The #educoach hashtag is used by instructional coaches around the world. We chat each Wednesday at 8pm CST on Twitter and use the hashtag throughout the week to share resources, ask questions and collaborate with instructional coaches.
I'm Kathy tonight's moderator of #educoach. Lots of current success - great session for our area teacher leaders, more planning with our team a a great day of learning on @jimknight99 Impact Cycle w/ @annghoffman today!
Hey everyone! I’m Lauren in SoCal. Instructional Coach. My success is the Assistant Principal and I officially introducing my role at one of my school sites. #educoach
Hi all! I’m Anna, achievement coach from NJ. This week, I got to work with a veteran teacher on adjusting pacing. Our convos were super valuable! #educoach
Hi from OKC. I'm a coach at a prek-6th school. For the last two years I have been working on the coaching principal of dialogue and tracking my coach talk vs teacher talk during coaching convos. Today I had only 35% which is good for my chatty self #educoach#listeningskills
Hi #educoach, Chris tweeting from Melbourne, Australia. We’re here with @jimknight99 this week. Bringing instructional coaching institute Down Under. I’ll join in from the sidelines when I can. Jim says hi!
A1- My tips would be to make connections with teachers, be transparent in your learning gaps, and prioritize. Also, that the job of a coach is literally the best job ever! ❤️#educoach
A1: Building relationships is key! I try to walk the halls every morning to say hello to all teachers. My interpretation of greeting my students at the door. #educoach
Hi everyone! Chiming in a bit late... Rebecca Johnson, Literacy Coach in Asheville, NC. My success story this week is building teacher capacity to implement writing strategies through a new structure for my literacy team meetings. #educoach
A1 I coached a new coach who described how they felt that they had 'set up shop' but were struggling for customers. Teachers looked in the window and thought 'not for me'. We got somewhere talking about marketing, brand, positioning, product/services... #clarity#educoach
I love to use @goswivl to video tape demo lessons and other things I want all teachers to see the same. Then I can share and we can discuss in meetings. #educoach
A2- I utilize google docs quite a bit. I also like to use Evernote and my iPad to video teachers in action. Twitter has also helped me to grow my PLN. There are so many coaches out there doing great things. It’s awesome to get ideas and have a support system. #educoach
A1: Focus on building relationships and lots of listening. Trust is built when people feel genuinely heard. Know that progress will happen but will take time - celebrate each small success! #educoach
A2: We may have to shamelessly promote ourselves 😀. Our platform supports targeted feedback with real-time data to promote educator growth—with video or in a live setting. #EduCoach
A2 For me, the best Tech tool is one that works for the teacher and the coach. Fit for purpose? Helpful? Easy? Not a distraction from learning - teacher or student. #educoach
A2: Google Docs I have a form that I use to track the phases of cycles. I can share it with my teachers so we both "own" the document. Finding time to meet face to face can be hard sharing a google doc gives us another opportunity for collaboration #educoach
It records video. Houses them safely in huddles with the teachers you are coaching. When video is viewed you can time stamp comments. I have Ts or coaches 1st reflect on their own video w/ the time stamp feature.
#educoachhttps://t.co/UETnCCX7r9
A2: The power of collaboration through Google has been a game changer -being able to plan lessons with teachers virtually is key! Using Google forms to gather teacher info, like with @kennycmckee 's coaching menu has been powerful too #educoach
Keep your goals and focus small and manageable. And build from there. As far as a tool, I love https://t.co/0jsV9bvGdm especially because it integrates with Google calendar! #educoach
A3- I would recommend color coding everything so that you can visually see on your schedule where you are spending your time. Prioritize the things that will directly impact instruction first then schedule everything else. Don’t overpromise and under deliver. #educoach
A3 last year I was able to build coaching sessions into the master schedule. Just quick 15 minutes every other week but it is a place to start. #educoach
A3 This year my first priority is asking Ts for their ideal day/time to meet with me each week. I will schedule everything else around those times. #educoach
A3 This is so important! Don't underestimate how mentally draining coaching is. How many can you cope with in a day and still ensure that the last coachee still gets the best of you? #educoach
A3 I've learned the hard way that scheduling the next coaching session should be done as part of concluding each session. Coachee gets caught up in 'the work' again and can get 'lost' if we don't help them set aside the time. #educoach
A4: Listen with empathy (@jimknight99) and withhold judgment. Your answer or advice might not be what the teacher needs. They might just need someone to listen #educoach
A4- Let your actions speak louder than your words. Don’t say they can trust you but let your actions show that they can trust you. A clearly defined role will help a coach stay in their lane and not be seen as administrative. #educoach
A4: In the beginning, I try to find out what they do on weekends. But deep relationship building, nothing is better than co-teaching a lesson! #educoach
To build relationships focus on the good in yourself....how can you serve with your whole good self. Be kind. Be smart be brave be a listener. #educoach
A4 @annghoffman reminded us today to list all the teachers we serve and list three things about each outside of their professional lives. If we can't do that - we need to get to know staff more! #educoach
Hi everyone! Chiming in a bit late... Rebecca Johnson, Literacy Coach in Asheville, NC. My success story this week is building teacher capacity to implement writing strategies through a new structure for my literacy team meetings. #educoach
