset to one of action and train ourselves to immediately follow up negative thinking with positive possibilities. Our students deserve nothing less.
You might consider capturing these artifacts into a portfolio to showcase learning throughout the coaching cycle. You can compile them into a shared digital folder or even paste them into a simple Google presentation to archive the thinking and learning throughout your time together. What better way to celebrate a coaching cycle by seeing the impact coaching has had firsthand on student performance?

This was the second post in a blog series on virtual literacy coaching as part of an exciting partnership with Sibme. Head here to read all posts in the series and join the conversation!

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One of my top challenges in virtual literacy coaching is ensuring virtual coaching conversations are interactive and puts the teacher in charge of the conversation, not the coach. When coaching on-site, I might observe classroom instruction, but more often than not, I am modeling and co-teaching lessons with teachers. Our coaching conversations following those lessons is collegial and interactive, commenting and questioning the active roles we both played. But, in virtual coaching, I am typically observing instruction (although I have some ideas to change this!) to give helpful feedback to teachers. Therefore, our virtual coaching conversations can far-too-easily look like a one-sided conversation where I give feedback and the teacher listens. Even if energetic and productive, this is not coaching.

Coaching is a partnership where teachers and coaches learn from each other and from the students in front of them, in person or virtually. Therefore, our coaching conversations must be spirited, interactive and shared. I rely on a few conversation starters to spark interactive conversation:
  • What you think about the lesson? What went well? What didn’t seem quite right?
  • How do you feel the students responded? What evidence do we have for their learning?
  • What do we need to do next to further student learning? What are they ready to know next? What lessons, materials and coaching might we plan for?
  • What did we learn about literacy teaching from our partnership?
I think it is important to remind ourselves the power of wait time. During in-person coaching conversations, we often give ourselves the time needed to think and reflect. While it can be difficult, waiting a few extra seconds for a teacher to initiate conversation is better than jumping in with another comment or question in fear of the silence. This wait time is even more important online. Depending on your connection, conversations may lag slightly as the wifi works to keep up with live conversation. If you don’t give each other enough wait time, you end up talking over each other or worse yet, it seems like you are interrupting.

While it may seem odd to plan so carefully for something as natural as a conversation, doing so will ensure a successful virtual conversation and strengthen coaching partnerships.

This was the second post in a blog series on virtual literacy coaching as part of an exciting partnership with Sibme. Head here to read all posts in the series and join the conversation!

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One of the reasons I am such a strong advocate for virtual coaching is because teachers have a great deal of control across the coaching process: They choose to enter the coaching partnership, they choose the day, time and location they prefer to meet, they choose the goals they want to collaborate on and they choose the videos of their instruction they want to share. When done right, virtual coaching puts teachers squarely in control of their own learning.

Video tools are a powerful way to provide feedback on classroom practices and I have been using video in my in-person literacy coaching for years. As part of my coaching, teachers record clips of their teaching they would like feedback on. By recording and sharing, teachers are in full control over what I see and provide feedback on, lessening the angst that some teachers feel when inviting coaches into their classrooms. In virtual coaching, this is the only way you will interact with teachers. There aren’t opportunities to drop in live, to learn together in grade level meetings or to collaborate in professional learning. The coaching cycle is your sole form of coaching and therefore, must provide teachers with positive, effective and specific feedback related to their chosen goals. Therefore, feedback provided on these videos is incredibly important to the coaching process. Here are a few guidelines when giving this kind of feedback to teachers:

