Why and how you can use the questions and the book, and why I wrote it
In May, I self-published my first book, Guiding Questions: Productive conversations and planning for instructional coaches, administrators, and teachers on Amazon (where it is now available). The basic premise of the resource is questions can guide productive post-observation conferences, coaching sessions, PLCs, and teacher planning. In the text, I identify five questions I used as a curriculum coordinator to have open and reflective post-observation conferences with teachers, to have productive PLC sessions, and to give guidance and structure to planning.
Who can benefit from this text?
Administrators and coaches can benefit by using the questions while meeting with teachers after an observation. The questions allow for reflection and avoid questions that may elicit defensive responses. We know the wrong question can shut down communication while the right ones allow for openness and greater understanding. That is the goal of the guiding questions in this context. And if you are an administrator in Texas, there are T-TESS connections for each question.
Instructional coaches and teachers can use the questions to structure and facilitate effective professional learning communities. We know that sometimes a PLC is a PLC in name only. These questions help drive discussion and collaboration as well as accountability.
Teachers – any teacher, not just those that teach language arts – can use the questions to reflect on past instruction or to plan upcoming learning experiences. The questions provide a framework for instructional planning.
Guiding Questions offers scenarios, dialogues, and an appendix of resources to help you get started using the questions effectively.
I sat down to write this text because I felt like what I was doing would be useful to others. We rarely take the time to reflect or plan out how to best have a conversation. The questions in the book take away the guessing and offer you a roadmap to build reflection, structure, trust, and communication.
If you are interested in learning more about the book, you can check out the reviews on Amazon.com.
Or you can email me at kristen@khliteracyeducation.com. I’d be happy to talk about my process in writing!
Or you can come chat with me in person at my sit & sign event at the Twig Books Shop in San Antonio. I’ll be there August 11, 2019, from noon until two.