Classroom-Embedded Implementation Coaching

Argument-Centered Education > Services > Classroom-Embedded Implementation Coaching

There is extensive research that has created a consensus in the education community that policy changes, remote professional development workshops, even technological innovations and software systems cannot succeed in improving teacher effectiveness and student achievement unless they incorporate support for changes in instructional practice that is present within the school and actually right inside the classroom. In short: it’s not possible to have a big impact on classroom practice from outside the classroom. This is why classroom-embedded implementation coaching is a key to the Argument-Centered Education approach to improving schools.

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With a unique three-leveled method of implementation coaching, Argument-Centered Education is able to ensure that it can effect meaningful and lasting expansion in teaching capacity.

(i) Two-way discovery

In this first level, ACE learns through direct classroom observation and post-observation meetings about each partner-teacher’s curriculum and classroom methods, while they learn through targeted readings, webinars, and videos, more about argument-centered instruction pedagogy and its range of resources.

In this second level, ACE models implementation of an argument-centered instruction activity, lesson, or project. Sometimes this modelling occurs in teacher meetings, sometimes it happens directly in class. Sometimes it’s of a full piece of a curriculum, often it’s of a portion of that curriculum. Modeling ensures that partner-teachers have an experiential understanding of how argument-centered instruction can and should be conducted in their classrooms.

In this third level, ACE observes and provides feedback and expert support for each teacher’s own classroom implementation of argument-centered instruction. The feedback and support comes in the form of post-observation meetings, written analyses, on-line implementation tracking forms, and annotated video of the implementation.

On-site school-embedded implementation coaching and support is conducted with every partner-teacher at a number of classroom visits and hours that varies with the extent of the partnership. Implementation coaching focuses on effective instructional practice in the use of argument-centered resources collaboratively developed and produced by Argument-Centered Education and each partner-teacher. Implementation coaching, like ACE’s other services, aims for time-neutrality: what teachers have to commit to in additional meeting time they make up in receiving classroom modeling and support time.

Additionally, remote coaching and support occurs on a regular, tracked, weekly basis, ensuring a high level of monitoring and support for each participating teacher, as they acquire substantially enhanced professional capacity to make their instruction argument-centered.