Nicole S. Turner (00:03):
You are listening to the Simply Instructional Coaching Podcast, a podcast for instructional coaches who want a simple plan with simple steps to get started coaching teachers. I’m your host Nicole, and I’m an elementary teacher turned instructional coach with a little bit of K-12 admin sprinkled in. Tune in for simple tips and strategies for what and how to coach teachers. Being an impactful instructional coach doesn’t have to be complicated. Let’s make it simple.
(00:37):
Hey, here, coaches. Welcome back to the Simply Instructional Coaching Podcast. I am really excited about this episode. It’s a solo episode and I haven’t did any in such a long time, but I wanted to jump in into this episode today because I’ve been getting so many emails around the topic of interviewing for an instructional coaching position.
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I know many of you know my background or how I became an instructional coach, but let me tell you, back in the day when I first became an instructional coach, I was asked to come downtown. I was RIFT or what you call a reduce in force teacher, and I was asked to come down and have a conversation with the director of coaches. I had no idea what any of this position had or was, and so we had a good conversation, just very casual, and then we went directly into, Hey, Nicole, this is your job. You will be a differentiated accountability coach.
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Again, I had no idea what that was, and so it was really, really eyeopening about the position, but we fast forward about 10 years from that day, and now instructional coaching is something that is becoming widespread across the country and really internationally because we know that this position, based on research, really is a very good school improvement model, that when teachers have someone that they can go to, when they have someone that can support them in their role, then they become better teachers. And so we’re able to kind of do some things that principals can’t because we are not evaluative, but we are very supportive. And so it’s really exciting that I see so many new districts adding the coaching role as support for classroom teachers. So I know that if you are looking to interview for an instructional coaching role, either you’ve been asked or you feel like it’s the next step in your career prior to administration, or you just want to try something new and share some of your experiences with some fellow teachers, then instructional coaching is definitely something that you should try.
(02:56):
So I’m going to give you a couple of tips that I’ve had or that I’ve been working with or talking with a couple of coaches about, when it comes to interviewing for the instructional coaching role.
(03:08):
So the first thing that I would suggest if you are applying for a role is that you make sure that you research the district, research the school. You want to make sure that you understand and familiarize yourself with a mission statement or educational philosophies. This will also let you know if this is something that you are comfortable with.
(03:28):
You don’t want to go and interview for a job or even accept a job in a building that you don’t support the philosophy of that building, or you don’t support the philosophy of that principal, then that becomes a humongous problem. When you then join that team, you have to realize that the principal is the person who is rowing the boat. They are the captain of that ship, and so you want to make sure that you are on the same page and that you both do exactly what it is that you feel is best for students. So you want to make sure that the mission statement, the educational philosophy, or any of the programs that they utilize is something that you’re familiar with and ways that you can definitely have some conversations.
(04:10):
The next tip that I will give you would be to reflect on your experiences. So when you are in the interview, you know can really talk about things that you did in the classroom and ways that you would share that with teachers. So again, we are not fixers, right? We’re not going to say, Hey, I’m going to go in and I’m going to fix this teacher. But you want to share some of the experiences that you’ve done in the classroom when you are interviewing for that position, especially if the things that you’ve implemented in the classroom one was successful, right? Two you saw and it had an instructional impact. If it had impact on instruction, then you definitely want to share it and make sure, especially if it’s completely aligned to whatever that philosophy or educational statement or mission statement that you read about, or even if it’s the programs that they used.
(05:06):
So many times where I was in a position where the actual curriculum was something that I had taught, then I was able to speak to that during that particular interview. So make sure that that’s one thing that you do. You can definitely share plenty of examples of if you did any coaching or working on a team, make sure that you kind of share that, talk about how you would share with the team or what you actually did in the classroom, even if you coached your students or if you were a part or a team lead for a grade level.
(05:42):
So you want to show a little bit of experience, and definitely you want to make sure that you talk about the things that you’ve done in education.
(05:52):
So the next tip I have is for you to be prepared to talk about your philosophy as a coach. There was many times what I had to share about my capacity or my growth. If you are a classroom teacher and you have never been a coach, then you want to talk about how you can build trust and how you have communication, open communication with the team that you were on, how you work together as a team. Making sure that you bring that to the forefront, making sure that people know that you are a great collaborator, right? You can build collaborations with teachers and that you can walk side by side with them. You also want to make sure that you share your philosophy about being non-judgmental. That is important. You must create a safe space for teachers to reflect on their practice. And so because of that, you want to make sure that you can show that inside of the interview. There will be so many questions specific to curriculum. There will also be so many questions that are probably aligned to instructional strategies, but you want to make sure that you talk about your coaching philosophy as well.
(07:11):
Hey, hey coaches. I have a few questions for you. Are you struggling to get coaching cycles completed? Are you still trying to figure out what to coach? Are you confused about how to coach teachers? If you raised your hand and said yes to any of these questions, I want to invite you to join me and more than a hundred instructional coaches inside the Simply Coaching Hub. The Simply Coaching Hub is a professional development resource and community hub that will provide you with practical, relatable, and actionable professional development for new and seasoned instructional coaches. The hub is specifically for instructional coaches, created by me, an instructional coach. In the hub, we focus on providing specific pathways that meet you where you are in your coaching journey. Differentiation is important when we work with students and even when we coach teachers. Shouldn’t it be important when it comes to your growth as a coach too?
