ICS Calendar Title: How to Coach A Strong Team: Leading People, Building Institutional Capacity, and Securing Accountability
ICS Course Code: ICSD 260005 W23
Instructor: Dr. Gideon Strauss
Term and Year: Winter 2023
Last Updated: November 23, 2022
3. Course Requirements and Description and Weighting of Elements to be Evaluated
How to Coach A Strong Team is a course for current and aspiring school administrators who want to cultivate their people skills. The course will focus on the competencies involved in having crucial conversations and coaching colleagues for professional development purposes, while also providing opportunities for learning about the competencies relevant to talent acquisition and employment termination. The backbone of the course will be a series of reflections (in the Reformational philosophical tradition) on being human: imaging God in the world.
How to Coach A Strong Team is a remote learning course consisting of six synchronous sessions including three school visits and a debriefing session with an expert practitioner, thirteen weeks of asynchronous online interaction, and the writing of a playbook by each student taking the course for credit. All of the synchronous sessions will be by means of online video, with the possible exception of one of the school visits. The exception may include an on-site, in-person option as part of a hybrid package, depending on circumstances. Team auditors will have access to five of the six synchronous sessions (including the school visits and the expert practitioner debriefing) and a team audit study guide for reading and talking through the course materials in their team contexts.
By the end of the How to Coach A Strong Team course each student taking the course for credit will have written their own personal playbook for the coaching of a strong team of teachers and school administrators from the position of principal. Each playbook will articulate protocols for gaining and practicing the competencies mentioned in the course description above, with attention to the jurisdictional and school network contexts of the particular student. Each playbook will have benefited from constructive criticism by the student’s course peers and the instructor, and also from exposure to actual practice in schools through school visits (by online video). Each playbook will serve as a reference in the future practice of its author.
Team auditors will have gained an introductory overview of the same competencies as practiced at the schools visited, and will have had opportunities for considering the practice of these competencies at their own schools.
Participants taking How to Coach A Strong Team for credit will:
If you are taking this course for credit, the course elements being evaluated are weighted as follows:
Please familiarize yourself with the grading rubric attached to each assignment in the Google Classroom before completing the assignment. Participation in the synchronous sessions and forum discussions will be graded as a zero for non-participation or inadequate participation per the instructions and a full grade for active and timely participation per the instructions in the Google Classroom, with points deducted for late submissions to forum discussions. If you have a scheduling conflict that will not allow you to participate in a synchronous session or that cause you to miss more than an hour of a session, you can still earn 2 of the 3 points for the related assignment by subsequently affirming by email to the instructor that you have watched the video recording of what you have missed of the session. Video recordings will usually be available within 24 hours after each session.
For the school visit reports and the playbook we will collaboratively create grading rubrics in the first weeks of the course that will allow us to formatively assess student work in terms of the four characteristics of beautiful work identified by Steven Levy and Justin Cook in their 2021 Beautiful Work notecatcher: craft, purpose, complexity, and authenticity. Students will use these rubrics for assessing their own work in progress and for offering advice to their peers on work in progress, and the instructor will use the rubrics both for offering formative advice on work in progress and for the summative assessment of completed work.
Kaye, B., & Giulioni, J. W. (2019). Help Them Grow Or Watch Them Go [Card deck]. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Kaye, B., & Giulioni, J. W. (2019). Help Them Grow Or Watch Them Go: Career Conversations Organizations Need and Employees Want (2nd ed.). Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Grenny, J., Patterson, K., McMillan, R., Switzler, A., & Gregory, E. (2022). Crucial conversations (3rd ed.). McGraw Hill.
Levy, S., & Cook, J. (2021). Beautiful Work notecatcher [Unpublished manuscript].
Seerveld, C. (1988). On Being Human: Imaging God in a Modern World. Welch Publishing Co.
Stanier, M. B. (2016). The coaching habit: Say less, ask more & change the way you lead forever. Box of Crayons Press.
Barondes, S. (2015). Making sense of people: the science of personality differences. FT Press.
Boyatzis, R., Boyatzis, R. E., & McKee, A. (2005). Resonant leadership: Renewing yourself and connecting with others through mindfulness, hope, and compassion. Harvard Business Press.
