My Coaches Couch: Best of 2025

As 2025 draws to a close, let’s look back at the most-viewed posts of the year so that you can revisit or discover the content that has drawn the most attention. Here’s the My Coaches Couch 2025 Top 10, in count-down fashion (each post is linked):
 
Let’s get started with the #10 spot!
 
#10. Unearthing Expectations
This post considers hidden expectations teachers have that students may be unaware of and how learning could be increased if teachers made these expectations more explicit.
 
#9. From Data to Action
Instructional coaches help teachers make sense of mountains of assessment data. This post includes structures for exploring assessment results together. Examples of protocols for determining the root cause are described, including the fishbone analysis, the 5 Whys protocol, and the protocol for examining data. Although this August post (and others in the series – see #6, below) described beginning-of-year assessment analysis, they work equally well for considering mid-year data.
 
#8. Sparking Interdependence in Coaching
Interdependence between teacher and coach creates kinetic energy: energy due to movement. This post gives examples and suggestions for collaboration that sparks ideas that wouldn’t be created otherwise.
 
#7. Instructional Coaching Rhythms
Somehow, we’ve come to think of the work we do with teachers as coaching cycles. But what if, instead, we thought of coaching rhythms? Sometimes, our work does have a clear beginning, middle, and end that includes setting a specific goal, measuring progress, and celebrating when the target is reached. But coaching also offers opportunities to be flexible and opportunistic, adjusting in response to the teacher.  
 
#6. Protocols for Scaling the Assessment Data Mountain
Part of the series described in the #9 spot, this post describes the Chalk Talk and Realms of Concern/Influence protocols for finding solutions once root causes have been identified. The posts that followed include additional protocols. The next post described Chalk Talk and Realms of Concern/Influence, followed by a post with the Peeling the Onion, Wagon Wheels, and Affinity Mapping protocols that can support next steps, and finally, a post with additional supports for finding data-supported solutions. Like the protocols described in #9, these posts work equally well for considering mid-year data.
 
#5. Coaching for Teacher Agency
Teacher agency is a cornerstone of effective and sustainable teaching, and coaches can inspire teachers to take ownership of their practices and helping them navigate the demands of the education system.
 
#4. Coaching with a Gentle Nudge
When coaching, recommendations work best when they feel like a gentle nudge rather than an edict. This post offers insights into how the words we choose impact coaching outcomes.
 
3. 10 Things Instructional Coaches Should Know and Do
The 5 things to for coaches to know and 5 things to do described in this post help teachers strengthen their practice and sustain their energy for teaching.
 
2. “What do you want to do more of?”
The coaching question, “What do you want to do more of?” can spark a productive coaching conversation, often one that builds on teachers’ strengths.
 
Drum roll, please! The most-viewed 2025 post was:
 
1. Try This at Home: Ask & Listen
This summertime post encouraged coaches to practice a skill that could carry over into coaching work - being fully present in conversations. The post includes conversational prompts to deepen relationships, invite openness, and create space for new insights to emerge.
 
I hope you’ll take the opportunity to peruse some of these posts as 2025 draws to a close and we amp up for the year ahead.
 
This week, you might want to take a look at:

Staying focused and keeping your leadership passion alive:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/staying-focused-how-leaders-can-keep-their-passion-for-literacy-alive/
 
 
A 1-minute video for students that describes a concrete approach to short constructed responses (the R-A-C-E strategy):
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rXZr7n5qtE
A short video about the value of plants in the classroom😊(check out January houseplant sales!):
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBIQDu5b5uM
 
 
Shifting from trauma-informed care to healing-centered engagement:
 
https://medium.com/@ginwright/the-future-of-healing-shifting-from-trauma-informed-care-to-healing-centered-engagement-634f557ce69c
 
Supports for student-led discussions:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/better-student-led-literature-discussions/
 
That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!
 
