Misty Sailors, Ph.D. The University of Texas at San Antonio

1. From cognitive reading instruction in South Texas to just getting books in South African classrooms: What’s the role of coaching as a model of professional development in developing countries? Misty Sailors, Ph.D.The University of Texas at San Antonio

2. Celebrations! The Malawians win! Mr. Henri Chilora Mrs. Cecilia Kamlongera Mr. Foster Gama Mr. Davie Kaambankadzanja

3. Celebrations! Coaching is still “hot”! Sailors, M., & Shanklin, N. (Eds.). (2010). Coaching, teaching, and learning [Special issue]. The Elementary School Journal, 111(1). (Po Po & Tutu, 2009; 2010)

4. Celebrations! 2nd Annual International Literacy Coaching Summit Minority Serving University

5. The University of Texas at San Antonio MSI ~42 years old

6. Confession -- #1 communications, science, business, aviation, entertainment, radio and diplomacy I speak English as my first language. "Glottophagic" (Mesthrie, 2008) = Loss of mother tongue languages (Matsuura, 2003)

7. Confession -- #2 I came to coaching by accident. In Africa. • Learning for Living Business Trust Project • Sailors, M., Hoffman, J. V., Pearson, P. D., Beretvas, N. S., & Matthee, B. (2007). “Learning to read with READ:  Testing the effectiveness the “Learning for Living” project”. In C. S. Sunal and K. Mutua (Eds.). Research on Education in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East.  Greenwich, CN: Information Age Press. • Home Language Initiative • Sailors, M., Hoffman, J. V., Pearson, P. D., & Beretvas, S. N. & Matthee, B. (2010). The Effects of First and Second Language Instruction in South African Rural Schools. Bilingual Research Journal, 33, 1-21. • Beating the Odds Study • Sailors, M., Hoffman, J. V., and Matthee, B. (2007). South African Schools that Promote Literacy Learning with Students from Low-Income Communities. Reading Research Quarterly, 42, 364-387. 

8. Confession -- #3 Everything I know about African animals, I learned from behind the windshield of a car.

9. Goals • To summarize recent research on coaching in the US and Europe • To problematize traditional and historical models of professional development in the US and Africa • To explore alternative solutions for professional development in developing countries

10. The Big 5: What’s important about coaches

11. Lead from both the front and from behind

12. Coaches do that, too… • Ippolito (2010): Responsive and Directive coaching • Coaches can identify the difference AND • Coaches can negotiate tensions between the two • L'Allier, Elish-Piper & Bean (2010) • Intentional and opportunistic • Relationships matter!

13. Use of effective and efficient tools

14. Coaches do that, too… • Changes in teacher practices • Neuman and Wright (pre-kinder- environment) • Walpole and McKenna (influence of coaching on practice– collaborative; differentiated; positive leaders) • Changes in student achievement • Biancarosa and Bryk (Literacy Collaborative) • Changes in both • Matsumura, Garnier, Correnti, Junker, and Bickel (Content-Focused Coaching)

15. Stick together to move forward

16. Coaches do that, too… • Bean et al. (2010) • Relationship between time spent in classrooms and student achievement • Teachers valued coaches • Time spent with teacher = significantly different relationships

17. Carry more than their own weight

18. Coaches do that, too… • Bean et al. (2010) • Committees; student service coordinators; etc… • L’Allier, Elish-Piper, & Bean (2010) • Literacy leaders

19. Work as a team

20. Coaches, schools, and universities are doing this! • Universities and school-based partners working together through complex problems and research questions… • Stephens & Vanderburg (2010) • Used study groups and coaching • Examined what coaches did that teachers found helpful • Our work in Africa

21. Supplementary Reading Materials with Africa

23. Turning back to Africa to learn more…. • 2,300,000 books in 2,000 rural South African classrooms • Devised a plan for leveling texts in South African languages (Sailors, Hoffman & Condon, 2008) • Teachers valued participating in the writing process (Sailors, Hoffman & Makalela, 2010) • Teachers wrote about important social topics (Sailors, Martinez, Hoffman, under review) • Participation presented teachers with opportunities to cross linguistic borders (Horan, Sailors, & Martinez, under review) • Teachers created local texts • BUT… teachers didn’t display books!

24. Moving to Malawi Tunisia Morocco Algeria Libya Western Sahara Egypt Mauritania Mali Niger Chad Senegal Sudan Burkina Faso The Gambia Guinea- Bissau Guinea Nigeria Somalia Ethiopia Sierra Leone Côte D'Ivoire Central African Republic Liberia Cameroon Rwanda Uganda Kenya Democratic Republic of Congo Gabon Rep. of Congo Burundi Tanzania Malawi Angola Zambia Zimbabwe Madagascar Namibia Botswana Mozambique South Africa

25. Werenga Malawi![Read Malawi!]:Assist the Malawi Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in addressing one of its priorities– to instill a culture of reading into its public schools

26. Werenga Malawi![Read Malawi!] • Provide technical assistance on the revision of existing textbooks; 2. Design an Instructional Model, inclusive of textbooks and complimentary reading materials;

27. Werenga Malawi![Read Malawi!] 3. Design, develop, print and deliver minimum of 2.5 million complimentary readers for Standards 1, 2, and 3

28. Werenga Malawi![Read Malawi!] 4. Development of a program evaluation plan 5. Develop and implement Teacher Training on use of materials within an Instructional Model 6. Develop and implement a plan for SUPPORT of teachers (Head Teachers and Primary Education Advisors) Herein lies the problem…

29. Challenges faced… • Language in education policy • Qualifications and skills of teachers • Shortage of teachers • Low teacher pay • Oversized classrooms (average = 120 learners per grade level) • Lack of storage space • Distance between schools • Coaches as Inspectors

30. Traditional model of professional development: Cascade model Trickle-down effect (Altinyelken, 2010; Bantwini, 2010)

31. So, what to do? • Innovation… the mother of all inventions… • Mobile technology • Cell phones widely available • Use of social networking to support teacher learning • Online repository of resources • Cost efficient way to get support to teachers (SMS) • Support PEA and Head Teachers in pilot • Open to ALL teachers in Malawi using Master Teacher model in future

32. mHealth In Mexico, diabetics track their glucose levels and receive tips for healthy living. In the US, some returning soliders are monitored for psychiatric health risks In Rwanda, health workers register patients, report on performance, track drug supplies and receive lab results. In Peru, rural health workers report and track disease outbreaks. Is it possible in Malawi to use mCoaching to support the implementation of Read Malawi?

34. So, what does this mean to us? • We all face challenges– keep it in perspective • We have a lot to learn from each other • <personal> I came to coaching via Africa • <professional> Some African innovations might be helpful here in the US • <professional> Some US-based interventions might NOT be helpful in Africa • Open to the unknowns

35. Report in near future…Misty.sailors@utsa.edugada.chilora@gmail.com