The Power of Coaching

The other day, a colleague sent me an article from the New Yorker to read on the power of coaching. It is a great piece, written by a surgeon who felt as if he had peaked in his career and needed some coaching to improve his practice. My colleague wanted me to read the piece thinking it might be something I’d like to blog about. However, as I read more deeply into the article, the writer began discussing the educational work that is being done on coaching by Jim Knight in Albemarle County, VA—a district I grew up teaching in and work very closely with now! In fact, the school that this surgeon went to visit (Walton Middle School) was the very first school I taught in years and years ago.

The coaching model employed by Albemarle County schools is intriguing. Under the model, the division reorganized their school-based instructional support teams into five centrally managed coaching teams that serve elementary, middle, and high schools. Each team is managed by a Lead Instructional Coach–so not only do the teachers have the luxury of working with a coach; but the coaches also have someone who can provide them with some support—the coaches all have a coach! The team’s goal is to work to help classroom teachers implement effective instructional strategies and the Division’s Framework for Quality Learning.

The district has had PLC’s in place for quite some time now. At the beginning of the year, teachers meet to set norms, establish goals, and begin the work of supporting students and improving instruction. The district firmly believes the instructional coaching model enhances the culture of job-embedded professional growth inherent in a PLC design. To further that end, the district has been training their coaches in the lesson study professional development model.

Hollins Mills, an Albemarle County coach, has blogged for us and describes her role and her trepidation initially:

My work is built on the invitation to look inside someone’s purse, to be part of their classroom culture, to facilitate reflection and goal setting. During my first year of coaching I struggled to find a way to dig into the practice of teaching and learning. I felt outside the classroom. I found myself flirting with the real conversations, not knowing how hard to push. Lifting the cloak of privacy that protects a classroom takes courage. I was sensitive to the fears. I did not know how to elicit courage.

Lesson Study gave her the freedom to support teachers in opening up their classrooms (or their purses, as she so eloquently wrote) and invite someone in.

Learn more about the district and their instructional coaching model through this interview with their district superintendent!

Isabel McLean is a National Education Consultant at Developmental Studies Center