Want more coaching tips? Check out my book, Differentiated Mentoring & Coaching in Education: From Preservice Teacher to Expert Practitioner, available from Teachers College Press!  I’m so excited to share it with you! You can use the code: FDNS25 for 20% off. Click  here  and I’ll email you the free Book Group Study Guide that includes questions, prompts, and activities you can use as you share the book with colleagues.  I hope you’ll love this book as much as I loved making it for you!

 

Celebration: A Pause Worth Taking

As we head into winter break, coaches are finally exhaling. Inboxes have quieted and the pace is changing. Once the final gifts are tucked away – and before we rush toward planning, goal-setting, or fixing the unfinished, let’s take a beat and pause to celebrate.
 
Not public or performative; just satisfied noticing.
 
Celebration helps us make meaning of our work. It helps us remember what matters. And it can quietly shape how we re-enter schools in January.
 
Celebrating the Work You Did
This break is a good time stop and celebrate yourself for:
*Where you showed up consistently, even when it was hard,
*When coaching conversations aligned with your values,
*Risks that paid off,
*Noticings that made a difference.
 
Journaling could be your private celebration, or you could talk things through with a listening partner or just hold them in your heart for a second.
 
Choosing What to Carry Forward
Celebration can also be forward-looking. As you reflect, you may notice practices worth protecting:
 
Consider:
*A question you asked that opened conversations
*A way you made teachers’ strengths visible
*A moment when you chose affirmation
 
Naming these now increases the likelihood that they show up again—not by accident, but by intention.
 
Planting Seeds for January
In January, we can carry celebration practices back to school with us. It doesn’t need to be showy or time-consuming to be meaningful.
 
In January, you might begin coaching conversations by asking teachers to:
*Celebrate what they tried,
*Celebrate where they persisted,
*Celebrate when they were responsive.
 
These moments build teachers’ confidence and clarity—two things that matter.
 
Celebration is a coaching practice that shapes identity, energy, and growth.
When we begin the new year grounded in what’s already working, we move forward more purposefully.
 
Celebration is a pause worth taking.
 
For more ideas about celebrating, including public and private, individual and school-wide celebrations, be sure to check out episode 13 of My Coaches Couch, the podcast when it drops on December 30! (also available in your podcast app).
 
This week, you might want to take a look at:

Leadership without leaving the classroom:
 
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2025-10-15-how-i-found-leadership-without-leaving-the-classroom
 
 
Teach reading, not books:
 
https://www.middleweb.com/47929/what-kids-gain-when-we-dont-teach-books/
 
 
First grade family history inquiry project (with meaningful technology integration):
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/family-history-inquiry-project-integrating-technology-with-social-studies-in-first-grade/
 
 
Tips on having influence that are just right for coaches:
 
http://jenniferabrams.com/what-not-to-do-if-you-want-to-be-more-influential/
 
 
A quick video about vocabulary instruction in science:
 
https://www.amnh.org/explore/curriculum-collections/integrating-literacy-strategies-into-science-instruction/vocabulary-instruction
 
That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!
 
Want more coaching tips? Check out my book, Differentxiated Mentoring & Coaching in Education: From Preservice Teacher to Expert Practitioner, available from Teachers College Press!  I’m so excited to share it with you! This month, you can use the code: DEC2025 for 15% off. Click  here  and I’ll email you the free Book Group Study Guide that includes questions, prompts, and activities you can use as you share the book with colleagues.  I hope you’ll love this book as much as I loved making it for you!

 
 

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Soft Words for Coaching

As a coach, it’s not the fancy words that matter. Little words matter more than you might imagine. Choosing words with a gentler feel can make a meaningful difference in how our ideas are received—and whether those thoughts move from idea to action.
 
Saying, “I’m wondering how a Venn diagram might work in this lesson,” offers an invitation. The teacher I’m working with is free to consider the tool, adapt it, or set it aside. On the other hand, saying, “You should use a Venn diagram instead of that chart,” would land very differently. Even when the idea is sound, the wording can shut thinking down rather than open it up.
 