Cloud, H. (2011). Necessary endings: The employees, businesses, and relationships that all of us have to give up in order to move forward. Zondervan.
Crouch, A. (2016). Strong and Weak: Embracing a Life of Love, Risk and True Flourishing. InterVarsity Press.
Cheliotes, L. M. G., & Reilly, M. F. (2010). Coaching conversations: Transforming your school one conversation at a time. Corwin Press.
Hersey, P. (1984). The situational leader. New York: Warner Books.
Lencioni, P. M. (2012). The advantage: Why organizational health trumps everything else in business. John Wiley & Sons.
McKee, A., Boyatzis, R. E., Johnston, F., & Johnston, F. (2008). Becoming a resonant leader: Develop your emotional intelligence, renew your relationships, sustain your effectiveness. Harvard Business Press.
Rath, T., & Conchie, B. (2008). Strengths based leadership: Great leaders, teams, and why people follow. Simon and Schuster.
Schein, E. H., & Van Maanen, J. (2013). Career anchors: The changing nature of careers. John Wiley & Sons.
Scott, S. (2004). Fierce Conversations (Revised and Updated): Achieving Success at Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time. Penguin.
Sergiovanni, T. J. (2000). The Lifeworld of Leadership: Creating Culture, Community, and Personal Meaning in Our Schools. The Jossey-Bass Education Series. Jossey-Bass.
Throness, T. (2018). The Power of People Skills: How to Eliminate 90% of Your HR Problems and Dramatically Increase Team and Company Morale and Performance. Markatix.
NOTE: In the Google Classroom, please make sure that all of your written work on assignments is visible to all participants in the course. Due dates and times for all assignments and video sessions will also be clearly posted in the Google Classroom.
Forum Discussion #1
During the first few days of the course (starting on January 9 and finishing before our first online video session on January 12), write the story of your being hired by your current employer in 250 words. Except for yourself, make all references to people and institutions anonymous in this story (that is, instead of, for example, writing “Mrs. Vandersomething,” write “the principal,” and instead of writing “Randomsomewhere Christian School,” write “the school”). Please post your discussion contribution in the comments to the Google Classroom assignment by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Wednesday, January 11.
Mark your assignment as completed in the Google Classroom once you have posted the contribution.
Online video session #1: Introductions
Participate in the online video session scheduled for 4:15 pm to 7:15 pm Eastern Time on Thursday, January 12. The Zoom link and password will be added to the assignment in our Google Classroom no later than January 9.
In addition to writing your hiring story in Forum Discussion #1, prepare for this session by reading through this syllabus with care, and listing all of the questions you want to ask about the course.
We will begin this online video session with introductions, in which each participant will introduce themselves by name, location, and involvement with school administration. We will continue by sharing our hiring stories (as written for Forum Discussion #1) and talking about what we have learned about hiring practices from our own experiences of being hired.
After the break we will reconvene to preview the course with reference to the syllabus and the Google Classroom (and, if there are team auditors participating in the course, with reference to the Team Audit Study Guide). Also in this session we will begin the process of collaboratively creating grading rubrics that will allow us to formatively assess the school visit reports and the playbook in terms of the four characteristics of beautiful work identified by Steven Levy and Justin Cook in their 2021 Beautiful Work notecatcher: craft, purpose, complexity, and authenticity.
Mark the session assignment as completed in the Google Classroom afterwards.
Forum Discussion #2
Source the hiring (talent acquisition) and firing (employment termination) policies and protocols used at your school and recommended by your school association, and consult with your principal or an advisor from your school association about the legal constraints and provisions relevant to such practices at your school.
Informed by these sourced materials, write a 250 word draft bullet-pointed outline for each of the two sections (hiring/talent acquisition and firing/employment termination) of your playbook on these practices. Please post your outlines in the folders attached to the Google Classroom assignment for this forum discussion by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Friday, January 20.
Read the drafts posted by Monday, and with reference to the drafts list 3-5 questions each on, respectively, hiring (talent acquisition) and firing (employment termination) policies and practices you would like to ask the schools we will be visiting. Please post this further discussion contribution in the comments to the Google Classroom assignment by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Monday, January 23.
