Many coaches are struggling with the practicality of keeping notes about their work with colleagues. It’s not that they don’t want to keep appropriate and professional notes; it’s more about the time it takes and the kind of notes that cause the coaches to anguish over how to complete that kind of process. It’s certainly not easy to do yet the rewards for taking the time to maintain records is crucial to a coach’s success.

What many practitioners do not understand is that coaches do not walk into school and announce, “Oh, what should we do today?” Coaches plan and prepare for their work with teachers every day. So, how do they know what they need to do in preparation for their work with teachers? They keep notes so they can differentiate their support to teachers; they keep notes so they know where they are, where they want to go, and plan the steps it takes to get there.

Coaches need to document not only what/how they work with colleagues but also what their next steps are to provide ongoing, job-embedded professional development to them. However, coaching is confidential so the documentation stays in the hands of the coach and the teacher(s) being coached. Coaches and teachers work together and co-construct the “look fors” (before) in their collaborative consultation. When the coach visits the classroom (during), the coach uses the co-constructed form to document what happened in the classroom. This form is again used as the coach and teacher reflect and debrief (after) the lesson.  This kind of documentation is record keeping, a way for both the coach and teacher to keep track of their work together. This is one kind of documentation.

The more deliberate and thought-provoking kind of documentation is reflecting about the practice. Some questions include: How do you know the students were engaged in the work? Why were specific decisions made? How do you know that the students reached the intended outcomes? How can this practice be improved? What are the next steps to improve learning? These are great conversation starters that encourage deep thinking and contemplation, critical for ongoing discussions about student learning.

At the same time, coaches need to reflect on their work with teachers and ask the questions, “What am I doing to help teachers change and improve their practice? What am I doing to help teachers improve student engagement and outcomes?” Their relationships are developmental as is the process for reflecting and determining next steps. Coaches need to know what kind of support is necessary and if resources are required. They need to reflect on the conversations, actions, and thinking throughout the BDA cycle of coaching. They need to prepare themselves for the work they want to accomplish with their colleagues. They need to review their goals and objectives and determine if they have achieved what they set out to do. This process is continual and strengthens practice. How can that happen if the only thing to rely on is memory?

Two interesting related questions that I’ve been asked more and more frequently are how to explain the coach’s role to a staff not familiar with instructional coaching and how to describe or publicize what coaches do and how they do “it.”

First things first… how do we define instructional coaching? Instructional coaching is a sustainable teacher professional development model designed to help teachers get better at what they do. Coaching is part of a whole-school improvement strategy that fosters collective problem-solving and offers highly targeted professional development embedded in teachers’ daily work. Instructional coaches provide professional learning opportunities for teachers and school leaders focused on classroom practices to increase student engagement, build teacher capacity and improve student learning. Especially in this era of educator effectiveness, coaches are in the perfect position to help teachers implement effective instructional practices. That is their role. Some schools have ongoing faculty meetings and share the school’s plan for school wide improvement at every meeting; some schools rely on the coach to re-negotiate their role and start talking about the new ideas for school wide change; some schools started the previous year to gather the collective wisdom of the staff and create focus groups to talk about school wide change with instructional coaching as one intervention; some schools “hit the ground running” and are changing the tires on a moving car! No matter how the coaching model and role are “rolled out” in schools, consistency in practice and language are the best ways to ensure a shared understanding of what and how coaches work with teachers and administrators.

The coach’s role needs to be shared in several ways, e.g., in print, in practice, and in perception. So, what do I mean? Coaches ought to informally gather some data from his/her colleagues and identify relevant and meaningful topics via a print or electronic assessment survey of what the school needs to improve. This organic list is generated by the staff so the teachers’ voices are clearly heard. After a list is generated, the coach needs to circulate the list and identify teachers with whom to work. Sometimes coaches ask for volunteers; sometimes they ask their friends to be their emissaries of good will and spread the good word; sometimes coaches are asked to work with all new teachers or specific grade level teachers. Remember, coaching is not a deficit model so working only with those teachers identified by the principal as needing support defeats the purpose and goal of an effective instructional coaching model. However, if the principal “assigns” the coach to work with teachers who are identified as needing help, the coach must broaden his/her scope of work to include other teachers as well. (The coach is following the principal’s directive and is including other teachers to join the process in ways that support whole school improvement.) Share with the staff ways that you can help support effective instruction. Here’s where “show and tell” are your friends!

