In this #coachbetter episode Kim chats with Leigh Miller, Deputy Head of School at Munich International School. 

In this episode they talk about:

• Leigh’s extensive experience with instructional coaching, in particular what has made it successful in previous schools, 
• the systems and structures that need to be in place for coaching to be successful and then sustainable, 
• the importance of developing a program and not just hiring a coach, 
• measuring the impact of coaching, 
• specific challenges for international schools, and 
• what school leaders need to consider when building a coaching culture. 

This episode is a gold mine of specific actions schools can take to develop and sustain a coaching culture, especially in an international school setting! If you’re curious about what makes coaching work – based on evidence from a variety of schools, and through a leaders perspective, this episode is for you!

Connect with our Featured Guest

Subscribe to #coachbetter via your favorite Podcast Player!

Bonus! Watch the Spotlight Version on YouTube!

Show Notes

Please share a little bit about your journey as an educator

Taught gr2 at MIS, got Doctorate to work with people interested in becoming teachers, but I missed the vibe of schools, the energy you get being in a school. When we moved back overseas, I came back as an instructional coach.

2012 – 2015 Literacy Coach (Budapest) – practice-based – workshop model – was able to create a coaching culture in this school

2015 – 2021 ES DTL (Budapest) – Coaching teachers in pedagogy (learning lenses) and curriculum design, let coaching lead my work

2021 – 2023 (Chile) Learning Coach – Student centered – already existing thriving coaching culture, started back in 2015, learned so much there & refined my coaching practice, missed leadership

2023 – Present DHoS (MIS) with my own leadership coach

Moved back and forth between coaching and leadership and they are often intertwined. It’s quite a similar role, people perceive the role differently, but the skills are so similar.

You’ve seen the direct and measurable positive impact of instructional coaching when implemented well, please tell us about that experience.

It’s not just the role, it’s the culture, it’s one of being a learning community. Regular learning walks, learning labs, opportunities to inquire together and learn together, which fostered this passion and excitement for learning from and with each other with students involved.

Entered the school and that already existed, the coaching cycles lived within a much more robust coaching menu and coaching culture.

A huge piece was the student centered aspect, when I met with a teacher, they always talked about their students, their goals for their students drove our work together. We were in partnership, we had a shared goal, we moved forward together. Teachers didn’t feel like it was a criticism or evaluation of their practice, it was someone to do the work together. Teaching can be very isolating. To have some with full interest in you and your students feels really good for teachers. We always collected baseline data so we could see the impact of the work. 

We always had a waiting list. Always a flood of responses.

For me the most direct, measurable, and positive impact of coaching was when I was engaged in student centered coaching in Chile because there was a structure in place to measure impact

· Student centered goal with measures of success, baseline, formative, and end of cycle measures

· Positive –always a waiting list and frequent flyers

What helped them cultivate that culture?

I wasn’t there as it started to build. It was always about students, teacher felt like the time was valued because it was embedded in their work.

In Budapest we actively created a culture of learning. We looked to the Cultural Forces Ron Richart’s work. Started with Learning Walks, created an open door feeling (grew over time), giving each other feedback using the common language of the Cultural Forces, based on the classroom. We didn’t have the role of a coach. Created an open collaborative learning culture. Then added a coaching position. 

Professional Inquiry cycle – teachers had their own questions about their students and their practice and had coaches to support their work.

Leadership support: message has to be clear that this is safe, a place to take risks, we want you to be experimenting and trying new things with students. When teachers hear that, they feel safe to try something new and the value is about me learning and students seeing me as a learner.

When I was co-teaching we would always tell the students, we’re inquiring into this together, we’re interested in… We need your input to see what’s working and what’s not.

There is a misconception that coaches are experts and teachers are coming in to fix you, so when teachers ask for my answer, I would never answer. The biggest challenge coaches face is that teachers see them as a problem solver. Teachers are very capable at figuring out what’s best for their students.

When we talk about coaching being “implemented well” what are the systemic structures that help make coaching successful?

Clarity: Common understanding of what coaching is: clear purpose, clear process, constantly reinforcing this (every year): this is is what it means here at this school (this is how it will feel, this is what it looks like, 90210 video, so there is clarity).

Time: built into planning periods. Graded has a team coaching model. Build into team meetings so they’re all experiencing coaching together, part of the fabric of the life at school (can’t be one more thing).

