Why the SIMPLE Framework for Instructional Coaches?
Hey Hey, Coaches! I am sooooo passionate about empowering educators! In my last post, I really emphasized the importance of every teacher having access to an instructional coach. Building on…
Redefining your Coaching Purpose
Why do you want to coach teachers? What is your coaching purpose? At the end of the school year, you were probably feeling burnt out and may have found it…
Revisiting the Foundations of Coaching
What makes Coaching special? As we wrap up the school year and set ourselves up for reflection, let’s come back to the foundations of coaching. But first, let me tell…
Choosing Your Instructional Coaching Model
Instructional coaching is an art; just like every type of art, there are several different models you can use to be effective. While there are several different models of arts, it is important you find the right type for the occasion. This holds true for instructional coaching. It’s important that you find a model that works best in your school and in your position.
How to maintain your sanity while still being a great Instructional Coach
Being an Instructional Coach can be taxing to say the least. We are teachers of teachers. We are data bases. We are advocates for students. We wear so many hats that sometimes the ones that are most important get put on the backburner. It’s important we remember to pull out the “I’m still a person” hat, “mom/dad” hat, or any other hat we previously enjoyed wearing before school started up again. Not getting to wear all the hats you want to can be frustrating, but wearing too many hats can be downright stressful.
Partnering with the Principal
Whether or not you are a teacher, coach, aide, doctor, secretary, or truck driver, I think we all have a common thought. How can we make our job a little easier?? Partnering with the principal is one way to help make life more manageable.
Instructional Coaches… How do you Effectively Communicate with Teachers?
Some of us are born with a natural gift of gab, an ease to every passing moment into a conversation. There are some who fit in the “can’t get a word in edgewise” category. And then there are all the rest of us.
The Do’s and Don’ts of Instructional Coaching
Education, as it’s been known for years on end, is ever changing. Most recently, the change has shifted to include instructional coaches as onsite job-embedded professional development for classroom teachers. We are seeing more and more schools adapting to this quickly spreading idea of bringing in an outside brain for one common goal, the one thing that continues to stay the same in education….student achievement. As with any new idea, there are important strategies to use and to NOT use.
Who are you COACHING for?
Now that we are wrapping up the end of the year, I like to think about how I can improve my coaching for the next school year. One of the questions I start with…
Who am I coaching for? Am I coaching for Me? Teachers? Students? Community?
This question is more than just a quick reflection for current coaches. If you just snagged your first coaching gig “Congrats!” and this is the question you definitely need to get answered…
10 Coaching Strategies for Instructional Coaches
During my training as a teacher, I learned instructional strategies to teach lessons and deal with my students in the classroom. When I transitioned to being a coach, I soon realized that coaching was similar to teaching, my teachers became my students and I had to figure out strategies to best support them.