Undergraduate Teacher Development Coach

Who We Are:

 

National Louis is a 130+ year old university that has been grounded in the values of innovation, access, and excellence from its inception. As an institution we believe in providing access to educational opportunity and that education is our greatest lever for social and economic mobility. We are a student focused community that is committed to continuous improvement and asks how do we become more “student ready” so that we may better serve our students. We believe that through education we are able to empower change and build healthy communities. Our community works hard in the service of students and supports one another like a family.

 

At National Louis University we offer our employees an innovative environment to work together and inspire the ideas that will make an impact.  As our external environment changes our employees are provided the opportunities and tools needed to grow both personally and professionally to remain successful.  NLU employees and dependents are offered a wide range of benefits, including but not limited to, Health Insurance benefits, Retirement benefits, Paid Time Off and Educational Benefits.

 

 

We are a team of dedicated educators who have been working together to build the Undergraduate College (UGC) at National Louis University (NLU) focused on building academic pathways and providing holistic student support to ensure students are successfully employed in a field of their choosing upon graduation. We believe we are not successful unless students achieve sustainable employment and experience economic mobility associated with their educational investment. Our undergraduate majors serve first time freshmen as well as adult and transfer students in blended and online delivery formats – on and off campus.

We work fearlessly to educate and retain our students – but we know this is not enough. Accordingly, we measure our success by their ability to achieve meaningful, sustainable employment upon graduation from NLU. We have exceeded national benchmarks through our approach to appreciative advising and data-driven, personalized instruction. Our educational model is student-focused, professionally-focused, expects excellence, and provides personalized support in a data-driven environment, while grounded by pillars of continuous improvement and innovation to structure our work.

 

 

Job Summary:

This role has the primary responsibility of supporting undergraduate teacher candidates as they enter the final stages of their preparation to become teachers. The Teacher Development Coach is deeply committed to culturally responsive pedagogy and works to instill a deep understanding and motivation to enact culturally relevant and responsive teaching within NLU students entering the field. 

 

Coaches help teacher candidates learn how to implement lessons, practice classroom management, develop effective assessments, and plan for instruction using appropriate technologies. The Teacher Development Coach guides scholars using a 100% virtual field coaching model. Through high leverage practices, the Coach provides feedback to students on their teaching through the use of video recordings. The Coach engages in multiple sessions of reflective practice with novice teachers and involves mentor teachers in providing constructive feedback to students as they practice in the field.

 

Intrinsic to this role is also the development of strong mentor teachers who are well prepared to support NLU scholars in the field. Coaches help to plan Communities of Practice (COP) with partner schools by creating support for mentor teachers where needed and requested. Working closely with the Project Director for the DHSI Title V Grant and the Associate Director of Field Coaching and Teacher Development, full time coaches help to present professional development sessions, provide training/onboarding of mentor teachers to the UG ED Prep. model, and conduct occasional field visits to partner schools, as appropriate. 

 

The Teacher Development Coach is the teacher candidate’s liaison to all of the wraparound, holistic supports available, including multilingual academic/writing and content test support. Each full time Coach carries a caseload of student teachers as well as a small caseload of students who require additional support (as identified through the Student Support Planning process) in our efforts to help students be successful and persist to and through graduation. Support Plan case management may include regular meetings with students to help students meet their academic and field goals and/or connecting students to available resources to them in the Department and university.

 

Teacher Development Coaches are an important part of the faculty team. As front-line team members, they are often the first to see trends in the field with teacher candidates and can help to identify barriers to student success. They inform curricular revision by providing quantitative and qualitative data to faculty and department leadership based on their experiences coaching students. Each Coach is connected to a specific Department Chair in the Department, as a way to create systems of communication and continuous improvement. This role helps to define best practices in field experience for the Department and also supports the instruction within the department by helping students make connections in the field to their coursework. Teacher Development Coaches report significant concerns about field sites and/or students to department leadership when applicable and provide insight into areas of strength and opportunities for growth in the overall preparation program.  