Student centered: coaching should be an empowering structure. Teachers want to talk about their students, that’s who they’re there for, when coaching is always about the students, that’s worth the time. When a meeting starts with student data it helps you to know that you’re not just teaching the curriculum, you’re teaching students.

Trust: that you know what happens in the coaching cycle stays in the coaching cycle unless you want to share it out.

---

What’s YOUR level of coaching mastery?

All coaches go through various stages of coaching mastery. Once you identify where you’re at, you can begin to build the skills needed to move to the next stage.

This quiz is based on real-life case studies compiled from years of working with coaches inside The Coach Certificate & Mentorship Program!

When you receive your results, you’ll also get your matching case study from the STRIVE Case Studies to see where you fit in the stages of coaching mastery.

Ready to tackle your challenges and move on to the next level in YOUR coaching practice?

The STRIVE Model of Coaching Mastery quiz will help you identify your level of coaching mastery by matching you with case studies compiled from years of working with coaches inside The Coach Certificate & Mentorship Program so you can easily see where you fit!

You’ll go straight to the Quiz, and get the Case Study Document via email.

---

Show Notes continued…

What makes coaching work in your experience? What logistical school-wide structures need to be in place for coaching to be successful?

Regular learning walks during the school day and learning labs and making sure that teachers always knew they can sign up & coverage would be taken care of for them (might be a Principal or another coach, another colleague). Something we valued so much, that teachers knew they could engage in a learning walk. We used to run them every other Friday. They were reliable and teachers knew they could join. If we had something that backed up to lunch, leadership would buy lunch for teachers to make it more of a special experience. Anything a school can do to show that this is the learning we value, we want you to be learning from each other and with our students, so we’re going to try to make this as easy as possible, and try to give time and space for that.

At Munich, we’re working on creating the culture: teachers are redesigning the teacher growth and appraisal framework to add teacher observations, giving feedback, focused on giving an inquiry question. We want teachers to feel like this is a place of learning and a place where teacher learning is valued.

How can schools ensure that they’re building the structures they need rather than just relying on hiring “the right person”?

Sometimes it’s successful, sometimes it’s not because people have different anticipation and expectations of what to expect.

Leadership need to have the same vision and same messaging is going out. Never have leaders assign struggling teachers to work with a coach. Strongest teachers should be working with coaches, spreading the word organically, this is the best PD I can have because its’ about me. You want it to become so irresistible. When you mandate coaching it undermines what we want to create, you want it to be something teachers are drawn to.

When you hire a coach, you need to be very cognizant ofthat it’s going to start small, we need them to build sollid relationships

You need to play the long game, anything that involves human to human connection takes time

· Key to build a coaching culture – where teachers trust one another, are open, want to improve and learn from one another. The culture is much more important than the person. We can be coaches to one another.

When we’re looking at measuring the impact of coaching, and return on investment for the position, what should school leaders and coaches consider?

Both angles: teacher & student are important: gather testimonials from teachers, when engaged in coaching reflection, when we’re talking about what we learned, I would always ask can I take down some of these notes, share these reflections with others and recording some reflections so teachers could hear others.

When a teacher is continually growing and learning in their practice that is the ROI that we want. We want teachers who are constantly evolving and responding to their students. When you have teachers who are growing, you see the impact in the students. Talking to students about how their learning has changed, their experience about how things have changed when the teacher was working with the coach. Collecting the data, the ownership is on the coach to do this, the testimonials of the shift, it’s hard to measure, it’s not always something that comes through in numbers

· Constant emphasis on growth and improvement and positive impact on student learning

What are the challenges for instructional coaching in international schools specifically? How can we work to avoid those?

International schools are transitory, coaching is trendy right now, you’re hearing about different models and ways of approaching coaching. When teachers come from a different school, they think they know all about coaching. You’re always reiterating the purpose and the process and the justification here at this school.

Some coaching models are very expert based or subject based, and the tendency is to look to that person as a consultant. Teachers are in this position because they’re capable and they have the answers already, it’s just a matter of helping them get to the answer through questioning. 

As a new leader, my school works with Making Stuff Better, I have a 1:1 coaching conversation myself. So helpful to have someone listen to where I am in my thinking, what problems are on my mind. They don’t give me the answer, they just ask me the questions. After one of those calls, I always feel like I’ve solved the problem myself.

