What we should do is take time – at least the next 3 years – to develop curriculum resources that teachers can select, adapt, try out, and refine together in collegial professional development settings within and across their schools (Linda Darling Hammond on the Common Core Standards, DRavich, blog, Oct. 24, 2013).

Can you think of a more effective use of time than to work with colleagues to discuss teaching and learning??

Instructional coaches are perfectly poised to create opportunities with their teaching colleagues to discuss successful instructional practices regularly and without threat of evaluation. Teachers who discuss goals, curriculum, instruction, materials, and data in a no-risk environment with each other ensure that professional conversations are taking place every day with students at the center of those conversations. The collaboration and collective problem-solving that occurs during this time creates the norm that working together is the natural evolution of teaching and learning; it is the “expected” environment in which to work. Staff members working together towards common goals: increasing student engagement, improving student outcomes, and building teacher capacity helps establish a learning environment where every student is in a classroom with a highly skilled teacher.

Following the before, during, and after (BDA) cycle of coaching and consultation on a regular basis provides ample opportunities for coaches and teachers to work together to “unpack” the Common Core State Standards that require teachers to redefine what they teach and rethink how they do it. The cycle enhances the opportunity for teachers to co-plan, rehearse, co-teach, and then debrief with their coaches so that they can accomplish their goals.

Teachers and coaches who work together regularly have ongoing opportunities to talk about their routines and classroom rituals. They talk about data, how to use it, and then make choices that meet the needs of their students. They work with a partner to talk about things that matter most… their students and their learning needs.

Please share how you work with your coach to make changes in your instructional practice.

I am frequently asked by administrators and external evaluators what I think are the most important qualities of an effective instructional coach. That’s a loaded question! Many people believe that effective coaching means that coaches can improve student scores and improve school wide data quickly and without challenges. Some people believe that effective coaching means that every teacher on that staff implements whatever the coach suggests as in “show me and I’ll do it.” Those that understand that instructional coaching is an ongoing teacher professional development/ professional learning support system and a reflective practice believe that coaches are on the side of helping teachers implement effective instructional practices in a non-evaluative, risk-free environment. These are the “enlightened” ones!

Coaches are not magicians; they have no magic wands; and they can’t spread any pixie dust throughout their building immediately resulting in higher student scores and better school profiles. If that were only the case! But what they can do is provide opportunities for teachers and administrators to plan, learn, review, revise, and work together to influence student learning and build teacher capacity.

So, here’s my top ten list:

1. Able to build strong trusting relationships
2. Exhibits deep content knowledge
3. Is a good listener
4. Committed to life-long learning
5. Models collaborative practices and collective problem solving
6. Knows adult learning theory and application in a coaching situation
7. Maintains a positive attitude towards all individuals
8. Identifies current trends in education and provides appropriate resources to support those trends
9. Skilled in questioning techniques to reinforce metacognitive reflection
10. Understands the data collection process (collection, analysis, and use of data)

 What’s on your list??

November 4 is designated as National Coach Appreciation Day. What a wonderful idea! Finally, instructional coaches are being accepted for the service and support they provide to their teaching colleagues and school administrators. This day may not be distinguished with plaques, commemorations, or certificates, but rather with the gratitude and respect that teachers freely bestow upon their coaching colleagues who help them recognize their voices and implement effective instructional practices without passing judgment or disapproval.

In 1953, Eleanor Roosevelt convinced Congress to acknowledge educators on their own special day but it wasn’t until 1980 that the day become nationally recognized. Now we celebrate National Teacher Appreciation Week in May. This is a week where we honor teachers for their dedication, diligence, persistence, knowledge, skills, and for working with our most precious commodity – our children. Our teachers are driven, devoted, and faithful in the work they do with our children. These are the same qualities shared by our instructional coaches.

Instructional coaches are steadfast in their desire to help teachers take ownership of the learning process, committed to helping teachers find their voices, and take personal responsibility for the outcome. That doesn’t mean they control the outcome; it means they take every conversation, every face-to-face session, every individual’s needs into consideration when they establish a coach-teacher partnership. They try to help every individual reach his/her full potential by providing opportunities for teachers to ask questions, communicate freely, reflect on and in practice and make adjustments to their teaching. They also give descriptive and timely feedback to help teachers make those adjustments. Coaches are the voices of reason as well as the voices of uncertainty so teachers are encouraged to think about their thinking and their instructional decisions.

Now is the time for you to reflect on all the wonderful things you have done and are doing to support your teaching colleagues. THANK YOU for all you do to help teachers implement effective instructional practices. You are APPRECIATED for all you do. Think about all the people you have influenced with your willingness to help teachers go from good to great. YOU ARE THE BEST!

When a group of new coaches met during a small group professional learning conference, I asked for some burning questions that they needed answered as they began their new role as instructional coaches. Hands down, the most frequently asked question revolved around the issue of confidentiality and how to answer an administrator who had good intentions but was asking the wrong question. Instead of asking what the administrator could do to support teachers, the administrator asked what happened between the coach and teacher during their planning consultation and subsequent classroom visit.

