Running Head: COACHING CONVERSATION

Planning a Coaching Conversation

SPED 854: Family and Interprofessional Collaboration in Special Education

University of Kansas

Dr. Irma Brasseur-Hock & Naheed Abdulrahim

Brent Seager

June 19, 2017

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Planning a Coaching Conversation

Title of Scenario: Elementary Educator in Need of Feedback and/or Professional Development

Setting of Conversation: My Classroom after School

Conversation:

Me (calmly & respectfully): Good afternoon Ms. Amy, how was your day?

Paraeducator Ms. Amy (happy): It was great, the students were on-task and did a great job

interacting with each lesson.

Me: I am happy to hear that your day went well, are you ready to begin?

Paraeducator Ms. Amy (nervously): Yes, I guess.

Me (calmly): Ms. Amy, do you know why I asked to speak with you after school this afternoon?

Paraeducator Ms. Amy: I am unsure, as I am on time every day and I have only missed one

school day this year.

Me (respectful tone): Ms. Amy, I know that you are a dedicated employee, and I appreciate that;

but I stopped by to observe your class today.

Paraeducator Ms. Amy: I did not know that you were there, what time were you there?

Me: I observed outside of the classroom earlier in the school day.

Paraeducator Ms. Amy: What things were you observing?

Me: I was observing the students, staff, and the lesson.

Paraeducator Ms. Amy (happily): The lesson when we were discussing the letter d?

Me: Yes Ms. Amy, that was the lesson, and I noticed that Susie was sitting in your lap for the

duration of my observation.

Paraeducator Ms. Amy (worried): Susie was struggling today, as she was late to school and did

not eat breakfast.

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Me: Ms. Amy, I appreciate that you were trying to help Susie, but did you know that she was not

engaged or included in the lesson; and this is a violation of her rights as a student?

Paraeducator Ms. Amy (shocked): I had no idea that she was not paying attention, and that my

holding her violated her rights in the classroom.

Me (respectfully): Ms. Amy, I believe that you had Susies best interests, but Susie should be

participating in the lesson with her other classmates.

Paraeducator Ms. Amy: What can I do to ensure that I am not violating the rights of Susie and

other special education students in the classroom?

Me: During the professional development day next week, there is a training about providing

services and supports to special education students in the general education classroom, and I

would highly recommend you attend this training.

Paraeducator Ms. Amy: I want to attend this training, as I know that it will allow me to better

support for the students in the classroom.

Me: I appreciate your understanding and attention to this matter, as this will benefit all students

moving into the future.

Paraeducator Ms. Amy (nervously): Am I in any trouble?

Me (calmly): Ms. Amy, you are not in trouble, I observed a situation that you were involved in

that was violating the rights of a student and wanted you to be aware of it. I have also included

documentation of our conversation into your personnel file.

Paraeducator Ms. Amy: Thank you for addressing this issue with me in a professional manner, I

appreciate the feedback and opportunity to improve as a paraeducator.

Me: I would like to thank you for taking time out of your schedule to meet with me.

Paraeducator Ms. Amy: I will see you at the professional development training next week.

Title of Scenario: Assisting Families with an Elementary-to-Secondary Transition

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Setting of Conversation: Conference Room Elementary School

Conversation:

Me (cheerful): Jon and Cindy, I would like to thank you for taking time out of your busy

schedule to meet with me today to begin planning for Johnathans transition to the middle school

next year.

Jon & Cindy (encouraged): Thank you Mr. Seager for setting up this meeting, as we both are

concerned about Johnathans moving into a new school.

Me: What concerns did you have about Johnathan attending the middle school?

Jon & Cindy (concerned): As you know Johnathan has had one-to-one paraeducator support

during his time here at this school, and we hear that he will not have this support next school

year. We are also worried about his interactions with his peers at his new school. Perhaps our

biggest concern is what will happen if he has a meltdown and what plans are in place to ensure

that Johnathan and the other students are safe?

Me (calmly): Jon and Cindy, research has shown that one-to-one support can isolate a student

from the classroom and his peers, which is why more school districts are moving towards using a

collaborative team approach. Johnathan will be enrolled in a social skills class that will allow

him to build, develop, and practice social skills and interactions with peers and adults. In our

middle school, there is an SBS room that Johnathan can utilize when he is struggling or feels that

he is unable to manage in the classroom; once he is calm, he will return to his normal school day.

Jon & Cindy: We would like to learn more about the collaborative team approach that the middle

school will be using next year. We would also like to know more about the social skills class

and the SBS room that he can utilize when he is struggling or has a meltdown.
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Me: The collaborative team approach involves general and special educators, paraeducators,

parents, and other staff members working together to monitor the placement and progress of the

student to ensure that the student is in the best educational placement.

Jon & Cindy: That sounds like it might suit Johnathans needs, we would like to know more

about this and how it will look like transitioning into the middle school.

Me: I have worked closely with several teachers at the middle school to ensure smooth

transitions, I believe that scheduling a meeting and tour of the middle school with you and

Johnathan would help to answer some questions and address some of your concerns.

Jon & Cindy: Mr. Seager, that sounds like a great idea, do you know when this could happen?

Me: I can call Mr. Davis this afternoon, he is the lead special education teacher in the building.

What days and times work best for your schedule?

Jon & Cindy: We are available Tuesdays and Thursdays all day.

Me: That sounds great, I will contact Mr. Davis to request a meeting and tour of the facilities and

services, do you have any additional questions or concerns to discuss with Mr. Davis?

Jon & Cindy: We just want to go over the collaborative team approach, class schedules, the SBS

room, and daily routines, as you know that Johnathan needs to have a routine to follow each day.

Me: I will relay this to Mr. Davis and we will set up a time in which Mr. Davis, you, Johnathan,

and myself will meet at the middle school during the school day and begin developing his

transition plan for next school year.

Jon & Cindy (appreciative): Mr. Seager, we want to thank you for starting the transition process

early, it will be a major relief to have everything in place before the end of the school year.

Me: Thank you for meeting with me, and I will be contact you soon to finalize the details about

the meeting with Mr. Davis.