This document provides an overview of a peer coaching program between February and October that included 8 workshops over 9 months. It introduces the 8 peer coaches from different South African provinces and describes the program's focus on lesson design, coaching skills, and integrating information and communication technology (ICT). Examples are provided of activities used in the workshops, such as a chalk talk reflection where teachers silently responded to a question in writing. The document emphasizes that ICT integration should enhance learning by meeting objectives like providing access to information or allowing new ways to investigate concepts. Coaches are advised to help teachers improve lessons using a common definition of effective design and recommend how technology can enrich learning.

1. Peer Coaching

2. Peer Coaching - Introductions The South African coaches Brenda Hallowes (Eastern Cape - Port Elizabeth) Claire Dean (Eastern Cape – East London) Estia Warmenhoven (Limpopo) Nomty Gcaba (KwaZulu Natal) Sam Tobias (KwaZulu Natal) Sarietjie Musgrave (Free State) Saul Pila (Gauteng)

3. About Peer Coaching National programme between February – October 8 facilitator led workshops across 9 months Built on three pillars: Lesson Design Coaching Skills ICT Integration http://schoolnet.org.za/PILP/

4. Chalk Talk Reflection A silent reflection protocol that: allows the group to reflect on learning; generate ideas by writing instead of discussing them verbally.

5. Directions Answer the question: "What are the essential elements of a learning activity?” Write your responses to the question in silence. You can add to other responses by: Circling existing text (from someone else) that you find interesting or compelling. You may want to write a note that expands on why you find it interesting. Connecting two ideas that seem related by drawing a line between them. If you think ideas might be related, but you aren’t sure, link them with a line and then put a question mark on the line. Circling some text you have a question about and then writing the question next to that idea

6. Debrief the protocol What patterns appear in the responses? How did this silent activity help bring out ideas differently than a conversation would have done? How could you use this in your school? How could you use this in a classroom? How might you use this in an informal one-to-many coaching situation?

7. KwaZulu Natal- Durban

8. East London cluster Teachers are from Cradock, Middelburg, Queenstown, King Williamstown, Cintsa and East London. SESSION 2 - 5 SESSION 1

9. Scenes from the Group …

10. Clock Partners

11. Happiness… after lunch

13. Develop a Task : Authentic and engaging

14. Learner/Teacher Directions

16. Expression

17. Design Assessments

19. Lesson Improvement Activity Activity : Let us try to improve the lesson together Open “What’s for lunch” Lesson. Use the following resources to show how different ICTs can be used to enhance it. Learning Activity Checklist Lesson Improvement Process rubric

20. KwaZulu Natal Insert Nomty’s photos here….

21. One key role professional development plays is to help teachers to evaluatelearning activitiesby comparingthem to their principles of effective learning Grant Wiggins (2009)

22. Quinn’s Six Questions Developed by Juli Quinn What am I teaching and to whom? Whyam I teaching it? How am I teaching it? Why am I teaching it that way? What evidence do I collect to show my students are getting it? How do my students know they are getting it?

23. Promising Practices Scavenger Hunt Teachers carefully plan their curriculum to help students meet academic standards, but often struggle with the creation of authentic, engaging tasks that can make powerful and appropriate use of technology. As a coach, you and the teachers you collaborate with must share a common answer to the question: “What are the essential elements of a learning activity that will prepare students with the skills they need for their future?”

24. Working independently, review the questions on the sheet relating to the video clip you are about to see. You may want to check your responses as you watch.

26. Wagon Wheel Activity (30 minutes) Purpose: • To stimulate lots of generative thinking in a very short time. • To stimulate powerful thinking between people who might not know each other. • To create a “vivid image bank” of a new idea in action. • To develop a sense of team with a common purpose. What we need to answer at the end of the activity: How did technology contribute to student learning? Refer to the video example, explain how the design of the lesson and use of technology contributed to the improvement of student learning. Set up Three chairs back to back at the hub of the wheel and three chairs on the outer circle facing the chairs at the hub.

27. Wagon Wheel Activity Directions Bring paper and pen and fill in the seats in the wheel(s). Take notes of your own ideas as well as your partner’s. The people on the outside of the wheel will be moving one seat to the right at each rotation; people at the hub remain in their seats. You will be working on one topic with each partner for approximately 7 minutes — i.e. you will work with 3 different partners during the activity. For each topic you have to reach a common understanding of what the topic means and then brainstorm what it would look like in action. At the end of each rotation, each participant sitting on the outside of the wheel will rotate one seat to the right. The three topics How can learners be engaged in substantive learning? How can activities engage students in higher-order thinking skills? How can technology enhance learning? Going Deeper Pick your favourite ideas for each topic and write them down on post-its. Make sure you label the top of each post-it. Place your Post-it on the large flip chart sheets with the topic title on the top around the room.

28. A well-prepared coach can: Help collaborating teachers improve their lessons using a common definition of effective lesson design. Recommend content resources or suggest instructional strategies to improve learning activities. Use communications skills that encourage the collaborating teacher to think more deeply about adopting new approaches that meet the needs of students to improve learning. Assist other teachers to understand how technology can enrich and enhance learning.

30. Learners investigatea concept in ways they could not without the ICT (e.g., virtual dissection).

31. Learners organizeinformation to facilitate comparison, analysis, or synthesis.

32. Learners use the same problem-solving tools adults use.

33. Instruction is differentiatedto meet the needs of different learners.

35. Images from Bloemfontein Clusters

36. Thank You Presented By: Peer Coaches Date: 06 July 2011 Contact: 011 403 5777 omashani@schoolnet.org.za