Working one-on-one is the best way to work with teachers. However, that is not always the reality of a coaching situation. If a coach is a former staff member, s/he must elicit the support of friends and begin to co-plan and co-facilitate some small group learning. An example of small group learning is to offer mini professional learning on the use of evidence-based literacy practices or questioning techniques as topics to demonstrate collaborative practice. Coaches and teachers working together and showing how their work is planned and facilitated speaks volumes. Helping teachers strengthen their reflective practice encourages them to be innovative, especially when they know that coaches are non-evaluative. This can be accomplished through a professional learning community where vision, support, and understanding are shared. If there is a school newsletter or “Coach’s Corner,” share stories of success written by teachers who have seen changes in classroom practice and student engagement as a result of the school’s adoption of an instructional coaching model.

Building relationships take time. Coaches understand adult learning strategies and honor the teachers’ voices and choices. They demonstrate the BDA cycle of consultation, collaboration, collective problem-solving, and confidentiality. Their practical experiences, classroom habits, and coaching protocols demonstrate a clear understanding of goals, objectives and professionalism. There is a joint ownership for student and staff learning with mutual respect evident. Changing perceptions can be challenging. The best way to do that is to show how non-evaluative practices are collaborative, confidential, and critical to success. Show that changing practice creates a change in belief. You can do it!

The energy for September is palpable… new students, new classes, new materials and best of all – new thoughts. All of us start the year extending our thinking and trying our best to make plans that make sense, are doable, and focus on how to help students grow. It’s also the time of year that instructional coaches, teacher leaders, and administrators think about how to help teachers grow professionally. Administrators, especially, are looking for ways to engage their staff members with meaningful professional learning and not minutiae that must be presented to staff. Instructional coaches can be incredibly helpful in designing effective professional development plans that address the needs of the group and offer opportunities for staff to nourish their own professional growth.

In her book, Elena Aguilar says that “…what distinguishes effective coaching from other kinds of professional development activities is that coaching is an ongoing effort focused on developing a specific and agreed-upon set of skills or practices.” This couldn’t be truer!

Instructional coaches are in the perfect position to elicit feedback and input from staff about their past professional learning sessions and which ideas need to be expanded. In most schools, instructional coaches have the pulse of the school and have a pretty good idea of what folks want to know more about and how they can collectively problem-solve around common issues, goals, and grade level/content area points of interest. They know the kinds of skills or practices that should be shared and understand how to help staff members collaborate with each other, not just cooperate with each other. Coaches understand how collaboration creates connections that result in shared learning. And they know that learning is continual and goes beyond one staff meeting.

Coaches work one-on-one and in small groups to promote learning. They build relationships with their peers and provide ongoing support, not “drop-in” support. Be available to help teachers where there is a need. For instance, if you were a coach in the building last year, begin this year with a review of last year’s accomplishments and remind everyone about their role in making those accomplishments so successful. Collect some school wide data and design some mini professional learning sessions around the data that shows where support is needed. Partner with one of the teachers you coached and co-plan/co-facilitate some of those mini sessions. You’ll need to be creative; offering those sessions is always an issue. Some coaches I know offer those sessions before school; some offer them during school by repeating the mini sessions a few times so teachers can visit on their prep periods; and some offer time after school if possible. (Some schools have a budget for before or after school activities so explore those options.)

If you are new to the school and coaching is new, think about working with PLCs and finding some articles that address the goals of the PLCs. Established PLCs should have a mission and vision and through your support, help members share that vision. Having a shared vision brings people together, even for a short “chat and chew” session with coffee and donuts. When you bring people together and they start to talk about common interests and a joint mission, relationships begin to emerge. Those are the relationships that you want to cultivate. They are the relationships that take on individual and group ownership. Those are the folks with whom you can start a coaching relationship.

Getting into classrooms as a new coach is not the first thing that usually happens. Teachers want to improve their practices but they are not entirely comfortable with someone coming into their rooms without taking time to become acquainted first. This is not an arranged marriage and it just doesn’t happen automatically. Just saying a coach is non-evaluative is not enough for carte blanche in a classroom. Talk to the teachers; find out what they think needs to happen to help their students grow and to help the school be successful; give teachers a voice and choice about how you can help them. That’s a good start to opening the lines of communication. And as you open the doors, remember the three “Bs” of effective coaches: be trustworthy, be a good listener, and be a great learner.

