(Guest Blog – Tessa Dodson) Tessa Dodson, Senior Writer of Classrooms.com, explores the need for students to develop the learning behaviors of seeking and using support from others. She suggests actions teachers can take to build these skills and mindsets. Instructional coaches can explore the benefits to students and teachers of building these empowered learning […]

The author of, “Not One More Teacher Lost,” Brad Gaynor, explores the powerful idea that improving education is not only about developing better teachers and leaders, but also about creating the conditions in which they can continue to do their best work. What happens when systems confuse accountability with documentation, support with compliance, and improvement […]

What if the statements we label as resistance are actually invitations to get curious? As a school leader or instructional coach, have you ever heard a statement like this: “But we have always done it that way”? In a SmartBrief blog, Julie Winkle Giulioni describes that as a phrase leaders cringe at hearing. I have […]

“Within every school there is a sleeping giant of teacher leadership which can be a strong catalyst for making change.” (Katzenmeyer and Mollar, “Awakening the Sleeping Giant: Helping Teachers Develop as Leaders“) Carly Quiros, from EdAdvance, explores this quote with Steve. What should instructional coaches, school and teacher leaders be modeling and doing to create […]

How well do you need to know a teacher to coach them well? I found myself pondering that question after reading Randi Brown’s Edutopia article on supporting teacher growth through trusting relationships. Brown describes two threads that exist in a coaching conversation. One is visible—the lesson plan, instructional strategies, student engagement, assessment results, and the […]

Teachers know that curiosity fuels learning. We intentionally design lessons that spark students’ questions. We celebrate inquiry, encourage exploration, and recognize that students often learn more deeply when they wrestle with uncertainty rather than simply receive answers. A classroom where students wonder, question, and investigate is a classroom alive with learning. Yet somewhere between the […]