  • Comment frequently. It can feel risky to share a part of your teaching self with a person you will never meet in person. Earn trust by commenting frequently to clearly show you appreciate their efforts and are invested in their learning.
  • Use the time-stamp feature. The beauty of virtual feedback is that we can literally freeze time. If possible, insert your feedback in time-stamped comments to directly connect your comments to instruction.  
  • Tag your comments. Tagging not only provides feedback for teachers, but helps you learn about yourself as a coach. By tagging your comments with labels such as celebration, wonderings, student engagement, materials, etc. teachers can easily identify the purpose of your comment. As a coach, you can easily see patterns in your feedback and can set goals for your own coaching.  
  • Remain positive at all times. Coaching is just as much about teachers’ spirits as it is their expertise. Comment freely on each positive element you see, from instructional techniques and language choices to student engagement and wall decor. Teachers need to notice what they are doing well, something other overlooked in their busy days.
  • Keep the goal in mind. Since virtual coaching is limited to observation and feedback cycles, coaches can easily feel overwhelmed knowing their feedback on video instruction is the only form of feedback they can provide, often wanting to comment on as much as possible to give teachers the most out of the coaching cycle. But it is important to keep the teachers’ coaching goals in mind and focus constructive comments on those goals only. This will help focus your feedback and ensure the teacher is getting what he/she hoped for out of the coaching cycle.
  • Make it interactive. Coaching cycles are build on conversations and the only way to have conversation through video comments is to invite interaction. While comments are important, be sure to ask questions, wonder and hypothesize and generate a conversation. Coaching is not a one-way street where coaches only coach teachers. Coaches also learn from each coaching partnership as co-learners for the sake of students.
So, how do I remind myself of these important guidelines when giving feedback? I used to list them on a piece of paper and tack it to the bulletin board next to my laptop, but I would often forget to refer to them. Now, I create simple table tents (inspired by Jennifer Serravallo’s table tents for student conferences) and prop them up wherever I am when I review the shared instructional videos. These are instant, tangible reminders to remind me what I want to accomplish when giving feedback. Like what you see? Go ahead and download it for your own coaching space!  

This was the second post in a blog series on virtual literacy coaching as part of an exciting partnership with Sibme. Head here to read all posts in the series and join the conversation!

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Every literacy coach I have ever met has a particular organizational and planning system they prefer. Some choose to have binders organized by grade level and teacher. Others live by their agenda and have different folders and clipboards for coaching. Still yet, others have gone digital and have organized folders on their computers or in their Google Drives. Me? I have a blend of methods to meet my need for digital organization, but also provide the comfort of hard copy notes and sketchnoting I crave. I bring my laptop, my coaching notebook and other coaching tools like sticky notes and markers to each coaching session. While these methods might work well for in-coaching conversations, they do not translate as easily to virtual ones. I have had to reimagine my entire planning and preparation process to best meet the demands of virtual literacy coaching. Here are my top recommendations:

Create a coaching space. Many virtual literacy coaches work from home, often meeting with teachers after-school and in the evening hours so the school day is not disrupted. This can bring an additional coaching challenge: finding a quiet place to meet virtually (other than hiding in the back of my closet to muffle the sounds of my family!). It is critical to carve out a space for your coaching, even if small or in an odd location. I have a small corner in my basement that I have outfitted with a small desk, chair and office supplies. This virtual coaching space is out of the way, fairly quiet and has a good wifi signal. I hung decorative shelves as a recording backdrop and added my favorite books, educational quotes and pieces of my children’s school artwork. While I may be in a tiny corner of the basement, the professional feel energerzies my work. Can’t find the space? A decorative tri-fold presentation board behind you works well as a backdrop to cover the stack of laundry that might be nearby. =)

Have the materials you need handy. When coaching in person, you might bring your notebooks, sticky notes, pens and lesson materials to enhance coaching conversation. While this kind of interaction isn’t possible virtually, having the materials you need to ensure your virtual visits go smoothly is essential. I have my materials in my desk drawer, but you can keep them in a small box or bag so they are portable:
  • While you may not need them, have back-up earphones or earpods closeby to ensure you can hear online and a microphone to ensure others can hear you.
  • When coaching in person, I often take notes on a shared Google Doc, but this is harder to manage when working virtually. Instead, I take notes during our meetings in my notebook and then reflect digitally in a shared document instead.
  • Gather pens, pencils, highlighters and sticky notes and any other tools you like to use for note-taking.
  • It doesn’t hurt to also have a water bottle or cup of coffee on hard to give the virtual meeting a more relaxed feel as well!

