May 2021 Instructional Coaching Must-Reads

We’ve got a huge crop of coaching articles this month from Weekly Coaching Roundups, and we handpicked the top ones just for you! Read on to learn a 4-step cycle for collecting and analyzing coaching feedback, a few helpful tips for leaders looking to build trust and credibility within their organization, three ways to use Google Jamboard to promote positive reflection and celebrate success with teachers, and more. Enjoy!

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The Most-Viewed: Gathering Coaching Feedback

Are you looking for ways to collect feedback on your work but struggling to find a technique that works for you? Jessica Kazigian walks us through her 4-step cycle for collecting and analyzing feedback to help grow your practice.

“The questions that gave me the most information were the ones that asked specifically about particular coaching moves that helped me identify what I was doing and what I wasn’t doing yet.
The feedback I collected from my coachees helped me better understand where I needed to improve. . . . Ultimately, this is the time I become a researcher and learner, using this knowledge to create coaching moves for future coaching sessions.”

Evaluation, Feedback, and Coaching

Elena Aguilar covers a few characteristics that both successful ICs and managers possess.

”
Coaching requires a tremendous amount of skill. . . . There are very few things that just will or won’t work. The key is almost always in how they are done.
Here’s what matters most: purpose, transparency and readiness.”

Build Trust and Improve Team Collaboration with Appreciative Inquiry

Mia Pumo explores the 5-D cycle of Appreciative Inquiry and shows how you can use it with your team to lay a solid foundation of communication and collaboration.

“Appreciative Inquiry is a strengths-based approach to both personal and organizational development. For teams in education,
it’s a way to build trust by creating positive emotions around the team’s past successes and building on those successes to design future projects. . . . If there is a specific issue a team needs to address, you can use it as an alternative to gap-analysis and problem-solving approaches to change.”

4 Ways to Increase Your Instructional Leadership Influence

Steve Ventura offers a few tips for leaders to build trust and credibility within their organization.

“The ability to influence is an essential skill for school leaders.
Through influence, leaders impact team members’ behaviors, attitudes, and actions. Leaders also build influence through growing the trust of their staff or team. This trust can be formed through subject-matter expertise, credibility, or charisma. . . . As a leader in the educational field, your ability to influence others can directly impact student learning and performance.”

Using Jamboard to Share and Celebrate Success

Violet Christensen shares three ways to use Google Jamboard to promote positive reflection and celebrate successes with her teachers.

”
I’ve found that a key part of my job as an instructional coach is to pull out optimism in educators as best I can. When we start by talking about what is working, or what breakthroughs we’ve had recently, the entire conversation flows more smoothly. . . . By asking everyone to share their coaching win since our last meeting, the digital room became energized immediately. Sharing out also brought great coaching concepts to the forefront of others’ minds.”

Coaching Cycles for Quick Wins

Nicole Turner breaks down the four steps of a micro-coaching cycle that ICs can use to boost teacher confidence.

”
Micro-coaching cycles have the same key components as full-on coaching cycles.
The only difference is that they have a clearer focus. Instead of taking four to six weeks, micro-cycles are completed in one or two. . . . In a longer cycle you might observe-debrief-and intervene multiple times. You might need to discuss more than one strategy, co-plan, and co-teach several classes together. In a micro-cycle,
because the goal is more focused, you may only need to address each phase once.”

How Might a Coach Respond?

Steve Barkley passes along a few examples of supporting and empathy statements for dealing with challenging teacher remarks.

“When using supporting statements or empathy statements, I find it best to slow down my pace.
It’s important that my voice and body language communicate that I am listening to what was shared and am being empathetic and supportive. The more you are feeling defensive, the more important it is to slow the pace. You want your response to be thoughtful and reflective.”

Timeless Throwback Establishing Trust: Transitioning From Teacher to Coach

Joy DeFors offers some of her time-tested techniques for building trust with your peers while transitioning to a coaching role—specifically those within the same building.

“Just like any relationship in life,
the partnership between instructional coach and classroom teacher takes work. Deliberate and considerate attention to relationship building strengthens rapport between coaches and teachers, ultimately leading to a greater impact on student learning and achievement.”

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Photo by Justin DoCanto from Unsplash.