Carnegie presents, Living Improvement: Resources from the 2021 Summit, a series of releases with selected material from the 2021 Carnegie Foundation Summit on Improvement in Education. Resources focus on leadership, equity, data, and coaching. In this post, we present resources focusing on the role of coaching in continuous improvement.
This post is made possible by a generous grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to advance the work of improvement in education.
When told with the perspective of hindsight, many improvement stories can seem relatively clear and straightforward– a team isolates a problem, does some tests, learns some things, and a few iterations later, they’ve made progress. In practice, however, applying improvement science principles, tools, and methods to solve a problem in an educational context can be an incredibly nuanced undertaking, calling on leaders, teams, and networks to decide what to work on first, interpret messy data, adjust a change idea that maybe isn’t getting results, and shift mindsets and behaviors (their own and those of others). It can be a lot to navigate. Every context is different, and there is no singular path that each improvement team will follow. The only way that transformative change can take place is when all involved are committed to continuous learning, and coaching is absolutely essential to fostering a safe and productive space to ideate, discuss challenges, engage in healthy thought partnership, and provide support and encouragement. The practitioners and leaders featured in this release understand coaching to be a foundational practice in their work and offer guidance based on their experiences and network goals.
Whether you are coaching an improvement team, facilitating learning within your network, or looking for guidance during the first stages of an improvement project, the resources below can help you set conditions for adult learning, guide your processes, and empower agents for change. Explore common challenges improvers face when coaching for improvement, and leveragethe power of networks and collective learning in order to “fail fast and learn quickly”. Hear from coaches in well-established networks offering concrete practices for creating student-centered, equity-driven spaces for adult learning. Finally, learn how to use and teach the essential tools that can be applied across a network to create a common language for testing improvement ideas. We invite you to dig into these resources with the understanding that we must develop our coaching skillsets to create truly transformative learning experiences for practitioners, districts, networks and the students they serve.
Set 1: Common Coaching Challenges
Dive into the nuances of coaching for improvement with presenters from the Carnegie Foundation to learn how to identify and deeply understand the four most common challenges networks encounter while coaching for continuous improvement. The challenges discussed in this set are, improvement science capability, Improvement as continuous learning, coach and team relational dynamics, and environmental conditions.
These resources were included in the “Coaching for Improvement: Navigating Common Coaching Dilemmas” session at the 2021 Summit.
Presenters:
- Barbara Shreve, Associate; Managing Director, Networked Improvement Science; Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
- Benjamin Cooper, Founder and Principal Consultant, Benjamin Cooper Consulting LLC
- Edit Khachatryan, Associate, Networked Improvement Science, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
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WATCHWhy Focus on Improvement Coaching?This clip explains why continuous improvement coaching is important and how the Carnegie team conducted their research in order to better understand common coaching practices and challenges. Watch Video » |
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WATCHThe 4 Categories of Improvement Coaching ChallengesIn this clip, presenters identify four emergent categories of improvement coaching challenges and provide an overview of how each challenge may appear while coaching for continuous improvement. Watch Video » |
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WATCHQuestions for Reflecting on the ChallengeThis clip offer questions for coaches to consider, elaborating on how the 4 categories of improvement coaching challenges can be used to inform coaching decisions. Watch Video » |
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READFour Categories of Coaching ChallengesIn this resource, find detailed descriptions of the four emergent categories of improvement coaching challenges identified during interviews with improvement coaches across the field. |
Set 2: Equity Centered Coaching
The resources below introduce improvers to tools for spurring conversations about identity and strategies for embedding equity throughout their improvement efforts. These resources were included in the “Meeting School Teams Where They Are: Responsive Continuous Improvement Coaching for Equity” session at the 2021 Summit.
