Each teacher in a school can make a difference in a student’s life, even with the most disenfranchised and apathetic students. And, as a group of teachers together who all believe they can make a difference in a school, there is no doubt that student and teacher attitudes and achievement will positively change.

That’s what John Hattie calls “collective efficacy” (2016). It is a shared belief that through collective action, teachers can influence student outcomes. He believes that collective teacher efficacy is directly related to student achievement. If the teachers and school community believe they can help students achieve and move learning forward, they will.

Think of the little engine that could…a story of optimism, a “can do” attitude, and a growth mindset!

Godard, Hoy, and Hoy (2000) later reported that a stronger collective teacher efficacy has a deeper effect… a stronger collective teacher efficacy encourages individual teachers to use their skills more effectively. There seems to be a ripple effect and a cumulative effect… the more I learn from my peers, the better prepared I am as an individual.

Hattie’s research indicates that the effect of teacher efficacy is more than twice that of feedback and three times greater than classroom management (Hattie, J. The Applicability of Visible Learning to Higher Education, 2016). Understanding this impact, school communities need to embrace the notion of ongoing professional learning as a job-embedded teacher talent development model. That is, develop the talent in the building individually and collectively.

This research on collective efficacy resonates loud and clear.

Instructional coaches move teachers into the role of architect. They help teachers find their voices, grow their voices, take control of their learning, and focus on professional learning that is designed to influence student achievement. They help teachers establish strong, trusting relationships with each other while building capacity and cultivating skills that yield growth. That means student growth and also teacher growth.

If everyone in the school community believed that each student, teacher, and administrator could individually and collectively influence student outcomes, what a world this would be!

How do you reinforce collective teacher efficacy in your school?

I just read Stephen Barkley’s most recent blog about pre-conferencing. While our vocabulary is different, our thinking is very similar. He says something that really resonates with me. He says, “…a large part of what differentiates coaching from a supervisory model is that most frequently the coaching post-conference turns into a pre-conference.”

In his lexicon, he uses the term “observation” which we do not. The words may be different, but the cycle is similar. For instance, he believes in the pre-observation, the observation, and then post-observation conference. We believe in the before, during, and after, aka the BDA cycle of consultation. In our lexicon, coaches visit with teachers and classrooms and together they co-create goals, identify roles, and meet to discuss the visit a few days after the actual classroom visit.  His conferences are observational.

To our coaches, observations are conducted by administrators while observational learning is handled by the teacher. Coaches help build teacher capacity by collaborating with the teachers and helping them identify the needs which create the goals and the resources follow. The needs drive the conversation and the visits are a data collection tool. The coach is a colleague in the process, a thought partner, with a specific role and responsibility. There is no “observation” but rather a learning environment where partners are learning together to meet the co-constructed goals of the lesson or group of lessons.

I think the key here is to remember that talking about practice is what makes a difference in the practice. Talk before and talk after… keep the conversation going so that student learning is always at the center. Ongoing conversations support continuous learning and help teaching colleagues make the adjustments that are necessary for improved teaching and learning.

How do you remind your teaching colleagues that continuous conversations help create continuous learning?

So, what if you are working with a teacher on staff and another teacher wants to come by your room to talk? Am I breaching confidentiality if the teachers see each other and know that I am working with one and the other is requesting my help? Does that mean I have to meet teachers in a secluded place so no one knows that I am helping someone specific?

Wow… all good questions that came through my “Ask the coach/mentor” email… what to do?

Don’t get crazy… coaches need to project the image and demonstrate through their actions that coaching is not a deficit model and that everyone wants to go from good to great in their practice. Knowing that a coach is working with a teacher is not a breach if the teacher shares the information or makes a request in public. That’s a very promising way to support coaching… a public forum, e.g., a mini PD session, where teachers ask openly for the coach to begin a coaching interaction related to the topic at hand. When that coaching interaction is exposed as a way to offer opportunities for collaboration, the interaction changes from a “fix it” to a “let’s talk about it” kind of situation. How powerful is it if a coach meets with the whole team? Then, everyone on the team is part of the coaching process. And, if there is a cohort approach to working with a group of teachers, everyone on the team benefits from working with the coach.

