“I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of ‘Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough.” (Marissa Mayer) How do administrators, instructional coaches, and teacher leaders foster […]

When leaders leave workshops and return to the “real” world, they often are overwhelmed by tasks, making it difficult to convert what was learned in a program into actions that address real problems. In workshops, coaches may practice the verbal skills of coaching: questioning, paraphrasing, providing empathy, feedback and support for differing views. But when […]

Some teacher leaders and administrators have job descriptions that include what I would call elements of coaching and elements of supervision. In an effort to be efficient, these leaders sometimes approach the two roles in a single observation and conferencing session. Confusion can arise when the roles mix. Supervisors can be coaches if the teachers […]

What are the actions that school administrators and instructional coaches can take to support the building of a culture of coaching within a school? How does peer coaching embedded in professional growth plans and PLC decisions encourage a coaching culture? How do school leaders model a culture of coaching? Steve explores these questions, setting the […]

Crystal Frommert, a middle school instructional coach, recently shared,” Coaches can do a lot to help even veteran teachers improve, especially when teachers know what kinds of support they’re looking for.” Her article presents 4 Ways to Maximize the Benefit of Having an Instructional Coach. She proposes that a start is for teachers is to: […]

This week I facilitated planning sessions with K12 building principals and their administrative teams including instructional coaches. The purpose of the sessions was to identify leadership behaviors that would support student achievement in their schools and plan for taking action on those behaviors. Working with my backwards planning model, you identify student achievement goals and […]