This week we learned a few fun alternatives for professional learning to combat the traditional "sit-and-get" model, three tips on how to neutralize the effects of personal baggage ICs carry into coaching sessions, how coaches can deal with change, and more. Enjoy! 👍

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Strategies for Shaking Up Your Professional Learning

Are you and your teachers tired of the same old "sit-and-get" professional learning initiatives? Amy Storer offers a few fun alternative options for your future professional learning session. 😀

" One of the first things I learned as an instructional coach is that my work isn't about me. It isn't about my favorite tools or my favorite strategies. What it is about is teacher learning and growth. . . . So, before you begin to design your next professional learning for your staff, ask them what they want to learn more about. After all, it is their learning, not ours, and adding a little fun to the mix never hurt anyone!"

Using Evaluation Feedback to Improve

Donna Scarlett overviews some steps teachers can take to make sense of and act upon evaluation feedback, plus the role of coaches and mentors in the process.

"For many novice teachers, incorporating evaluator feedback into their daily practice can seem like an overwhelming challenge. In particular, school administrators may make suggestions for improvement without providing specific tools, resources, or guidance for how novice teachers might plan and implement changes to improve their teaching practices. . . . First you will need to devise a data-driven action plan, and then analyze and reflect on the data to improve your teaching."

Leaving Your Baggage at the Door

Alison Newby acknowledges that baggage is something ICs carry into coaching sessions but offers three tips on how to neutralize the effects of it.

"We all bear the marks of our particular backgrounds, perspectives, education, relationship history and prejudices. . . . I'd say we shouldn’t just sit back and accept this state of affairs. Why? Because if we are unaware that we carry around with us prejudices and 'baggage', or if we refuse to admit this is the case, those prejudices and 'baggage' will come back to bite us in coaching sessions, potentially damaging the quality of the service we can offer our coachees. Those prejudices and 'baggage' will get in the way of our ability to offer the kind of non-judgemental individually-tailored coaching our clients have every right to expect."

Instructional Learning Walks

Ashley Taplin reflects on her transition from sticky notes to personalized forms that help amplify her coaching visits and feedback.

"At the beginning of this year, I was talking with another campus dean and in our roles as a dean and an instructional specialist, we wanted to find a way to provide more meaningful feedback beyond the sticky note for instructional coaching with non-evaluative criteria. . . . Lastly, the dean I created this with plans to have teachers share what they are doing in their classrooms at department meetings as a way to share, grow, and learn from each other."

How Coaches Can Deal With Change

Geoff Knight talks about an interview with Dr. Kim Richardson about a coaching inevitable, change, and how being adaptive an an IC is key in overcoming it.

"One thing we have learned is that in order for a partnership to be successful, a coach needs to position the teacher as the decision-maker. . . . Sometimes a coach must learn to be comfortable with a shift in the school environment or district. One major adjustment coaches could face is the shift from a more hierarchical administrative environment to an environment that thrives on partnership. For example, if a coach has previously been an administrator in a school or district, that coach has to address the change in the type of leadership that is needed in coaching."

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