Time for Instructional Coaching, Practice and Feedback

Including time for Instructional Coaching within the school day ensures that teachers benefit from ongoing learning and multiple coaching cycles. Coaching supports teachers in experimenting with  new, research-based practices, ultimately helping change teacher practice and increase student achievement. 

Teacher coaching can take many forms. Coaching could resemble the more common practice of teacher meeting with a coach before and after a lesson to provide feedback on experimentation with a new teaching strategy. However, a holistic approach to supporting teacher growth through coaching might also include dedicated time for co-teaching, modeling, peer observations and co-designing an experiment for teachers to try.   Research shows teachers need as many as 20 different times practicing with a strategy to master it. From Alison Gulamhussein in “Teaching the Teachers”

Schools should build schedules that ensure multiple forms of coaching and learning for adults are protected and can be repeated as many times as needed to support teachers trying something new in service of improving student outcomes.  As you build time for coaching and adult learning, it’s important to have dedicated time for teachers with peers and coaches to collaborate, learn about new strategies, experiment with them and reflect on their application.

Keys to Success: A Culture of Continuous Improvement • Training and Support for Coaches • Focused, Individualized Goals • Timely, “Bite-sized” Action Steps • Collaborative Feedback