Professional Development and Coaching
Our standards-based instructional design framework, Strategic Design for Student Achievement™, results in sustained instructional improvement through ongoing professional development and coaching. Strategic Design was developed for teachers by teachers. It is based on research that indicates that the teacher has the greatest impact on student achievement. And since we know this, we have built an instructional design model that positions teachers as decisionmakers and highly effective instructional designers. Strategic Design is an engaging and interactive process in which participants develop:
- Curriculum that's relevant and meaningful to students while ensuring a focus on standards.
- Assessments that effectively and efficiently measure student proficiency on required standards.
- Instructional routines that maximize the impact of standards-based planning.
Insight facilitates a multi-day workshop which builds on participants' prior knowledge, extends their
understanding of instructional design and delivery, builds their repertoire of teaching strategies, and
provides structured time for them to begin the planning process.
The process is highly collaborative and teacher-friendly to ensure that the whole staff is equipped
with the knowledge and skills to increase student achievement. The training concludes with the collaborative development of expectations that outline observable indicators of implementation.
Instructional Coaching
Within this flexible and responsive professional development structure, schools can elect to maintain an ongoing coaching and support relationship with Insight consultants.Based on Coaching for Change: A Practical Guide to Instructional Coaching™, (Insight Education Group, Inc., 2008), Insight tailors its coaching services to match the educational program and needs of the school. Insight's coaching model is grounded in six goals of effective coaching including:
- Agreed upon instructional vision
- Defined coaching activities
- Clear instructional expectations
- Coordinated professional development
- Structured teacher collaboration
- Ongoing reflection and evaluation of the coaching process
Through the use of a variety of facilitated protocols, classroom observation tools and other tailored professional development activities, Insight coaches work collaboratively with school leadership and teachers to ensure that all participants meet a set of core objectives designed to systematize instructional effectiveness schoolwide. Depending on the school or district context, Insight works directly with teachers, or engages in a train-the-trainer model to build the capacity of instructional coaches and leaders at the site.
"I wanted to thank you for the training you provided to me and my department. In my opinion it is the MOST USEFUL training I have ever received, PERIOD."
Tim Cook, Teacher, Blair High School