Read Seerveld (1988), Introduction and Chapters 1 and 2 (pp. 1-32). Select one sentence from this reading that stands out to you, and write 100 words in which you reflect on the implications of this sentence for your approach to working with people as a school administrator. Please post this further discussion contribution in the comments to the Google Classroom assignment by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Wednesday, January 25.
Read the draft rubric for the assessment of school visit reports proposed by the instructor and comment on the document, suggesting improvements with reference to Levy & Cook (2021) by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Wednesday, January 25.
Mark your assignment as completed in our Google Classroom once you have posted all of these contributions.
Forum Discussion #3
Read Kaye & Giulioni (2019) and familiarize yourself with the accompanying card deck. Read Stanier (2016).
Informed by these materials, write a 250 word draft bullet-pointed outline for the section of your playbook on professional development and coaching practices. Please post your outline in the folder attached to the Google Classroom assignment for this forum discussion by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Friday, January 27.
Read the drafts posted by Monday, and with reference to the drafts list 3-5 questions on professional development policies and practices you would like to ask the schools we will be visiting. Please post this further discussion contribution in the comments to the Google Classroom assignment by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Monday, January 30.
Also write the story of an important professional development or coaching experience of your own in 250 words. Except for yourself, make all references to people and institutions anonymous in this story. Please post your discussion contribution in the comments to the Google Classroom assignment by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Monday, January 30.
Read Seerveld (1988), Chapter 3 (pp. 33-46). Select one sentence from this reading that stands out to you, and write 100 words in which you reflect on the implications of this sentence for your approach to working with people as a school administrator. Please post this further discussion contribution in the comments to the Google Classroom assignment by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Wednesday, February 1.
With reference to Levy & Cook (2021), comment on the suggestions for improvement offered by your peers on the draft rubric for the assessment of school visit reports, supporting or arguing against the suggested improvements by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Wednesday, February 1.
Mark your assignment as completed in our Google Classroom once you have posted all of these contributions.
Online video session #2: School Visit
Participate in the online video school visit* scheduled for 4:15 pm to 7:15 pm Eastern Time on Thursday, February 2. The Zoom link and password will be added to the assignment in our Google Classroom early in the term and no later than the end of January.
The school visit will include an interview of the principal by the course instructor, a virtual guided tour of the school, and a moderated Q & A with questions from course participants (with participants taking the course for credit introducing the Q & A with the questions they developed during Forum Discussions #2 and #3).
Mark the session assignment as completed in the Google Classroom afterwards.
* Our hope is for ONE of these school visits to allow for an in-person, on-site visit to a school, out of the three school visits. If circumstances allow for an in-person, on-site visit to this school, I will ask you to confirm attendance at least ten days in advance, so that we can make all the necessary arrangements in good time. In this event we will also arrange for the visit to be accessible by video, either live or as a recording, for those students who are unable to attend.
Forum Discussion #4
With reference to the finalized rubric for the assessment of school visit reports, write a 250 word report on what you have learned from our session #2 school visit. Please post your report in the comments to the Google Classroom assignment by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Friday, February 10.
Read the reports posted by Monday, select one sentence from someone else’s contribution that you found thought-provoking, and with reference to this sentence (and informed by your experience of our first virtual school visit) list 3-5 questions you would like to ask the next school we visit. Please post this further discussion contribution in the comments to the Google Classroom assignment by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Monday, February 13.
Read Seerveld (1988), Chapter 4 (pp. 47-56). Select one sentence from this reading that stands out to you, and write 100 words in which you reflect on the implications of this sentence for your approach to working with people as a school administrator. Please post this further discussion contribution in the comments to the Google Classroom assignment by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Wednesday, February 15.
Mark your assignment as completed in our Google Classroom once you have posted both contributions.
Online video session #3: School Visit
Participate in the online video school visit* scheduled for 4:15 pm to 7:15 pm Eastern Time on Thursday, February 23. The Zoom link and password will be added to the assignment in our Google Classroom early in the term and no later than the end of January.
The school visit will include an interview of the principal by the course instructor, a virtual guided tour of the school, and a moderated Q & A with questions from course participants (with participants taking the course for credit introducing the Q & A with the questions they developed during Forum Discussion #4).
Mark the session assignment as completed in the Google Classroom afterwards.