Changing the paradigm about why instructional coaching is effective is the start. Coaches must dig deeply and discover all the hidden biases about instructional coaching. Be gentle… most teachers are accustomed to administrative observations and not coaching visitations. Some people think coaching is only about “observations” and going into a teacher’s room can be daunting for the teacher.  Sometimes, the coach must “undo” the skeptic’s beliefs, the naysayer’s comments, and even the “do gooder’s” desire to jump onboard and really get to the heart of why instructional coaching is such a valuable job-embedded teacher professional learning model. No one complains if their doctor engages in grand rounds when discussing a patient’s case. With many experienced doctors involved, the greater likelihood that the conversation is deep and productive. Why is it any different with instructional coaching?

Where do you meet teachers when you engage in coaching conversations? How do you maintain confidentiality?

Confidentiality and responding to principals will always be issues if the principal does not understand the role, rules, and responsibilities of effective instructional coaching.

One question just emailed to me is, “How do I get my principal to jump onboard and understand that coaching is to support a teacher, not to be used to gain information about a teacher the principals thinks is weak?”

Right from the get-go, the principal is breaching confidentiality by telling the coach there is a weak teacher. Those kinds of discussions are best left to the administrative team whose role and function is to evaluate a teacher’s performance. The minute a principal tells a coach to work with “that weak teacher,” the coaching relationship is compromised. And, here’s a news flash… most teachers in a school are well aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the teaching staff! If the coach is mandated to work with “that weak teacher,” the others have already figured out that coaching means working with someone whose practice is considered anemic.

Don’t plunge into that trap.

But, how does a coach avoid that pitfall?

First and foremost, a coach and principal must share a vision and definition of effective instructional coaching. Both have to be on the same page and revisit this definition and vision periodically so the communication is transparent and the goals are front and center.

Second, this vision must be shared with the staff and also revisited so that there are no misunderstandings about the role and expectations of the coaching model. Always refer to school’s plan for improvement and align the coaching goals with those. No one can argue with the idea that effective coaching brings the school closer to accomplishing the goals when those goals are widely disseminated, discussed, and revisited.

If a coach finds him/herself in this predicament, an effective way to handle the situation is to remind the principal that coaching is confidential, an “offstage” dimension in their work. You are happy to share the topics of professional learning that are planned and/or have taken place but sharing a teacher’s performance with the coach is the teacher’s choice, not a coach/principal driven decision. A more promising way for the principal to handle this is to remind the teacher that there is an instructional coach on staff who is happy to help the teacher identify goals, strategies, and effective instructional practices that will yield positive results in teaching and learning.

How do you handle a situation that breaches confidentiality?

In a recent conversation I had with a relatively new coach, she mentioned that she was worried abut losing “teacher buy-in” with some teachers at this mid-point of the year. I asked why she thought she was “losing” them? What were the signs that made her feel like their coaching interactions were over?

She kept saying that she just “felt” the lack of engagement and commitment from some of the teachers with whom she worked. So, we needed a little soul-searching to get to the bottom of this feeling.

First, we talked a lot about how she was feeling… as you can imagine, she was feeling overwhelmed, under productive, compliance driven, and definitely, “earless.” When I questioned that description, she said that she felt she had no time to listen and that her mandate from the principal was to get into the classrooms and produce (whatever that meant). Hmm… red flags for sure.

All of these feelings are the cumulative effect of not really understanding the role, function, and goals of instructional coaching – from all points of view. It appears that the principal doesn’t really know what to expect from coaching and needs a mid-year refresher course; (I wonder what kind of roll out was provided so that the vision could be shared and questions could be asked) the teachers probably need some reminders as well about the role of the coach and how coaching is designed to help teachers achieve the school wide goals for improvement. And, more importantly, the coach needs to take the pulse of the school’s needs and prioritize what can be accomplished through short range, mid-range, and long-range planning.

