Instructional Coaching

NEW! Radical Learners Blog by Jim Knight! Read the Blog: Instructional Coaching Institute, Level 1 August 8-10, 2011 October 3-5, 2011More info... Instructional Coaching Institute, Level 2 August 11-13, 2011 October 6-8, 2011More info... Instructional Coaching Conference October 10-12, 2011More info...

Change is complicated... Instructional coaches can help alleviate some of the burden of change. Instructional coaches are on-site professional developers who teach educators how to use proven teaching methods.

"Atul Gawande's feature article The New Yorker this week, Personal Best: Top athletes and singers have coaches. Should you?, has sure sparked a lot of discussion this week on instructional coaches. I thought I'd bring together a few of what I consider the best resources on the topic."

"In this issue's lead article, Bob Tschannen-Moran and Megan Tschannen-Moran ("The Coach and the Evaluator", p. 10) decry the approach of connecting teacher evaluation with efforts to help teachers grow and improve through a coaching cycle. They call into question such common administrator practices as using coaching to help a teacher achieve specific improvement goals. Although such practices are well-meaning, the Tschannen-Morans claim, they "typically generate little growth… Power struggles, rather than cooperative efforts…often ensue."

"Applies the concept of medical rounds to solving instructional problems and outlines the process of planning, organizing, facilitating, and implementing this innovative way to improve teaching and learning by having groups of teachers and administrators"

"Richard Catrambone is a Professor in the School of Psychology at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He has consulted on instructional design and human-computer interaction topics for various organizations. His teaching and mentoring has been recognized by multiple teaching awards."