And so it begins…

Along with the excitement of meeting new students comes the anxiety about working with new administrators, navigating the Common Core, preparing for the educator effectiveness process and understanding a myriad of other initiatives that are either district-wide, school-wide or statewide. So, when I talked to several teachers and coaches, I asked them what caused the most angst with opening school.

They recognize that the beginning of the school year “gathers” all the hopes and expectations of offering students and their teachers a plethora of initiatives that are designed to help improve student outcomes. Sometimes the initiatives are structural, e.g., moving teachers’ rooms around to organize specific teams of teachers with their students or creating writing labs in former classrooms where teachers can take their students so that the atmosphere is conducive to great writing. You know what I mean about walking into school and seeing more than the floors waxed and new white boards installed. Those surprises are usually not met with much hope. After all, making physical changes does not guarantee that changes in instruction will follow.

Then these teachers I asked thought for a moment and talked about how busy their days were sure to be. They began decorating their rooms several days ago and arranging the classroom furniture in ways that would encourage thinking, talking, and learning together. They reviewed their class lists and started to think about how to group students. Some had last year’s data; most did not. Without the data, they focused on what kind of work the students would do in groups rather than how to construct the groups to maximize the students’ learning.

I asked them how they would go about working with other teachers and creating a camaraderie with both students and teachers so they could think about instructional practice. They rolled their eyes and said that the one thing they rarely, if ever, have time to do is just to talk to their colleagues about classroom “stuff” and share ideas. They all loved the notion of sharing ideas and techniques. Most said they talked to each other as they passed in the hallway, went to the mailroom, or while waiting in line to duplicate some papers in the office. Most said they were not optimistic about the kinds of professional development (not learning!) that they think has been scheduled for the grade level, content area, or large group meetings they were required to attend. Notice, they said “attend” and not “participate” in these meetings.

We know that students and teachers learn from each other. Learning is social. Start this year with a commitment to work together with your colleagues to collectively problem-solve, create lessons that can be shared, communicate regularly about issues that influence student learning, and collaborate in ways that engage each other in real talk, or accountable talk. Make deliberate time to honor each voice and recognize that teaching and learning is evolutionary… it happens over time through multiple collaborative opportunities and recurrent discussions.   

While this was a very small sample of teachers and coaches (8), I believe they are the voices of the field. I believe that they are making a difference in their universe… they want to engage their students, take time to think about their thinking, be reflective in their practice,  be innovative and creative, and implement effective instructional practices. This cannot be accomplished in a silo. Talk to one another!

Getting ready...

Well, school opening is right around the corner. I’ll bet most teachers are feeling pretty relaxed right about now. But, before you know it, the bells will start ringing, signifying the start of another school year. Yes, another year where teachers will be told that they need to do a better job and the way to accomplish that is through the evaluation system. Teachers will be told that they need to be “fixed” and that fixing the system will translate into improved student outcomes… is this really the way to improve student outcomes?

I don’t know… I still get excited buying school supplies and thinking about all the interesting ways to connect art, life and literature. I still think a lot about how I would approach using various novels and exposing my students to a multitude of techniques that would enhance their interest and engagement. I still think about creative ways to remember every student’s name and how to start the year with a positive and promising attitude for change. Until now, I really didn’t think too much about how teachers are evaluated and how that impacts their daily existence.

Along with the excitement of this new school year, comes the shift in my thinking. My thoughts have shifted away from sharing my love of teaching literature to students into sharing ways to collectively problem-solve and focus on where successful learning takes place… in the classroom with teachers and other school leaders. My beliefs have evolved to address a myriad of ways to think about helping teachers find their voices and affirming what they know works in classrooms. I want to think about a variety of ways that reinforce teachers’ “best practices” and their quest to go from “good to great” in their classroom habits.

Wouldn’t it be great if all schools could begin the year building on the previous year’s successes and focusing on how to apply effective instructional practices rather than beginning the year blaming folks on what changes were not made? If that were the case, imagine how productive staff members would feel if they knew that being a member in a community of learning and practice meant that the entire school community would start the year collaborating about the practices that worked well the previous year and strategizing ways to make continuous  improvements that influence student learning.

