We want to give you a peek inside our Coach Certificate & Mentorship Program. Coaches taking part in this academic-year-long journey have graciously given us permission to post some of their learning and reflections from the private coursework they are undertaking during this program. Where possible, we have shared the course and the action task to give context for the guest post.

The Topic: Complete a Coaching Cycle

The Task: In collaboration with the same teaching partner as before, have a post-observation coaching conversation. Share your experiences through a thoughtful reflection from your coaching program that demonstrates what phase of implementation you are in (Clarify, Consistency, Community)

For me, this conversation reinforced the idea of how important it is to plan ahead to structure the conversation and prepare questions in advance. Using a cognitive coaching template, I created my own modified version, tweaking it just a bit to meet the purpose of reflecting on the data I had collected for Bruna. This advance planning ensured that the meeting would be purposeful and focused; it was immensely helpful in elevating our conversation and the coaching experience as a whole, so much so, that I plan to do this every time I meet with a teacher. Thinking about the questions in advance helped me focus my intentions and mentally prepare beforehand, as well as help me curb the urge to ask too many questions. During the conversation, I was able to focus more on listening because I had chosen effective questions.

REFLECTIVE TEMPLATE- BRUNA’S NOTES

For Bruna, she expressed that looking at the data was very helpful, giving her a clearer picture of what students were doing in class. She also loved the structure of the conversation as it allowed her to process and organize her thoughts. She is a very willing coachee, so that also helps a lot! She sees true value in the process.

The conversation went a bit long, but it was all purposeful.

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Read more from The Coach participants as they share their learning from the certificate & mentorship program…

Tracy’s post: Evaluating Your Coaching Program

Tracey’s post: Evaluating Your Coaching Program

Kelly’s post: Evaluating Your Coaching Program

Ken’s post: Learning Journey Video Reflection

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Level Up Your Coaching with The Coach!

If you are ready to dive deep into your coaching practice, to help you #coachbetter and build a thriving coaching culture in your school, please join us for our next cohort of The Coach!

Wherever you are in building a coaching culture in your school, The Coach will give you the strategies, skills and tools you need to make coaching a success and will empower you to confidently apply instructional coaching strategies in any situation – from building a coaching program, to having coaching conversations, to being a leader in your school community. We facilitate only one cohort each academic year so we can offer individualized support for each participant.

Coaches of all levels are welcome: you’ll start the program with a self-assessment to determine exactly what the next steps are for you!