Resource 2: An example of how coaching could be used in implementation of CCE

Possible themes for discussion during coaching for CCE

During the coaching cycle you may find the following themes for discussion useful. It is likely that one or more of these will be dovetailed with the coachee’s focus for development. The list is not exhaustive.

• What are we looking for in terms of positive student response?
• What are the planning implications of CCE?
• How can we make practical strategies for CCE work to their full potential?
• What does progression look like in relation to CCE for both the teacher and the pupils?
• What specifically needs to be really understood about the subject in this context and how does CCE help?

What kind of evidence might be useful?

It is important to balance out a focus on teaching with the necessary focus on learning. As such, the coach and coachee will particularly want to consider the lessons from the pupils’ perspective. It is not always easy to do this, and we all too often play the long game and wait for evidence of student outcomes from formal assessment opportunities. This may not always be helpful in coaching.

Alternative sources of evidence may include talking to pupils and looking in detail at their work to investigate the following questions:

• What has been understood by pupils and how does it relate to the learning objectives?
• What were the students’ experiences during the CCE process and were these uniform or varied?
• What classroom dialogue (in groups or between teacher and pupils) supported the CCE process? How can this dialogue be characterised?
• How are students making sense of the information they are given and the language used in relation to CCE?

With time it may be useful to use the coaching process to add further information to the guide. For example this might include:

• assessment for learning principles
• common misconceptions related to CCE
• good practical strategies
• common problems/barriers in developing practice
• useful resources and how to access them.

(Note that ‘CCE’ stands for ‘continuous and comprehensive evaluation’. Adapted from Lofthouse et al., 2010)