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Absolutely. And that’s why when you join the Hub, you will be prescribed a coaching pathway that will address your specific needs. The hub also provides a simple framework for you to implement right away. It’s time you start coaching with confidence. And most importantly, the hub is a community. With over a hundred instructional coaches from all over the world, you will connect with someone who can support you through any situation you may be dealing with. And the best part is you have a coach walking side by side to support you in your journey. It’s time to elevate your instructional coaching with the Simply Coaching Hub. Check out www.simplycoachinghub.com to learn more. I will see you in the hub.
(09:01):
All right, so the next tip that I want to give you is to familiarize yourself with instructional strategies and frameworks that that school will probably use. I have interviewed for schools that had capturing kids’ hearts or schools that utilized and implemented CHAMPS as a classroom management or behavior management system. So if you’re familiar with those, then make sure that you can speak to your experience. If you’re not familiar with those, make sure that you do that deep research to really have and be able to have that conversation with them and talk about how you will utilize that as a way to support teachers in their growth.
(09:42):
The last thing is is that I want to talk about the way in which you showcase your communication and your interpersonal skills. Effective communication and strong interpersonal skills are crucial for instructional coaching. So be prepared to demonstrate these skills during your interview.
(10:01):
You want to make sure that you listen carefully to those questions, provide thoughtful responses. A new practice that I have was not really new, but something that I’ve been working on is making sure that I listen to comprehend versus listening to respond. That has been a big thing in my coaching journey, was making sure that you know, you are able to really listen to teachers or really be able to respond and make sure that you repeat what it is that you heard. So I like to say, so what I’m hearing that you are saying. I’m validating what that person is saying. So making sure that you use that as your communication and interpersonal skills. Also, make sure that you are engaging in active dialogue with your interviewer. Whoever is interviewing you, make sure that you are really having conversations back and forth with them just so that they are aware that you totally understand what is happening.
(11:02):
Another thing that I want to kind of talk about is maybe need to be prepared for different scenarios, right? There will be some different scenarios that could happen, some hypothetical scenarios that they may throw at you. So if this happens, this happens. If that happens, then that happens. One big thing that I know that has been a question for me was how do you handle a situation where a teacher is resistant to coaching or feedback? And then in situations like this, when the teacher is resistant, I first try to understand their perspective and their concerns. That’s one big thing. I ask open-ended questions and gather that information and listen carefully to their responses. Going back to that communication of me really listening to what it is they’re saying versus me just building up in my mind to respond to what it is that they have.
(11:56):
One other thing that I do is that once I validate their concerns, I try to address them and find some type of common ground. So I believe that building that trust and demonstrating empathy are keys to overcoming resistance and fostering a positive coaching relationship. I think that is the key to that situation. I’m almost guaranteed that any coaching interview that you have, you’re going to talk about a resistance to coaching or a teacher who is resistant to coaching. Alright? So you want to make sure that you are prepared to talk about that.
(12:32):
In addition, make sure that you are ready to talk about how you would deliver professional development. That’s another key component of that. As an instructional coach, it’s an essential for us to model continuous learning and growth. We must be prepared to discuss our own professional development listening to this podcast or taking courses or being a around programs, but also really talking about what it is that you do and how your professional development is different from others.
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So for me, an engaging professional development is when teachers are really interactive and they are working on the work that actually has something to do with what it is that they’re working on. I am a big person who is really on best practices in coaching, but I’m also a big person that allows my professional development to be aligned to any school improvement plan or goal that we have. And so I just try to make sure that my PD actually has something to do with our school improvement goal and how we are supporting teachers through that process. So making sure that you talk about that. You talk about how you would align your professional development, you talk about engaging strategies that you will have, and make sure that you also talk about that when they leave your professional development, they will feel like they already have something completed, something ready to go. That makes that professional development relevant and it makes it purposeful, and that’s what you want to have when it comes to you talking about professional development and how you would build that in all of your work as an instructional coach.
(14:14):
So as I wrap up this episode, this is a very quick episode that I wanted to make sure I dive in and share with you, but I want you to remember that successful instructional coaching interviews rely on thorough preparation. So making sure that you dig deep and you do your research, that you have some self-reflection, and that you’re able to pull from your experiences, and that you have clear communication. Because if you cannot communicate and respond to your interviewers, then you surely won’t be able to communicate and respond with the actual teachers that you support. So research the school, reflect on your experiences, develop a strong coaching philosophy, and familiarize yourself with instructional strategies and frameworks that the school is involved in. Don’t forget to showcase your communication and interpersonal skills and be prepared to discuss your professional development as a coach, what you’ve done to prepare yourself, as well as how you would present professional development. So with these tips, you’ll be well on your way to acing your instructional coaching interview. Thank you so much for joining this episode of the Simply Instructional Coaching Podcast. I will talk with you guys soon. Good luck on your interview and happy coaching y’all.
(15:37):
Thanks for listening to the Simply Instructional Coaching Podcast. If you’ve enjoyed this episode and you’d like to help support the podcast, please share it with other coaches and teacher leaders, post about it on social media, and leave a rating or review. To catch all the latest for me, you can follow me on Instagram @SimplyCoachingandTeaching_ and on Twitter @Coachandteach. Thanks again and I’ll see you in the next episode. Happy Coaching.
