I benefited from instructional and peer coaching before I had heard the terms. My teacher preparation program and my initial teaching roles were built around team models that had formal and informal coaching conversations built into the organizational structure. When I first began consulting with teachers in other schools, I was surprised to find working […]

Reggie Rivers, a previous NFL player and now motivational speaker shared the following in a TED Talk , If you want to achieve your goals, don’t focus on them. That’s a different approach than most of us are used to hearing, but his explanation makes so much sense. He explained that it is not the […]

I approach the training of coaches and my own work as a coach using the process of having a pre-conference, an observation and post-conference. This structure exists in most of the training that administrators have received in clinical supervision. For me, a large part of what differentiates coaching from a supervisory model is that most […]

A posting on the Animas Center for Coaching, What Is Transformational Coaching, caused me to reflect on various coaching strategies that I practice with different clients to reach identified outcomes. In particular, I pondered if my choices of strategy are conscious vs. unconscious. The Animas Center provides these definitions: A performance coach’s main intention is […]

Mentors should focus on empowering beginning teachers. Years ago, I did a lot of work with William Glasser’s Control Theory/Choice Theory regarding motivating students. Glasser described a focus on survival, belonging, power, freedom, and fun. If you had a classroom where students’ survival needs were met (physical and emotional safety) and you created a sense […]

The term scaffold as used in building construction is described as a temporary structure for holding workers and materials during the building, repair or decoration of a structure. When applied to teaching, scaffolding is considered to be resources and/or guidance to support student learning. I have explored scaffolding when observing instruction. I often find two […]