Take a moment to learn five research-backed characteristics of successful coaching programs, how to create your own digital coaching card, tips for building relationships with all district-level employees, and more. Enjoy!

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Celebrating Your Profession

Stephanie Affinito teaches us how to create and use digital coaching cards to boost connections as an IC.

"Digital coaching cards represent who we are in the online space. They quickly showcase our accomplishments, our professional interests, and how others can reach us. And they're not just for businesses anymore! They're for anyone creating a digital footprint online, including instructional coaches."

Self-Reflection Checklists for the Win!

Jennifer Ivory reflects on how she developed a questioning and listening checklist to support her coaching conversations after realizing she wasn't consistently hitting the mark.

"Being a 'doer' means that I like to have a finished product at the end of any task, which is exactly what my checklist gives me. It allows me to have a quick and easy method of completing a reflection and supports my learning journey through the Coaching Institute. By using the checklist, I can compare checks and notes after four or five conversations to see if I have shown any growth."

The Foundations of Coaching

Katie Ritter highlights five researched-backed characteristics of successful coaching programs.

"Instructional coaching of teachers has become a promising form of high quality professional development over the past few decades. Yet, after nearly 40 years of schools investing in instructional coaching, the role still varies drastically in everything from title of the position, to job responsibilities, and to coaching models in which the role is carried out with teachers. So then, how do we know if we have a successful instructional coaching program?"

Talking Too Much?

Vicki Collet encourages ICs to ask more open-ended questions and focus on not dominating conversations with teachers.

"If you catch yourself going off on tangents or repeating yourself during a coaching conversation, rein in your tongue by asking a question and then listening deeply to the teacher's response. . . . Questions encourage others to talk, shifting the balance of the conversation so that teacher talk takes precedence. Asking questions prevents you from dominating a dialogue."

Creating Positive Coaching Relationships

Jeffrey Bradbury covers five groups of district-level employees ICs must work with and the relationship from both parties' perspectives.

" One of the key skills that a Coach will need to develop as they and the position evolve in the school district is the ability to work with and within each of the levels of a school district. . . . Having strong relationships at both the central and district level administrative levels allows the coach to speak not only to, but for the district as they are usually the ones who are tasked with implementing new initiatives and programs."

The Coaching and Expertise Continuum

Steve Barkley believes ICs should ask teachers what role they want them to play in their coaching conversations and stick to it.

"Trust is built as the coach stays in the role agreed upon in the pre-conference. Sharing expertise feedback that wasn't requested is likely to be interpreted by the teacher as evaluation. Equally, a coach withholding helpful knowledge wanting a teacher to 'figure it out,' when the teacher desires the information, raises frustration."

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