Administrators need to know what is going on in their building but must balance that with the sensitivity about confidentiality. They need to collect first-hand information about instructional delivery, classroom management, teacher needs, and student learning. This can be accomplished as they walk around the building and engage in classroom observations, teacher talks, and student focus group conversations. This data cannot be collected through conversations with the coach, even if the conversation boasts a positive description of what happened in an individual’s classroom.

So, how does a coach finesse this kind of conversation? First of all, building awareness of the coaching role as a confidential conversation between professionals is critical. The coaching model needs to be rolled out to the faculty with the coach and administrator side-by-side, each giving the other support and lending credibility about how coaching works. Next, the coach must reiterate to the teachers that the work between the coach and teacher will not be shared unless the teacher shares the conversation with the administrator absent the coach. Thirdly, the administrator must not ask the coach questions about any individual teacher’s performance, knowledge base, skill set, or instructional needs. Instead, the administrator should co-plan with the coach the kinds of professional development offered to all teachers and then make time to walk around the building to observe the level of implementation without involving the coach in the conversation.

When coaches do not directly answer administrators, they are not being insubordinate; they are being discreet, confidential, and respectful of their teaching colleagues. And, they are diplomatically reminding administrators to be visible and walk around their building.

Have you ever been asked to reveal some confidential information? How did you handle it?

Last week was a wonderful learning experience for me. The PA Institute for Instructional Coaching hosted the first of three professional learning conferences of 2014. This is a multi-day statewide conference with coaches, mentors, administrators, and other school leaders as participants. The three-day conference focused on the theme of listening as a critical element of instructional coaching and school change. Coaches need to be fully “present” and must be great listeners to help their colleagues identify areas of strength and areas of need in order to move forward with their teaching goals and school wide improvement.

Listening helps coaches give “permission” to their teaching colleagues to discuss problems of practice, to collectively problem-solve, and to help each other become critical friends. When one listens to another person without being judgmental or opinionated, the conversation is respectful, mutual, and without ego. No one is right; all points of view are respected, voice and choice are exercised, and achieving goals are the primary objectives.

Remember when you first started teaching? You were a student teacher and had the support of your cooperating teacher. How often did your cooperating teacher remind you not to talk over students, not to answer for the students, and not to ask another question until the students finished answering what you just asked? The same scenario is recognizable when instructional coaches work with teachers. Ask probing questions that give teachers the opportunity to think about their thinking and the classroom decisions that they make. Allow them time to delve into their own thinking and question their own motives for teaching specific content and for the instructional delivery of that content. Give them opportunities to reflect.

Coaches need to ask themselves questions as well: what am I doing as a coach to help teachers change and improve their practice and what am I doing as a coach to help teachers improve student engagement and outcomes? Coaches cannot answer these questions unless and until they engage in several moments of silence where they just listen and support as they guide the practice that happens in each classroom. Two ears and one mouth… listen twice as much and say half as much!!

Teacher leaders are essential for school change. They are, as Marcie Craig Post (executive director of the International Reading Association) says, “galvanizers for school change, always positive, inspirational role models, getting us to think in new ways, encouraging creative and novel thinking, and challenging us to greater intellectual achievements.” That being said, coaches need broad shoulders and thick skin to be the constant cheerleaders, the nurturer, and the vocal consciousness-raising, non-judgmental voice of reason. All this in a day… that is, every day!

Welcome back...summer is over but I bet you are like me and have thought all summer long about how to help teachers increase student engagement, build their repertoire of teaching skills, and refine your own coaching practices at the same time. Of course, this sounds much easier said than done. After all, it probably took all of June and most of July to decompress and then all of August to start thinking about effective instructional practice, the variety of ways to help teachers meet the needs of their students, and how your coaching practices need to be differentiated according to the needs of the teachers you coach.

As a coach, the most important thing you can do is to listen to teachers and help them identify their needs, wants, and hopes for change. You are not in the position to tell them what to do or to pass judgment on what they do. Your role is to help them become more reflective practitioners and to think about their thinking in ways that will help them make changes to their practice. You need to provide them with ample time to talk together and discuss how students learn. You need to ensure that there are ongoing opportunities to collaborate with one another.

As Joellen Killion states, coaches are “catalysts for change” and are “visionaries who are never content with the status quo but rather always looking for a better way.” As you listen to your teaching colleagues, remember that your role is to ask questions and help your colleagues ask questions about how to refine their practice. You are not the expert who knows the answers; you are the one who helps colleagues question what happens in classrooms and schools. You are the one who disrupts the status quo by helping colleagues understand there is always “more” to learn about instructional practice. You are there to engage teachers in conversations where students are at the center and effective instructional practice is the focus of those conversations.

Best wishes for a wonderful school year. Be strong, be committed, and be collaborative. Together with your teaching colleagues, you can make a difference in your school community.