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Instructional coaching (aka meeting teacher needs) helps international Christian school teachers flourish. As a result of instructional coaching…
(1) New teachers are mentored through the steep learning curve of the first couple of years so they stay in the field and flourish.
(2) Somewhat experienced teachers receive targeted support to keep adding tools to their pedagogy toolbox. (Some may struggle in one or two areas that keep them from really flourishing, and they can get help in those areas.)
(3) Veteran teachers get encouragement, a resource every now and then, or a colleague to bounce ideas around with.
(4) Teachers and leaders learn to use data knowledgeably in decision making. (Did your school get an accreditation recommendation related to data use? No shame here—most schools I know have.)
(5) Teachers experience focused, effective professional development. (This includes special speakers, regular meetings, differentiated exploration.)
(6) Teachers align a relevant, consistent curriculum and content with standards and current best practice. (My first year of teaching, I announced the next novel study according to the curriculum I’d been given, and the students told me they’d read it already. That was frustrating.)
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Like I said, instructional coaching (aka meeting teacher needs) helps teachers flourish—and unfortunately, in my experience, instructional coaching is underemphasized in international Christian schools for 3 reasons:
(1) Coaching, instead of being seen as something that helps all teachers flourish, is seen as something to help struggling teachers survive. Given that coaching is not frequently used, no one really feels comfortable offering or receiving such support.
(2) Various people (for example, principals, curriculum coordinators, and department chairs) are assigned various tasks to help teachers—but these tasks do not fully cover instructional coaching, and sometimes overlap without sufficient communication by responsible parties.
(3) Those involved in helping teachers have not benefited from training in instructional coaching.
My suggestion? Try the online course 40-Hour Instructional Coaching!
I sure wish I had had the benefit of this course before becoming a department chair and a curriculum coordinator. If I had, I think I would have been able to help teachers flourish more effectively and efficiently. Here’s why:
(1) The course defines instructional coaching. The authors say, “You will encourage teacher growth through modeling, reflection, data analysis, and high-quality professional development, and this comes in many different forms” (Unit 3, Lesson 2, The Tier-Coach-Grow Model, p. 1). Then they lists some of the ways this can happen:
- Supporter of student learning
- Supporter of effective instruction
- Curriculum and content facilitator
- Data coach
- Facilitator for change
- Learner
- Professional learning facilitator
- Resource provider
Note: First, this definition was really helpful to me. When we don’t all agree on a definition or have a common vocabulary, it feels like I am playing a game of blindman’s bluff, swinging wildly at partially perceived but not fully articulated needs. I don’t know what exactly it is I’m doing, who else is doing it, and how we can best do it together.
Second, for schools I served in, I don’t recall all of the above being fully provided. For example, one school didn’t provide data coaching, another didn’t provide curriculum facilitation, and another school didn’t provide professional learning facilitation.
- What’s your experience?
- How does your school define instructional coaching?
- What additions might you need to make to your definition so that your teachers receive full-orbed instructional coaching?
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(2) The course offers helpful content, for example:
(A) The suggestion to have a data wall in my office to model data usage for teachers. (This seems so obvious–why didn’t I think of it before? Maybe because I’m not confident in my own data usage, and so I need the following resource.)
(B) A schoolwide data guide giving 5 categories of data (discipline, engagement, classroom assessment, norm-referenced testing, and process/implementation), types of data in each category, and examples of how to use the data.
(C) A culture of learning self-assessment tool listing 8 qualities (growth mindset, teacher ownership, avenues for collaboration, leadership values PD, common mission/vision, data valued, sense of trust, and focused school-wide goals). For each quality, it gives negative signs indicating that the school’s culture is toxic and positive signs that the school’s culture is ripe for learning. This would be a great faculty discussion piece, given the authors’ claim that a culture ripe for learning is a prerequisite to any change. This is something that I’d want to work on before putting a lot of effort into professional development and change initiatives.
(D) Checklists of what to do before, during, and after professional development to make it most likely that learning takes root in helpful and lasting ways. Most of these things I learned bit by bit, by experience, for instance, with facilitating professional development book discussions. But it’s great to have these concise lists all in one place, whether for running a cross-check on a big event or a check-up on regular meetings.
(E) A scheduling plan to help me focus on priorities and get them done. I’ll have to admit I skimmed over this part when I took the 40 Hour Workweek course for teachers, but now taking the course for instructional coaches, I actually implemented some of the ideas, and I’ve found them truly helpful. You can also check out Angela Watson’s free mini-course, the Fewer Things Better Project, based on her book Fewer Things Better: The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most.
(F) A plan for tracking coaching contacts that gives me a quick look at who I met with, when, what we did, and what follow-up I need to do. This is a tool I now use daily.
(G) Three complete bonus lessons on how to support teachers in some specific practices like teaching students time management skills, planning for different student work paces, maximizing instructional time, and streamlining transitions. These are great materials that can be given directly to teachers, and they are also good models of the types of materials that I could develop on my own.
Bottom line: Help your teachers by providing instructional coaching. (Hint: Enroll in 40-Hour Instructional Coaching today!)
Get flourishing!
Kim
Get Flourishing 