The Dos and Don’ts of Instructional Coaching for New Coaches

Education, as it’s been known for years on end, is ever changing. Most recently, the change has shifted to include instructional coaches as onsite, job-embedded professional development for classroom teachers. We are seeing more and more schools adapting to this quickly spreading idea of bringing in an outside brain for one common goal, the one thing that continues to stay the same in education: student achievement. As with any new idea, there are important strategies to use and to NOT use.

As I’m sure most of us can concur, the best way to learn a new trade is to dive in and get some hands-on experience. This isn’t unique to being a teacher, it’s important for an instructional coach as well. When we went through college, we learned the techniques and strategies to use in our classrooms, and nothing is more effective than being IN the classroom. Same goes for an instructional coach. The best way to learn is to go INTO the school you will be working in. You will be able to see first hand how the school is run, how the staff collaborates, the styles of teachers, learning styles of students, and the day to day routines. Without making yourself present, you won’t be able to build the relationship you’ll need to be a successful instructional coach.

What are the dos and don’ts of instructional coaching?

These are the dos I share with every coach I work with, followed by the three traps I watch new coaches fall into.

The dos

• DO make yourself visible. Get into the school and become a part of the team. Introduce yourself and your role, and most importantly, make sure to be very clear that you are there for one reason, which is to promote student achievement. When the staff learns that you are there to aid in the impact of student learning, never to evaluate them, you’ll have much better results. Show them that you have been in their shoes!
• DO make yourself available. A lot of extra effort and time, in the beginning, will pay off in the end. Your job is NOT to walk in and restructure a teacher’s curriculum. You are there to assist and guide in the most personable way possible. Set up a schedule to meet with the administrators and staff at THEIR convenience (within reason). Make it worth their while on THEIR time.
• DO build a relationship of trust. Listen carefully, maintain confidentiality, and find their strengths, their interests, and the questions they have.
• DO stay positive, and DO follow through. Teachers notice when a coach says “I’ll bring that Tuesday” and shows up Tuesday with it.
• DO recognize that we all have differences, and learn to appreciate that. The teaching styles we have as educators are what make us unique. Embrace that. In many cases, staff will want a coach to be a resource; other times they will want the coach to be a peer, team teaching in the classroom. Sometimes, teachers even want the coach to serve as an expert. Recognize those differences and adjust to which is right for each staff member.
• DO set priorities, let the data do the talking, and document your work. Balancing these with being an actual coach can be tricky, so set aside time for them after you’ve met with your teachers. Ask the teachers what goals they have and see what matches the data. Document what went well after each visit, lesson, and phone call, and what you’d like to improve on next time. Work as a team, and reflect on your own.

The don’ts

• Don’t jump into an instructional coach position and begin by evaluating the staff. This is NOT what you were hired to do. You were hired to assist in promoting student achievement. Sitting down in a classroom and starting to evaluate teachers is going to get you nowhere and is probably going to build some animosity in place of a relationship. The staff needs to view you as an asset, someone who is here to work together, never to nitpick at their teaching styles.
• Don’t be a “know it all” expert. Yes, you are knowledgeable about instructional strategies and classroom management; you did get the job! The last thing a struggling teacher needs is for someone to come in and start throwing out numbers and data and strategies of what is supposed to “work.” Come in humble and with an open mind. Ask them what they are struggling with, what works well, and what goals they want to see.
• Don’t expect immediate change. Rome wasn’t built overnight, and student achievement doesn’t happen overnight either. Work together to see what works well and what change you’d like to see, and make one goal on how to achieve it. When that goal is met, make another.

Why the dos and don’ts change what happens in classrooms

If your goal is improving student achievement, it doesn’t start with the students! It starts with building a relationship of trust between you as the coach and the teachers you are working with. When they trust that you are there to build them up, never to undermine them or to tell them what they are doing wrong, you can have a team that will shoot scores of achievement through the roof! There is an old saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.” And this holds true in education as well. It takes a village to promote student achievement, and building that relationship of trust with your staff is the first step in making that village.

Every item on the list either builds that village or chips away at it. A teacher who trusts the coach opens the door and tries the strategy. A teacher who feels evaluated keeps the door closed, and the students in that room get the same instruction they got last year. After you’ve worked so hard at the positive things to do as an instructional coach, you don’t want to take any steps backward. Don’t fall into the trap of evaluating, being an expert, and expecting immediate change.

How do you put the dos and don’ts into practice?

Reading a list is the easy part. The hard part is the week in September when a coach slips into expert mode without noticing. The steps below turn the dos and don’ts into a weekly routine, and the download pairs each one with a yes-or-no check.

Remember why you became a coach

Keep in mind that staying positive throughout your coaching experience, making yourself available, putting forth extra effort, and leaving the loads of “expert” driven data at the door will provide for the most pleasant coaching experience possible. And remember what you became a coach for in the first place: to aid in the improvement of student achievement!