A4 Go slow to go fast. Know, and let them know, that you're in this for the long-haul. Change happens incrementally in small steps. Be humble and meet teachers at their point of need. Jumping to 'helpful advice' too soon can damage relationship. #educoach
A4: Keep promises, be honest about your own competencies, show them you have their best interest at heart. @jimknight99 5 components of trust helps me be reflective about my interactions https://t.co/Yu1e88QbPA#educoach
A4: Look for the best in everyone you work with! Remember you are not there to "fix" anyone but rather to leverage their passions and strengths for student achievement #educoach
A5: I think 1st a conversation must be had to clearly define the role and expectations of the coach. This should happen between the principal and the coach. Also utilizing a coaching agreement with the teacher, coach, and principal in which each member signs. #educoach
A4. Get to know them as teachers and people; likes, dislikes; tokens of appreciation here and there; sometimes people just want to be heard, so just listen. #educoach
Q5: I meet with my admin the very first week I was a coach and we set some boundaries that have helped me work toward school goals while also honoring teacher voice and confidentiality #educoach
A6 Best tip for coaching cycles ... do them. Coaching makes such an impact. Often coaches get pulled to other "duties". When coaching isn't the main thing - hard to measure the impact! #educoach
A4: Making it clear that my role as a coach is not evaluative and I am here strictly to help! One way I do this is by being very honest with my teachers and making it very clear that what we talk about will stay between me and the teacher. #educoach
A5. Weekly meetings, keep notes, game plan, support & listen to understand, provide feedback and opinions and always respect one another. Also honesty is important; address issues promptly. #educoach
A6: During a coaching cycle, ask for tons of feedback from the teacher. “How is the process going for you?” “Do you feel like you’re always the one driving the process?” “What can I do differently?” #educoach
A6- Sometimes less is more. Don’t try to engage in too many cycles at once and only do surface level coaching. Invest in a few teacher and engage in deep coaching in order to truly impact instruction. #educoach
A5: DATA! Use data to set a goal and use data to track the goal otherwise you have no real way of knowing if the strategies and practices we are implementing are working for students. #educoach
A5 This coach feedback tool came up initially when we were discussing how to provide evidence of our work, and hopefully our impact, as coaches. May be helpful in communication with Principals. #educoach
What feedback should coaches get from teachers? We adapted a great survey by @CmunroOz from @gcieducation so coaches can get useful information from teachers. You can read more and download the free survey here: https://t.co/MS87X77ABU
A6. Consistency is key. Listen to their needs; Ts set their own goal. Have them reflect on their own practice; model and provide resources when needed without forcing or pushing them to do something they’re not comfortable with yet. #educoach
A6: Point out the positives! Coaching isn’t always about saying what is wrong but reminding teachers of the great things they are already do. Teaching is tough work and our teachers deserve to be recognized for all the great things they do! #educoach
I think that this is essential to make the (sometimes invisible) work of coaches visible to administrators. The personal and confidential nature of the work and need for role accountability can make this tricky. #educoach
A7 One of the most rewarding things said to me by Ts I coached was that I never lost the teacher in me. I knew when to push and when to pull back. #educoach
A4 Have positive presuppositions. It might be difficult to do at times, but I have yet to meet a teacher who does not want to see students succeed. #educoach
A7- Take time for yourself! I think it’s important to shut off emails and work at a reasonable time everyday. There is always something that needs to be done, but it will be there tomorrow. We have to be realistic and not let the job take over who we are. #educoach
The word data (especially in caps ;)) sometimes makes me bristle. What counts as data for you? Who's data? For what purpose?
I'm agreeing but think these Qs are very important. #educoach
A7: know when you need to walk away and de-stress. Use time off to rejuvenate inthe ways that work for you—exercise or other self care. Practice saying “no” so you are ready when you need to stand up for yourself. If you’re depleted, you can’t do your job. #educoach
Couldn't agree more. A strengths-based approach has many benefits for the coachee. Builds sense of resourcefulness, possibility, positive emotion, platform, springboard, leverage. #educoach
A7 Model balance in your own life. We can all get so busy. We aren't at our best game when stressed. We shouldn't expect Ts to work 24/7 - nor ourselves. BREATHE! #educoach
A3: At the start of the year, I identified my 3 big rocks. Each week, I reflect on what I did for each one and set goals for the next week. I can't let my pebbles get in the way of my big rocks #educoach
A fundamental idea in solutions focused coaching is to identify what's working and do more of that! There are always exceptions, times when it has gone well, what worked then? #educoach
A7: Remember the passion that got you here. I am happiest working with students (not desk work) so I make time to be in classrooms working with students on a regular basis
#educoach
A5: I can’t say we have a “formal agreement” but good communication, support, and trust are vital. Any recommendations on resources to read on this topic? #educoach
A7 Coaches need coaches too. Build a support network, even virtually so debrief and keep track of your own growth as a coach. It can be lonely without this. Who would be your go-to people? What do you want from them? How will you initiate this? #educoach
