Mid-Year Coaching Data Analysis & Reflection
Especially when working towards ambitious goals in coaching, it’s important to pause to look at the data that shows how far you and your teacher have come, and then celebrate.
As I’ve been facilitating mid-year data analysis and reflection sessions with folks I’m currently coaching, we’ve seen between 80-85% of the teachers they support meeting or exceeding their student-centered coaching goals. That’s a huge win! And for coaches and leaders to see that data at this point in the year, when you can feel stuck in a rut, is very encouraging.
Below I’ll share two questions for mid-year reflection sessions, both for coaches/leaders and for teachers.
Mid-Year Data Analysis & Reflection Session: Coach/Leader Version
Coaches and instructional leaders can use these questions to guide individual reflection, but they tend to be much more powerful when done with a team or your coach.
Percent of Student-Centered Goals Met: Look through your coaching plans or coaching dashboard, one teacher at a time, to see which teachers met, nearly met, or exceeded their student-centered coaching goals for the first semester. Turn this into a percentage of your coaching load that did meet their goals.
Almost Meeting Goals: For any teachers who nearly met their coaching goal, plan 1 - 3 actionable steps to prioritize targeted support for these teachers over the next two weeks to help them reach their goals.
Didn’t Meet Goals: For any teachers who did not meet their coaching goals, seek to understand root causes and next steps you can take to support this teacher moving forward. If you feel stuck and need additional support to make the partner more productive, reach out for support to your coach or leader, or feel free to reach out to me.
Share Student-Centered Goal Progress with Teachers (and Celebrate!): If you don’t already include regular check-ins on student-centered coaching data in your coaching meetings, make sure to share this data with your teachers. For anyone who met or nearly met their coaching goal, find a way to celebrate together! And then, if your coaching partnership is continuing, establish a new goal for your work together moving forward.
Coach/Leader Mid-Year Reflection Questions:
Where have I seen my work contribute to more engaging, joyful or liberatory learning experiences for all students?
Where have I found the most joy in this work?
What feels the most heavy or draining for me in this work?
What support, partnership, or routines do I need in order to sustain this work moving forward?
Mid-Year Data Analysis & Reflection Session: Teacher Version
Instructional coaches and leaders can use these questions and prompts with teachers to facilitate a mid-year reflection. I recommend revising them to fit your context before using them directly with teachers.
Student-Centered Goal Progress: Let’s look at your current student-centered goal progress. (Celebrate any growth and/or meeting the goal.) What teacher moves have you made that have led to growth towards this goal?
Note: Establish and agree upon a new student-centered goal if the teacher met their previous goal.
Teacher Mid-Year Reflection Questions:
What are you most proud of what you have accomplished through coaching this year? What impact have you seen on your students?
What do you find most challenging or draining about teaching, and why?
How has your mindset shifted in terms of how you think about students, teaching and/or learning?
Feedback: Is there anything that I can shift or change that would make our coaching partnership more helpful for you?
When the days are dark and feel long, taking time to reflect back on how much you and your teachers have grown can be reenergizing! Please comment below if there are additional reflective practices or questions that you use mid-school year.