In reflective conversations, a coach may begin by asking the teacher to reflect on the learning objective or developmental purpose of a lesson or activity. This can lead the coach to then asking the teacher to describe how the instruction or interaction supported the learning objectives or developmental purpose. Exploring the connections between the two can help the teacher reflect on whether their activities or interactions are meeting the intended learning goals.
A coach may provide feedback about learning standards in their conversations with teachers. This allows the teacher to make connections between how the lessons or interactions promote key child outcomes. While referring to relevant learning guidelines, a coach may incorporate specific literacy skills within the Pre-Kindergarten Learning Guidelines in their conversations to help the teacher understand how a literacy activity supported a specific skill.
Consider using the following competencies to help teachers reflect on implementation fidelity:
- Prompt the practitioner to think about and question the extent to which their instruction and interaction matches the targeted developmental or learning objectives.
- Use a variety of prompts as needed until the practitioner articulates their own explanations or judgments about the connections between their instruction/interaction(s) and child behaviors/responses or offers explanations if the practitioner is unable to make connections on their own
- Incorporate conversations about learning standards into reflective discussions to help the practitioner think about how their lessons and interactions align with key child outcomes.
- Use content-focused language that refers to key learning objectives during feedback conversations (coach has to use domain specific language)
- Refer 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)
Mentoring Prompts
- “Let’s think back to the objective of this lesson. What exactly did you want the children to know by the end of this lesson?”
- “How did the children respond to the lesson?”
- “What child responses indicate that the lesson objective was met?”
- “Looking at the Pre-K Learning Guidelines, we can see that…”
- “This activity is also aligned with a few Head Start learning outcomes, including…”
- “What are some learning objectives that you are currently working on?”
- “What worked well? What didn’t work well? Can you think of any missed opportunities?”
- “I noticed you did [x] that worked really well (reinforcing positive practices).”
- “When you implement this again, what changes would you make for next time?”
- “What are your next steps?”