Top 10 Beliefs About Coaching

1. Top 10 Beliefs About Coaching Lauren Eudene

2. Number 10 • Be responsive to teachers’ needs • Coaches should target their support to best help teachers in the specific areas they are struggling to teach. Coaches need to meet with the teachers and talk about their concerns and areas they would like to improve.

3. Number 9 • Encourage teachers to help one another • Unfortunately, the coach cannot always be there to help the teachers. However, teachers can be trained to help and provide support for each other. This might be in the form of giving others ideas or observing other teachers (as the observer and person observed).

4. Number 8 • Model in a natural setting • Teachers will benefit from seeing coaches teaching in an actual classroom setting. This way, they can see the way in which the coaches handle different interactions with students, including those who are struggling with a particular topic.

5. Number 7 • Coaching sessions should take place both inside and outside of the classroom • Different coaching settings provide teachers with diverse experiences. They can gain different information and skills from seeing a coach work with students in their classrooms than having coaching sessions outside of the classroom. The location should depend on the purpose of the coaching session and the needs of the teacher.

6. Number 6 • Come up with specific goals • The more specific teachers’ goals for improvement are, the more effectively coaches can help them. These goals should be established before coaching begins.

7. Number 5 • Observe teachers before coaching to understand the specific areas of difficulty • Coaches can learn a lot about teachers’ strengths and needs through observation. This background knowledge can help them as they work to provide teachers with individualized support.

8. Number 4 • Coaches should occasionally have teachers take on the role of student • Teachers can gain a new perspective of teaching strategies by playing the role of student. They can directly experience the concept they will be teaching and learn through immersion.

9. Number 3 • Teachers need to take ownership of their new knowledge • Coaches can provide teachers with ideas and strategies, but teachers need to embrace the new techniques in order to implement them correctly. They need to understand what they are doing and why in order to do it correctly.

10. Number 2 • Teachers need to know how to evaluate their own instruction • While coaches can provide teachers with feedback and suggestions about their teaching, it is important for teachers to be able to monitor their own instruction when the coach is not available to observe. This requires teachers to understand how to look for strengths and weaknesses in their instruction and know how to improve.

11. Number 1 • Establish a supportive and trusting relationship! • Teachers and coaches need to feel comfortable working with each other. Coaches need to be willing to give constructive feedback and teachers need to trust the feedback of the coaches. They also need to feel comfortable working with each other and approaching the other person with issues. This trust needs to go both ways.

12. Ideas inspired by… • Casey, K. (2006). Literacy coaching: The essentials. Portsmouth, NH: Heinmann. • Peterson, D. S., Taylor, B. M., Burnham, B., & Schock, R. (2009). Reflective coaching conversations: A missing piece. The Reading Teacher, 62(6), 500-509. • Steckel, B. (2009). Fulfilling the promise of literacy coaches in urban schools: What doe s it take to make an impact?. The Reading Teacher, 63(1), 14-23. • Walpole, S. & Blamey, K. L. (2008). Elementary literacy coaches: The reality of dual roles. The Reading Teacher, 62(3), 222-231.