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Identity Crisis

External coaches struggle to clarify roles and maintain focus on student learning

By Learning Forward
February 2011
Vol. 32 No. 1
In a professional learning community, adults learn through focused conversations on teaching practices and teacher learning to support student learning. Teachers in a professional learning community push each other’s thinking and learning about teaching through questioning. While there are multiple opportunities for this critical thinking to occur, it is a process that takes time, commitment, coaching, and facilitation. As external coaches working with professional learning communities, we struggled to define our roles and responsibilities. Through these challenges, we learned about our responsibility to share tools, strategies, and protocols for learning community members to focus conversations on teaching practices and student learning. Further, we uncovered the need for all members to develop shared values and vision. As a result, we have a renewed awareness of critical

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Authors

Julie Horwitz, Janice Bradley, and Linda Hoy

Julie Horwitz ([email protected]) is assistant professor in the Department of Educational Studies at Rhode Island College in Providence, R.I. Janice Bradley ([email protected]) is program coordinator at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, N.M. Linda Hoy ([email protected]) is assistant professor of educational leadership at Western New Mexico University in Gallup, N.M.

References

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Digby, A.D. & Gartin, B.C. (1993, September/October). Developing effective university and public school partnerships. The Clearing House, 67(1), 1-4.

DuFour, R., DuFour, R., & Eaker, R. (2008). Revisiting professional learning communities at work: New insights for improving schools. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.

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Merriam, S.B. (2001). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

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Learning Forward is the only professional association devoted exclusively to those who work in educator professional development. We help our members plan, implement, and measure high-quality professional learning so they can achieve success with their systems, schools, and students.

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