Presenters:
- Tracy Fray-Oliver, Vice President, Bank Street Education Center
- Erin Hellman Ashoka, Associate Director of NSI Implementation and Data, Bank Street Education Center
- Matty Lau, Director of Strategy and Implementation, Bank Street Education Center
- Ami Patel Song, Mathematics Specialist, Yonkers Public Schools Network for School Improvement
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WATCHDeveloping a Strengths-based PracticeLearn about key practices of equity centered coaching and strategies Bank Street Education Center coaches use to engage teachers and learning teams in identity-focused learning experiences. These practices help to ensure that their continuous improvement work is rooted in a deep understanding of the students they serve. Watch Video » |
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ACTIVITYThe Paseo or Circles of IdentityThis activity serves as a reflective and discussion based tool for groups to begin conversations about how identity, diversity, beliefs and values impact lived experiences. |
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ACTIVITYIdentity ChartsThis strategy, adapted from Facing History and Ourselves, outlines a process for creating identity charts as a community building tool to understand the many factors that shape who we are as individuals and communities. While structured as an activity with students, the activity is powerful for any individual or group. |
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WATCHPrioritizing Equity MindednessIn this clip, presenters detail tangible ways Improvement teams teams can prioritize an equity lens to disrupt harmful institutional patterns of racism and exclusion to build team capacity to advocate for focus students in their improvement work. Watch Video » |
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WATCHOpportunities for ReflectionLearn best practices for leveraging various kinds of qualitative and quantitative student data to foster opportunities for inquiry and reflection, question biases and challenge assumptions with the ultimate goal of centering focus students in the improvement journey. Watch Video » |
Set 3: Supporting Continuous Improvement and Adult Learning
Learn about the partnership between the Bank Street Education Center and Yonker Public Schools, and their journey to use continuous improvement to guide adult learning at every level of the district with the ultimate goal of improving educational experiences and outcomes for Black and Latinx Students and students experiencing poverty.
These resources were included in the “Creating the Conditions for Continuous Improvement in Yonkers Public Schools” session at the 2021 Summit.
Presenters:
- Tracy Fray-Oliver, Vice President, Bank Street Education Center
- Christopher Macaluso, Assistant Superintendent, Division of Equity and Access – Curriculum, Instruction, School Supervision, Yonkers Public Schools
- Elda Perez-Mejia, Principal, Eugenio Maria de Hostos MicroSociety School, Yonkers Public Schools
- Edwin Quezada, Superintendent, Yonkers Public Schools
- Karlenys De Los Santos, 6th Grade Math & Science Teacher, Eugenio Maria De Hostos MicroSociety School, Yonkers Public Schools
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WATCHIntroduction to Bank Street and Yonkers Public Schools PartnershipIn this clip, presenters introduce Bank Street Education Center’s “throughline” approach to continuous improvement in the context of their partnership with Yonkers Public Schools. Watch to learn more about the district and how the network organized around continuous adult learning to create a culture shift within the district with the ultimate goal of supporting Black and Latinx students and students experiencing poverty. Watch Video » |
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WATCHPanel of Learners: Yonkers Public SchoolsHear from a panel of educators at different levels of the school district about how they work intentionally and consider support for adult learning as they engage in continuous improvement in their roles, while creating connections across the network. In this clip, panelists highlight strategies for building a learning culture towards continuous improvement. Watch Video » |
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READBecoming a System of Professional LearningThis whitepaper, referenced in the video clips above, details the “throughline approach” taken by Bank Street to help partners recognize how systems of learning interact across levels of the district. |
Set 4: Coaching PDSA Cycles
Learn about models and approaches to improvement coaching, with a focus on how coaches can help teams build efficient and effective inquiry routines using PDSA Cycles. These resources were included in the “ The Engine for Improvement: Coaching PDSA Cycles” session at the 2021 Summit.
Presenters:
- Alicia Grunow, Co-Founder and Improvement Specialist, Improvement Collective; National Faculty, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
- Emma Parkerson, Co-Founder, Systems Design Lab
- Camila Velasquez, Improvement Analyst, Networked Improvement Science, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
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WATCHInquiry in PDSA CyclesIn this segment, presenters describe inquiry skills that coaches might focus on as they help network teams accelerate learning while implementing PDSA Cycles. Watch for suggestions on identifying key learnings and successes while running PDSAs. Watch Video » |
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READPDSA ChecklistUse this checklist as a tool to reflect on a PDSA cycle and, as a coach, to identify and prioritize areas to focus with an improver or improvement team. The clip above highlights key elements identified in this checklist and provides context for using the tool in a coaching context. |
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WATCHCoaching Perspectives During PDSA CyclesImprovement coaches often focus on supporting teams to learn together. In this clip, hear the presenter describe two lenses coaches may hold to help a team learn about a change through running a PDSA. Watch Video » |
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WATCHWhat is a PDSA?Watch this clip to learn more about PDSAs and theory-based learning in improvement efforts. In this clip, presenters explain how PDSA cycles can be used as tools to make small changes, collect data and study the impact that these changes have on a system. Watch to learn more about facilitating theory based learning and coaching PDSA cycles. Watch Video » |