Impactful Coaching Conversations Seldom Happen by Accident

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Check out my book, Differentiated Mentoring & Coaching in Education: From Preservice Teacher to Expert Practitioner, available from Teachers College Press! Use the code AUG2026 to get 15% off.
 
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We spend a lot of time talking about the importance of planning in teaching.Teachers plan lessons, anticipate students’ needs, think about questions they might ask, and consider how they will respond when things don’t go quite as expected. This kind of planning matters in coaching, too.
 
Even though we can’t (and shouldn’t try to) script a coaching conversation, that doesn’t mean we should walk into those conversations unprepared. That’s why I created the GIR Conference Planning Guide. It’s a simple tool that is flexible enough so that we can follow the teacher’s thinking.
 
The guide gives coaches a way to think ahead about the teacher, the purpose of the conversation, and the amount and type of support that will be most useful. It takes just a few minutes to complete, but those few minutes can help us be more intentional about the support we provide. We can enter the conversation with a sense of purpose—and then adjust as the conversation unfolds.
 
Start with the Teacher—and the GIR Model
 
Planning starts by thinking about the teacher and a coaching focus you’ve determined together. Next, we consider what kind of support would help the teacher move forward. The 5 moves in the GIR coaching model (model, recommend, ask questions, affirm, and praise) describe varying levels of support – from greatest (modeling) to least (praise). When trying something new or complex, a teacher may benefit from more supportive moves, such as modeling and recommending. With a more experienced and confident teacher, we shift to questioning, affirming, and praising as the dominant move. Predicting how much support is needed helps us plan for possibilities.
 
Once you know the focus and have thought about where the teacher is on the GIR continuum, you can begin thinking about the conversation itself.
 
What will you ask?
What might you model?
What could you recommend?
What will you affirm or praise?
 
To get your ideas flowing, the conferencing guide offers suggestions and sentence stems for each of the GIR moves and space for thoughts you want to hang onto and reference when you’re with the teacher. You plan potential moves without planning the whole conversation.
 
Anticipate Possibilities
 
The purpose of the conferencing guide isn’t to create a script, it’s to help us anticipate possibilities. Is there a resource you want to have handy? A question that would land better if phrased just the right way? Something working well that you want to highlight? Taking a minute to think these things through and to jot a note or two is preparation for a productive conversation.
 
For example, if modeling would be helpful, is there a video clip you could show? A strategy you could model in the midst of a conversation? Or might it be best to offer to teach or co-teach for the teacher’s class, so that she sees it in action with her own students? Possibilities like these are included as reminders on the conferencing guide.
 
if recommending seems appropriate, think ahead about a few possibilities. Rather than handing over a single answer, sharing several ideas that the teacher can consider honors teachers’ agency. Being prepared makes it easier to offer choices.
 
Planning questions ahead of time is also valuable, especially when you feel that questioning might be the bang-for-your-buck move for this teacher. Our questions should be authentic, not leading toward an answer we already have in our heads, but seeking out the teacher’s insight. Questions like:
 
*What did you notice about how students responded?
*What surprised you?
*Which students seemed to benefit most from this approach?
*What possibilities are you considering
 
Questions like these keep the teacher’s thinking at the center of the conversation.
 
Affirming, too, can be useful for centering the teacher’s thinking. Pointing out something specific in a lesson that went really well encourages further consideration and use of that approach. And authentic praise can cement the use of an effective practice.
 
The GIR model (below) is central to the conferencing guide and helps you think about exactly what GIR stands for: How will our coaching gradually increase the responsibility the teacher is taking for their own planning, thinking, and reflecting? Your planning notes beforehand pilot that process, and looking back on the guides from previous conversations with that teacher shows you the progress.
 
The final space on the guide is space for notes for yourself during and after the conversation. Do you have promises to keep? Jot them down. Are there things you want to check in on later? Write a reminder. There might be a specific student you’ll want to ask about, or a concern you want to revisit. Having a note can be the memory nudge we need in our action-packed days.
 
Planning for Responsiveness
 
Having a few thoughts written down before a coaching conversation frees you from trying to hold everything in your head while you’re listening to the teacher. It lets you listen deeper. We plan so that we can be more responsive.
The goal of planning isn’t to control the conversation, it’s to make it easier to let go of control once the conversation begins.
 
