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Moments in Mathematics Coaching

Improving K–5 Instruction

By: Kristine Reed Woleck

Follow a mathematics coach through real cases from actual school situations!

Woleck reflects on specific cases or "moments" from her years as a mathematics coach, unpacking for readers the critical elements of mathematics teaching, learning, and coaching. This accessible resource discusses what effective coaching looks like and how coaches can make meaningful improvements in mathematics instruction. The case examples illustrate how to:

Incorporate key elements of coaching into practice
Build trusting relationships with teachers
Make effective decisions throughout the coaching cycle
Reference data and the curriculum as coaching tools
Use reflection to link coaching concepts to actual practice

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Product Details

Grade Level: K-5
ISBN: 9781412965842
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2010
Page Count: 184
Publication date: March 09, 2010

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Description

"A must-read for all mathematics teacher coaches. Woleck brings us into her coaching life by sharing these cases from her work. Through the engaging details of these personal stories, she skillfully leads us into considering various coaching models, essential coaching skills, and effective coaching practices. Focus questions at the end of each chapter add an incentive for readers to deepen their own practices and use this book as the basis for study groups."
—Euthecia Hancewicz, Mathematics Teacher Support Specialist
Mathematics Educator Support Services, Westhampton, MA

"Woleck provides an instructive and insightful analysis of what makes coaching a powerful and capacity-building resource for schools. This highly engaging and informative account details how effective coaching skills develop and become refined through research-based study, daily practice, and ongoing reflection."
—Mary Monroe Kolek, Deputy Superintendent
New Canaan Public Schools, CT

Follow a mathematics coach through real cases from actual school situations!

Kristine Reed Woleck reflects on specific cases or "moments" from her years as a mathematics coach, unpacking and examining for readers the critical elements of mathematics teaching, learning, and coaching. This accessible, practical resource discusses what effective coaching looks like and how beginning and veteran mathematics coaches in Grades K–5 can bring about meaningful improvements in mathematics instruction. The real-life cases illustrate how to

Incorporate key elements of coaching into practice
Build trusting relationships with teachers
Make effective decisions throughout the coaching cycle
Reference data and the curriculum as coaching tools
Use reflection to link coaching concepts to actual practice

Author(s)

Kristine Reed Woleck

Kristine Woleck is the K-5 mathematics coordinator for the New Canaan Public Schools in New Canaan, Connecticut. Prior to this position, she served as a K-8 staff developer, math coach/specialist, and mathematics consultant in both public and private schools in New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. She began her career as a first-grade teacher in Connecticut.

Kris’ graduate studies in the Bank Street College of Education Mathematics Leadership Program sparked her interest in teacher leadership in mathematics and pushed her to pursue her study of staff development and ultimately coaching. With a sixth-year diploma in educational leadership and administration from the University of Connecticut, she is interested in examining how school administrators can most effectively bring principles of coaching into their supervision of teachers.

Kris has authored several articles in professional journals based on her classroom teaching experiences, coaching work, and her experience as a facilitator of online coaching seminars in conjunction with the Education Alliance at Brown University. Her work has been published in Teaching Children Mathematics, the 2001 Yearbook of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), and the Journal of Staff Development. Most recently, she was selected as a 2009-2010 Classroom Teaching Fellow in the United States Department of Education Teaching Ambassador Fellowship program to include practitioner perspectives and voice in the development of educational policy.

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Part I. The Coach's Work

1. What Is Coaching?

Case: Coaching in Action, Ann, Grade 5

Taking a Closer Look

Research-Based Models of Coaching

Keys to Developing a Coaching Model

Questions for Reflecting and Linking to Practice

2. Starting the School Year

Making Introductions

Establishing Trust

Deciding Who to Coach

Deciding Who Not to Coach . . . Then What?