Get organized digitally. Virtual literacy coaches often work with multiple teachers in multiple schools, even in multiple states! If this describes your coaching, then you also work with multiple curriculums, assessment plans, teacher resources and more. To be effective, you must organize these materials and be able to access them when and where you need them. Consider creating Google Drive folders to organize your coaching materials, even color coding them if you wish. By doing so, you will have access to them for your virtual meetings no matter where you are or what device you are using. You can even access them without wifi access, as long as you enable offline access in your settings.

Live by your calendar. My Google calendar is my lifeline. It not only keeps track of my coaching life and virtual meetings, it helps me organize them color, sends me useful reminders and even has space for important information, such as the meeting link, agenda and even links to files and websites. When you work remotely, planning and time management is absolutely essential. Be sure to not only schedule in time for your virtual visits, but for viewing classroom videos, providing feedback and for your own reflection and notes for coaching.  

Indulge yourself. I used to buy the plain notebooks, the functional supplies and limited ‘frivolous’ purchases, like velvety pens and colorful markers. Fast forward ten years and you will see my buying the largest set of Sharpie markers and the cute teacher stickers to decorate my supplies with. I have learned that color and shapes bring joy to my life, and to others. Give yourself permission to surround yourself with what makes you happy and that happiness will leap through the lines of your wifi to your teachers.

While being a virtual literacy coach brings unique challenges, think about the many teachers you are impacting with the work you do and their many students that will also benefit as a result. We may not have an in-person coaching space, but we have a far-reaching impact with the work we do. Celebrate!

This was the second post in a blog series on virtual literacy coaching as part of an exciting partnership with Sibme. Head here to read all posts in the series and join the conversation!

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Coaching is all about relationships. As a literacy coach, there are multiple things I do to ensure coaching in the classroom is a positive learning experience for all:

  • Be a good listener. I really listen to what teachers say they want and need in the classroom and ensure that their voices are heard.
  • Follow the teacher’s lead. While we may have ideas for our coaching, I follow the teacher’s lead and start there. Additional initial ideas can come later in the coaching process when the teacher is ready for them.
  • Be trustworthy. I maintain the teacher’s confidentiality at all times. I jokingly tell the teachers I work with that our coaching space is like Vegas: What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Teachers need to know they can trust you.
  • Seek out strengths. Find positives in any situation and build on them. Just as we encourage teachers to avoid taking a deficit view when looking at student data, we should have them do the same for themselves. Focus on what is right first and then choose goals together.
  • Celebrate growth. Big changes in instruction do not happen overnight. I celebrate the small steps of growth seen in the classroom and view them as momentum for larger changes ahead. Every journey starts with one step forward.
These actions to build strong coaching relationships are easily replicated online and virtually, but it is more challenging to build a comfortable, collegial relationship with someone that you will never meet in person. I have found a few coaching moves go a long way in building trusting relationships to support coaching:

  • Get personal immediately. I give the teachers I work with a glimpse into my life right from the first introductory email. Sure, I tell teachers who I am and what I do, but I also give them snippets of information about my family, my favorites and my quirks. This helps them get to know me as a person, not just as a coach, and opens the lines of communication. If we cannot easily share conversations and low-risk personal information, how will we ever get comfortable enough to share our classroom lives and teaching?
  • Find multiple channels of communication.  While virtual coaching visits might be your primary method of communication, find additional channels to make brief, but consistent, contact with your teachers. This could be through email or even through social media. If you are on Twitter, create Twitter lists of the schools and teachers you work with to quickly connect or send resources and ideas they might appreciate. You might even connect as readers on Goodreads and share titles with each other. By connecting more often, you are sure to build more consistent and complete relationships with teachers.
  • Create spaces for digital sharing. When you are physically part of a school building, it is easier to share ideas and resources with teachers: at grade level meetings, in the faculty lounge even in the hallway. This sharing is easy to replicate online with Padlet and Flipgrid. Create Padlet walls that you can share with your teachers as if you were in the building. You might create a Padlet wall to share fantastic titles for read alouds or mentors texts. You might create a Flipgrid page for teachers to share ideas and reflections, ask questions, share a celebration or simply drop in to say hello in-between virtual visits.
  • Don’t forget about old-fashioned communication too. One of my favorite things to do as a coach is to notice and name the fantastic things are teachers are doing and to give them bits of encouragement and self-care to fuel their teaching spirits. In person, I like to leave sticky notes on their desks or doors and even gift them small things I know they’ll appreciate: a new book for their library, a velvety gel pen or a simple hand-written ‘thank-you-for-being-you’ note of appreciation. While it may take an additional stamp or two, sending these old-fashioned tokens of appreciation are sure to surprise teachers and warm their hearts.
By taking the time to build strong instructional relationships, you’ll ensure a more successful coaching partnership. While we may never meet in the person, the bonds formed virtually can be just as strong as those in person.

