Simplify Your Coaching with “The S.I.M.P.L.E. Blueprint for Instructional Coaching™”
“I’m an instructional coach now, but where do I even begin?” I can’t tell you how often I get asked this question. In the last post, we talked about the…
Why Teachers Become Resistant to Coaching
As an instructional coach, I often reflect on my elementary school days when Mrs. G, the Title I Reading Specialist, would assist those of us who grappled with reading. I…
Establishing PLC Norms
What is a PLC? PLC… An acronym that is used widespread, and it is defined in different ways. For me, PLC stands for Professional Learning Community, based on the book…
Micro-Coaching Cycles for a Quick Win
We could all use a win right now, am I right? One way to give teachers an instant dose of success is through Micro-Coaching Cycles. This week, a teacher said…
Ending the Year with Reflection as an Instructional Coach
Instructional coaches, much like everyone in education, have experienced teaching and coaching on a whole new level this year. This year my school has had students being online, in-person, then…
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.
Dive on in, the Data’s Fine!
Being an instructional coach is all about helping teachers maximize their time and resources to create engaged students who become life-long learners. The best way to accomplish that is through taking a dive into a nice pool of data!
Vary your Snapshots
As Instructional Coaches and Leaders, we have busy schedules that keep us on our toes and watching the clock. Because we are so busy, sometimes we forget we should be doing different types of “observations” for our teachers and each one has its own purpose.
Fostering Strong Relationships Through Positive Feedback
The biggest and most important job we have as instructional coaches is to give feedback to the teachers we work with. While it can be easy to focus on the areas teachers need to improve on, it is always important to provide teachers with positive feedback. There are many ways and reasons to provide positive feedback to teachers and in doing so, you will create stronger relationships with those you work with.
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.