Effective Instructional Coaching for Improved Classroom Instruction

Jim Knight, Founder and Senior Partner of Instructional Coaching Group (ICG), is also a research associate at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning. He has spent more than two decades studying professional learning and instructional coaching. Jim earned his PhD in Education from the University of Kansas and has won several university teaching, innovation, and service awards. The pioneering work Jim and his colleagues have conducted has led to many innovations that are now central to professional development in schools.

Jim wrote the first major article about instructional coaching for the Journal of Staff Development, and his book Instructional Coaching (2007) offered the first extended description
of instructional coaching. Jim’s book Focus on Teaching (2014) was the first extended description of how video should be used for professional learning. Recently, writing with Ann Hoffman, Michelle Harris, and Sharon Thomas, Jim introduced the idea of instructional playbooks with their book on that topic. Jim has written several books in addition to those described above, including Unmistakable Impact (2011), High-Impact Instruction (2013), Better Conversations (2015), The Impact Cycle (2018), and The Definitive Guide to Instructional Coaching (2021). Knight has also authored articles on instructional coaching and professional learning in publications such as Educational Leadership, The Journal of Staff Development, Principal Leadership, The School Administrator, and Kappan. Jim is also a columnist for Educational Leadership. Through ICG, Knight conducts coaching workshops, hosts the “Coaching Conversations” podcast, and provides consulting for coaching programs around the world.

Bryan Goodwin is president and CEO of McREL International, a nonprofit school improvement organization that seeks to harness the power of curiosity and inquiry to empower all learners through rigorously researched professional learning and coaching services for school systems worldwide. He has written many books that translate research into practice for educators, including The New Classroom Instruction that Works: The Best Research-based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement (ASCD, 2022), Building a Curious School: Restore the Joy that Brought You to School (Corwin, 2020), Learning that Sticks: A Brain-Based Model for K-12 Instructional Design and Delivery (ASCD, 2020), and Unstuck: How Curiosity, Peer Coaching, and Teaming Can Change Schools (ASCD, 2018). He also writes a regular column for ASCD’s monthly Educational Leadership magazine. He has shared insights with audiences across the United States, Australia, the Pacific and Caribbean regions, and the Middle East. A former teacher, college instructor, and journalist, Bryan earned his bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Baylor University and a master’s degree in rhetoric and communication from the University of Virginia.