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: Coaching: From Theory to Practice

The Task: Have a post-observation coaching conversation

The pre-observation and questions I prepared before meeting with Lara helped us plan and bounce back ideas for her class. I was able to learn from her expertise as an early childhood educator like her strategies to keep students engaged with diverse activities. Asking her about some of the tasks that she designed for her students allowed me to recommend ways that she can further enrich the learning experiences of students like having them record photos, annotate using texts, add voice recordings and videos which the students were already capable of doing. She’s also rediscovering ways of flipping the class by sending videos for students to watch so they can better use their online class for sharing & discussions. I chose to attend the Inspire Citizen workshop with Lara and her Foundation Team so that I can continue to collaborate with them to plan for the next lessons for foundation students. Some of the ideas and insights that came up include virtual field trips, interviews with experts, assuming roles of gardeners and chef so that the students will have richer learning experiences of their IPC units Green Fingers.

How did your advance planning support the coaching process?

My advance planning prepared my discussion with Lara and gave us talking points so we were able to maximize our time together. She already has ideas and answers to my questions because I sent them to her prior to our meeting.

Was there anything you would do differently next time?

I would love to have more opportunities to join her classes because it will help me discover more ways that I can support her and other classes. She went on maternity leave so I looked for other teachers who would be willing to do hybrid sessions with me. It was more work for the other teacher though as opposed to having only an online session.

Is there anything you want to make sure you do every time you collaborate with another teacher in this kind of setting?

I would definitely make sure to send an agenda and prompt questions prior to coaching conversations because they really shape our discussion and allow us to make use of our meeting time more meaningfully.

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

Becca: Dealing with Challenges

Kate: Working with Adults

Karli: In Practice: Post-Observation Conversation

Tracy: Evaluating Your Coaching Program

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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!