At our October professional learning conference facilitated
by the PIIC mentors, coaches, and TPIIC.org, I asked coaches to submit
questions they had about their practice and moving teachers forward. The
questions were wonderful and really get to the heart of coaching. In the next
few blogs, I will answer some of these questions and hope that my answers
generate lots of conversations between and among coaches, mentors, and
teachers.
What is the best way
to transition from a classroom teacher to instructional coach in the same
building?
This question is a really important topic for coaches who
have become a “senior among their peers” and moved from teaching to coaching in
the same building. The coach is not really a “senior among peers” but many
colleagues may perceive the new coaching position as a “promotion” even though
there is no salary increase for it. This may be because the teaching staff is
not aware of the coaching model, role, or expectations. As a result, the
relationship in the building must be re-negotiated (in a positive way).
First things first… the coach and administrative team need
to be on the same page and share a vision about instructional coaching. That
means that the communication needs to be transparent and explicit about how
coaching can help the school achieve its goals for school wide improvement. The
coach needs to be prepared and understand the role so that it can be discussed
and communicated clearly to the administrative team and staff. It is important
for the administrative team and coach together to “roll out” the coaching model to the staff with the expectations
shared. That way, there is no misunderstanding about what the coaching role
involves. At that time, the idea of confidentiality between the coach and
teacher must be shared along with the understanding that the coach and
administrative team will communicate regularly about school wide goals, not
about performance or evaluation. If you started the year without this mutual
understanding, you need to get on the agenda for the next faculty meeting and
share this with the staff.
Second step… talk to the “emissaries of good will” aka, your
friends on staff, and ask them how they feel about instructional coaching,
e.g., what makes them comfortable/uncomfortable with the idea of instructional
coaching; would they like to co-facilitate a mini professional learning session
with you; can you “practice” the before
conversation with them, etc. Notice that I did not say to offer a co-teaching
or modeling session. That comes after the coaching interactions and solid
working relationships are established.
Step three… collaborate with your colleagues and
co-construct a needs assessment, i.e., how do you think the school wide goals
for improvement can be accomplished; what would you like to know more about;
what kind of topics would be helpful to offer as mini professional learning
sessions, etc. This way, the teachers’ voices can be heard. Be sure to tailor
the “ask” so it is not a venting session!
To be continued…How
did you re-negotiate your role in your building?
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