Notes
Coaching Session #5 – Reflection and Commitment to Change in Practice
Coachee: Lora Brzezinski
Date/Time: April 2, 2026 8:00 a.m.
Next Coaching Date/Time: April 16, 2026 8:00 a.m.
Overarching goal with student: Student P will engage in whole group (5 minutes/day), small group (25 minutes twice a week), and DRI group instruction (10 minutes once a week) for 3- and 4-syllable word decoding. The strategy used will be to deconstruct the multisyllabic words then recode so that reading the passages becomes more fluent for P. In addition, reading the passage multiple times during the week will improve fluency for the student. P’s baseline WPM is currently 94. The goal will be to improve to 99 WPM by March 17; 104 WPM by April 15; and 109 WPM by mid-May. Improvement will be tracked using progress monitoring that occurs every 2.5 weeks. The student’s progress will also be noted through FastBridge assessment.
From 3/12/2026 Coaching Log: P’s new WPM is 120. He has made great progress since we began the coaching process! Porter was progress monitored on 4/2: He read 98 wpm and scored a 4/6 on recalling comprehension and 6/10 on Questions. The drop in wpm was probably due to not reading over Spring Break and missing reading groups because of Hockey Tournaments.
Problem of practice goal: I want to layer fluency work with comprehension work for P. so that we can track the data to see if increases in his fluency scores improve his comprehension scores. Students are tested on two elements for comprehension—recall and comprehension questions. There are six points possible for recall and 10 comprehension questions. I want P. to score at least 5/6 on recall and 8/10 on comprehension questions by mid-May.
April 2, 2026 Coaching Discussion: P. will be assessed today for fluency, recall, and comprehension. P. did not read over spring break which has impacted his fluency scores. After spring break, he asked Lora why the reading was so difficult, and she told him it is all related to not reading for a period of time. He was able to see what occurs when we do not read regularly.
Lora will look at today’s scores and re-evaluate current goals for fluency. She will revise them if she feels we need to do so because P. had surprised his mid-May goal before spring break.
Questions to consider:
What worked? Repetition, increased time working on multi-syllabic words (seen in the last teaching video), listening to fluent readers including Obama, MLK, and Lora, positive reinforcement in the form of praise, and discussing what it means to be a fluent reader have all contributed to P.’s success to date.
What didn’t work? Not reading at home for 1-1/2 weeks impacted P.’s fluency.
What accounts for the difference? P. has to practice his reading in order to make gains including working on reading at home when he is not in school.
What is next? Pairing fluency work with comprehension work. Lora has discussed with her students that practicing fluency is important, but if it is not paired with comprehension, it will not help them as readers. She makes it clear that we read to understand.
Would you have done anything differently? Lora would increase 1:1 time with P. in a quiet setting with no disruptions. She also noted that the student’s ADHD is difficult for him and impacts his performance and behaviors at school; his behaviors impact other students in the classroom.
What was most or least valuable? What was most valuable was P. being more confident with his reading skills overall, seeing what he is capable of.
What is a problem of practice that you want to work on while continuing to work on your goal with your student(s)? Lora will layer fluency work with comprehension work for P. Students are tested on two elements for comprehension—recall and comprehension questions. There are six points possible for recall and 10 comprehension questions. I want P. to score at least 5/6 on recall and 8/10 on comprehension questions by mid-May.
Thinking back to the Schutz and Hoffman article, what is something you want to practice in your teaching? Lora is encouraged to think about the “practice” of teaching as she implements the problem of practice.
Do you want to work on this goal and meld it with the goal you have for your student(s)? Lora is going to continue working on fluency with P. through the mid-May goal and layer in the comprehension goal.
Working on Next Steps
Work on implementation of your goal for problem of practice by the next coaching session.
Keep working on steps toward goal with your identified student that you want to meet by mid-April.
You can create a video if you like, but that is no longer required.