Collaborative Coaching and Learning

BPE worked with partner schools over several years to design an instructional coaching model that gives teachers opportunities to practice new techniques while learning from each other. The Collaborative Coaching and Learning (CCL) model was derived from the best available research about teacher learning and from the experience of teachers and literacy coaches across the city.

A CCL cycle brings together a team of teachers and an instructional coach for a six- to eight-week period, when they engage in a shared course of study. Each cycle contains three main components.

• Inquiry: The team meets to review and discuss readings related to the course of study and relate them to classroom practice.
• Lab site: Participants take turns observing and teaching demonstration lessons. Participants review the purpose of the lesson in a pre-conference. They then observe the demonstration and analyze the effects of the practice on students during a debrief.
• One-on-one support: During the cycle and between cycles, the coach and/or participants make visits to individual classrooms to support teachers as they implement new practices.

Though Boston’s approach to teacher learning has evolved, many local schools continue to run their school-based professional development using some or all components of this model. CCL has also been emulated and adapted by districts and schools around the country.