This project represents the analysis step in ADDIE because it responds to a very real need that I learned of when coaching teachers and leaders in my current organization. In conducting co-observations of classes across our five high schools, it became clear that some teachers struggled to build or maintain relationships with their students, and we did not have an easy-to-use professional development workshop or training to help teachers build this skill. In addition, this course covers important skills that any new teacher would need to learn, making it portable outside of my current organization.

Title: Conversations that Build Relationships with Students

Description: The purpose of this course is to help new(-ish) teachers find the right language to use in order to build warm, professional, respectful relationships with students. This course is predominantly asynchronous, but should be undertaken as part of a cohort of teachers, either all from the same campus, or from schools across the same network/district. There should be a coach or school leader that supervises the course and facilitates match-ups for the final assessment.

Part 1: Project Scope

I intended to start with a module, which could ultimately be part of a larger course on effective teaching practices. The module would include readings, exercises, a discussion component, and practice/feedback.

Part 2: Background

Gap: New teachers often struggle to find the right words when speaking with students in a way that enriches their relationships with those students. It is often difficult to strike a balance between being too professional or too familiar, and teachers can unintentionally escalate conflicts with students if they do not know the right words to say to students. This module will address some common challenges and mindsets faced by new teachers, and will provide opportunities to practice calm, warm, professional conversations.

Audience: The target audience is new teachers, predominantly of middle and upper grades.

Learning Objectives: At the end of the module, learners will be able to situate student communication skills within appropriate developmental stages to explain why students might react as they do to teachers/adults, describe effective communication strategies to use with students in order to build relationships, and revise ineffective communication to make it follow the principles of effective communication

Main Assessment: At the end of the module, teachers will record a practice conversation with another teacher taking the course, in which each teacher takes turns being the student or teacher in the practice conversation. That recorded conversation will be shared with the coach overseeing the implementation of the course.

Part 3: Design Approach

Format/Structure: This course will be self-paced and asynchronous, with a dedicated instructor assigned to manage the course. This course needs to fit in to teachers’ already busy schedules, and so most of it will be self-paced. That said, because the topic is conversations, learners will need to have actual conversations as a part of the coursework. To accommodate that need, the course should be offered to a cohort of teachers working through it at the same basic time (same month), with one-two moments of synchronous alignment between participants

Possible Technology: I think I will use Canvas as the LMS, and may use SmartBuilder or Articulate to create the interactive pieces of the course.

Part 4: Implementation

Context (where, when, how): Initial launch will happen at the end of summer PD, in July/August 2024, with the course to be completed in the first six weeks of the school year.

Org Considerations: Most teachers are relatively familiar with e-learning and tech tools, although there may be some who will need some support. The module can come with a how-to guide for the LMS to help the tech-shy become more comfortable.