Our “coachability” increases as we develop confident humility. Coaching leaders should be models of confident humility – continuously presenting themselves as learners. Continuous teacher growth requires teachers to be vulnerable and risk discovering that their current practice can be improved. Building teachers’ confidence and offering challenges is the work of coaches – very similar to […]

Trevor MacKenzie, the author of “Inquiry Mindset Assessment Edition,” describes the incongruity that can exist in some classrooms between co-designed inquiry learning activities and teacher-controlled assessment activities. How do we move to teacher/student co-designed assessments that build “assessment capable learners?” Trevor provides some thoughts to guide coaching to teachers who are exploring assessment.  Connect with […]

“Making the first 2-3 minutes of a conversation curiosity-based will change your conversations.” -Michael Bungay Stainer. How does your natural curiosity about teaching, learning and leading guide your coaching? How can curiosity help you avoid the advice giving that can be detrimental to coaching?  Listen to Michael Bungay Stainer with Jim Knight. Read Rina Whittaker’s […]

Jessica Vance, the author of “Leading with a Lens of Inquiry,” describes how instructional coaches and administrators can guide teacher growth through inquiry. Leaning in…listening…and asking with curiosity. She describes the importance of modeling and maintaining spaces that honor agency, curiosity, reflection. and collaborative learning. Connect with Jessica. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out […]

Students are watching and interpreting each move and decision we make.  So in effect, our classroom management approach is a curriculum. “What are students learning from your classroom management?” is a great coaching question. To what extent is learning the elements of community built into your classroom decisions? Is management even a word you want […]

While buy-in is necessary for long term implementation of instructional practices that impact student learning, it occurs later in the process not early on.  Especially for experienced teachers, it’s only after the changes have produced improvements in student learning that significant changes in teachers’ beliefs and attitudes occur. Consider how this understanding impacts the role […]