The Art and Science of Instructional Coaching
Many schools and districts have instituted a position of Instructional Coach to support teachers as they improve their instructional practices. Coaches are everywhere in the fields of athletics, performing arts, and business leadership. Most books and experts on personal development recommend finding a coach to support your own professional learning path.
So why not in teaching?
In my consulting work over the last two decades, I’ve provided direct coaching to teachers, and I’ve collaborated with instructional coaches as they supported teachers. I’ve been personally mentored by internationally known coaches, and I’ve read widely on the subject. It’s clear to me that there is art and a science to coaching.
The science side has to do with direct, effective practice in the field. You can’t be a tennis coach if you don’t know a lot about serving, volleying, and putting spin on the ball. You can’t be an instructional coach if you don’t know a lot about designing coherent lesson plans, creating engaging student activities, and evaluating learner mastery. But coaches who only dwell in the science side will not have long term, sustainable impact. They provide the tools to become effective without empowering each teacher to take ownership for implementation.
The art side has more to do with invisible, powerful connections. Coaches start with the premise that all teachers are doing the best they can with what they know right now. An effective coach builds trusting, respectful relationships with each teacher. Immediately the coach focuses on discovering where each teacher is on his/her professional growth journey. Part of that discovery is based in the science of effective teaching strategies – what does that teacher do well? More importantly, she observes and reflects on that person’s heart, that person’s commitment to making a difference, that person’s internal struggles in the growth process. By shining a light on each teacher’s strengths, the coach makes it safe for him to work on blind spots.
These art skills can be learned. There are great books – classics in the field – that teach different aspects of the art of coaching and leadership. I have selected 6 classics as the core of my Inclusive Coaching Cadre. Participants will read one book per month (or as much of that book as they choose. This is not a course with a grade!) and be part of an engaging online collaborative learning cadre with other coaches around the country. We will share reading highlights and how they translate into effective coaching practices. We will share breakdowns and breakthroughs, learning from each other, and modelling how to establish safe coaching communities in schools. Together, we can re-institute teacher job satisfaction. Everybody wins – teachers, families, administrators, and most of all, students!
The Inclusive Coaching Cadre has ended.
And let’s talk about how your school can re-institute teacher job satisfaction through Inclusion Coaches.
