Curriculum and planning activities should align with accepted state early learning guidelines. Effective administrators have extensive knowledge of child growth and development and early learning guidelines that support their ability to select appropriate curriculum, plan indoor and outdoor environments, support staff, and communicate about the curriculum and learning environment with staff and families. Administrators should understand current theories of child growth and development and their translation into developmentally appropriate practice. As a coach you want to address the core knowledge and skills needed with administrators in order to implement and assess developmentally appropriate learning environments and curriculum models for all children in the program.
One way to provide support is to set time with an administrator to create or select a lesson template that covers all the foundational parts of a cycle. Once the template has been identified, communication will be distributed to the staff to review lesson plans and curriculum expectations. Effective curriculum cycles are the result of proper planning, assessment, and modification of the curriculum as needed. Curriculum and planning activities should be designed with the children’s cultures and communities in mind.
As continued support, the coach can review submitted lesson plans with the administrator and reflect on what the teachers have outlined. To take it to the next level, the coach and administrator can observe the planned activity or review a recording to provide feedback.
Some coaching competencies to support administrators in curriculum and lesson planning include:
- The coach ensures that personal content knowledge is deep enough to support practitioners, and connects those who need additional information with the right resources
- The coach refers to relevant national, state, or program learning guidelines during feedback conversations (e.g., Infant, Toddler, and Three-Year-Old Early Learning Guidelines; Texas Rising Star Standards for Family Involvement)
- The coach engages the administrator in conversations about the process for continuous improvement planning, the coach’s role in supporting the practitioner toward meeting goals, the coach’s expectations of the practitioner, and supports that are needed at the administrative level in order to make progress toward identified goals
- The coach provides content-focused feedback that references and builds upon what the practitioner already knows about skill development, pedagogy, and evidence-based practice
Mentoring Prompts
- “Do you have a curriculum? If so, what curriculum do you currently use?”
- “Are there any areas of the curriculum that you have questions about? Do your teachers have any questions about the curriculum?”
- “Do you feel the curriculum is meeting the needs of your students?”
- “How do your teachers create their lessons? Do you have a lesson plan template?”
- “How do you design your schedules and activities to ensure the alignment of the curriculum and developmental needs of your students?”
- “How do you follow through to ensure that your teachers are implementing their lesson plans effectively?”
- “How/do you give feedback to your teachers on their lesson plans?”