May 2020 Instructional Coaching Must-Reads

Picking our favorites from May’s Weekly Coaching Roundups was tough! Read below to learn what a Coaching Choice Board is and how you can make your own, the four mindsets you need when coaching remotely, how educators can make learning more interactive online, and more. Enjoy!

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A Virtual Coaching Toolkit

Bookmark this: Stephanie Affinito put together an online portfolio of a few of her favorite coaching tips and blog posts on remote coaching.

“I’ve been honored to work alongside teachers as they continue their own professional learning during COVID-19, as well as shift their teaching online for their students. And
I’ve made even better use of technology and digital tools to transform my coaching in these digital, virtual and remote coaching environments. We have virtual Zoom sessions with colleagues, connect through individual coaching calls and even engage in virtual coaching cycles around virtual classroom instruction. That’s my favorite.”

Tips for Leading in a Crisis

Christina Podraza shares her 10 biggest takeaways from making the shift to remote learning.

“Social distancing may mean that we can’t be physically close, but shouldn’t mean that we distance ourselves from continuing meaningful relationships. . . .
Connecting with families is such an important part of leadership in any time, but when we don’t have the four walls of daily interaction to keep us all connected,
it’s imperative that we find new ways to do so. As an anchor of the community, supporting teachers, students and families will only make us stronger in a time of crisis.”

May’s Top Post Coaching Choice Boards

Pam Hubler uses Coaching Choice Boards to empower her teachers in the coaching process and choose their level of support. Find out how she’s found success with them!

“Once I understood what my job included, however, it didn’t mean teachers in my building knew how to utilize and work with a coach. This is why I decided I needed to create something that would help guide their requests in the right direction!
This process really made me think of the services I wanted to focus on as a coach and how to describe them to teachers. . . . Gathering teacher requests via a Google Form means that I’ll be able to see all the data for this school year in one place, which I can’t wait to see! It will help me to determine which services are needed the most so I can structure my coaching schedule better and better each year.”

My Distance Learning

Chrissy Beltran overviews some instructional strategies and talks about the role a coach plays in the learning process for teachers.

“To start, you want to choose your top five high impact strategies. These strategies need to be engaging, purposeful, and some should be hands-on.
The purpose of strategies is to give the students a tool to help them learn better across the content and grade levels. Therefore, by teaching strategies to teachers, you are helping to foster better learning in the classroom. . . . Once teachers are rolling, you want to give credit where credit is due.”

4 Key Mindsets for Coaching Remotely

Coaching and leading remotely require a shift in the way we think and carry out our daily routines. Luckily, Stephanie Affinito was willing to share some of her must-have attributes of ICs working from afar.

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We are teaching and coaching under such unprecedented circumstances that we have to we get to (not have to!) coach and lead in ways we have never tried before. . . . The lessons we learn each day open up new possibilities for coaching when we return to school, a gift to appreciate as we search for gratitude in these challenging times.”

Bringing Virtual Classrooms to Life

Melanie Meehan encourages educators to find ways to make learning more interactive remotely.

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One possible way to help students is by providing systems and routines that are reminiscent of classrooms. . . . You could keep a list of your students and tally who you’ve addressed as you’re recording lessons, and if you are teaching other people’s classes, you could even add those students to the mix. It’s tricky, yes, but not impossible, and students will listen more closely if they think they might hear a name.”

3 Qualities to Cultivate When You’re Coaching Remotely

Vicki Collet recommends a few traits that coaches should refine when working remotely.

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Relational characteristics can make or break a coach’s work, even if all the right procedures and protocols are in place. This is especially true when coaching remotely. . . . Personal characteristics like empathy, curiosity, humility, and approachability also support your coaching work. In uncertain times, however, traits like courage, consistency, and joyfulness become key to the relational work of coaching.”

Remote Teaching

Christine Weis shares four ways that teachers can work smarter, not harder, during these less-than-ideal circumstances we’re facing.

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There are so many great resources out there for remote/distance learning for every single grade level from preschool- grade 12. . . . There are shops full of prepared digital resources. Some teachers, like myself, have even begun transforming their favorite resources from print to digital to support teachers. There are so many resources that are engaging, fun and are compatible with Google Apps.
I bet a lot of what you need is already out there. Now go get it and make your life easier.”

Bonus content on remote work

Did you miss our Weekly Coaching Topic for May? If so, or you’d like a quick refresher, here’s the link to some articles on how you can grow professional and mentally while working remotely!

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