* Our hope is for ONE of these school visits to allow for an in-person, on-site visit to a school, out of the three school visits. If circumstances allow for an in-person, on-site visit to this school, I will ask you to confirm attendance at least ten days in advance, so that we can make all the necessary arrangements in good time. In this event we will also arrange for the visit to be accessible by video, either live or as a recording, for those students who are unable to attend.
Forum Discussion #5
With reference to the finalized rubric for the assessment of school visit reports, write a 250 word report on what you have learned from our session #3 school visit. Please post your report in the comments to the Google Classroom assignment by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Friday, March 3.
Read the reports posted by Monday, select one sentence from someone else’s contribution that you found thought-provoking, and with reference to this sentence (and informed by your experience of our first and second virtual school visits) list 3-5 questions you would like to ask the next school we visit. Please post this further discussion contribution in the comments to the Google Classroom assignment by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Monday, March 6.
Read Seerveld (1988), Chapter 5 (pp. 57-72). Select one sentence from this reading that stands out to you, and write 100 words in which you reflect on the implications of this sentence for your approach to working with people as a school administrator. Please post this further discussion contribution in the comments to the Google Classroom assignment by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 8.
Mark your assignment as completed in our Google Classroom once you have posted both contributions.
Forum Discussion #6
Read Grenny, Patterson, McMillan, Switzler & Gregory (2022).
Informed by this reading, write a 250 word draft bullet-pointed outline for the section of your playbook on crucial conversations. Please post your outline in the folder attached to the Google Classroom assignment for this forum discussion by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Friday, March 10.
Read the drafts posted by Monday, and with reference to the drafts list 3-5 questions on crucial conversations you would like to ask the remaining school we will be visiting. Please post this further discussion contribution in the comments to the Google Classroom assignment by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Monday, March 13.
Also write the story of a crucial workplace conversation of your own in 250 words. Except for yourself, make all references to people and institutions anonymous in this story. Please post your discussion contribution in the comments to the Google Classroom assignment by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Monday, March 13.
Read Seerveld (1988), Chapter 6 (pp. 73-88). Select one sentence from this reading that stands out to you, and write 100 words in which you reflect on the implications of this sentence for your approach to working with people as a school administrator. Please post this further discussion contribution in the comments to the Google Classroom assignment by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 15.
Read the draft rubric for the assessment of playbooks proposed by the instructor and comment on the document, suggesting improvements with reference to Levy & Cook (2021) by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 15.
Mark your assignment as completed in our Google Classroom once you have posted each of these contributions.
No assignments will be due and no sessions will take place during the Ontario schools’ March break: March 13–17, 2023.
Online video session #4: School Visit
Participate in the online video school visit* scheduled for 4:15 pm to 7:15 pm Eastern Time on Thursday, March 23. The Zoom link and password will be added to the assignment in our Google Classroom early in the term and no later than the end of January.
The school visit will include an interview of the principal by the course instructor, a virtual guided tour of the school, and a moderated Q & A with questions from course participants (with participants taking the course for credit introducing the Q & A with the questions they developed during Forum Discussions #5 and #6).
Mark the session assignment as completed in the Google Classroom afterwards.
* Our hope is for ONE of these school visits to allow for an in-person, on-site visit to a school, out of the three school visits. If circumstances allow for an in-person, on-site visit to this school, I will ask you to confirm attendance at least ten days in advance, so that we can make all the necessary arrangements in good time. In this event we will also arrange for the visit to be accessible by video, either live or as a recording, for those students who are unable to attend.
Forum Discussion #7
With reference to the finalized rubric for the assessment of school visit reports, write a 250 word report on what you have learned from our session #4 school visit. Please post your report in the comments to the Google Classroom assignment by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Friday, March 24.
Read the reports posted by Monday, select one sentence from someone else’s contribution that you found thought-provoking, and with reference to this sentence (and thinking back to all three of our school visits) list 3-5 questions you would like to ask our expert practitioner guest in our next online video session. Also list 3-5 questions you would like to ask our expert practitioner about employment terminations. Please post these further discussion contributions in the comments to the Google Classroom assignment by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Monday, March 27.
