This week we learned about the impact that coaching communities have had on one coach, strategies for building relationships with all teachers, ways educators can engage in PD outside of their building, and more!

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Finding Your Tribe: Creating Your Own PLC

Kara McFarlin explains the impact that coaching communities have had on her and where you can begin to find or build your own.

"Many communities, districts, or states have their local tribes that meet together and communicate in person, formally or informally. These provide a great way to connect in person and network, in addition to a host of other benefits in talking to colleagues nearby and/or with similar backgrounds. . . . If you don't have a physical tribe, now's your chance to create or join a digital one! Twitter is a great place to get started because it offers plenty of hashtags and Twitter chats that are already teeming with your coaching peers."

Building Coaching Relationships With ALL Teachers

Kim Cofino offers six relationship-building strategies for working with teachers, even reluctant ones.

"Coaching isn't exclusively about teaching and learning. It's about relationships. Even if we stand on opposite sides of an educational debate, or we find ourselves disagreeing at faculty meetings with a specific colleague that we need to coach, teaching likely isn't the only thing we're passionate about. So look for opportunities for personal connections to build a personal relationship. It doesn't need to have anything to do with school. Maybe you both like running, or traveling or peanut butter! Whatever it is, find a personal connection that can help you open the door to conversation."

Professional Development: What Do Educators Really Need?

Rachelle Dene Poth shares five ways that educators can engage in PD on their own time.

"Being an educator means that you are passionate about lifelong learning. It's also about stretching ourselves when it comes to our comfort zone. We should not feel as though we can only teach topics related to our content area. . . . The power of learning whenever we connect with others and share our stories and our experiences, really serves to amplify the learning potential. When educators seize the opportunity to try new things and continue to grow, we can provide our best selves for those we lead and learn with."

There Is an "I" in Team

Jon Yost explains the value of interdependence among members of a team and what it looks like in action.

"When teams become interdependent, they are frequently described as being energizing and motivating. The team is often what keeps them going during turbulent times. The team becomes the most important aspect of their work. They often look forward to the day because they get to work alongside their team."

4 Questions to Guide Reflection

Kathy Perret relays a few questions that help create powerful conversations both with individuals and your entire staff.

"Instructional coaches guide reflection in many situations. We help teachers analyze their instruction, student data, student learning progressions and behaviors, as well as school-wide progress to name a few. It can be time consuming to generate questions for each situation. . . . The more you see how the questions impact your analysis, the better situated you will be to use the questions during the next school year."

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