The Learning Pit is an educational model created by James Nottingham (2017) to help students visualize the learning process as a journey through a “pit” of struggle, confusion, and deep thinking. It reframes difficulty as a natural and necessary step toward mastery. The Stages of the Learning Pit The journey through the learning pit typically …
Student-Centered Coaching was developed by instructional coaches and for instructional coaches. It was the result of coaches asking themselves the question, “How can we make our coaching more about student learning?” Until then, it felt like coaching only focused on instruction and wasn’t necessarily ensuring that learning was taking place. Coaches felt like, while they …
Written By Diane Sweeney And Ann Mausbach Excerpted From Leading Student-Centered Coaching (Corwin, Forthcoming) “Should coaching be voluntary or mandatory?” It’s a question that we hear from principals on a regular basis. It’s also a question that rests on the broader issue of how we set expectations for participation in a coaching effort. Wouldn’t it …
Instructional coaching has grown exponentially over the past two decades. Today there are coaches in large districts, small districts, urban districts, and rural districts. Coaches focus on subjects like mathematics, literacy, and technology. And others work across content areas. With millions of dollars and countless hours being dedicated to coaching, we must be sure that …
Good coaching is powerful. In fact it’s so powerful, that it got me up a mountain the other day. In the summer, I love to spend my time mountain biking in Grand County, Colorado. There are hundreds of miles of trails, most of them pretty challenging. When I get the chance, I like to ride …
We are excited to have published our new book, Student-Centered Coaching: The Moves (Corwin, 2016). It was so much fun to write this book, especially since I had the opportunity to work with co-author Leanna Harris, a fellow consultant on our team. I have recently been asked how this new book compares with Student-Centered Coaching: …
As a third year instructional coach, I was elated to hear that the Madison Metropolitan School District would hire Diane Sweeney, to support us in establishing and refining existing coaching practices. Up until this year, school-based coaches worked in varying capacities at schools across the district. A coach’s role was often tied to several ‘busy’ …
I am often asked how to get started with Student-Centered Coaching. How might a district prepare coaches, teachers, and principals to make the most out this critical investment in student and teacher learning? What should we be aware of? What are some common pitfalls? While no two districts are alike, and you may need to …