Peer-Coaching, Training, Supervision, and Implementation - Literature review Example

PART 2: Peer-coaching, training, supervision, and implementation Part I. Transforming a School into a Professional Learning Community Professionals and specialists today encourage educators to make schools professional learning communities (PLC). The idea of an all-round student or child appeals to everyone, hence the need to make learning conditions suitable for a child’s development. However, changing a school’s culture into a professional learning community is an uphill task. Myriad of challenges exist in the process, and educators find it tough achieving this goal. Leadership is a critical element of change that requires consideration in achieving this goal. For this reason, the role of school authorities is essential in transforming schools into professional learning communities. Specialists relate various activities to the process of attaining PLC’s, they include; an assurance that students learn, existence of a culture of collaboration, focusing on results and hard work and commitment. All these are necessary in achieving this goal, and they go hand in hand. This paper analyzes implementation of these activities in an organization setting, the outcomes of this collaboration and its benefit on the organization. The discussion to the above issues appears below. To begin with, implementation of these activities is significant in getting a PLC. For instance, the process of ensuring that students learn is attainable in many ways. Teachers in a school should give required attention to every student depending on their abilities. There are remarkable differences between an educated student and a learned student (Graham & Ferriter, 2009).Education concerns going through the curriculum while learning is the process, which result to full capacity to employ an idea in solving real life issues. Learning, therefore, results into a professional learning community. On the other hand, culture of collaboration comes by ensuring all personal goals concentrate on achieving overall result in an organization. This is because individuals have different responsibilities, which may divert attention from the primary goal (Graham & Ferriter, 2009). Moreover, they may fail to support each other thinking they have different goals in the organization. The organization also needs to focus on the results. This is achievable by ensuring all workers understand overall requirements and direct their efforts towards their attainment. The benefits, which accrue to, an organization by implementing such activities, are tremendous. Having a professional learning community ensures an all rounded product. Such institutions equip students enabling their survival in the outside world once through with the curriculum. Learning, for instance, is necessary for societal development. The school or organization should not only focus their attention on completing curriculum, but also on the product in the making. The benefit this has on a student is the ability it instills on them enabling them to tackle various life challenges with ease (Graham & Ferriter, 2009).Learning comes with experience, and is a slow event which requires time to accomplish. Collaboration, on the other hand, benefits the organization in that it allows corporation and acceptance of responsibilities. In this way, people own problems and no one appears burdened. In addition, results also benefit the organization. The primary motivator of behavior is an achievement of results. For this reason, it is imperative to consider concentrating everyone’s efforts to attaining such results. This collaboration has several outcomes, mostly positives. Individuals in an organization corporate, and concentrate their efforts towards achieving set objectives. Moreover, it ensures people shoulder each other’s burdens, which is also, essential in developing a professional learning community. In conclusion, the process of developing a professional learning community is essential in societal development. Not only does it ensure that students learn and gain from school experience, but also ensures collaboration between different people in an institution. All these are necessary in attaining a PLC. However, the process comes with its challenges, which no one, should overlook. Overall, the idea of a professional learning community appeals to everyone. Part II. Peer-Coaching, Training, Supervision And Implementation Peer coaching is an essential element in producing an all-round person from learning institutions. It helps teachers deliver effectively while focusing on requirements in the curriculum (Joyce 7 Showers, 1996). The idea of peer coaching also focuses on attaining innovation in institutions and curriculum. Teachers undertake various activities, which work collaboratively to achieve set objectives. In this case, all teachers agree to be members of peer coaching team, and work collaboratively to ensure success in the curriculum. With such ideas, the change process involves collaboration by all parties and acceptance of the fact that combined efforts achieve greater result than personal moves. Moreover, use of verbal feedback disintegrates the process of peer coaching. Individuals involved in this process should avoid such approaches since they bring a lot of discomfort to victims, plus making it appear as if their competencies are in doubt. On the other hand, training and supervision of workers should be as effective as possible to ensure achievement of set objectives. Success in learning institutions and other organizations largely depends on training levels and knowledge in workers. The focus should be on how best to achieve an all-round individual from task operation. This paper combines different aspects of training and supervision of workers with peer coaching techniques to achieve desirable results in an organization. Moreover, it presents a professional development plan suitable for success of organizations through collaborative efforts. This outlines ideal methods of getting people together to focus their efforts collaboratively to attaining set objectives. Further is a discussion of how this plan will benefit school culture. To begin