Teacher Guide
Public Achievement was initially developed using volunteer "coaches" (undergraduates
or community volunteers) who worked with groups of middle and
high school students. Teachers generally assisted groups, but
did not work with them directly. Since then, teachers have
taken a more active role, serving as "teacher-coaches" or
supplementing the work of volunteer coaches with dedicated
PA curricula.
Students coined the term "coach." They chose "coach" to
underscore that this is a different adult role (as opposed
to teacher or leader). While many teachers teach in ways similar
to PA coaches, and PA coaches work with young people in ways
similar to teachers, it is helpful to draw some basic contrasts.
However, keep in mind that the role of the coach is developed
through practice, based on the general guidelines below.
Coaches must mediate between two contradictory aspects of
Public Achievement. On one hand, this is the team' project:
they choose what issue or problem to address and are responsible
for designing and implementing their project. On the other
hand, coaches play a distinct role with certain responsibilities
with (not for) the team.
- Team Facilitator - they help the team learn how to work
together democratically.
- Project Manager - they help guide the team through the
process of designing and carrying out their project.
- Experiential Educator - they help the team learn through
this process.
One way to think about it is to compare a PA coach to a sports
coach. Coaches are there for guidance and encouragement, but
are not "on the court." They make sure that the team
does all the necessary preparation work (practice) so that
they are ready to execute when they step onto the field. There
are a couple of crucial differences, however. 1) The "game
plan" in PA is created democratically by the team members
and the coach. 2) PA coaches can do some work with the team
and often do work "behind the scenes." 3) In PA,
winning is not the ultimate goal, learning the process and
having everyone participate are equally important as successfully
completing the project.
In the beginning,
in the middle, and even towards the end, not every face
was smiling, not every student
was accountable, not every coach dependable, not every lesson
ground breaking, not every motivational speech motivating
and not every final presentation was mind blowing. However,
I know PA has altered and improved my teaching methodology.
I trust students more. I base more projects on self interests.
I understand how a real audience improves interest level
and accountability. I recognize the need for evaluation.
I am more patient with process. Our students trust themselves
and understand the diverse meaning of work. They know irresponsibility
has real world consequences. They realize that part of adventure
and making change is boredom, confusion, and struggle.
- Jason
Becker, PA Teacher
Roles of a Coach
Here, we offer a brief discussion of three roles that that
make an effective coach. They are not prescriptions for a coach
to follow, but are time-tested suggestions for one to consider
as they think about how they will coach their team. Of course,
one cannot be or do all of these things at once. But coaches
need to be ready to take on different roles in different situations.
Remember, teachers/coaches are citizens too, they can give
their ideas, assign tasks, and help hold people accountable,
the key thing to remember is that they do PA with rather than
for their group or class.
1. Team facilitator:
Coaches may work with a variety of different types of teams. Some may be composed
of all students in a class, or teachers may coach a number of smaller teams
all at once. As the Team Facilitator, coaches need to help their team learn
how to work together democratically. This means being attentive to team dynamics
and team processes. In the Explore And Discover stage we
have included tools for helping groups learn how to work together democratically.
Bases on this structure, the hope is that young people will learn to take
ownership over their PA sessions. We have found the best way to facilitate
team dynamics is through regular evaluation of meetings. By regularly evaluating
your meetings, your team will not only become more effective, but more democratic.
2. Project Manager
Even though the team is responsible for designing and implementing the project,
the coach helps guide them through this process. While many of us have an
idea of how to carry out a project, coaches help the team make sure the project
makes a public impact. Public Achievement gives you several important steps
as well as tools to make this happen. The coach understands the Six Stages
of PA and can therefore help guide the team through these steps (when necessary).
Coaches also help their team set realistic goals, make thoughtful decisions,
organize their work, and help them be prepared when they act in public. Of
course, it is up to the coach (and team) to use their own judgment as to
what steps are appropriate for their project.
Again, evaluation is key. In addition to evaluating how the team works together,
it is important to assess the quality of your public actions. The public evaluation
of the team's work ensures accountability, clarifies roles, keeps a project
moving forward, provides space for critical thinking, and enables people to
learn from their successes and failures
3. Experiential Educator / Learner
An absolutely critical responsibility of the coach is to
help their teams learn from their experiences. Public
Achievement is not just about the projects, it is also
about learning the process of public problem-solving, as
well as
learning to think and act as a citizen. Coaches should carefully mediate the
tension between process and project so that learning and work happen simultaneously.
There is a constant tension between the process and the end product.
- Terri
Wilson PA Coach
In PA, learning should be relational. This means that each
person is an active participant in teaching and learning, it
is not a one-way transfer of knowledge from coach to student.
Knowledge is co-created through dialogue as coaches and team
members learn with each other and from each other. Coaches
might want to follow Bernice Robinson, a teacher in the Citizenship
Schools of the Civil Rights Movement, who began each new class
by saying ‰"Now I'm not a school teacher. I'm
here to learn with you.
Much of the learning in PA comes from doing. A key aspect
of being a political educator is seizing upon "teachable
moments." These are those unexpected moments that may
contain a political lesson or have significance for your team's
work.
The coach also needs to help her or his team make connections
between their work (which focuses on solving a specific public
problem), the broader issues of public life, and standards
of student learning. In short, your team needs to be able to
see the relationship between their work and the "big picture." One
simple tactic a coach can use is to make sure that the problems
and solutions being worked on are also being discussed in public
and political terms (core concepts). For example: talk about
the need to build community, tackle racism, and so forth. By
placing something small into a larger context, the students
will see more purpose in the project.
Reflection is an essential way that we learn through doing.
Reflection is similar to evaluation, but the focus is on the
meaning of experience for team members, what they learn about
themselves and the world through taking action.
Some differences between coaches who are teachers and volunteers:
Teachers as Coaches
- Know the students better.
- Are able to spend more time with students, emphasizing
the PA process and allowing time for projects to evolve.
- Are more familiar with the school.
- Are trained in pedagogy and are more effective with classroom
management and instruction.
- Are better able to seize "teachable" moments,
to incorporate PA concepts into daily class work as well
as align PA projects with curricular standards.
Volunteer Coaches
- Are less of an authority figure.
- Are often seen as closer in age.
- Bring new backgrounds and perspectives to the experience.
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