Getting Organized

Communicating With Administrators

Keys to Getting Started

Questions for Reflecting and Linking to Practice

3. The Coaching Cycle

Case: Decision Making in the Coaching Cycle, Fiona, Kindergarten

Taking a Closer Look

Defining the Focus

Coach's Role, Teacher's Role

Fiona's Case, Continued

Taking a Closer Look

The Need for Variations in the Coaching Cycle

Keys to the Coaching Cycle

Questions for Reflecting and Linking to Practice

Part II. Tools for Coaching

4. Using Curriculum

Defining the Meaning of Curriculum

Case: Talking About Curriculum, Sue, Grade 2

Taking a Closer Look

Using the Curriculum as a Coaching Tool

Keys to Coaching With Curriculum

Questions for Reflecting and Linking to Practice

5. The Role of Questioning

Case: Different Questions for Different Purposes, Nancy, Grade 1

Taking a Closer Look

Case: Planning the Questions, Rick, Grade 4

Taking a Closer Look

Case: When Open-Ended Questions Aren't Enough, Carolyn, Grade 1

Taking a Closer Look

Keys to Questioning

Questions for Reflecting and Linking to Practice

6. Being Explicit

Case: Making Explicit Moves, Keith, Grade 4

Taking a Closer Look

Keys to Being Explicit

Questions for Reflecting and Linking to Practice

7. Using Data

Case: Creating Urgency Through Data, Peggy, Grade 5

Taking a Closer Look

Tools to Facilitate the Use of Data

Developing Student-Focused Action Plans

Keys to Using Data

Final Thoughts About Data

Questions for Reflecting and Linking to Practice

Part III. Coaching Dilemmas

8. Confronting Classroom Errors

Case: Keeping the Mathematics in Mind, Holly, Grade 3

Taking a Closer Look

Case: Deciding When to Address an Error, Maggie, Grade 5

Taking a Closer Look

Being Proactive: Discussing How to Address an Error

Being Proactive: Building Mathematical Knowledge to Avoid Errors

Keys to Confronting Errors

Questions for Reflecting and Linking to Practice

9. Transforming the Demonstration Lesson

Case: To Demo or Not to Demo? Janet, Kindergarten

Taking a Closer Look

Keys to Transforming the Demo Lesson

Questions for Reflecting and Linking to Practice

10. The Coach as a Learner

Case: Doing the Math, Lisa, Grade 5

Taking a Closer Look

Permission to Be a Learner

Keeping the Teacher in Mind

Keys to Being Coach AND Learner

Questions for Reflecting and Linking to Practice

Part IV. Growing the Coach

11. Professional Development for the Coach

Identifying What Coaches Need to Know

Moving From Research to Practice

Coaching Simulations

Journaling as a Tool for Learning

Belonging to a Coaching Community

Keys to Professional Development for the Coach

Questions for Reflecting and Linking to Practice

Conclusion

Resource A. Resources to Develop Mathematical and Pedagogical Content knowledge

Resource B. Sources of Math Coach Professional Development

References

Index

Reviews

"Woleck provides an instructive and insightful analysis of what makes coaching a powerful and capacity-building resource for schools dedicated to ensuring excellence in teaching and learning. This is a highly engaging and informative account of how effective coaching skills develop and become refined through research-based study, daily practice, and ongoing reflection. What makes this book stand out is that Woleck treats mind-set and principle-based understanding as core dimension that develop and promote expertise. The author's melding of research, practice, and reflection is done artfully, enhancing the appeal and usefulness of the book as both a personal resource for educators and a tool for ongoing, collaborative study in text-based professional development."

Mary Monroe Kolek, Deputy Superintendent
New Canaan Public Schools, CT

"A must-read for all mathematics teacher coaches. Woleck brings us into her coaching life by sharing these cases from her work. Through the engaging details of these personal stories, she skillfully leads us into considering various coaching models, essential coaching skills, and effective coaching practices. Focus questions at the end of each chapter add an incentive for readers to deepen their own practice and use this book as the basis for study groups."

Euthecia Hancewicz, Mathematics Teacher Support Specialist
Mathematics Educator Support Services, Westhampton, MA

"For the times when working as a math coach can make us feel unsure and shaky, Woleck’s book offers some steady, solid ground. The wisdom she has gained through years of coaching is evident. She has melded and adapted several models of coaching for her practice in ways that make good sense. In her telling of actual classroom cases, we can appreciate just how adaptable and flexible coaching requires us to be in taking a range of coaching stances and in filling a variety of roles. Woleck has not shied away from addressing the dilemmas coaches face in their practice nor simplified the complexity of the decisions coaches must regularly make. This book is replete with usable resources to help us develop and refine our coaching practices."

Meredith Melvin Adelfio, Math Coordinator
Sidwell Friends School, Washington, DC

"This book stands out as one that gives a full picture of the role of the coach while being extremely specific. Beyond the obvious tasks of getting started and planning with teachers, the book discusses aspects of the job that are rarely covered in coaching books. Cases ground the reader in the important features of the job and are used to point out links to research. I recommend this as a handbook for all math coaches."

Barbara Dubitsky, Director of Mathematics Leadership
Bank Street College

Other Titles in: Mathematics | Coaching

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