This was the second post in a blog series on virtual literacy coaching as part of an exciting partnership with Sibme. Head here to read all posts in the series and join the conversation!

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I have dedicated my career to supporting educators and building shared teacher expertise for the sake of our students. More than ever, our students deserve teachers who understand how literacy develops, have strong content and pedagogical knowledge and connect with students to ensure instruction is engaging, authentic and relevant. And more than ever, our teachers deserve professional learning experiences that are built on the principles of adult learning, honor the knowledge and experience that teachers bring and cultivate a mindset of lifelong learning.

As a literacy coach, I create spaces for learning that build teacher expertise, spark intentional reflection and connect philosophy to pedagogy. Together, we work from a place of authentic inquiry to envision instruction and strengthen teaching and learning. My work is intentional, fosters professional curiosity and models the pedagogy advocated for in classrooms to re-imagine teaching and learning for students. All aspects of literacy coaching have the potential to impact the classroom and student learning, but coaching in the classroom places the focus squarely on the teachers and students. Previously, my coaching was confined by the boundaries of geography and location, but digital tools and technology have broadened what is possible: enter virtual literacy coaching. So, what is virtual literacy coaching?

Virtual literacy coaching is exactly what is sounds like: literacy coaching translated to an online, digital or virtual platform. Coaching conversations move online, classroom coaching shifts to video and professional sharing happens digitally, rather than in the hallways. Virtual coaching breaks down the walls of our classrooms and connects educators and coaches together in personalized ways unique to each partnership. What might virtual coaching look like?

Just as coaching partnerships can come in many forms, so can virtual coaching. But generally, educators and coaches engage in coaching cycles and conversations the same they would in person, but do so virtually through video such as Google Hangout, Zoom or Skype. Coaching cycles begin with a virtual conversation to get know each other and talk about shared goals for the partnerships. Since the coach cannot physically be present in the classroom, they observe teaching live through video streaming as if they were present in the room. Or, teachers record clips of their literacy instruction and upload videos through a private platform (I prefer Sibme!) to share with the coach. The coach views these videos and gives specific, personal and time-stamped feedback specific to the goals of the partnership, often sharing articles, blog posts and resources to support teaching. The teacher and coach then come back together for another virtual visit to discuss the process and continue the cycle of learning together.

These virtual coaching cycles offer unique opportunities for coaches and teachers to partner around teaching and learning in the comfort of our own classrooms and homes on our own terms based on own goals as educators. It empowers teachers to take control of their own learning and share only what they choose, ensuring a low level of risk for teachers.

But it also brings unique challenges: fostering professional relationships with educators you’ll never meet in person, planning and preparing for virtual coaching sessions rather than in person, facilitating coaching conversations through a computer screen, taking special care with printed feedback, examining artifacts of student learning digitally and more. In this upcoming series of blog posts, I’ll tackle each of these challenges and offer suggestions to make the most of a virtual coaching partnership.

As part of this series, I’ve curated a collection of resources designed specifically for virtual literacy coaches in hopes to support our work and connect together. I’ve gathered links to virtual coaching projects and programs, articles and blog posts on virtual literacy coaching, research to guide our work and options for our own professional learning.

Are you a virtual literacy coach? Be sure to stay tuned for the next series of posts to explore our work together! I’ll compile all of the posts in the series here and hope you’ll join the conversation!

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