Kelly Seward

Coaching Session #7 – Reflection and Commitment to Change in Practice

Coachee: Kelly Seward

Date/Time: April 30, 2026 8:30 a.m.

Next Coaching Date/Time: May 14, 2026 8:30 a.m.

Overarching goal with students: The 3^rd grade students in gifted education will be able to identify root words with 90% accuracy by April 3; identify prefixes including using words with prefixes correctly (grammatically) with 90% accuracy by April 30; identify and use suffixes with 90% accuracy by the end of the year. The success of the students will be assessed using a pre-test and post-test through SeeSaw. The strategy to be used will be a graphic organizer that asks students to correctly dissect a word but also use an illustration, drawing, and sentence to demonstrate understanding (possibly an adapted Frayer Model).

Problem of practice goal: This is the first year for teaching in the gifted education program. I will reflect in three different coaching sessions on my practice over this academic year. For the April 23, 2026 session, we will focus on reflecting on the beginning of the school year (August through October); for the April 30, 2026 session, we will focus on reflecting on the middle of the school year (November through February); and for the final coaching session, we will focus on reflecting on the end of this school year (March through mid-May). These reflections will help me to improve my practice for the next academic year.

Coachee reflections: While I was more confident by the middle of the year, I was faced with the challenge of adding in my MTSS groups for kids that had been identified through child find in with my normal caseload.  Balancing that time was challenging and missing out on time with my students for meetings was even more challenging.  I also found that my students missed so much time during these few months (especially prior to Winter Break) due to Gen Ed activities which caused them (and me) to feel a lot of pressure about getting projects completed.

Coach reflections:  Kelly and I discussed what occurred in the middle of this academic year (November through February) and what challenges she faced with students, families, and colleagues. We identified two areas that Kelly will focus on for change next year so that what she is delivering aligns with shorter projects for her students, targets student success, and assists her in scheduling for work with classroom teachers and identifying students for gifted education.

The Problem of Practice is a lot like setting a SMART goal:

• A focus on the instructional core,
• Our work on the goal is actionable,
• Action toward the goal is directly observable,
• The work is connected to a broader strategy of improvement, and
• The work is high-leverage and may result in important changes to instruction and student learning

Focus questions:

What additional reflections to you have on the beginning of the year challenges that presented themselves your first year teaching gifted education? Kelly continues to think about what she wants to do next year. One addition will be having classroom jobs for the students to promote student responsibility during their time in the gifted classroom.

What challenges are presented during the middle of the year with the gifted students (November through February)?  Kelly identified two broad areas that greatly impacted her work with students this past year. She will be making changes related to these challenges. The first is the number of disruptions that occur, especially during December, and how those interruptions impacted students being able to meet deadlines related to their projects (examples are special programs, Reading Buddies, etc.). This frustrated the students because they were unable to meet their own expectations for finishing work. The second challenge was that meetings for Kelly increased as she worked to conduct enrichment groups and conduct evaluations to identify gifted students. Next year, she will be following the MTSS process requiring classroom teachers to navigate each of the tiers with students they believes to be gifted. This means that classroom enrichment should be enlisted first, and while Kelly can help with ideas, the classroom teacher is responsible for providing that enrichment and documenting the results. Kelly will be intentional about asking for evidence and that the small group work has been conducted before considering the student(s) for evaluation.  

How would you prioritize work on these challenges?  Kelly discussed using an email system to communicate with classroom teachers about special activities during the year. I suggested she use a sort of template to make her work easier. Kelly is thinking that she will email each grade level once a month asking about what is occurring in their classrooms and when gifted students may need to be pulled from the gifted classroom for special activities. This will enable Kelly to have positive communication with her general education colleagues.

In what ways did you see students needing changes for what occurred during the middle of the year?  Students were frustrated by lack of time in Quest. Missed days are frustrating to them. We talked about implementing a reverse timeline so that students could see when projects are due and then work backward for when steps need to ge accomplished and what interruptions students can expect. Because Kelly will be implementing small projects throughout the year, this will help with the interruptions somewhat. Something that has already been accomplished for next year is that IEPs for all students have been rewritten with goals Kelly, the students, and families have set. This will help the process immensely.

What assistance do you need with those challenges? Communication with the general education teachers.

What kinds of evidence can you use to document work toward the challenges? Finished projects; revised IEPs that fit Kelly’s model of Quest; assessments of the projects. Families are on board and supportive of the changes Kelly is making.

How will the changes you make impact your students?  Kelly’s program will be more thorough. There will be increased production from students because they will have completed more projects. Changing the way that gifted students are being identified by classroom teachers and following the MTSS model will have a great impact on Kelly’s scheduled meetings throughout the year.  

What will you be looking for in your students to see that work on the problem of practice is working for your students?  I will see that my plan for smaller projects over a longer period of time will reduce the mental load on my students.  Changing the way I do MTSS will result in more time in the gifted room for them as well.

Working on Next Steps

Think about what occurred at the end of the year, and we will discuss a set of questions at the next session.

Keep working on steps toward goal with your identified students that you want to meet by mid-May.

At the final coaching session, we will discuss what your students need during the summer months to continue to be challenged and prepare for next year.