Refining Your Teacher Coaching Practice (via eSchool News)
In the News
Strong teacher coaching practice is comprised of many skills.
But effective coaching is integral to teacher improvement and better student outcomes. That’s a lot of pressure on instructional coaches and others who support teachers.
If you’re a coach, this eSchool News article ‘3 ways coaches can refine their practice this school year‘ focuses on three key areas for stronger teacher coaching practice.
Instructional Learning Coach Courtney Groskin from St. Vrain Valley Schools (Longmont, CO) outlined the three ways to improve teacher coaching practice: meta coaching, video coaching, and peer coaching.
Find highlights about each important teacher coaching practice below.
Teacher coaching practice can be refined in these 3 ways
These three best practices “will continue to go a long way in supporting the ongoing success and well-being of teachers.”
Video reflection is a great way for coaches to refine their practice. Plus, it transcends the constraints of time and space, which can often provide logistical challenges.
If the teacher being coached agrees to being videotaped, coaches can set up an iPad, phone, or computer to record the coaching session, including the coaching conversations and interactions between the coach and the teacher. In St. Vrain, our coaches then use the video platform Edthena to upload and analyze the coaching session.
- Meta coaching
Meta coaching is a structure where the coach coaches the metacognition of another coach. During this process, the coach who is doing the meta coaching will observe another coach during an authentic coaching conversation.
When I had my first meta coaching conversation, the meta coach scripted all of my paraphrases. And, it wasn’t until then that I realized that my paraphrases were too long. This helped me to work on shortening my paraphrases down to a few words, which helped improve my coaching.
- Peer coaching
For districts with multiple coaches, try to get together to coach one another at least once a month. St. Vrain has made this a regular part of our coaches’ meetings and it has offered a great way for us to hone our skills while getting some coaching as well.
Twitter chats are another great way to share ideas and glean from others. For example, Kathy Perret hosts a regular Twitter chat for ICs every Wednesday night under #educoach. Coaches can hop in, see what others post, and then find other coaches to follow. It’s a supportive group that always has great insights and strategies to share.
Read the full details about refining teacher coaching practice at eSchool News: 3 ways coaches can refine their practice this school year
Interested in learning more about video coaching? Check out how Lee Country Schools uses video coaching to increase coaching capacity.