Coach Students in the Field. Carry a caseload of 40-50 students per term (40 student teachers and up to 10 additional pre-service teachers) and execute the following:

 

• Serve as the instructor of record for a D2l Course Shell for both the Practicum & the Student Teaching field experiences -includes all of the responsibilities of a professor as it relates to D2L.
• Guide each candidate during the linked placement with the development of their lesson planning and assessment skills (by previewing plans and providing feedback before implementation).
• View videos of lessons and provide feedback on a minimum of 4 instructional videos for each student (using High Leverage Practices – HLPs).
• Analyze feedback from Mentor Teachers and use feedback during reflective field coaching sessions (4 per term, minimally).
• Conduct at least 3 teacher support meetings with Teacher Candidate and Mentor Teacher during the Linked Placement.
• Provide verbal and written feedback on each candidate’s dispositional development, using a standardized assessment as well as during coaching conversations (using a strengths-based approach).
• Review reflective journals and provide extensive feedback with a focus on strength-building and identifying opportunities for growth.
• Scaffold coaching, providing resources as needed so that each candidate can improve their practice over time.
• Leverage technology when providing feedback to each candidate.

Enact the Community of Practice (COP) Model. Work collaboratively with other members of the team, especially the Project Director for the DHSI Title V Grant to deliver innovative Communities of Practice. CoPs include:

 

• Groups of mentor teachers and district staff (professional development, facilitating topical meetings, and engaging mentor teachers in onboarding/training on our model and best practices in supporting first generation, diverse, historically marginalized groups of teacher candidates).
• Institutional topics with staff/faculty and adjunct coaches across the department.
• Engaging with and supporting student groups (including, but not limited to, student affinity groups).
• Designated CoPs within partner districts that request support in how to align with the mission of the department and deliverables of the DHSI Title V Grant.

Support Student Success. Collaborate with team members in the department, college, and field site to ensure students have access to wraparound supports available as needed in order to advance their skills as novice teachers.  Attend team, SSC, department, college, and university-wide meetings regularly in order to stay informed, bring forward student challenges, and create innovative student-centered solutions. Manage Student Support Plans for a small load of pre-student teachers to help drive student success.

 

Inform Curricular Revision and Decision-Making. Provide feedback to full time faculty and departmental leadership regarding areas of strength and opportunities for improvement to the curriculum based on data collected from coaching work in the field. Provide insight into candidate performance and where gaps may exist in their training, early in the program as well as concurrent to the coaching experience.

 

Other duties as assigned by department leadership.

 

 

• Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education, Middle Grades, Secondary, Special and/or ESL Bilingual Education or Curriculum and Instruction, Doctorate Preferred.
• Endorsed/previously endorsed to teach in one or more of the areas of concentration listed above preferred
• Five plus (5+) years prior experience teaching in an Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle Grades, Secondary, Special and/or ESL/Bilingual Education.
• Five plus (5+) years prior experience as an instructional coach and/or related type of coaching geared toward assisting novice teachers in developing their dispositions, skills, and abilities as a classroom teacher.
• Three plus (3+) years demonstrated experience in complex situations requiring collaborative, relationship-focused, proactive, culturally responsive, student-centered decision-making.
• Three plus (3+) years demonstrated organizational skills in using various technologies, applications, and programs to accomplish work tasks.
• Three (3+) years prior experience using advanced presentation skills – ability to present on a variety of topics and create professional development using data, adult learning theory/pedagogy, and learner feedback.
• Two plus (2+) Prior experience engaging with a Community of Practice and/or a Professional Learning Community (either as a participant or leader – leader preferred).
• Bilingual in Spanish and English preferred.

