Cognitive Coaching is about growing and developing oneself as a learner and educator as well as helping your colleagues grow within the learning organization.
The Cognitive Coaching Process
Cognitive Coaching uses a three-phase cycle similar to teacher evaluation through clinical supervision: preconference, observation, and post conference. The primary difference between Cognitive Coaching and evaluation is that Cognitive Coaching uses these cycles for the sole purpose of helping the teacher improve instructional effectiveness by becoming more reflective about teaching. While the preconference requires a teacher to articulate the day's goals and the post conference calls for assessment, the teacher, not the coach, evaluates the lesson's success.
Rooted in the clinical supervision theories of Goldhammer and Cogan, Cognitive Coaching adds to clinical supervision the dimension of enhancing teachers' intellectual growth (Costa and Garmston 1985, in press; Garmston 1990). It requires extensive coaching skills and teaches a set of strategies for creating a school environment that fosters teachers' abilities to make changes in their own thinking and teaching. The process supports informed teacher decision making.
The ultimate goal of Cognitive Coaching is teacher autonomy: the ability to self-monitor, self-analyze, and self-evaluate. In early cycles of Cognitive Coaching, the coach must draw these capacities from the teacher, but as the cycles continue, a teacher begins to call upon them internally and direct them toward an area of personal interest.
Cognitive Coaching raised to consciousness a self-evaluation and self-analysis procedure. Teachers internalized questions that were asked of them and began asking those themselves: How did you know the lesson was a success? How did you feel about the lesson? How can you use what we have discussed in future lessons? Questions like these helped broaden my awareness of not only the success of my students, but the success of my teaching.
ASCD, Educational Leadership: Volume 51, Number 2
Cognitive Coaching participants are expected to commit themselves for minimum of 2-year-training process including weekend workshops, practicing coaching with their colleagues as well as functioning as coaches at Canadian Academy. The following faculty members have been confirmed for the training as of today.
Saiko Mayhew
Aimee Moore
Kim Conlin
Trevor Rehel
Many others have expressed their interest. However, now is the opportunity to sign up for this professional development by sending an email to Heikki by Thursday morning (1 September, 2016). There is a limited number of spots left, so please act swiftly.