When you’ve already thought about the teacher’s needs, the focus of the work, your likely coaching moves, possible questions, and the reminders you want to carry into the conversation, you can give your attention to the person sitting across from you. Even when listening leads me somewhere different from where I’d planned to go, the planning guide steadies me. My preparation isn’t a script, it’s a thinking tool that helps me prepare for a conversation while leaving room for the conversation to become what the teacher needs it to be. The handy lists for each of the GIR moves help me switch in mid-stream.
 
As the new year gets underway, consider the role that planning will play in your coaching conversations. If you’d like a digital copy of the GIR Conference Planning Guide that you can print of complete digitally, click the link and let me know. Once it’s yours, you can modify it to best suit your coaching needs.
 
Your planning as a coach – listing a potential focus, the level of support, and a note for moving forward with that coaching move – will make you more ready to be responsive as you step in to coaching conversations.

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

Why the first 30 days of mentoring new teachers matter most:
 
https://www.smartbrief.com/original/the-first-30-days-of-mentoring-matter-most
 
 
Fail cheerfully with improv techniques (good for staff meetings, too!):
 
https://www.k12dive.com/news/improv-can-help-educators-draw-students-out-of-their-seats-and-shells/827698/
 
 
Letters from home - Letting family & friends teach us about students:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/letters-from-home-letting-families-and-friends-teach-us/
 
 
Supporting students’ dysregulation:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/15-effective-ways-to-manage-dysregulated-students
 
Retelling rubric for themes and ideas:
 
http://chartchums.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/image-2.jpg
 
That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!
 
Want more coaching tips? You can find My Coaches Couch, the podcast (with different content) in your favorite podcast app or at MyCoachesCouch.podbean.com. Or 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! It’s 25% off through August 3. 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!
 

Coach All, Coach Each

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You can find My Coaches Couch, the podcast (with different content) in your favorite podcast app or at MyCoachesCouch.podbean.co
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All and each. Those two words capture something important about the work of instructional coaches. The word all speaks to the widespread reach a coach can have. The word each means that we reach each individual. This dual reality makes our role both intense and tremendously impactful.
 
All reminds us to consider how coaching can contribute to collective growth across the school community. Each reminds us that schools are made up of individuals, and that meaningful support often happens one teacher at a time.
 
 All means that members of the school community, without exception, will feel the benefits of coaching. Yet coaching can be a remarkably personal gift, tailored to each individual’s needs and offered to one person at a time.
 
To coach all and to coach each are not two different kinds of coaching, rather, they are the same instructional attention expressed on two scales—one expansive enough to include the whole faculty and the other personal enough to notice a single individual with unique needs and circumstances. We need both perspectives.
 
First, coaching all.
Are we selective, or exclusive, in determining who receives our coaching, or do we extend coaching to all within our reach? Rather than being content with reaching some, we can span the full range of our responsibility, eager to offer support.
 
Coaching isn’t meant to be limited a comfortable circle of familiar friends. Rather, our schools are a mosaic—enriched by diverse backgrounds and experiences—yet united in commitment to serving our students. Coaching widens our associations and expands our circle of influence. We don’t coach only those we already know; rather, we come to know people as we coach them.
 
But, with limited time and multiple responsibilities, how do we coach all?
 
Schoolwide goals can offer a common focus. When based on an area where there is a clear need for improvement, a schoolwide goal can become a guide for coaching throughout the year. Coaching is differentiated  by meeting teachers where they are on the path to achieving those goals. Meeting with teams throughout the year to discuss schoolwide goals lays a uniform foundation for collective growth.
 
Which leads to another point about expanding coaching impact to all: by coaching teams (grade levels, departments) we expand coaching capacity. Being part of team meetings (PLC, MTSS), coaches become part of the collaboration, rather than needing to catch up later on decisions that were made. Coaching support is embedded within those meetings.
 
When a specific instructional focus is determined by the team (aligned with or separate from a schoolwide goal), Collaborative Lesson Study is a structure that can impact teachers’ knowledge and empower them as instructional decision makers. In Lesson Study, teachers meet regularly as a team to collaborate and plan lessons that become a focus of inquiry. A lesson is crafted collaboratively and then one teacher teaches the lesson while other members of the group observe. The lesson is then collaboratively revised and taught by other members of the group. During Lesson Study, teachers have the opportunity to try out new instructional routines and refine and recalibrate their teaching as effective practices are identified within specific lessons and become generalized. Lesson Study opens teachers to critique, learning, and an expansion of their instructional repertoire. By making teaching public and collaborative, teachers learn from their own practice, from others, and from research—both their own and studies in the field.
 
