Team+3


 * How coaching helps schools develop a culture of professionalism: **
 * The relationship between the coaching protocols and school-based professional standards **
 * Increasingly **** schools are looking toward professional development to guide teachers to improve their professional practices with the ultimate outcome of increased student learning. There are many facets of professional development. Peer coaching is a research-based method which can be used to support and maximize the professionalism within a learning community. **
 *  Peer coaching encompasses many protocols. Three of which include the following: School-Based Development Standards, Learning Activity Checklist and the Coaching Skills Cue Card. **
 * The Learning Activity Checklist is a framework providing evidence for professional and effective standards-based, problem-based, engaging, and technologically enhanced tasks to ensure meaningful academic activities (Microsoft Peer Coaching Program Session 3 Handout). **
 * The School-Based Development Standards states “a strong professional learning community is characterized by seven essential standards.” (Microsoft Peer Coaching Program Coaching Handbook, pp.23). **
 * The Coaching Skills Cue Card (Micro. Session 2) provides the guideline for respectful communication skills with colleagues. **
 * Coaching tools can be applied in many ways. Two tools include the gallery walk and the WOW and Wonder Protocol are especially applicable in developing a culture of professionalism because they support professional dialogue and collaboration. Each allows group members to demonstrate communication skills, sharing of ideas, respectful feedback. This leads not only to refinement of the product, it strengthens the PLC. **
 * When polling colleagues, collaboration was deemed most important of the seven School- Based Development Standards. **
 * “Collaboration is the key because to realize that the vision of a true PLC has to be organic, cannot be dictated. And the way that this is done is through true collective collaboration,” stated Bob Kramer, Technology Instructional Specialist for Tucson Unified School District in Tucson, Arizona. **
 * We agree. **