Co-Planning: 5 Capacity-Building Ideas That Go the Long Distance

“I just don’t have time” is a common response, and it’s typically not because a teacher doesn’t want to plan with you; it’s that they see it as an extra. In other words, a teacher feels overwhelmed and doesn’t always see the connections between what we do in coaching conversations to the work they will do in their classrooms.

That’s an essential part of the coaching role—to make things lighter and more connected—helping to detangle the complicated and alleviate the extra, unnecessary weight of teachers’ to-do lists by providing the just-in-time support needed. There are many ways to do that, but one of my go-to coaching habits is co-planning. The work we do at the planning table, meeting the needs of the whole class alongside students' individual needs, is hard work. Having a coach or a thinking partner at the planning table to help sift and sort out the possibilities can be beneficial.

When we co-plan, we can support teachers as they think deeply, planning big-picture instructional designs such as units, learning progressions, or lessons and tailor-made responsive plans to meet the needs of all students. It’s not unusual for a coach and teacher to put their experiences and knowledge together to design learning opportunities that reach all students.

Capacity Building

Here are five capacity-building ideas for co-planning that go the distance. By implementing these ideas, you’ll be better prepared, strengthen the teacher-coach relationship, and impact student growth with your combined efforts.

Gather and Use Anchor Documents

As coaches, we often need to think on our feet when supporting teachers. That’s just part of the role. We can make our work more efficient and effective by gathering anchor documents (state-, district-, and building-level guiding resources) before joining teachers at the co-planning table. That way, we can have the resources we need at our fingertips. Here are some anchor documents that you might consider having available:

• District and school calendars
• Assessment calendar
• Building and classroom schedules
• Classroom student rosters
• Standards
• Curricular maps and/or pacing calendars
• Curriculum guides, units of study, and/or lesson plans

Some coaches like to have these in digital format. I prefer to reference hard copies, so I store these important documents in a coaching clipboard and binder. Either way, they are at the ready and give us a leg up at the co-planning table. When coaches access these documents at the onset of co-planning, teachers often feel a sense of relief. They know the coach has their back, helping them plan with both the “must do's” and the “can do's.”

Create Flexible Planning Spaces

Creating a calm, comfortable co-planning environment is important for active communication and collaboration. There are a lot of different spaces across a learning community that make for productive collaboration spaces. Sometimes the coaches’ office inspires great co-planning because the walls and tables are filled with charts and other helpful resources. Other times, teachers’ classrooms are needed because students’ work or classroom designs support the brainwork that goes into co-planning. Other spaces that might be a good fit for co-planning include the library, an outdoor learning space, or a conference room.

Plan for Four Days Instead of Five

Being well-planned is an important part of every teacher’s job. That’s because starting with a well-intentioned, organized roadmap for what and how students will learn gets us a step closer to success. There is, however, such a thing as being overplanned. That probably sounds counterintuitive to what we typically think of as good planning, but it is possible to be too planned. Here’s what I mean. Sometimes, when our plans are too tight, it leaves no room to respond to students’ confusion or misconceptions. One solution is to co-plan for four days of instruction instead of five. This doesn’t mean that teachers will only teach for four days. Instead, it means there’s room in the instructional plan to respond to students. This allows us to differentiate learning opportunities by:

• Reteaching
• Giving students more time to work or practice
• Extending the learning opportunities
• Adding new learning experiences

Here is a visual of what this can look like:

Observe Students and Classroom Assets

Spend some time studying students’ assets and the assets across the classroom learning environment. This is a great time to discover all the amazing things happening in the classroom. Observe one or two times for 20–30 minutes each time. Calendarize it and stick to it. When you observe, study students and the classroom by:

• Listening to students’ conversation
• Observing students’ interactions and movements across the classroom
• Taking a close look at students’ work
• Observing classroom organization such as furniture, wall spaces, bookshelves, displays, and nooks

Teachers don’t show up to school each day hoping to be judged or fixed. They typically show up to do good and help students grow. When you launch the co-planning conversation with your asset-based notes and reflections from your observations, teachers typically feel more at ease. Doing so helps set a positive, trusting, collaborative tone. Often, teachers will chime in and share other assets and even some areas where they may want some support. Co-planning with a coach/teacher partnership that includes naming assets has long-lasting impacts for all.

Choose a Focus

Co-planning with an intentional focus creates clarity and has an “I can do this” kind of feel. That’s because when we narrow down topics and hone into something specific, we can see it through—from idea to action. Coaches can ask teachers to share what topics would be most helpful or you can co-create a list together. You can also share a short list with teachers such as:

• Classroom rituals and routines
• Curriculum scope and sequence
• Assessments and analyzing data
• Content integration

Once a focus is selected, you can think through some questions to ask teachers that will guide the coaching conversation. For example, suppose you are working on designing assessments and analyzing data. In that case, you might ask teachers: “What types of assessments should be created to help you know if students’ knowledge, skills, and understandings have improved?” That question might lead you to ask: “When, how, and how often will we assess students? What types of assessments will give us the intel we need to create the next steps to support students’ learning?” Having some coaching questions at the ready gives us a running start at the co-planning table.

Time is never on the teacher's side. That’s why we must make the most of our co-planning time. Many capacity-building and co-planning moves can make a difference. Anchor documents, flexible planning spaces, and leaving room for responding to students’ needs while planning are ideas you can put into action immediately. Go ahead—give one a whirl!