Lightning Connect

Thank you, Ms. Mitchell and Ms. Wilder!

⭐Consider pausing to read the responses OR change the video speed in the settings on the YouTube video.

Click the Mentor Spotlight button below to share insights and help us spread the word about all the good Mentors are doing for novice teachers and students! Thank YOU!

*TxCEE may include all or parts of your response in a future Mentoring Spotlight, on the TxCEE website, or on social media.

You deserve all the accolades, lots of praise, and tons of thank yous! I hope you will take a few minutes and watch the following: A Thank You Letter to Teachers by John Spencer (2018) to remember how impactful you are. May this warm your heart when you're feeling the chill of February. ☕

Constructing instructional goals and setting plans with novice teachers can be daunting. Where do we even start? That is why we created a Goal Setting Guide and FSC templates to support your goal setting and planning conversations. Coupled with using formative data, goals can become clear and actionable. As you work with your novice teacher to co-create and plan for goals for the semester, keep the following in mind:

CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL SUPPORT GOALS

• Based on a clear picture of what is happening in the classroom

• Connected to student achievement

• The novice teacher cares about the goal

(Knight, Knight, & Carlson: 2016)

Below are pages from the Systems & Tools Guidebook which you can find in the Padlet. If you want additional support or have questions about goal setting and planning, please reach out to your TxCEE Mentor Coach.

Not only will we celebrate successes and address challenges you felt while working the Continuous Improvement Cycle (CIC) with your NT, we will also look closer at how to provide Reflective Feedback--a masterful coaching skill.

In January we took a wide lens look at the CIC to help NT consider how formative assessments provide data that they can use to make instructional changes toward student mastery. This month we will narrow in on the "Check" phase. At this phase of a Continuous Improvement Cycle, we have an opportunity to help "...the learner in improv(e) their knowledge, skills, attitudes or behaviors relevant to educational program objectives and goals (MacGregor, 2023)." Exciting, right?

The opportunity comes once again not in blanket providing the NT the answers but in following a framework that will have the NT reflecting and decision making with your support.

CLARIFY-->VALUE-->UNCOVER

First, clarify what you are hearing or seeing the NT say or do, then add value statements that show what the NT is saying or doing that positively impacts students (think best practices), and lastly help them uncover what they could do next to help students reach a new level of learning and understanding.

There's nothing quite like seeing it done. Many of you have asked to see other mentors coaching. In the videos below, TxCEE Mentors are following the Initiation, Collaboration, Transformation protocol while working through an Analyze, Reflect, Adjust FSCs with their novice teachers. You can hear coaching conversations:

• Ask a question
• Pause
• Paraphrase
• Pause
• Ask a reflective question

You may also recognize the Reflective Framework of CLARIFY-->VALUE-->UNCOVER.

FSC #1

FSC #2

FSC #3

What do you notice?

What mentor/coaching strategies will you take to use in your coaching conversations?

Mark your calendars!

🟩 Attend February VCLC: (must attend 6/8 VCLCs for the year)

Choose to attend one of the following. (Click the day & date for a Google Calendar Invite.)

Tuesday, February 11 at 4:45 PM

Wednesday, February 12 at 5:15 PM

Thursday, February 13 at 5:15 PM

Zoom link here, below, and in the Google Calendar invite.

🟩 Log coaching and training in TEEMS Mentor Log. (At least 12 hours must be logged for the Spring semester.)

🟩 Sign up for your monthly TxCEE support Fireside chat. *Email invites will be sent from your TxCEE Mentor Coach. (Must meet with your TxCEE Mentor Coach at least 3 times in the Spring semester.)

🟩 NEW!! Record a 10-15 minute FSC with your novice teacher and send it to your TxCEE Mentor Coach this semester for a Mirror Session review and conversation.

Jeanifer Caldwell jcaldwell@txcee.org/512-538-0647 (office) 806-239-6537 (cell)

Dana Phillips dana.phillips@txcee.org/512-538-0652

Robyn Christensen robyn.christensen@txcee.org/512-538-0650

Rhonda Offield rhonda.offield@txcee.org/737-353-0453

Trisha Quintanilla trisha.quintanilla@txcee.org/737-353-0152

If you are not a TxCEE Mentor and no longer want to receive The Lightning Connect, please send an email to dana.phillips@txcee.org.

The Texas Center for Educator Excellence (TxCEE), an Austin-based satellite office of the Region 18 Education Service Center, provides leadership and technical assistance across Texas to improve educator quality.

TxCEE staff consists of Texas educators with decades of experience as teachers, teacher leaders, campus and district administrators, state education officials, and higher education professionals. Our team is passionate about helping Texas school districts develop and implement systems that support teachers and principals.

For questions regarding this publication or other TxCEE materials, please contact us.

Email: info@txcee.org
Website: txcee.org
Location: 1705 S Capital of Texas Hwy, Suite 400, Austin, TX 78746
Phone: (512) 538-0611

Knight, J., Knight, J. R., & Carlson, C. (2015). The Reflection Guide to Better Conversations: Coaching Ourselves and Each Other to Be More Credible, Caring, and Connected. Corwin.

MacGregor, Court. (2023, August 21). Reflective coaching conversation framework. Vosaic. https://vosaic.com/blog/reflective-coaching-conversation-framework

Spencer, J. (2018, November 19). Because of a teacher: A thank you letter to teachers [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3V_MX3PM90