Wednesday, December 27, 2023
Written by: Kim Stieber-White CESA 2 - Curriculum, Coaching, and Digital Learning Consultant & Research to Practice Inclusive Communities Coach
Immediately after reading the book Street Data (Safir & Dugan, 2021), I began asking educators and leaders with whom I interacted if they had yet read it and enthusiastically encouraged them to do so promptly if they had not. This book had immensely impacted the core beliefs about learning and assessment I had been socialized and continually conditioned to uphold, and I NEEDED to talk with other educators about their experiences reading this book. I even got permission to co-facilitate professional learning with my colleagues focused on this book!
In my role as a CESA consultant, I sometimes serve as an instructional coach for subject-area teams and individual educators in various districts in our region. I have so many opportunities to impact students’ experiences in school through the choices I make when engaging in coaching conversations with educators. Yet even after encouraging and supporting my colleagues to incorporate Street Data into their professional work with educators, I had to acknowledge that my own haphazard, spontaneous Street Data conversations were a completely inadequate way to move this important work forward.
When I examined the WI DPI Coaching Competency Practice Profile this fall to set some annual goals, the descriptor for Competency 4a captured the “Knowledge Base” I had greatly expanded by reading Street Data. This text magnified how and why dominant learning and assessment beliefs and practices are perpetuated systemically. But although my own understanding continues to be expanded exponentially, the internal dialogue I currently conduct while engaging in live coaching conversations about how Street Data concepts could really impact my current conversation needs to move out of my head and into application - or I remain complacent and complicit.
Coaching Competency #5: “Coaching Conversation Facilitation” offers some relevant and actionable ways forward. Therefore, I plan to focus on reworking the coaching stems I keep handy for spontaneous coaching conversations, as well as the structured planning protocols I use with individuals and teams.
Some Street Data-themed coaching stems:
- How might we find out why this student isn’t engaging in learning the way you envisioned students should?
- How could we determine if this assessment result is an accurate reflection of what this student knows and can do?
- What might happen if we talked to students about what is working and not working in the learning experiences currently provided? What concerns you about this idea? What positive outcomes do you foresee occurring?
Some Street Data-themed planning and unit reflection protocols:
- How will we plan for authentic student engagement initially and throughout the unit? And how will we know if we are on track with creating and maintaining authentic student engagement?
- What entry points to learning and assessment ensure learners who value collaboration and community are validated?
- What talking points and/or multimodal resources are dedicated to creating awareness of how the upcoming learning matters in students’ worlds - outside of grades, standardized assessment, or college readiness?
My initial annual coaching goal-setting is complete. These goals are formidable yet completely attainable. And by the way, if you also can’t stop telling everyone about the Street Data book, we should talk!