Coaches

This section is intended for instructional coaches, administrators, and other school professionals who regularly consult with teachers about culturally responsive practices, student engagement, and classroom management. Becoming proficient in the Double Check coaching model requires that you develop knowledge and skills in (1) implementing the Double Check structure and procedures and (2) conducting collaborative coaching meetings using motivational interviewing skills. Motivational interviewing is a way of communicating with others that helps elicit talk about making a change. It is a helpful skill to employ when consulting with teachers.

Ideally, effective coaches are also knowledgeable about culturally responsive teaching practices, ways to increase student engagement, and effective classroom management practices. However, for coaches less fluent in this knowledge base, the website is designed so that you and the teachers you work with can readily identify simple and effective classroom strategies to implement to enhance their classroom.

Coaches

Coach Photo

Double Check Coaching Process

Coaching Process Graphic

This section provides an overview of the procedures and tools needed for coaches to conduct an effective Classroom Check-Up. A flowchart is provided to illustrate the overall process and the key steps:

1) Interview
2) Assess Classroom

3) Check-Up Meeting
4) Selecting an Intervention

5) Implementing the Intervention
6) Evaluating the Intervention

Clicking within each step takes you to resources, videos, forms, and detailed descriptions for how to improve areas that need attention and to implement strategies suggested during the coaching process.

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Double Check Teacher Resources

The Double Check CCU provides tools for teachers to improve areas that need attention and to implement strategies suggested during the coaching process.

Get started building effective classroom management skills:

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    CARES Overview

    Observation Practice 3

    CARES

    Concentration Areas: Connection to the Curriculum; Authentic Relationships; Reflective Thinking About Cultural, Racial/Ethnic, and Class Differences; Effective Communication; Sensitivity to Students’ Culture

    What is CARES?

    CARES is an acronym for the five domains that research has found to be successful in engaging students of culturally diverse backgrounds at school. Each letter refers to a significant element of interaction within the classroom. Applying all five domains of CARES works because it promotes a better understanding of students and ourselves by using strategies that deepen those relationships every day.

    There is no single element that works independently of the others. All five CARES domains, together with the Positive Behavior Supports & Classroom Climate elements, support one another and need to be applied in the classroom to be successful.

    Why is it important?

    Research has shown that each of the five CARES domains has a significant impact on students and their behavior when used regularly and over time. Students who are known and understood by their teachers as individuals in the classroom report deeper connections academically and to their school. When teachers understand their own cultural heritage, they better understand the differences between themselves and their students and report higher levels of mutual respect with students. This also helps teachers to recognize the similarities they share with their students as well as recognize ways in which they are different. Students are more connected and engaged in classrooms where teachers welcome exploration; invite, acknowledge, and celebrate cultural differences; make relevant connections to the curriculum; listen attentively to understand how each student is approaching the concepts; and use humor and other effective communication tools.

    Positive Behavior Supports & Classroom Climate

    Concentration Areas: Smooth Transitions, Pacing of Instruction, Student Engagement, Clear Expectations, Use of Praise, Use of Reprimands, Level of Disruptive Behavior

    What is Positive Behavior Supports & Classroom Climate?

    Positive Behavior Supports refers to the proactive ways that teachers work with their students, as well as the ways that teachers respond to challenging situations with students. The focus is on recognizing and affirming student strengths rather than punishing them or taking something away from them. A positive approach to the classroom will promote a classroom climate that is welcoming to all students and is a place where students want to engage with the teacher, each other, and the curriculum. All individuals, students and teachers, and the interactions between and amongst all classroom members play a role in the climate.

    There is no single element that works independently of the others. All Positive Behavior Supports & Classroom Climate elements, together with the CARES domains, support one another and need to be applied to the classroom to be successful.

    Why is it important?

    In a classroom climate that is positive and welcoming to all members, the classroom becomes a safe place where culture and diversity can be openly discussed. A supportive climate is one that promotes student engagement and success. Students feel supported and motivated to be an active member of the classroom community. The teacher taking a positive and proactive approach creates a climate of care and respect and promotes desired student behaviors. This classroom is also a place that provides consistency to students, which is especially important for students who may experience stress and uncertainty outside of the school building. Teachers who have positive and proactive classrooms report fewer disruptive behaviors from their students, an increase in student achievement, and better overall perceptions of school climate.

    Miss Faber

    Mrs. James

    Defining and Teaching Classroom Rules

    Opening the Meeting

    Coaching – Interview Guide

    Card Sort Introduction

    Values Card Sort – Example

    Physical Classroom Structure

    Teaching Classroom Routines

    Using an Attention Signal

    Observation Practice 1

    Observation Practice 2

    Observation Practice 4

    Greeting Students at the Door

    Using Precorrection

    Using Journals to Build Relationships

    Identifying Reinforcers for the Classroom

    Using Social and Emotional Coaching

    Using Behavior-specific Praise

    Using Active Supervision

    Using Group Contingencies

    Teaching Behavior Expectations

    Coaching Process – Introduction and Overview

    Providing Academic Feedback

    Increasing Opportunities to Respond

    Developing and Using Clear Academic Objectives

    Posting and Using a Schedule

    Coaching Process – Menu of Options

    Coaching Process – Providing Feedback

    Double Check Classroom Check-Up Overview