Teachers want a quick fix, the easy answer, coaching is the long game

· Constant turnover, hard to maintain a consistent culture of coaching when there are many versions of it in different schools

What are some common challenges for coaches? What do experienced coaches need to grow their skills to the next level?

· Being seen as the “expert”

· Important to understand that there are many ways of “doing it right” and the real goal is to build capacity in others, not fix teachers

How can we help educators, and school leaders, see the value in coaching – for themselves AND in terms of instructional coaching programs in schools?

What you want your school to embody. If you want the student experience to be a certain way, then the teacher’s experience needs to mirror that. If we want students to own their learning and feel active in the process, then teachers also need to have that process. That’s the best way for teachers to create that experience for students, they need to see themselves as learners, they need to feel part of a learning community and feel safe to take risks. If teachers live that, that rolls over for their students. 

Leaders also need to be open, public learners. If that’s the type of school community you’ve created, then coaching obviously fits right into that. It’s just one cog of a bigger wheel. Culture is huge, there’s so many levers or ways that it’s perceived, having everything move towards a learning community, that’s 

· Places value on growth through collaboration

What should school leaders (or coaches) consider when working towards building a coaching culture? 

· Needs to feel safe to take risks, to fail, to start again

· Need to focus on the student, not the teacher

· Needs to nurture a culture of learners amongst teachers

Anything we missed?

Teaching is so hard, harder than ever. Even though the pandemic is behind us, it’s still very hard and our students are different, and have a lot of needs, it’s challenging fo teachers. We need to find joy in this profession again, it seems to have gone away. I’m looking for it. I’m trying to bring it back because  If you don’t have joy in your day to day profession you’re gong to burn out. Instructional coaching is a place where joy can live. Having those intellectual, professional, reflective conversations with somebody whose purpose is to listen and support you as a teacher, it’s something that teachers need. Instructional coaching might be the ticket to bringing joy back to this profession. 

---

Ready to Learn More about Successful Instructional Coaching?

If you’re ready to dig deeper into what makes instructional coaching successful – or if you’re new to instructional coaching and you’re curious about getting started, join us for one of our courses for coaches!

To learn more about these options, we have three FREE workshops to share with you today.

For New or Aspiring Coaches

If you’re just getting started as a coach, and you want to be successful in your early years, watch our New to Coaching Workshop, which highlights the key mindset and skill set shifts you’ll need when moving from the classroom to a coaching role. The workshop will also tell you all about our online course, Getting Started as a Coach. This course is specifically designed for classroom teachers who are moving into a coaching role so you’re prepared for the transition. It’s focused on exactly the skillset & mindset shifts you need to so you can be successful in your first years as an instructional coach. 

For Experienced Coaches

If you’re already a coach & you want to think about being more intentional & strategic in your practice, watch our workshop on the Thrive Model for Coaching Success which will help you evaluate your program and your practice to see where you may have room to grow. You’ll walk away with a clear picture of exactly what you need to focus on to build a thriving coaching culture – and help you decide if our year-long mentorship and certification program, The Coach, is right for you, right now. This program is designed for current coaches who are focused on building a coaching culture through intentional and strategic coaching work at all levels – with teachers and school leaders.

For Coaches Ready to Lead

For experienced coaches ready to look at the bigger picture of the school to see what might be supporting or hindering the sustainability of the coaching program, and you want to make sure your school has all of the systems and structures in place, watch our workshop: Scaling Your Impact as an Instructional Coach. You’ll get a bird’s eye view of what’s needed to make coaching sustainable for you as an individual coach and for your school. When you’re ready to put that learning into action, join us in our online course for coaches ready to lead: Coaches as Leaders and put it all into practice – with support from Kim and our global cohort! This course is designed for experienced coaches, ready to lead.

You can find all the workshops on our coachbetter website at coachbetter.tv/workshops

Wherever you are in your coaching journey, we can support you!

For All Coaches

Connect with us!

• Subscribe to the podcast iTunes  |  Spotify  |  Stitcher 
• Follow us on social media: Twitter  |  Instagram  |  LinkedIn
• Join our #coachbetter Facebook group
• Explore our courses for coaches