It seems like things are slowing down a bit during this time of year. It never fails. Teachers are finishing up last minute to-dos before finals, crafts are being created, and the school has turned into a sea of red and green. All the while, you may be twiddling your thumbs figuring out what todo. Here is some week before break tips to get you through:

• Remain Visible

While the students are involved in “craftivities”and other before break assignments, capture the moment. Be a part of it all. Allow yourself to have a good time in these classrooms. During this time, it is important that you stay connected to teachers, students, and the school. It is easy during this time of year to venture off into your Instructional Coach Island and do your Instructional Coach work. That work will eventually get done. However, in the meantime, go see what is going on throughout the rest of the building.

• Start planning Professional Development.

I am sure that after Winter Break, you will be back on and ready to go. This is the time ultimately to be prepared. Make sure your professional development is planned, your data meeting materials are prepared and you are ready to tackle the rest of the school year with ease. No one wants to have to do work over break because that would infringe on your self-care. 

• Give the gift of time.

I do not know about you, but during thistime of year, I miss being in the classroom. I want to teach lessons and interact with teachers and students. This is the perfect time to give the gift of time to your teachers. This allows teachers to get some “free time” and get a break while you “cover their class.” They need it. This just might even land you a “Coach of the Year” trophy. Well maybe not a trophy, but they sure will appreciate it!

•  Be flexible.

This is the best advice that a coach can give another coach during this time of year and here is why. You will be asked to cover classes, stand in hallways, check parents in, check parents out, and any other extra duties that may come up during this time. The truth is you are needed. You have to be as flexible as possible. This is a time when you may think this is not in my job description, but this time of year your help is needed. Be flexible.  As we all know with being in education, being flexible is in your job description.

• Set goals for 2019.

Use this time to reflect on your year so far. Write down at least three professional goals for yourself and the work you want to do in 2019. Ask yourself what are some things you can improve upon and some areas you are going to continue to grow in. Celebrate the successes you have made and make some next steps for yourself.

This time of year use this calmness and quietness before winter break to allow yourself to breathe, plan and get ready for 2019!  

As a coach, there comes a time when you are asked to work with a teacher who has not been one of the ones banging down your office door. This situation can cause feelings of discomfort for you and the teacher. Sometimes it is not that the teacher does not want to work with you as a coach. However, there could be some feelings of inadequacy, reluctance, and resistance to change. These feelings most likely have nothing to do with you. The idea here is to not take it personally.  You are not there to have hurt feelings because you are not at the top of this particular teacher’s “friends” list. Being an Instructional Coach is not about any of that. It is about fostering a relationship with teachers to foster their growth in order to produce adequate growth in students.

Being an Instructional Coach is not about any of that. It is about fostering a relationship with teachers to foster their growth in order to produce adequate growth in students. Share on X

According to the article produced by the Pennsylvania Institute for Instructional Coaching, it states, “while building your relationships with teachers in your school find out what they need, what their teaching insecurities are, and how you can support their growth.” In order to reach this plateau of growth, there must be a partnership that is built for it to occur. The teacher has to make the decision to be open and willing to grow and change. You, as the coach, have to be willing to facilitate the process, be open and leave judgment at the door. Here are some researched based strategies that you can help with the feelings that the teacher may have.

Feeling of Inadequacy: There will be teachers that you work with that feel inadequate in their teaching practices. One thing that helps before I even walk in the door is allowing myself to think back to a time when I felt the same exact way. No teacher has “arrived.” Every teacher can think of a time when they have had these feelings. Remember and hold on to your past feelings of inadequacy in the field of education because you are going to need to mentally refer to that while facilitating conversations with the teacher. Another way to begin to lessen the teacher’s feelings of inadequacy is reassurance that you are there to help and to build a partnership. Reiterate the fact that you are not there to judge them or to ridicule them with your note-taking, observing, modeling, co-planning, etc. You are there to facilitate and aid in the teacher’s growth so that ultimately their students will make strides.

Feeling of Reluctance: There will always be teachers who are a little reluctant, especially in uncomfortable situations such as involuntarily working with the Instructional Coach. However, there are ways to help with this. One way is to have open communication with the teacher and let them know that what you discuss is confidential. Remember, as the coach, you are in their room without invitation. However, I would state that working together can be an experience of both growth, exploration, and celebration. But be honest that there will also be constructive feedback that will be given in the process. In order for that growth to occur, there has to be openness, willingness, and honesty. The teacher will have to let down some walls and for you to help them do that, they have to see you as a support system that they can trust and with whom they can be open.

Resistance to Change: “I’ve always done it this way,” or, “This is the way it’s always been done,” are comments you often hear from teachers who are not ready and sometimes unwilling to alter their instructional practices and are reluctant to change. However, with a solid relationship established, a supportive environment and building trust, you will be amazed as to how much teachers are willing to change and expand their instructional horizons. One way for this to happen is through other teachers that you have coached. Once the “word” begins to spread about the work you are doing in other rooms, along with student growth, more teachers will begin to open up and allow small significant changes to their instruction.

Sometimes as a coach when we are putting in the authentic work of building relationships, building trust and supporting teachers, we can become discouraged when there are teachers who are not as receptive to our work. The key is, to begin with the end in mind and remember, ultimately you are there to support teachers to aid in student growth. When we keep that at the forefront of our minds, we will be able to keep pushing forward in doing what is best for students.

This year I did what many teachers fear the most,  I went over to the dark side of school administration in the form of being an Instructional Coach. As  I transitioned into this role, I thought surely that this would give me more time to reflect and “cool my heels” -things that I rarely was able to do as a teacher. Working with new and older teachers was not anything new, I had always unofficially “coached” teachers on effective classroom practices, but what would be new was the idea of not having a classroom to dictate my time on a daily basis.

As I readied for my first day in this role, I knew the type of  Coach I wanted to be- one who went above and beyond in supporting teachers in all aspects of teaching especially being able to give immediate feedback. As a classroom teacher I can remember people coming into my room with clipboards and walking around examining not only what I was doing in class, but inspecting my Word Wall, Quality Student work and the other things on the standards-based classroom list. They would only stay for a while, but I was always confused because rarely did I receive feedback. When I happened to receive feedback it was so general that it was of no use to me and my teaching practices.  According to Teaching in Focus,  the appraisal and feedback that a teacher receives is just one of the many factors that can influence his or her feelings of self-efficacy. However the content of the appraisal is equally important when provided feedback on certain aspects of their teaching, teachers can directly target portions of their teaching where they are less confident.

Consequently, giving teachers timely feedback is crucial for both veteran and newer teachers in further honing their educational practices.

So as a Coach, how can you give effective feedback when your time is pulled in literally twenty directions? Follow these simple tips to guide your practice of giving teachers quality feedback:

1. Visit classrooms for varying amounts of time each visit. Visiting a classroom is an integral part of being a good Instructional Coach, but what about the time that you visit in each classroom? At the minimum, when I visit classrooms I stay for at least thirty minutes in a ninety-minute block. This gives me time to see the direction of a teachers lesson and have time to interact with students and their learning. If I come in for anything less than thirty minutes then I’m looking for specific things such as a lesson opening and/or closing, grouping or use of guided practice.  In addition, I always make sure to visit teachers frequently so that I have a clear picture of what my teachers are doing in the classroom. In addition to visiting classrooms often, I try and go at different times during the day to make sure I’m getting a clear picture of the class loads teachers have during the day. While it’s important to visit multiple classrooms throughout the day, it is equally important to give timely feedback to teachers. As a rule of thumb, I give feedback within 24 hours of me visiting the class.

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