We all know that sometimes coaching thrives in one school setting and stalls in another.
There are lots of reasons why this might happen and one of them is a lack of clarity around the definition of coaching. In schools we’re great at creating a lofty vision (we all have experience with statements that involve phrases like: “developing resilient global citizens who are able to tackle complex problems”) but we don’t often spend a lot of time actually defining what we mean. That can be a huge challenge for coaching programs specifically because they need ownership and buy in from all school stakeholders.
As part of The Coach Certificate & Mentorship Program and with discussions with instructional coaches and leaders around the world, we often talk about the importance of having a coaching vision, whether that is a new coach developing their own to ground themselves in coaching or a school creating theirs to share with the school community.
A coaching vision captures the WHY of instructional coaching, often in just a few sentences, and should provide inspiration for the goals that will impact a school or organization.
However, we often skip to the HOW of coaching (the strategies and models) and we don’t seem to spend as much time talking about and developing a clear definition of WHAT coaching actually is.
Visions often include abstract concepts and even what we might consider buzzwords. When we don’t define what those ideas and concepts mean, especially for our school or organizations unique needs and goals, challenges going from vision to reality in practice can arise.
- When you think about your coaching role, do you have a coaching vision AND a definition of what coaching is?
- Do you have concerns about how to effectively communicate coaching roles and goals with your school community?
- Are you thinking about how to align your coaching practice with school goals?
We support you with all of this inside The Coach Certificate & Mentorship Program – where we follow the Thrive Model for Instructional Coaching Success to provide practical strategies in clarifying what coaching is for you and your school, promoting consistency in practice, and building community.
All schools need the three elements of the Thrive Model for coaching to be successful and sustainable But, most schools are missing at least one!
Is your school missing consistency?
Watch this episode to find out!
And if you want to learn more about the Thrive Model, access all of our resources at edurolearning.com/thrive.
Why Do We Need a Definition of Coaching?
Regarding the importance of defining coaching beyond the vision, Joellen Killion, instructional coach guru, senior advisor at Learning Forward, and AAICIS Board Member points out,
“If I can describe it with specificity, it is far more likely to be achieved, than if I don’t have the capacity to be specific. More time on the what, and less time on the how. We do that backwards in schools. We spend a lot of time on the how without clarity on the what.”
This makes me think of working with academic standards and the process of “unpacking” them so we have practical outcomes to plan, instruct, and assess that are easily understood and achievable.
We can set a goal through a coaching vision but we need to break down what it means before we look at how we’re going to reach it.
It’s about Clarity (the first step in the Thrive Model)
When we address challenges in implementing and sustaining a coaching program, a common issue is that teachers and even administrators don’t have a clear understanding of what coaching is, so there can be reluctance in engaging with it. There is often a focus on what the coaches are going to do but a clear definition of coaching will provide a bridge between the vision (the WHY) and the actions of the coaches, teachers, and administrators (the HOW)
Instructional coaching can look a lot of different ways to different people, positively and negatively, depending on their experience. So if we are not specific about (and agree on) what coaching is in the context of our school or organization, our colleagues and leaders will “fill in the blank” based on their past experience. This is when we THINK we’re talking about the same thing, but we’re actually talking about different things, without realizing it. And this will llead to confusion, lack of engagement, and questioning of coaching’s impact.
So what does defining coaching look like? Here is an example of defining coaching from Eduro’s own Kim Cofino in the Handbook of Research on Critical Issues and Global Trends in International Education and adopted by AAICIS (the Association for the Advancement of Instructional Coaching in International Schools):
Instructional Coaching is…
- a formal or informal process that is non-evaluative, confidential (and not tied to appraisal),
- focused on student learning goals (as determined by the teacher),
- invitational for teachers to access,
- involves a cycle, structure or system of reflection, and
- operates close to the classroom with observation, co-teaching or modeling as a central part of the experience.
This definition illustrates how coaching works “on the ground” with specific, practical guidelines on what coaching is and then we can move onto HOW coaching will be implemented.
We need to make sure to ground the conversation in: “this is what we define coaching as in our school”. We can then use that definition to guide, reflect, and refine our approach to coaching school wide.
It can take time to develop a coaching vision and we must also put time and effort into defining what instructional coaching looks like for our school community so we can focus on making the vision a reality with clarity, consistency, and community.
Watch the Video
If you’re ready to start thinking about how you can better define coaching – in line with your school’s vision for coaching, come join us in one of our courses for coaches!
We host four global cohorts each year, and each of them designed to help you take the next step in your coaching practice baked on your current experience level:
- If you’re an educator or leader ready to learn about a coaching mindset, join us for Cultivating a Coaching mindset, or
- If you’re a brand new or aspiring coach thinking about making the move from classroom to coach, join us in Getting Started as an Instructional Coach (and if you’re listening or watching this episode when it airs, that’s the next cohort that’s open for enrollment this academic year), or
- If you’re a current coach or educator dedicated to building a thriving coaching program while deepening your coaching practice over an entire academic year, join us in The Coach Certificate and Mentorship Program, or as
- If you’re a coach who’s ready to lead, and advocate for the systems and structures that make coaching sustainable, join us in Coaches as Leaders.
Find them all at coachbetter.tv/learn
Free Workshops for Instructional Coaches
If you’re ready to keep learning, try one of our FREE workshops where you’ll be able to dig deeper into the concepts in this post, and get a peek at all of our courses for coaches.
We have workshops (and courses) to support coaches at every stage of their career: from new and aspiring coaches making the move from classroom to coach; to current coaches ready to be more intentional and strategic in their practice; to established coaches leveraging their coaching experience to lead.
You can them all on our coachbetter website at coachbetter.tv/workshops
If you’re curious right now, you have questions, please reach out. You can leave a comment below, join our #coachbetter Facebook group, or find us on social media at Eduro Learning and send me a DM. I’d love to support you on your coaching journey. See you next time!
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