Kelly Seward

Coaching Session #8 – Reflection and Commitment to Change in Practice

Coachee: Kelly Seward

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: This has been a great first year, but I know I have things to improve.  Thank you for giving me the space to reflect and bounce ideas over.

Coach reflections:  During the coaching session, Kelly and I discussed changes she will make next year for end-of-the-year activities, meetings, and evaluations. Details are provided below.

Focus questions on problem of practice:

What additional reflections to you have on the beginning or middle of the year challenges that presented themselves your first year teaching gifted education? As Kelly thinks of changes she wants to make (primarily at the beginning of the year), she is adding them to a list.

As the school year is ending, what challenges have you noted from March through May? Kelly said that the absolute problem is time. Evaluations for new students qualifying for gifted are typically completed at the end of the academic year and are extremely time-consuming. For the past three weeks during Kansas State Assessments, special educators are required to provide accommodations for students assigned to them. This has impacted the projects students were completing at the end of the year. Next year, she will change the schedule so that students begin their end-of-year project sooner.

How would you prioritize work on these challenges?  During the third quarter, Kelly will have her students focus on shorter projects so that during the final quarter of the year, beginning in February, students will work on a longer and more challenging project and still have plenty of time to complete it.

In what ways do you see students needing changes for what has occurred during the end of the year?  For the last project of the year, students completed a Shark Tank invention. In addition to creating the product, they also must present. She was able to find extra time to allow the students to come in and work on their projects, but they didn’t get a lot of time to practice their presentations. The students were nervous and some of them forgot to say things in the presentation. They were also not well-prepared for the questions asked by the sharks. Next year, she will prepare them differently, allowing time to practice the presentations and preparing them for the questions sharks might ask. She will also prepare the sharks with questions in advance.

What assistance do you need with those challenges? She will enlist classroom teachers and keep them informed of plans. We discussed placement of gifted students with teachers that tend to understand the students’ scheduling needs.

What kinds of evidence can you use to document work toward the challenges? Student success with projects; classroom teacher feedback about students and scheduling time in gifted. Kelly wants to be certain all stakeholders are informed.

How will the changes you make impact your students?  Students will have more comfort and reduced stress on projects they want to complete. They will feel more confident. Kelly had planned to cycle the Shark Tank project every three years, but the principal loved it and wants to have it every year. She is thinking of modifying the project for next year and having students create “trailer” videos. Creation of their own videos would be challenging to them.

What will you be looking for in your students to see that work on the problem of practice is working for your students?  Kelly will see differences in the students’ demeanor. They will be less stressed, and she will be watching for a decrease in stress levels.

Focus question about coaching:

What is your biggest take-away from the coaching sessions this semester? Kelly liked the ideas of how she could incorporate literacy into instruction and projects for her high-achieving students. She also appreciated the opportunity to reflect on her work.