As schools begin engaging in teaching and learning in 2021, some teachers will be totally online, some back in school with masks and distancing guidelines and other in a hybrid model with various designs of teaching face-to-face and virtual. Instructional coaches and school leaders will be supporting teachers in similar blended levels of connectedness.

I am practicing and building my virtual coaching skills and exploring with coaches what learning is occurring for all of us during this forced virtual coaching that we may want to carry forward post pandemic. As you prepare for the New Year, this selection of podcasts and blogs from 2020 might provide insights and spark your thoughts on your coaching practices.

Starting with a broader view, this blog visits the art and craft of coaching. It’s from a panel discussion, where I joined Jim Knight and others during the fall Teaching Learning Conference.

Early into the pandemic, I was part of the Simply Coaching Summit — Quarantine Edition with Nicole Turner. I was asked how virtual coaching was different. My first response was that I asked to change the question. I was convinced that how coaching is the same is a much more important question. In these podcasts I share my thinking: Part I and Part 2.

Two instructional coaches shared their experiences and insights from virtual coaching in these podcasts: Jonathan Mueller from the Western Academy in Beijing and Jenny Killion from the American School in Barcelona.

Lastly, I shared my experiences and insights concerning virtual professional learning from facilitating Personalized Coaching.  I also had the opportunity to join in a conversation around virtual professional learning with Nicole Turner, an instructional coach in Indianapolis and Brianna Gray who leads professional learning for ACS schools in London and Doha. Resources and links to their work can be found in the lead-in to the podcast.

I believe that our reflections on our experiences and our willingness to frame and test out hypotheses around educator learning can increase our schools’ successes with student learning.

Cheers to new learning in 2021.