Read Seerveld (1988), Chapter 7 (pp. 89-101). Select one sentence from this reading that stands out to you, and write 100 words in which you reflect on the implications of this sentence for your approach to working with people as a school administrator. Please post this further discussion contribution in the comments to the Google Classroom assignment by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 29.
With reference to Levy & Cook (2021), comment on the suggestions for improvement offered by your peers on the draft rubric for the assessment of playbooks, supporting or arguing against the suggested improvements by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 29.
Mark your assignment as completed in our Google Classroom once you have posted each of these contributions.
Online video session #5: Expert practitioner debriefing
Participate in an online video debriefing of our school visits with an expert practitioner, scheduled for 4:15 pm to 7:15 pm Eastern Time on Thursday, March 30. The Zoom link and password will be added to the assignment in our Google Classroom early in the term and no later than the end of January.
The debriefing will consist of a two hour moderated Q & A with questions from course participants (with participants taking the course for credit introducing the Q & A with the questions they developed during Forum Discussion #7). We will not be joined by our expert practitioner for the final hour of this video session.
During the final hour, instead, we will review the finalized rubric for playbooks and preview the process by means of which you will put together your draft playbooks, review each others’ playbooks and offer advice, and finalize your playbooks.
Mark the session assignment as completed in the Google Classroom afterwards.
Draft playbook
With reference to the finalized rubric for playbooks, and using all of the required readings as well as all of your previously submitted stories, draft outlines for various sections of your playbook, and school visit reports, write your own draft personal playbook for leading school personnel from the position of principal. Your playbook must articulate protocols for gaining and practicing the competencies involved in having crucial conversations and coaching colleagues for professional development purposes as well as the competencies relevant to talent acquisition (hiring) and employment termination (firing).
Your draft playbook must be 4,500-7,000 words in length and must meet APA 7 style requirements, in particular with regard to citation and your reference list. It must be a Google document, formatted in Times New Roman font at a font size of 12 with a line size setting of 1.15. Upload the document to the course folder provided by means of a link in the Google Classroom at the relevant assignment by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Monday, April 10. Your draft playbook will not be graded, but if it fails to meet the formatting requirements mentioned in this paragraph or is submitted after the due date you will lose five points from the grade for your final playbook.
Draft playbook reviews and advice
You will be assigned two playbook review partners. Read the playbooks of your playbook review partners and, explicitly using the finalized rubric for playbooks, write 250 words of constructive advice for the improvement of their playbook. Please post your playbook advice through our Google classroom by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Wednesday, April 12. The instructor will also offer advice on each draft playbook, using the finalized rubric for playbooks.
Your playbook advice will not be graded, but if it fails to meet the word count requirement or is submitted after the due date you will lose three points from the grade for your final playbook.
Online video session #6: Playbook review
Participate in the playbook review currently scheduled for 4:15 pm to 7:15 pm Eastern Time on Thursday, April 13. The Zoom link and password will be added to the assignment in our Google Classroom early in the term and no later than the end of January.
During this review session you will offer each other advice on your draft playbooks (in breakout rooms if necessary), with reference to the reviews and evaluations you shared in the Google classroom. We will conclude the online video sessions in a plenary session in which we will consider what we have learned in this course so far, and what we hope to learn as we work on the final versions of our playbooks.
Mark the session assignment as completed in the Google Classroom afterwards.
Final version of playbook
Share your draft playbook, the finalized rubric for playbooks, and the playbook advice you have received from the instructor and other participants in this course with a few colleagues and confidants and ask for their advice as you prepare to work on a final version of the playbook. Write a final version of your playbook that takes into account all of the advice you have received and keeping in mind the finalized rubric for playbooks. Include two notes in the final version of your playbook that do not count toward the word limit: a note of acknowledgement in which you thank those who contributed toward your playbook and a note on revisions in which you explain what you changed between your draft and final versions of the playbook.
Upload the final version of your playbook to the course folder provided by means of a link in the Google Classroom at the relevant assignment by no later than midnight Eastern Time on Friday, May 26.
Students with diverse learning styles and needs are welcome in this course. In particular, if you have a disability or health consideration that may require accommodations, please feel free to approach Gideon Strauss and/or Elizabet Aras as soon as possible.
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