After almost 30 years in education, Mary-Catherine Moran (M.C.) maintains an avid enthusiasm for her work. She credits this to the countless number of children, families, classroom teachers and administrators she has been fortunate to meet who have generously shared their perspective over the years. M.C. has been a classroom teacher, a Special Education Training Specialist, and a literacy coach. She is a skilled facilitator, has national and international experience in educational consulting, and promotes a differentiated approach to professional learning. Additionally, she can provide technical assistance and professional learning opportunities on literacy issues such as using data to inform instruction,assessment, exemplary literacy practices and differentiated instruction aligned to learning standards. Her professional experience includes extensive work with migrant children, second language learners, and students with disabilities.
View Mary-Catherine Moran's Resume/Vita, Publications and Workshops.
Level: K-12
- Literacy Coaching
- Special Education Literacy Coaching
- Special Education: Differentiated Instruction, Literacy Development and Students with Disabilities
- Literacy: Classroom Routines that Support Literacy, Text Comprehension trategies, The Synergy of Reading and Writing, Literacy Program Review
- English Language Learners: Differentiated Instruction, Literacy Development, English Language Learners with Exceptional Needs
Differentiated Literacy Coaching:
Scaffolding for Student and Teacher Success
Using the Picture Word Inductive Model (Calhoun, 1999) with English Language Learners
The PWIM is an inquiry-oriented language arts strategy that uses pictures containing familiar objects and actions to elicit words from children's listening and speaking vocabularies (Calhoun, 1999).
PWIM is a literacy teaching tool that is ideally suited to the needs of English Language Learners. It is motivating, has the potential to tap child and family “funds of knowledge”, and provides content and context based experiences in vocabulary, phonics, and text comprehension. M.C. can introduce your staff to this literacy learning protocol and help facilitate implementation in tutoring and teaching situations.
Reference: Teaching Beginning Reading and Writing with the Picture Word Inductive Model by Emily F. Calhoun – ASCD (1999)
Literacy Leadership: Supporting Your Coaches to Improve Instruction
As school administrators, it is essential to be actively engaged in building a successful literacy program. School leaders, who strive for excellence and are committed to providing the best opportunities for students and teachers, must provide sustained and systematic support for their literacy coaches.
There are many factors that will impact the long term success of a literacy coaching program including strong administrative support, recognition and celebration of success, and data analysis on an ongoing basis. In this workshop, practices implemented by administrators across the country to support their coaches will be discussed.
Workshop features include: Reflection, Professional Development Objectives, The Principal’s Role in Peer Coaching, Celebrating Success, Solutions to Coaching Challenges, Ongoing Support Structures for Literacy Coaches, Scheduling Option for Maximum Benefit, Suggested Forms for Recording Program Goals, Assessing the Effectiveness of Your Collegial Support Program, Implications for the Admininstrators, Resources for Implementation and Further Study.
The Strategies of Coaching–Fine Tuning Your Communication Skills
While the literacy coach’s role may change according to the coaching format used, effective communication skills form the foundation of the interaction between the coach and the teachers. So, whether the coach is the facilitator of a study group, the demonstrator of a lesson, or the observer of a teacher’s practice, the hallmark of the interaction is the communication skills that the coach brings to the table.
In this workshop, professional development activities will be shared (such as role play vignettes, video discussion, etc…) that “build, and build on” the communication skills of the literacy coach.
- Role of Reflection
- Professional Development Objectives
- Factors Influencing Collegial Relationships
- Process of Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Collegial Support
- Building and Sustaining Trust
- Elements of Effective Communication
- Pausing
- Paraphrasing
- Thoughtful questions
- Paying attention to self and others
- Presuming positive intentions
- Communication Roadblocks
- Facilitating difficult conversations
- Understanding your role and creating a balance between advocacy and inquiry
- Implications for the Literacy Coach
- Resources for Implementation and Further Study
The “Coaching Continuum”: Formats for Collegial Support, and Recommendations for Effective Implementation
In this workshop, learn about the model of a “Coaching Continuum” that includes: Study Groups, Demonstration Lessons, Observing Classroom Practice–The Coaching Cycle (Rita Bean, 2004), Planning, Observing, Analyzing/Reflecting, Conferring, Focused Classroom Visits, Literacy Professional Development (Content Presentations).
Also learn about a protocol for determining the best match between the coaching format and the needs of the students and teachers. For example, how do you determine if a demonstration lesson will meet the professional development goals that you have articulated, and how do you make sure that the professional development goals that have been chosen are based on student need.
The Coaching Continuum assumes that it is important to provide various points of entry to professional development. For example, if a teacher is not familiar with a particular method or material, it would be important for the Literacy Coach NOT to begin by observing the teacher using that very same method or material! The Literacy Coach would be advised to provide resource management (by reviewing the curriculum materials) or some content presentations individually or in small groups. When learning something for the first time it is important to build background knowledge, see others engage in the practice, and experiment with the practice over time. It is also important that a rapport is established with the folks working closely with the Literacy Coach.
Change in practice requires an understanding of why ongoing instructional adjustment is an important and integral part of teaching and learning. In this workshop, participants will be introduced to the Coaching Continuum and suggestions will be The “Coaching Continuum”: Formats for Collegial Support, and Recommendations for Effective Implementation provided on how to engage literacy coaches in deep reflection about their own learning, and how this understanding can impact their relationships with the teachers they work with.
Workshop Features:
- Reflection
- Literacy Coaching Continuum (from least intrusive to most intrusive)
- Resource Management
- Content Presentations
- Study Groups
- Demonstration Lessons
- Focused Classroom Visits
- Co-Planning
- Co-Teaching
- Observing Classroom Practice–The Coaching Cycle of (1) Planning, (2) Observing, (3) Analyzing/Reflecting, and (4) Conferring (Rita Bean, 2004)
- Resources for Implementation and Further Study
Summary of Experiences in Conducting Presentations