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One Simple Trick
Some (more) loose thoughts on useful coaching
Regular readers will know that I am no longer an Instructional Coach, having hung it up at the end of the 23–24 school year. I enjoyed my experience in the role, and I have also enjoyed no longer doing that work. Teaching remains the most fun I get to have in a school, and teaching a full load is a joy. Of course, I do still use my coaching tools on a semi-regular basis when working with colleagues¹. I’ve written before about the dynamics of a successful coaching relationship, and it boils down to this: a coach must be of use to the teacher they are supporting. This, more than anything else, is the one simple trick of Coaching for me. And it’s this, more than anything else, that seems to doom a lot of the bad coaching that I see.
An Illustrative Example: The Problem of Practice
Let me illustrate with an example of a coaching tool I find particularly unhelpful: practice, or role-playing. I’m referring to the structure where a coach asks a teacher to rehearse a strategy, often with the coach playing the role of a student. There are variations, but the core idea is a staged simulation.
Frankly, I find it almost entirely pointless and deeply silly. I know wonderful people and awesome coaches who disagree with me here, and I acknowledge…
