Use the information from the Coach Observation Form and the debriefing discussion to determine how to follow-up with the adult reading partner. The follow-up options are:
Work with the adult reading partner to plan lessons.
Shared Reading Example: When Ms. H. first started using Tar Heel Shared Reader, she chose books that were curriculum based or chapter books (e.g., Life Cycle or Great Expectations). The coach noticed that Ms. H’s students were not yet interested in reading and that Ms. H struggled to get them to engage with the text or with her.
The coach looked at these guiding statements:
- the adult chose texts that are the right length to hold students’ attention;
- the adult chose texts that the students could understand, and;
- the adult chose texts that were interesting and age respectful of the students.
The coach decided to ask the adult reading partner her thoughts on the texts she was using. During the debriefing session with the adult, the coach asked questions about the reason for the text choices. Then together they decided that it may be helpful to co-plan a few lessons in order to find books that may better match the needs of the students.
Co-teach or support the adult reading partner throughout the lesson to demonstrate priorities from debriefing session. The coach might help the adult reading partner focus on one aspect of the guiding statements.
Shared Reading Example: During an observation of shared reading the coach noticed that one of the students would frequently glance up at the text and then move his right hand. Sometimes this same student would glance up at the text and smile. When the coach and adult reading partner met during the debriefing session the coach asked if the adult had noticed these behaviors as well. The adult said that they had not noticed because they were so focused on the students who were making comments or actively engaging (e.g., looking and pointing) with the text. The coach and adult then discussed the guiding statement, the adult attributed meaning to all student efforts to communicate with her/him or others. They each came up with examples of how the adult might attribute meaning to the student’s behaviors for example, “I saw you smile, you like going to the park. If you want to say like, you can point right here” (adult points to the word like on the Tar Heel Shared Reader interface or on the student’s personal communication system).
As a follow-up to their discussion, they decided that it would be helpful if the coach actively participated in the next lesson, so that the coach could support the adult reading partner in noticing student behaviors and then attributing meaning to them.
Tar Heel Shared Reader provides additional activities that focus specifically on the Big Ideas and guiding statements presented across the professional development modules. These additional activities help the adult reading partner think about and apply the concepts they are learning.
The content activities may be used flexibly by the coach in three ways:
- when the coach observes an adult reading partner and thinks there may be a misunderstanding about specific Big Ideas and/or guiding statements,
- when the coach and the reading partner determine a Big Idea and/or a guiding statement as a focused priority,
- when the coach wants to review specific Big Ideas and/or guiding statements during a community of practice. In a community of practice, the content activity is meant to refresh ideas and encourage collaboration and discussion with colleagues.
Shared Reading Example: During a shared reading lesson, the coach noticed that Mr. P was not yet implementing the guiding statement, the adult encouraged students to make their own connections with the words and pictures in the texts they read. The coach made a note of this and made it a priority to look for the implementation of the guiding statement again during the next observation. When the coach did not notice Mr. P. helping students make connections during the next lesson, she decided to bring it up during the debriefing session. They discussed it and Mr. P. indicated that he did not really understand how to help the students make their own connections. So, the coach pulled up the content activity, Connecting to Own Experience. The coach worked through the activity with Mr. P. and they were able to talk through several ideas that Mr. P. could try during the next lesson.
Activities to be completed with the adult reading partner are listed under each guiding statement.