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!