When I worked with a fifth-grade team to boost students’ writing skills, Lesson Study opened their eyes to new possibilities. After observing a lesson on organization, Allie said, “I seriously couldn’t believe that (students) could group those ideas!” They explored, rather than being told, what worked. Linda said, “Lesson Study honestly has changed the whole direction of where we were going to go.” These teachers’ writing instruction was transformed because of their shared experiences.
 
Schoolwide goals and collaborative team work help coaching extend to all and open the door for coaching each.
 
Surrounded by the whole school community, it can be challenging to coach the one. Genuinely seeking to know and support each teacher requires, at times, giving full attention to the one, making sure no one is lost in the crowd. There should be no anonymity. Teachers benefit from being known, accounted for, and supported—one person at a time. Even teachers who at first seem reluctant benefit from coaching support.
 
Let’s look at a fairy tale example, “Beauty and the Beast.” Through Belle’s patience, kindness, and care, a transformation begins that eventually changes the Beast’s demeanor and eventually even his outward appearance. As the spell is broken, the young prince is restored. In a similar way, as we extend coaching support to each teacher, we see their potential and their capacity increase. Individualized support can be a stand-alone coaching cycle or a follow-up on PD, team meetings, Lesson Study, and schoolwide goals. After a PD, we might ask:
 
What did you learn?
What do you think is still missing?
What do you personally want to work on more?
 
Those three follow-up questions can personalize coaching.
 
Sandra, a junior high coach, described how their schoolwide goal helped teachers determine the individual support they needed…Teachers identified their own goals based on where they were along the path toward the schoolwide goal.
 
Coaches also offer Differentiated Mentoring and Coaching as teachers come to them with their own concerns or with ideas that they want to work on. Teachers can name their own focus and the support they need for getting there.
 
Whether you are coaching individuals, teams, or larger groups, it helps to think, in advance, about the level of support that might be needed to implement changes. The 5 moves in my GIR Model for Coaching (model, recommend, question, affirm, and praise) offer graduated (and decreasing) levels of support. Planning in advance is a first step, and coaches also flexibly adjust the support they offer based on teachers’ responses. These 5 coaching moves can both collective and individual growth.
 
As you move into the school year, consider how you will coach all by creating structures and opportunities that invite everyone into learning, collaboration, and growth and how you will coach each by noticing individual needs and providing support that meets teachers where they are.
 
As we support separately, meeting individual needs, and broadly, encouraging collaboration and collective growth, coaches have system-wide impact by serving both each and every.

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

This short video with focus exercises for a classroom attention-span booster routine:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/video/how-to-build-a-better-attention-span
 
This one-minute video about using science word sorts to assess prior knowledge:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdJ2kLbcSTU&t=1s
 
 
Mentors need new teachers (not just vise versa):
 
https://ncte.org/blog/2020/01/mentors-need-new-teachers/
 
 
6 Co-Teaching models:
 
https://barkleypd.com/blog/coaching-co-teaching/
 
 
Teaching empathy through reading:
 
https://ccira.blog/2024/07/30/from-empathy-to-compassion-reading-to-make-a-difference/
 
That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!
 
Want more coaching tips? You can find My Coaches Couch, the podcast (with different content) in your favorite podcast app or at MyCoachesCouch.podbean.com. Or 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! It’s 25% off through August 3. 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!

How Are You Spending Your Coaching Time?

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Through August 3, my book Differentiated Mentoring and Coaching in Education, is 25% off here – no code needed.
 
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It’s a common coaching dilemma: With so many roles to juggle—some chosen, some assigned—coaches often find their time pulled in too many directions. When the to-do list grows too long, it becomes harder to engage in deep, sustained work with teachers. And without focused coaching time centered on instruction and student learning, the real impact of coaching gets diluted.
 
That’s what happened with my friend, Emily, a school-based coach who is deeply involved in her school community. She helps with morning announcements, assists with fundraisers, collaborates on Instagram reels with her principal, coordinates the annual readathon, and attends district literacy meetings. It’s no surprise that Emily is seen as a valued leader on campus. But there’s a downside: all these responsibilities chip away at the time she could be spending where it counts most—talking with teachers about instruction.
 