Small Words, Big Impact
Over time, I’ve become much more attentive to the small words I use in coaching conversations. Little words carry outsized weight. They can position teachers as capable professionals who are actively making decisions—or as people needing to be corrected.
 
One way to pay attention to how our words work is to notice how often we default to language that sounds absolute or evaluative. A simple word like but can negate everything that came before it. Replacing but with and or so keeps the conversation additive rather than corrective. Similarly, shifting from you to we or us signals partnership instead of hierarchy.
 
Modal verbs matter, too. Words like should and must tend to sound like commands, even when we don’t intend them that way. Their gentler counterpart, could, leaves room for choice.
 
In the same way, trading “They sometimes…”  for  “They never” or “They always” acknowledges the complexity of classroom life. Will could become might or maybe, and best could become possible, Instead of, “You should determine…” you might soften the language to, “We could consider,” or “I wonder.”
 
Wrong could be replaced with different; can’t  could become not yet. Even words we might think of as neutral can carry judgment. Small shifts can better communicate optimism and opportunities for growth, rather than finality.
 
Language That Honors Professional Identity

The language choices we make as coaches can do important identity work. Small, simple words subtly shape a teacher’s sense of themselves as knowledgeable, thoughtful professionals. Avoiding evaluative language like good and bad, and replacing harsh modal verbs like should and must with their kinder cousins, might and may, signals that the coach’s ideas are tentative and offered for consideration, not compliance.

For example, “You should make sure everyone is listening before you begin,” can easily sound like a directive. Saying instead, “Something that has worked for me is using a focus signal before giving instruction,” feels like an idea being placed on the table. The content is similar, but the invitation is very different.

Providing a menu of options is another way to avoid what I think of as “you-should-ing.” When we offer possibilities rather than prescriptions, we honor teachers as decision-makers in their own classrooms. And often, it’s the small, gentle words that make the difference.

****************************************************************************************************************

Did you know My Coaches Couch is also a podcast? (with different content) Find it in your favorite podcast app or at MyCoachesCouch.podbean.com

****************************************************************************************************************

This week, you might want to take a look at:

4 engaging ways to pre-assess (#1 & #3 are my favorites):
 
https://www.middleweb.com/52730/four-simple-ways-to-pre-assess-our-students/
 
 
How video analysis supports teachers’ understanding:
 
https://www.teachingchannel.com/free-videos/
 
 
Setting goals with students (think about this for January):
 
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/back-to-school-goal-setting-students-teacher-maurice-elias
 
 
Nurturing independent reading in middle schoolers:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/nurturing-independent-reading-lives-in-middle-school/
 
 
The idea of embodied cognition may sound complex, but the concept is powerful, and this explanation is practical:
 
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-acting-out-in-school-boosts-learning/
 
That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!
 
Want more coaching tips? Check out my book, Differentiated Mentoring & Coaching in Education: From Preservice Teacher to Expert Practitioner, available from Teachers College Press!  I’m so excited to share it with you! This month, you can use the code: DEC2025 for 15% off. Click  here  and I’ll email you the free Book Group Study Guide that includes questions, prompts, and activities you can use as you share the book with colleagues.  I hope you’ll love this book as much as I loved making it for you!

When Coaches Overdo It

Effective teachers adjust the scaffolding provided so that a learning activity sits squarely within a student’s zone of proximal development. As coaches, we did it with our students - offering just enough support to move learning forward, then gradually stepping back when the support was no longer needed.
 
Coaching is no different.
 
Through dialogue, we scaffold teachers’ professional learning, and when it’s done well, it strengthens reflection and encourages flexible, intentional use of teaching practices. But when we offer too much support for too long, we risk getting in the way of the growth we’re aiming to cultivate. As coaches, we need to be careful not to over-scaffold.
 
Why Scaffolding Matters in Coaching
The Gradual Increase of Responsibility model (see below) describes how effective coaching shifts over time. Coaches might begin with higher levels of support—modeling and recommending, if that’s what’s needed. When less scaffolding is needed, we ask questions—and move toward moves like affirming and praising.
 
