“Make sure your students follow your instructions.” That sounds like a straightforward instruction, but in fact, it’s fairly abstract. What does a teacher actually have to do to make sure students are following? Even the leader delivering this direction may not know, and the first-year teacher almost certainly doesn’t. The vast majority of teachers are only observed one or two times per year on average—and even among those who are observed, scarcely any are given feedback as to how they could improve. The bottom line is clear: teachers do not need to be evaluated so much as they need to be developed and coached.
In Get Better Faster: A 90-Day Plan for Coaching New Teachers, Paul Bambrick-Santoyo shares instructive tools of how school leaders can effectively guide new teachers to success. Over the course of the book, we break down the most critical actions leaders and teachers must enact to achieve exemplary results. Designed for coaches as well as beginning teachers, Get Better Faster is an integral coaching tool for any school leader eager to help their teachers succeed.
It’s the book’s focus on the actionable—the practice-able—that drives effective coaching. By practicing the concrete actions and micro-skills listed here, teachers will markedly improve their ability to lead a class, producing a steady chain reaction of future teaching success.
Though focused heavily on the first 90 days of teacher development, it’s possible to implement this work at any time. New and old teachers alike can benefit from the guidance of Get Better Faster and close their existing instructional gaps.
Packed with practical training tools, including agendas, presentation slides, a coach’s guide, handouts, planning templates, and 35 video clips of real teachers at work, Get Better Faster will teach you:
- The core principles of coaching: Go Granular, Make Feedback More Frequent,
- Top action steps to launch a teacher’s development in an easy-to-read scope and sequence guide
- The four phases of skill building:
- Phase 1 (Pre-Teaching): Dress Rehearsal
- Phase 2: Instant Immersion
- Phase 3: Getting into Gear
- Phase 4: The Power of Discourse
PAUL BAMBRICK-SANTOYO is the Chief Schools Officer for high schools and K-12 content development at Uncommon Schools. Paul has trained school leaders worldwide in instructional leadership in his work as cofounder of the Relay National Principals Academy Fellowship and founder and dean of the Leverage Leadership Institute. His previous books include Driven by Data, Leverage Leadership, and Great Habits, Great Readers.
DVD Video Contents vii
DVD Additional Materials xix
Foreword xxi
Acknowledgments xxv
About the Author xxvii
About Uncommon Schools xxix
Get Better Faster Scope and Sequence xxxi
Introduction 1
Changing the Game 3
Why Focus on New Teachers? 8
Myths and Realities of Coaching New Teachers 11
What is “Better,” and How Fast is “Faster”? 13
How This Book is Structured 14
How to Use This Book 19
Dive In—Meet Your Teachers Where They are 22
Ready to Dive In! 23
Principles of Coaching 25
Principle 1: Go Granular 27
Principle 2: Plan, Practice, Follow Up, Repeat 45
Principle 3: Make Feedback More Frequent 59
Start Here Quick Reference Guide 76
Phase 1 (Pre-Teaching): Dress Rehearsal 77
Phase 1 Coaching Blueprint: Leading PD 80
Phase 1 Management—Develop Essential Routines and Procedures 86
Phase 1 Rigor—Write Lesson Plans 107
Conclusion 127
Phase 2: Instant Immersion 129
Phase 2 Coaching Blueprint: Make Time for Feedback 132
Phase 2 Management—Roll Out and Monitor Routines 145
Phase 2 Rigor—Independent Practice 181
Conclusion 221
Phase 3: Getting into Gear 223
Phase 3 Coaching Blueprint: Looking at Student Work 225
Phase 3 Management—Engage Every Student 236
Phase 3 Rigor—Respond to Student Learning Needs 275
Conclusion 299
Phase 4: The Power of Discourse 301
Phase 4 Coaching Blueprint: Respond to In-the-Moment Data 303
Phase 4 Management—Set Routines for Discourse 308
Phase 4 Rigor—Lead Student Discourse 101 317
Conclusion 345
Stretch It: Ready to Paint 347
Stretch It Coaching Blueprint 349
Stretch It Rigor—Lead Student Discourse 201 354
Conclusion 385
Appendix: Get Better Faster Coach’s Guide 389
Phase 1 (Pre-Teaching) 390
Phase 2: Days 1–30 396
Phase 3: Days 31–60 407
Phase 4: Days 61–90 417
Stretch It: The Next Steps 424
Notes 429
How to Use the DVD 435
Access the Contents Online 436
Index 437
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