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.
Connect with LindyThe Topic: Phase 3: Grow Community
The Task: Share your artifact and a written reflection on your learning during this phase.
My key ‘aha’ moments during Phase 3 were around coaching conversations versus actual instructional coaching based on a coaching cycle. I had started the year with the intention to use a coaching cycle during each of my coaching sessions with my Grade Level Leaders. For the first few sessions, it was easy to follow a plan, but as the year has progressed, I have found that I have had more coaching conversations that have not been as well planned. Being an actual instructional coach is a massive time commitment. It was much easier to show up to a conversation unprepared. During this time, our Educational Leadership team was also exploring what coaching could look like in our school. In practise, we engaged in coaching conversations on the team around choosing a professional standards goal.
It was very exciting to be a part of the leadership team as they discovered how amazing coaching can be. Our head of school was coached by our MYP coordinator and found the experience exhilarating. She was excited about what was uncovered during the conversation about her leadership.
I was in a coaching partnership with the Primary DP. We both have experience in coaching, so it was highly beneficial to coach each other. In fact, when she coached me, it was in front of the whole team and was video recorded (our principal has since used it at a conference).
At this point I am thrilled that our leaders see the value in coaching conversations. It also came out in our discussion that coaches require great skills. Everyone seemed to understand that a coaching conversation doesn’t equate being coached by a professional.
At this point I am still grappling with distinguishing between coaching conversations and instructional coaching. Both have their place. There is no doubt that everyone on our team benefited from being ‘coached’. However, I don’t think that the team really understands how much hiring instructional coaches could benefit our school, so I still have my work cut out.
For my artifact, I am sharing the Venn Diagram that I used to help my leadership team understand the difference between coaching conversations and actual instructional coaching.
My next steps involve further exploration in how to support coaching conversations, but also stressing the importance of coaching by trained professionals. Part of this will be recording my conversation with my partner (Primary DP) as I coach her on her progress of her leadership goal.
Read more from The Coach participants as they share their learning from the certificate & mentorship program…
Nikki: A Pathway to Instructional Coaching for All
Ana Cristina: What is Coaching?
Angela: The Benefits of Coaching
Andrea: Creating a Definition of Coaching
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