Instructional coaches wear a lot of hats. Some of those hats are part of the job description, while others seem to appear simply because a coach is helpful, available, and willing to say yes. A coach’s calendar can become a collection of meetings, committees, events, emails, coverage requests, and “Could you please…” responsibilities. Add in the interruptions that inevitably come with working in a school, and the time available for sustained coaching shrinks.
 
We know from research that coaching has the greatest effect on student learning when it includes activities like conferring with teachers, modeling strategies, observing classroom practice, and assessment-related activities. These actions, especially when part of intentional coaching work, create space for meaningful collaboration. They lead to thoughtful reflection on student needs, instructional strategies, and curriculum planning—work that improves teaching and learning.
 
So how can coaches protect time for this important work?
 
It takes a mixture of structure and adaptability. A weekly agenda that allots the majority of your time to high-impact coaching practices ensures your commitment to these priorities. At the same time, flexibility is needed. Tasks shift, and surprises pop up during the course of the day,
 
Coaching has the biggest impact when time to collaborate with teachers around instruction and student learning is prioritized. When these activities are intentional and sustained, they create the conditions for teachers to reflect, make adjustments, and strengthen their practice. Building our calendars around such activities ensures that our time is well-spent.
 
However, it’s also true that effective coaching is opportunistic – sometimes a spontaneous hallway conversation can lead to a powerful coaching moment. Or a teacher might stop by with a question that opens the door to a much deeper conversation. A coach may notice something during a classroom visit that is worth following up on. We don’t want to eliminate that flexibility. Some of the best coaching moments may never have appeared on the calendar. The key, though, is to stay grounded in what matters most and be intentional with how time is spent. Flexibility works when it is built around clear priorities.
 
Where Does Your Coaching Time Go?
 
Because effective coaching is a blend of calendaring and acting on opportunities, it’s important to know how your time actually gets spent. So I’ve made a gift for you! If you’d like a free form that will track how you spend your time, click HERE and I’ll send you links to the form and to a video tutorial. Using this tool, you’ll end up with a nice pie chart of how your time is being used. Spending your time on what matters most is important, and knowing how you actually spend your time will help you make adjustments to increase your impact.
 
If you discover that large pieces of your “pie” are spent attending meetings, responding to email, or schoolwide responsibilities that are not directly tied to instruction, you can make adjustments so that the majority of your time is spent in the coaching activities you value most.
 
There’s no “perfect” pie chart, and the goal isn’t to eliminate every responsibility that isn’t direct coaching. Schools need coaches who contribute to the larger community, and some tasks are simply part of the job. But it’s important to prioritize high-impact coaching activities. Teachers benefit from coaching conversations, classroom visits, modeling, co-planning, and collaborative assessment work, so calendaring and protecting blocks of time for those activities is a must. Working alongside teachers to improve instruction and student learning is at the heart of your role, so your calendar should reflect that, while still leaving some room for the unexpected,
 
Teachers are eager to work with a coach when they see the impact on student learning. Student learning improves when coaches spend the majority of their time working with teachers (and planning for that work). If your schedule tends to get overloaded with other activities, consider one change you might make as the school year gets underway to make teacher interactions a bigger piece of your pie. Use the time tracker early in the year, and every so often use it again and take another look at your pie. Is there a slice of your pie that could be bigger? Your time tells a story about your coaching. What story do you want you pie chart to tell?
 
This week, you might want to take a look at:

This podcast episode has ideas to help teachers start the school year feeling connected and valued:
 
https://nowsparkcreativity.com/2022/07/designing-back-to-school-for-belonging-with-dr-susie-wise.html
 
 
The power of written conversations (good for PD and classrooms!):
 
https://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2014/10/12/written-conversations/
 
 
How coaches support hesitant teachers:
 
https://learningforward.org/2026/07/07/coaches-can-go-deeper-to-support-hesitant-teachers/
 
 
Making group work more productive:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/student-group-work
 
 
Consider what you already know:
 
https://peopledevelopmentmagazine.com/2026/07/26/the-quiet-voice/
 
That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!
 
Want more coaching tips? You can find My Coaches Couch, the podcast (with different content) in your favorite podcast app or at MyCoachesCouch.podbean.com. Or 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! It’s 25% off through August 3. 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!