So, what do I think about the beginning of the school year? Here’s what I think… instructional coaches are in a perfect position to “remind” staff that capitalizing on the successes is a much more valuable way to encourage success. Coaches need to start the year with a plan that continues building on previous successes and moves practice forward. They need to think about ways to help teachers participate fully in collaborative learning experiences. Remember, teachers want to implement new learning in their instruction and having the support to do that, will likely result in changes with student performance. Coaches need to understand how to build content knowledge with teachers, focus on the skills needed to become more knowledgeable, think about the ways attitudes must change to make those adjustments and then think about the teacher behaviors that will demonstrate their understanding of change and the momentum change causes. Not so easy to do but oh, so constructive if done in a non-evaluative way.

I think coaches can make certain assumptions as they start the year: 1) teachers need to understand a variety of instructional strategies before they are expected to use them; 2) implementation of new strategies requires teacher resources, i.e., coaches to help build success through practice and support; 3) meeting teachers one-on-one and in small groups to discuss classroom practice is the most effective way to support teachers as they apply their new learning; 4) work together consistently and intentionally with teachers to recognize, understand, and use new practices in order to make the practices part of their teaching repertoire; and 5) professional growth of teachers must be nourished, valued, and supported regularly in order for change to take place. Change takes time. Coaching is a practice that will help ensure that teachers have the time to think about, reflect and make adjustments to their teaching. This small start will make a very big difference in teaching and learning.

What is instructional coaching?

I've thought long and hard about how to start a blog and whether or not I had something important enough to say so that others could respond. Well, today is the first time I am writing a blog and sharing my thoughts with others. Not because what I have to say is so important but rather because what I have to say may help others change their thinking, engage in open dialogue with colleagues, and explore ways of working together without the fear and risk of the dreaded word... evaluation.

I started teaching in 1973 and retired from the only school district where I ever worked in 2009. I was incredibly lucky... I loved every minute of teaching but not everything I was required to do. My career was varied: English teacher, English Department Head, school disciplinarian, cooperating teacher, curriculum writer, etc., with a host of other responsibilities like substitute teaching when my department colleagues were absent, supporting the office during inclement weather, and engaging regularly with parents who were unsure of their child(ren)'s path to success. Through it all, I never wavered from my goal of students being at the center and ensuring I was doing the best I could do to help them reach their greatest potential. Somewhere along the way, however, I realized that I needed someone to help me grow professionally so that I could "turn around" my lessons learned to help both students and colleagues. Again, I was lucky... my husband was also a teacher who loved his role as classroom supporter, instructional leader, and colleague who helped his students grow as learners. I now know that he was my first (and only) coach. He asked the right questions, incurred my anger several times, and helped me realize that talking about practice and "rehearsing" ways to engage students would facilitate my own growth and practice.

Well, here I am struggling with the same issues I experienced in my own classroom only now I'm focusing on helping others to love the art and science of teaching as I did albeit in a very different world with very different requirements. So bear with me as I share my thoughts and welcome your thoughts and questions as well.

Belief for today... So many thoughts, so many blogs, so many opinions about instructional coaching. So what is instructional coaching? Many think instructional coaching is when a colleague or administrator gives advice, an opinion, or a suggestion about how to teach a specific concept, book, mathematical equation, etc. You get my drift... when a teacher asks for help (or not), someone comes into the room or meets the teacher in the hallway or in the teachers' lounge and some question is answered. Sometimes, a "conversation" happens when a colleague comes to the classroom door and asks, "How are things? Is there anything I can get/do for you today?" This is not coaching, not even peer coaching. It's not even mentoring of teachers although I've seen this happen, especially where release time is an issue.

For me, instructional coaching happens when two people meet regularly to talk about the practice of teaching and learning. This can also happen in small groups; the difference between these two types of collaborations is that the conversations becomes more "global" in nature with a small group and not about a specific person's interactions with students and with the learning that takes place. In both scenarios, the conversations need to become routine; they need to become habits of the mind, practice, and belief. When the conversations occur one-on-one, however, they become more deliberate and more focused on an individual's customs and traditions that translate into classroom practice. Think about tennis lessons... does an individual "get" as much from a group lesson as a one-on-one with the tennis instructor?

Enough for one day... stay tuned and I'll continue to share my perceptions, views and reflections about instructional coaching.