It’s hard to believe that it’s been over a decade since the publication of Student-Centered Coaching: A Guide for K-12 Coaches and Principals (Corwin, 2011). Now with a collection of books about Student-Centered Coaching, we are often asked which one is right for me? I thought I’d provide answers to that question in this blog … Read more
Written by Diane Sweeney, author of The Essential Guide for Student-Centered Coaching, Leading Student-Centered Coaching, and Moves for Launching a New Year of Student-Centered Coaching One of the most important things we can do to set coaches up for success is to clearly define their role. If we leave it up to teachers to make … Read more
Feeling effective as an instructional coach depends on having systems that work. Any coach will tell you that one of the things Covid affected the most were those very systems. Many coaches felt like they were set adrift as classrooms became empty, teaching moved online, and many teachers were overwhelmed. We realized pretty quickly that … Read more
As instructional coaches get their year started, many wonder which teachers should be first in line for coaching cycles. On the surface, this seems like a relatively easy question to answer. We’ve heard everything from, “We start with our new teachers.” To, “Teachers participate on an invitational basis.” And even, “Our coaches focus on teachers … Read more
Effective professional development requires continuous support that can best be delivered by a school-based coach. By now many of us are familiar with Malcolm Gladwell’s supposition from the book Outliers about how much time it takes to become good at something. He writes, “The idea that excellence at performing a complex task requires a critical … Read more
An excerpt from Student-Centered Coaching from a Distance (Sweeney and Harris, forthcoming) There are lots of ways to formatively assess. One of the most powerful is through one-on-one conferences. In their text, Rigorous Reading, Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher (2013) write, “Conferring provides the teacher with an excellent opportunity. These conferences allow the teacher to … Read more
Written by Amanda Brueggeman with Diane Sweeney Since my coaching has shifted online, I’ve been grappling with how to continue using the moves for Student-Centered Coaching. As a literacy coach in two elementary schools, my first hurdle was to help teachers get distance learning up and running. Next, came questions about how I could continue … Read more
Written by Joy Casey with Diane Sweeney and Leanna Harris It’s hard to imagine the seismic shift we all felt when we moved to online learning due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Throughout the year, our middle school had been focused on providing feedback to students. As the instructional coach, I had been busy leading professional … Read more