The GIR model supports coaches in matching support to need. When coaches intentionally adjust scaffolding, they help teachers of all experience levels stretch. This flexible, responsive support leads to real instructional change.
 
The Problem with Over-Scaffolding
Scaffolding supports learning – but did you know that giving too much support can actually undermine learning? Researchers found that continuing to model once a learner had gained competence reduced agency, damaged self-confidence, and reduced motivation.* And over-scaffolding can limit engagement and restrict responses.**
 
In coaching, this sometimes shows up when our “go-to” moves remain highly supportive—even when the teacher does not need that level of help. For example, a coach might continue recommending specific strategies to a highly capable teacher who could make those decisions independently. Or we might jump in to model when a reflective question would have been enough. The intention is good, but the impact isn’t. Over-scaffolding sends an unintended message: I don’t think you’re ready yet.
 
Matching Support to Need
Effective coaching means adjusting support in real time—stepping in when a teacher is trying something new and stepping back once they have traction.
Sometimes that scaffolding looks like:
 
*offering a specific recommendation when a teacher is trying out an unfamiliar strategy
 
*asking guiding questions to help a teacher think through the details of a lesson
 
*anticipating together how students might respond so a teacher can plan to be flexible
 
When support isn’t needed, we lower the scaffolding. And if movement stagnates, we step in with more support. The key is responsiveness, with scaffolding continuously adjusted—not fixed. When support is no longer needed, removing it is just as important as offering it in the first place.
 
Letting Teachers Take the Lead
Coaching for a gradual increase of teacher responsibility means trusting teachers’ increasing competence and confidence. It means resisting the urge to over-explain, over-model, or over-direct. It means knowing that teachers grow most when they’re supported enough to stretch—rather than over-scaffolded in ways that crowd out their agency.
 
As coaches, our role is to help teachers see what’s possible. When we match scaffolds to the moment, teachers develop stronger instructional decision-making, greater confidence, and an increased sense of ownership over their practice.
 
By avoiding the over-scaffold, we acknowledge that sometimes less support can lead to more learning.
 
****************************************************************************************************************

Did you know My Coaches Couch is also a podcast? (with different content) Find it in your favorite podcast app or at MyCoachesCouch.podbean.com
 
****************************************************************************************************************

 

*Wood, D. & Middleton, D. (1975). A study of assisted problem-solving. British Journal of Psychology (66)2, 181–91. Pomerantz, F., & Pierce, M. (2013). " When do we get to read?" Reading instruction and literacy mentoring in a" failed" urban elementary school. Reading Improvement, 50(3), 101-117.
**Daniel, S. M., Martin‐Beltrán, M., Peercy, M. M., & Silverman, R. (2016). Moving beyond yes or no: Shifting from over‐ scaffolding to contingent scaffolding in literacy instruction with emergent bilingual students. TESOL Journal, 7(2), 393-420.
 
This week, you might want to take a look at:

Overcoming the “drama triangle” when working with teams:
 
https://www.smartbrief.com/original/recognizing-and-overcoming-the-drama-triangle
 
 
Charts as tools and teachers:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/charts-as-tools-charts-as-teachers/
 
 
Independent mentor text studies:
 
https://vimeo.com/1085805154/4e5ddc29d3
 
 
The role of identity in learning:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/video/when-social-brain-misfires
 
 
Using Interactive reading guides in science:
 
https://www.amnh.org/explore/curriculum-collections/integrating-literacy-strategies-into-science-instruction/interactive-reading-guides
 
That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!
 
Want more coaching tips? Check out my book, Differentxiated Mentoring & Coaching in Education: From Preservice Teacher to Expert Practitioner, available from Teachers College Press!  I’m so excited to share it with you! You can use the code: FDNF25 for 15% off. Click  here  and I’ll email you the free Book Group Study Guide that includes questions, prompts, and activities you can use as you share the book with colleagues.  I hope you’ll love this book as much as I loved making it for you!