Without goals and planning, the acute fear of not producing is paralyzing and overpowering. But remember, coaches are not “bean counters.” Their value is not in the number of teachers they “service” but rather in the ways teachers learn to collaborate and become architects of their own learning so that change occurs. Having a master plan gives direction, design, and data.

We have engaged in a series of our own BDA’s. At this point, the coach is planning three things: 1) chat and chews with the topic of the week; 2) mini contests modeled after March Madness to spark mid-year teacher rejuvenation; and 3) offering raffles for items from local places as “bell ringers” during a mini PD/PL session. These inspired her engagement! These are just the short-range “get involved” kinds of things. The more important conversations about teacher engagement are ongoing and require deep reflection, commitment, and the realization that Rome wasn’t built in a day.

What are some strategies you use to ensure continued teacher engagement in your coaching interactions?  

Be a thought partner, not a micromanager or absentee manager.

In the recent SmartBrief on Leadership issue, there is an interesting blog from Radical Candor. I hadn’t previously read anything published by Candor so this is new for me. I tend to shy away from anything labeled, “Radical” given the nature of our work!

What was interesting in this blog was the question asked, “How can you determine where you fall on this spectrum, so you can learn how to move in the right direction?”

It’s no surprise that Candor suggests that people on your team are more engaged when partnering exists. That’s the mantra of an instructional coach… partner, not dictate; collaborate, not tell, even when the advice is under the guise of guidance.

This blog recommends these actions to ensure a partnership approach:

·  Hands-on, ears on, mouth off
· Displays curiosity and recognizes when more knowledge is needed;
· Listens to problems, predicts problems, brainstorms solutions, and asks why;
· Asks about relevant details;
· Is informed because of a hands-on approach;
· Leads collaborative goal-setting;
· Removes obstacles and defuses explosive situations (coaches are oftentimes intermediaries and

   liaisons minimizing the possibility of any volatile situation)

I agree with most of the above list but the one that sticks out to me in a negative way is the “predicts problems” phrase. Coaches do not predict problems; coaches ask questions that help their teaching colleagues share the “what if” kinds of scenarios. Predictions may become someone’s prophecies; coaches avoid telling a colleague that a problem will occur even if they suspect it will happen. Instead, coaches are thought partners who help their colleagues think through instructional practices, discuss about multiple perspectives and ideas, co-plan strategies to address a myriad of classroom and instructional efforts, and collectively problem solve to find multiple ways to approach teaching and learning.

Are you a micromanager, absentee manager, or a thought partner?

Best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year!

Part III…What is the best way to transition from a classroom teacher to instructional coach in the same building?

Continued from November 1…

Step six… write an action plan about how you will move practice forward.

Your action plan needs to include a short-range goal, a mid-range goal, and a long-range goal. Use the plan as a self-assessment tool and take the pulse of where you are at each point. To help create the action plan, look at the Levels of Intensity for Coaches (detailed LOI and summary LOI) for guidance as you plan your schedule and activities. If you created a needs assessment as suggested previously and have that information, use it to populate the topics for your mini professional learning sessions. 

These mini professional learning sessions will generate the coach’s one-on-one conversations and the BDA (before, during, and after) cycle of coaching is born!

Step seven…

Rome was not built in a day! Welcoming a coach into a teacher’s classroom is not automatic. It takes time and work to build awareness and a shared understanding of what instructional coach is and is not. Think about the teachers with whom you will be working… what kind of support will they need and what preparation do you need to provide them with ongoing support. One-on-one visits can be challenging if the coaching relationship is not strong. Take the pulse of the situation and remember that instructional coaching is not a “fix it” model; it’s an opportunity for colleagues to work together in ways that strengthen instructional practice.

Work with the willing and build on the previous year’s successes. Remember, a coach is a partner, not a supervisor, administrator, whistle-blower, or evaluator. Keep reminding the staff through your actions and words that the coaching/teaching relationship is non-evaluative and risk-free. It’s a place where mistakes are encouraged so that learning takes place. You are not an expert and together, you and your colleagues will understand that two heads are definitely better than one! Establish those relationships first and then begin to move practice forward slowly and surely!

What strategy has worked for you in transitioning from a teaching position to a coaching position?