Offering Choice in Coaching Recommendations

You were hired as an instructional coach because you have solid knowledge of content and pedagogy, as well as a deep reservoir of classroom experience. During a coaching conversation, an important questions to ask yourself is, which parts of that repertoire do you share—and when?

Just because we could offer suggestions doesn’t mean we should. The discernment lies in knowing what to bring forward.

Honoring Teacher Choice

Growth sticks best when the arc of change is set by the teacher. An important part of a coach’s job is to pay compassionate attention to the clues teachers give us about their readiness and to honor their judgment and choices.

The teacher sitting across from you is the most reliable source of information to guide your recommendations. The questions she asks tell you what she’s thinking about, what she’s wrestling with, and what she’s ready to try. When a colleague poses a specific question, her question reveals her focus. It shows you where her energy is.

Instead of offering just one option in response to a teacher’s question, consider offer a few alternatives for the teacher to consider. Offering choice develops teachers’ power and efficacy. Being asked to decide rather than being told what to do signals, “I believe in your professional judgment.” That matters.

There’s also a motivational benefit. Research shows that offering choice increases engagement and persistence. When a teacher chooses, she’s far more invested in making that choice work. It becomes her goal—not yours.

A Self-Selected Journey

I saw this clearly in my work with Stephanie. I had observed her lesson on crafting engaging beginnings in narrative writing. She used a PowerPoint to introduce four techniques writers use to hook readers. During our debrief, we started with celebrations. I asked what happened in the lesson that she was especially pleased with.

Stephanie felt good about student behavior. She had added all-respond opportunities and varied her voice when she noticed attention slipping. She paired each writing “hook” with a physical action to help students remember. The lesson met its objective: students were introduced to the techniques.

And yet—she was disappointed. Students weren’t enthusiastic. She felt like she had to work hard to keep them with her.

Before our meeting, I had jotted down a few reflections. Many of them pointed to engagement:

·        Make connections with students’ experiences and interests.

·        Limit rote repetition; emphasize thinking.

·        Create opportunities for inquiry and discussion.

Because Stephanie had already named engagement as a concern, the door was open. We talked through these ideas conversationally. I would float one out and ask, “What do you think?” After some discussion, I asked her to choose a goal. What would she like to work on next?
 
Stephanie grabbed onto inquiry and discovery, but expressed hesitation. “It will be hard,” she said. “I like to have more control.”
 
We talked a bit about how she might balance her need for control with her students’ need for discovery. Inquiry didn’t have to mean chaos or a sprawling research project. It could be bounded and managed so that she still felt control. Stephanie was seeing how her hope for more enthusiasm and her need for control could co-exist. We also explored why inquiry felt uncomfortable. Had she experienced discovery-based teaching herself? Did she have models? Not really. No wonder it felt risky!
 
But by the end of our conversation, Stephanie was energized. She wasn’t complying with a coach’s recommendation—she was stepping into her own professional curiosity.
 
Who Decides?
Who decides the next step in improving instruction?
Just as Stephanie’s students needed opportunities for discovery, Stephanie needed space to inquire into her own teaching. She identified the concern. She selected the goal. We explored ideas together. Rather than positioning myself as the expert, we considered instructional improvement together. I offered options, not directives.
 
When teachers’ voices lead the conversation, they see their strengths and name where they need to grow. When I focus my recommendations on the next step that a teacher has identified, we can come up with a tangible plan to achieve their goal. As instructional coaches, we have expertise to share. The art is in knowing when and how to offer it.
 
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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
 
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This week, you might want to take a look at:

Teach students to do their own thinking, without the AI crutch:
 
https://ccira.blog/2026/02/02/teaching-students-what-to-do-instead-of-asking-the-chatbot/
 
 
How careful words boost understanding:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/the-language-we-use/  
 
 
Why teach handwriting in a digital age?
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/teaching-handwriting-older-students
 
 
Don’t remediate – accelerate:
 
https://www.middleweb.com/53063/accelerate-or-remediate-youre-at-the-controls/
 
 
What Wordle can teach us about phonics instruction:
 
https://www.ascd.org/blogs/what-wordle-reminds-us-about-effective-phonics-and-spelling-instruction
 
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: FEB2026 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!