Who Coaches the Coaches?
Written by: Karen Smith
Part of my teaching career was during the Peyton Manning days in Indy. He became a great source of many analogies I would use with my 4th graders…”Peyton has homework too! He studies film every night before practice!”… “Do you think Peyton says ‘I can’t’? And, of course, Peyton Manning had a coach in his offensive coordinator, Tom Moore. But who coached Tom Moore? More importantly, who coaches our building level instructional coaches?
Instructional coaching has become a staple in many Indiana schools and across the country. But who coaches them? How do they build their capacity? Where do they get their training after leaving the classroom and before they start instructional coaching (or do they?)? We know instructional coaching can have an impact on student learning through coaches supporting and partnering with teachers around best practices in instruction, analyzing data, co-planning, co-teaching, and job embedded professional development. But again, where do coaches get their professional development to continue to grow in their position? It is imperative that instructional coaches, in any content area, have the opportunities to grow their knowledge in the research and best practices around instruction and student learning.
“It is imperative that instructional coaches, in any content area, have the opportunities to grow their knowledge in the research and best practices around instruction and student learning.”
The building principal may be considered the coach of an instructional coach, but often administrators have training and expertise in just that – administration, and may not have the curriculum and instruction background, or instructional coaching background, to best support a building level coach. And, we know how busy principals are, so there may simply not be the time necessary for the principal to coach the coach.
There’s no one answer, but there are some options. Like any good educator, we must research opportunities out there and be thoughtful consumers of information to choose the right support for increasing our coaching capacity. Preferably, an instructional coach’s focus should be on anything that helps them be able to support a more positive impact on student learning.
Relationship building is foundational for all instructional coaching as it sets the tone, trust, respect, and rapport for the instructional coach and teacher to partner on work to improve instructional practice and/or design learning that is specific for student learning. Relationship-driven coaching is important, but it doesn’t always lead to sustainable change. To grow deeper as an effective instructional coach, let’s take a look at some of the options out there that “coach the coach.”
Jim Knight – Founding partner of the Instructional Coaching Group and research associate the Center for Research on Learning (University of Kansas), has been a go to resource on instructional coaching for about the last 20 yrs. Each year, an Instructional Coaching Institute is held in Lawrence, Kansas (or virtually). Granted, Lawrence, Kansas, is not the easiest place to get to, but the live experience (about $2,000) is something an instructional coach will definitely benefit from and remember! Unfortunately, for Hoosier residents, this is not exactly an easy or inexpensive option. Jim Knight tends to focus on teacher-centered coaching. If you’ve heard of the Impact Cycle (Identify-Learn-Improve) you’re likely quite familiar with Knight’s ideas around improving teaching.
Diane Sweeney – A former teacher and instructional coach, Sweeney is now an educational consultant around Student-Centered Coaching and has published exceptional books around this topic. Student-Centered Coaching puts more emphasis on putting the needs of students’ front and center, and is “focusing coaching on goals for student learning, rather than fixing teachers.” Sweeney provides onsite consulting, online courses, and holds engaging workshops and there is a noticeable movement to transition to this type of coaching model.
These are probably two of the most notable in the instructional coaching world. But sometimes a workshop or institute can feel very one and done, or due to budget or workshop location, not all can participate in these institutes or workshops. We need to consider who will support the building coaches with either: (1) ongoing support after these wonderful training opportunities occur, or (2) building capacity with state/local level professional support.
Just like there are natural teachers and natural administrators, there are natural instructional coaches – those who just have not only the knowledge of multiple grade levels, understanding of standards, ability to dive deep into data, but also have the disposition to be a partner with teachers versus someone who “tells them” how to teach. These are the people we want to source out in our state and communities to coach coaches. They are in the local trenches, so to speak, and are definitely easier to access on an ongoing basis and also have a strong understanding of the state or local educational landscape.
A coach of instructional coaches should have:
- Successful experience as a teacher and instructional coach
- Strong understanding of adult learning styles
- Excellent content knowledge and exceptional understanding of state standards
- The ability to listen, ask guiding questions, and collaborate to effectively co-plan, co-teach
- Deep understanding of student data and the “what’s next” steps to improve learning
“Coaches need, and deserve, the investment time needed to make pursuing their professional growth a priority.”
Our state has a plethora of highly qualified professional learning specialists who meet the above criteria and who are former instructional coaches and outstanding educators. These professionals facilitate opportunities to learn and collaborate around all things instructional coaching related. The Educational Service Centers of Indiana (ESCI) offer excellent professional resources for instructional coaches to hone their craft. For example, Keep Indiana Learning (KInL), a department of the Central Indiana Educational Service Center (CIESC) provides the following learning experiences:
- Keep Indiana Learning (KINL) Coaching Events: A Community of Practice
- Keep Indiana Learning (KINL) Coaching Cadre: Spring
Simply put, coaches need a coach. They also need, and deserve, the investment time needed to make pursuing their professional growth a priority. Peyton Manning’s quarterback coach even had someone who coached him (likely Tony Dungy) on best practices, how to help players become better leaders and communicators on the field (schools), in understanding the complex plays for each game (data), and determining what next steps will not only make the quarterback (teacher) better but also the entire team (students) better. If you are in a coaching role, I hope you are not only seeking to increase your capacity as an instructional coach but also partnering with those experts who will partner with you to succeed in meeting that goal.
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