Instructional Coaching Models

Four Essential Topics for Building Coaching Models

Leaders can encourage widespread knowledge about coaching through a combination of professional development workshops and follow-up small-group and one-to-one professional learning support. Four topics are especially important:

1. The way of being that underlies the coaching program, which we describe as the partnership approach.
2. The key element of the coaching process, for us, is the Impact Cycle.
3. Strategic knowledge, which includes the instructional playbook and how data are gathered.
4. The coaching habits and skills that stand at the heart of better conversations are listening, questioning, demonstrating empathy, fostering trust, and engaging in dialogue.

The Instructional Coaching Group provides support for districts looking to establish successful instructional coaching models through workshops and consulting.

The Partnership Approach for Teachers and Administrators

In Impact Schools, principals and coaches collaborate to support and lead all aspects of professional learning. This partnership is essential, but coaches and principals must structure their relationship carefully so that teachers do not misunderstand the coach’s role in schools. If teachers perceive coaches as evaluating or judging them, they may not be receptive to coaching.

The instructional coaching models we teach at ICG are based on the Partnership Principles. When coaches take the partnership approach, we have found that teachers are more inclined to implement new teaching practices.

The Partnership Principles

There are seven partnership principles that guide the work we do: equality, choice, voice, dialogue, praxis, reflection, and reciprocity.

• Equality: I see others as equal partners in conversations.
• Choice: I believe others should have a lot of autonomy.
• Voice: I want to hear what others have to say.
• Dialogue: Our conversations should be back and forth.
• Praxis: Learning in action.
• Reflection: Looking back, looking at, looking ahead.
• Reciprocity: Conversations should be life-giving.

Rather than coaches telling teachers what to do, a partnership approach focuses on collaboration in instructional coaching models.

Principal Support is Essential for Successful Instructional Coaching Models

Teachers are inclined to do what the principal emphasizes and to ignore what the principal ignores. For this reason, the principal must communicate support for the coach. Principals can help coaches be more efficient by ensuring that everyone clearly understands the coach’s and principal’s distinct roles.

When coaches and principals clarify the coach’s roles, the coach is better able to focus attention on helping teachers meet their goals. Clarifying a coach’s role also increases the likelihood that he or she will find the job rewarding. Clearer roles also make it easier for principals to conduct teacher evaluations because they provide a reference point that principals can use for observing coaches and talking with them about their progress.