My previous blog ended with this paragraph: It’s important that principals’ work with instructional coaches to extend the coaching culture in a school. That culture increases the impact that the coach can have in providing feedback and reflection opportunities as well as increasing the coach’s role in being the “coach of coaching.” Anyone working in […]

The first book that I wrote about coaching was titled, Quality Teaching in a Culture of Coaching. The title was purposeful as I wanted to communicate that coaching was not merely an isolated activity of observation and feedback, but the way a team of educators “did business.” When a coaching culture is present, teachers use […]

I was recently requested to facilitate a meeting of coaches and principals from K-12 buildings for the Bismarck Public Schools in North Dakota. Those of you who follow me on Twittter (@stevebarkley) know that I have been working with the district for the last four years. The agenda I was given had the coach/principal pairs explore […]

As I read the September 2015 ASCD Educational Leadership, which is focused on questioning for learning, I was struck with how many of the issues explored equally connected to coaching work with teachers. A research alert (page 8) cites a study from the journal, Neuron (October 2014), that indicates when a person’s curiosity about a topic […]

I recently posted a video clip regarding the important role that questions play in advancing the effectiveness of instructional coaching. Questions guide the critical thinking of the coach and teacher. As the coach poses the questions she is modeling/teaching the thinking process that empowers the teacher to apply the questioning process to future dilemmas and […]

I listened to a video  of  How School Systems Improve, by Sir Michael Barber presenting at Harvard School of Education. While Barber was speaking to education policy makers, I thought that several of his points had specific application to school leadership teams designing their School Improvement Plans as well as to instructional coaches considering how […]