Common Ground coaching workspace — a fictional demonstration
Capture a visit note
Write down what you noticed, in your own words. Tags come from the shared language your school has defined, so the note means the same thing to everyone who reads it.
Visit note
Educator 01 · Visit 4 · Team AShared language · defined by your school
These terms are examples. A school sets its own vocabulary, in its own words — Common Ground works inside your framework and language, not on top of it.
Review recent notes
Notes from recent visits, kept in one place. The original visit note stays visible and stays in the coach’s words.
Visit notes
3 notesEducator 01 · Visit 3 · Team A
The class seemed calmer with visual transition cards. The materials at the end were still difficult to manage.
TransitionsRoutines
Educator 02 · Visit 1 · Team A
Directions for the group task were given once, out loud. About a third of the groups started on something else and needed a restart.
Clear directionsStudent engagement
Educator 03 · Visit 2 · Team B
After each question the educator paused before calling on anyone. More hands went up on the second and third questions.
Wait timeStudent engagement
Shared language · defined by your school
Clear directionsStudent engagementTransitionsWait timeRoutinesChecks for understanding
A school decides what belongs on this list and what each term means. The vocabulary here is an example — yours would use your school’s chosen framework and language.
Plan the next step
A next step has been drafted from the Visit 3 note. It stays a draft until you decide — nothing becomes the plan until a person confirms it.
What the coach noticed
Educator 01 · Visit 3 · Team AThe class seemed calmer with visual transition cards. The materials at the end were still difficult to manage.
Drafted next step
Awaiting your decisionKeep the visual transition cards in place. Before the next visit, rehearse the end-of-class materials routine once, so the handoff has the same structure the transitions now have.
A question worth discussing at the next visit: Does the materials routine need its own visual cue, or is one rehearsal enough?
This is the whole idea in one screen: the workspace can draft, but the coach decides what happens next.