This month’s blog covers foundational steps to establishing a strong coaching practice in your network or school. See here for all of the embedded resources you’ll find in the entry below for ease of access:
- Action Step One Pager
- Instructional Coaching Framework – “Monitor the Learning”
- Student Learning Sample Tracker
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I recently came across a 2018 meta-analysis on the effectiveness of coaching that found the difference in impact of teachers who had a consistent coach and those who did not was the same as the difference between a novice teacher and one with five to ten years of experience. Read that again – receiving effective coaching can catapult the performance of a new or novice teacher! For school leaders who spend their summer thinking about how to take their schools to the next level, developing or enhancing an instructional coaching plan is a great place to begin.
Effective instructional coaching includes many components: identifying a class’ needs, supporting your teacher in making tweaks to curriculum and/or instructional practice to support those needs, and establishing a coaching relationship in which there is trust and rapport. However, before tackling any of those elements, there are foundational planning and systems steps that need to be in place to create the environment for coaching to thrive; this blog addresses those. We recommend that school leaders use the chart below to reflect on their “state of” instructional coaching and determine priority next steps:
| Establishing Coaching Foundations | ||
| Reflect: Does my school have its… | Key Considerations | If needed, possible next steps: |
| Vision for exemplar teaching and coaching | Is there a shared understanding of instructional best practice at my school? | Leverage the action step one-pager to create and coach a vision for instructional best practice. This document is developed from our experience observing hundreds of teachers and their coaches.Use these top 5-10 Teach Like a Champion techniques as part of the backbone of your school’s instructional vision: Engage all students: What to Do cycleEngagement strategies: Turn & Talk, Cold Call, Call & ResponseHigh Ratio Teaching: Academy Monitoring, Discourse Cycle (including Everybody Writes, Turn & Talk, batch Cold Call, Show Call) |
| Is there clarity on the goal(s) for the time spent between coach and coachee? | We recommend that all teacher coaching centers student learning needs in the classes you support. See here for our Monitor the Learning framework.Coaching should include regular observation focused on what students know and don’t know, as well as co-analysis of student work outside of the classroom. Either in class or in the office, the coach guides the teacher in adjusting curriculum and/or instructional practice to address student needs.At the beginning of the year, observation can also focus on classroom management and engagement to lay the groundwork for rigorous instruction. | |
| Coaching assignments | Do all teachers at my school have a designated coach? | Match teachers with a coach based on profiles: your strongest coaches with your newest or most struggling teachers, and similar content and/or grade span expertise where possible. New Teachers: weekly; more experienced: bi-weekly; most proficient: monthlyConfirm scheduling overlaps exist for observation and debrief. |
| Systems to track the state of student learning | Do all teachers have regular assignments they review to assess student learning?Does the coach have an easy way to gain insight into student learning for the classes they coach? | Since student learning needs should drive coaching work, creating systems for what work should be analyzed and how often is key. We recommend teachers analyze student work a minimum of 1-2 times per week, on their own, and at least 1-2 times per month with their coach. After identifying key assignments to analyze, Google Trackers like this can ensure everyone has access to the right data. |
| Systems to track the state of teacher development | Is there a way for the principal to see what coaches are working on with their teachers to determine larger trends or where their support is needed? | Similarly, especially for larger teams, establish a shared system for tracking observations and teacher needs. This allows for campus-wide planning around trends, including whole-staff professional learning, department meetings, grade-level meetings, and/or small group practice clinics.Google Trackers can work well, as can online platforms selected by your school or district. |
| Executive calendar | Does my calendar include time for classroom observations and coaching work?Is there enough flex time so that even during busy or unusual weeks, I can adjust and hold coaching time sacred? | Our time reflects our priorities! Create a template of your ideal week, including time for teacher observations, teacher debriefs, and preparation for those debriefs. (Leaders coaching many teachers may need a two- or even three-week rotating schedule.)You’ll also want to include time for whole-staff professional learning, as well as meetings with your instructional coaches, along with any high-priority moments for leader presence during the day, such as car line, morning meeting, lunch, etc.Include time each week to look ahead to the next week and determine any necessary scheduling adjustments. |
If you identified any growth areas for your school as you read, take a moment to think and plan, engaging your secondary leaders or trusted colleagues to incorporate their input. And if you would like thought partnership in any next steps, please reach out to schedule a time to discuss. Our team recently hosted a workshop on the Monitor the Learning framework for instructional leadership (here is a recap) – so these practices are an area of interest and expertise.
Wishing you happy planning during these quieter summer weeks!
And finally, on a separate note, we are beyond excited to welcome Teach Like a Champion (TLAC) back at the end of this month for workshops in Miami and Orlando (July 29-31 in both locations). To learn more about TLAC and these workshops, visit here. If you’re already convinced and ready to sign up – at a hugely subsidized rate thanks to generous state funding – head here. We’ll see you there!