 

• Building and Sustaining Key Relationships: Recognizes the need to build and sustain relationships beyond the classroom. Reaches out effectively to individuals and groups who also have a stake in the outcome of the educational experience (e.g., parents, internal and external colleagues), gaining their trust and support. Sustains key relationships by treating others as partners, staying connected, soliciting suggestions, listening attentively and demonstrating appreciation for multiple perspectives and various points of view.

 

• Knowing Students as Individuals: Spends time learning about each student, assessing current interest level for learning in general and for the subject matter in particular. Notices which learning activities tend to engage each individual the most. Assesses each student's general learning capabilities, performance level and apparent level of confidence. Looks for evidence of unmet special needs and other obstacles to learning. Learns about each student's life outside the classroom (e.g., personal interests, cultural background, level of family support, potential sources of distraction, etc.).

 

• Using Effective Instructional Practices: Gains and holds the attention of students (e.g., maintains eye contact, speaks clearly and audibly, using words that are age and grade appropriate, modulates voice and tone). Uses a variety of questioning techniques that encourage independent thinking, and then listens attentively to all responses. Encourages creativity and multiple points of view. Questions often help students connect new concepts to their current knowledge and prior experiences. Uses a variety of teaching methods to accommodate diverse styles of learning or different attention spans.

 

• Implementing New Technologies: Tends to identify and apply the steps and approaches needed to implement and integrate new technology in a manner that gains quick acceptance from stakeholders while minimizing disruptions to day-to-day work requirements.

 

• Presentation Skills: Comes across as confident and well-prepared when making group presentations. Makes effective use of visual aids or presentation software and looks at ease while handling questions from the audience. His/her presentations hold the audience's attention and tend to be the right length for the amount of information covered.

 

• Cross-Cultural Sensistivity/Compassion: Demonstrates an awareness of, and sensitivity to, the needs and concerns of individuals from different cultures. Makes adjustments in how he or she communicates out of respect for cultural differences and minimizes the number of cross-cultural misunderstandings.

 

• Managing Multiple Priorities: Handles multiple assignments and priorities yet still fulfills all commitments. Readily accepts new responsibilities and adapts well to changes in procedures. Gives appropriate priorities to various work demands.

 

• Sharing Knowledge: Makes it a practice to share new skills or knowledge with others in the organization. Keeps his/her manager informed of newly-acquired skills and knowledge and offers to share information, demonstrate skills or summarize learning for others on the team.

 

• Coaching: Coaches pre-student teaching and student teacher teacher candidates in order to support the development of professional dispositions and essential skills needed to be a reflective and effective classroom teacher – uses multiple methods of coaching and frameworks known to have positive results (such as cognitive coaching and student-centered coaching).

 

• Cultural Competence: Is passionate and dedicated to improving own cultural competence while also supporting the ability for teacher candidates to grow as culturally responsive teachers in the field.

 

• Communities of Practice: Can lead CoPs effectively – is a good listener and able to support learners at all stages of their development through responsive activities designed to help participants grow in their skills and abilities.

 

• Reflective Practice: Engages in reflective practice in an effort to support teacher candidates in becoming reflective teachers – uses a reflective practice framework when coaching students in order to enact student centered and strengths-based conversations that help teacher candidates improve their practice.

 

 

NLU Inclusion Statement:

National Louis University is deeply committed to serving its community, advancing access and equity, and ensuring that all individuals are welcomed and valued.  We are dedicated to fostering a culture where diversity, equity, and inclusion remain at the core of who we are. These are more than just words to us: they are truly a way of life for the NLU community. We recognize that differences in abilities, age, ethnicity, gender (identity and expression), race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and background bring richness to our work environment. We affirm diverse perspectives, innovative contributions, and authentic presentations of self from every member within the NLU community. We believe inclusion is grounded in the actions we intentionally take each day. Our goal is to inspire and empower NLU employees and community members to cultivate an environment where we collectively focus on uplifting and advancing our institutional culture.

Please Include the following along with your application:
- Resume (Required)
- Cover Letter (Optional)

NLU Employees please also submit an Internal Posting Form