with, Joyce and Showers (1995) presents an analysis of study focusing on the best way of carrying out peer coaching in schools. The focus of this exercise lies on getting all staff members to perform activities with primary focus on desirable results. Proper implementation of this program also ensures that teachers work collaboratively, while watching each other’s responsibilities. Sharing of responsibility is essential in attaining objectives, plus ensuring no one lags behind in the system. The authors then present some principles guiding the whole process of peer coaching. They argue that verbal feedback is a setback in the whole idea of peer coaching. When teachers attempt to give one another feedbacks, collaborative efforts fail and they appear to be in serious competition (Joyce 7 Showers, 1996).Actions, which appears to be supervisory of other people’s duties, and comments demoralize teachers, making their efforts appear waste. With such ideas in mind, teacher’s concentration should be on their personal activities also aiming at getting desirable results in schools. Moreover, the authors agree that all teachers must accept to be members of peer coaching team. This implies a desire to take each other’s responsibilities plus accepting mistakes when they occur. Moreover, Joyce and Showers (1995) provide a comprehensive definition of coaching. The teacher who coaches the other does so to learn. It is not a process aiming at watching other people’s activities and learning from them. This should not focus on criticizing ideas and raising issues in the process to define course of action. The collaborative process of peer coaching goes beyond having conferences and observations. The aim is to give teachers an opportunity to grow following class observation. Moreover, Gregory (2008) provides a comprehensive analysis on training and supervision of teachers in the institution. The process of evaluating teachers should be distinct from peer coaching. Implementation of this whole idea has its roots on why teachers’ development relates to how much supervision they get from colleagues. Training of teachers is also significant in ensuring success in the process of learning. This involves having adequate resources in place to ensure teachers perform their tasks effectively. These two researches apply to work setting in a variety of ways. The idea of peer coaching is essential in getting desirable results in a work place. In addition, training and supervision of workers too is significant for attainment of set objectives. The idea of peer coaching applies to most institutions, as it is a reliable way of gauging people’s performance. The observer, in this case, does so to learn from fellow teacher, hence the need to have collaborative efforts in doing coaching. Moreover, this process ensures there are limits within which teachers engage in counterproductive activities in classrooms since they have to undergo supervision. Peer coaching goes hand in hand with supervision of duties, but reserves comments and feedback to a later stage. For this reason, this research applies to a work setting by differentiating between limits of supervision and coaching to avoid further loss of morale. The idea of a professional development plan involves taking care of each party’s needs in the process of doing supervision, training, and peer coaching (Joyce 7 Showers, 1996). The overall belief is that teachers lose morale when their competencies appear to be in doubt. An ideal plan would focus on achieving desirable objectives in a learning process while setting limits between supervision and peer coaching. To achieve this, it is desirable to first train teachers on requirements of achieving good results. In this way, they focus attention on performance rather than distraction by simple undoing. Moreover, there is requirement for all staff members to participate in peer coaching exercise. All members’ participation in this plan ensures realization of set objectives faster than if only a portion supports the idea. In addition, the plan would involve dividing the school’s term into sections based on goals achievable in each period. First consideration goes to the first six weeks of operation in school. Within this time, specialists identify goals to attain which would also result into achieving overall goals at the end of the year. Such goals are set on realistic terms with school’s ability and resources in mind. Later, the team identifies various strategies to achieve these goals within a specific time. The strategies have long-term application depending on the school requirements. This plan would benefit the school culture in a number of ways. First, it ensures all teacher participation in peer coaching. This, in the long term, helps realize goals and results with minimum efforts. Moreover, the plan states guidelines regarding behavior of teachers in the course of supervising and coaching. It states that there is no verbal feedback in this process, which helps boost people’s morale. On the other hand, it divides objectives into various sections depending on urgency and contribution towards achieving overall objectives. This also ensures that teachers realize goals within the limits of required time. In conclusion training, supervision and peer coaching are essential elements in realizing objectives in schools. These activities are different with each possessing its unique features. Most significant is the difference between supervision and peer coaching. Supervision may involve comments and feedback in the process while coaching requires no verbal feedback during delivery. The success in learning institutions, therefore, largely depends on how leaders and staff implement the ideas of training, supervision and peer coaching. References Graham, P., & Ferriter, W. (2009). Building a professional learning community at work: a guide to the first year. New York: Solution Tree Press. Gregory, G. (2008). Differentiated instructional strategies in practice: Training, implementation, and supervision (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:  Corwin Press. Joyce, B., & Showers, B. (1996). The Evolution of Peer Coaching. Educational Leadership, 53 (6): 12-16. Read More