Every
literacy coach I have ever met has a particular organizational and planning
system they prefer. Some choose to have binders organized by grade level and
teacher. Others live by their agenda and have different folders and clipboards
for coaching. Still yet, others have gone digital and have organized folders on
their computers or in their Google Drives. Me? I have a blend of methods to
meet my need for digital organization, but also provide the comfort of hard
copy notes and sketchnoting I crave. I bring my laptop, my coaching notebook
and other coaching tools like sticky notes and markers to each coaching
session. While these methods might work well for in-coaching conversations,
they do not translate as easily to virtual ones. I have had to reimagine my
entire planning and preparation process to best meet the demands of virtual
literacy coaching. Here are my top recommendations:
Create a coaching space. Many virtual literacy
coaches work from home, often meeting with teachers after-school and in the
evening hours so the school day is not disrupted. This can bring an additional
coaching challenge: finding a quiet place to meet virtually (other than hiding
in the back of my closet to muffle the sounds of my family!). It is critical to
carve out a space for your coaching, even if small or in an odd location. I
have a small corner in my basement that I have outfitted with a small desk,
chair and office supplies. This virtual coaching space is out of the way,
fairly quiet and has a good wifi signal. I hung decorative shelves as a
recording backdrop and added my favorite books, educational quotes and pieces
of my children’s school artwork. While I may be in a tiny corner of the
basement, the professional feel energerzies my work. Can’t find the space? A
decorative tri-fold presentation board behind you works well as a backdrop to
cover the stack of laundry that might be nearby. =)
Have the materials you need handy. When
coaching in person, you might bring your notebooks, sticky notes, pens and
lesson materials to enhance coaching conversation. While this kind of
interaction isn’t possible virtually, having the materials you need to ensure
your virtual visits go smoothly is essential. I have my materials in my desk
drawer, but you can keep them in a small box or bag so they are portable:
- While
you may not need them, have back-up earphones or earpods closeby to ensure
you can hear online and a microphone to ensure others can hear you.
- When
coaching in person, I often take notes on a shared Google Doc, but this is
harder to manage when working virtually. Instead, I take notes during our
meetings in my notebook and then reflect digitally in a shared document
instead.
- Gather
pens, pencils, highlighters and sticky notes and any other tools you like
to use for note-taking.
- It
doesn’t hurt to also have a water bottle or cup of coffee on hard to give
the virtual meeting a more relaxed feel as well!
Get organized digitally. Virtual literacy coaches
often work with multiple teachers in multiple schools, even in multiple states!
If this describes your coaching, then you also work with multiple curriculums,
assessment plans, teacher resources and more. To be effective, you must organize
these materials and be able to access them when and where you need them.
Consider creating Google Drive folders to organize your coaching materials,
even color coding them if you wish. By doing so, you will have access to them
for your virtual meetings no matter where you are or what device you are using.
You can even access them without wifi access, as long as you enable offline
access in your settings.
Live by your calendar. My Google calendar is my
lifeline. It not only keeps track of my coaching life and virtual meetings, it
helps me organize them color, sends me useful reminders and even has space for
important information, such as the meeting link, agenda and even links to files
and websites. When you work remotely, planning and time management is
absolutely essential. Be sure to not only schedule in time for your virtual
visits, but for viewing classroom videos, providing feedback and for your own
reflection and notes for coaching.
Indulge yourself. I used to buy the plain
notebooks, the functional supplies and limited ‘frivolous’ purchases, like
velvety pens and colorful markers. Fast forward ten years and you will see my
buying the largest set of Sharpie markers and the cute teacher stickers to
decorate my supplies with. I have learned that color and shapes bring joy to my
life, and to others. Give yourself permission to surround yourself with what
makes you happy and that happiness will leap through the lines of your wifi to
your teachers.
While
being a virtual literacy coach brings unique challenges, think about the many
teachers you are impacting with the work you do and their many students that
will also benefit as a result. We may not have an in-person coaching space, but
we have a far-reaching impact with the work we do. Celebrate!
This was the second post in a blog series on virtual literacy coaching as part of an exciting partnership with Sibme. Head here to read all posts in the series and join the conversation!
Are you looking for more coaching inspiration? Get my newest blog posts, podcasts, special events and more delivered straight to your Inbox. Sign up here!
Add your comment