Coaching in the Home Stretch: Finishing Strong with Reflection & Celebration

We’re coming into the home stretch. It’s May.  In many places, testing is behind us, and what remains is the delightful work of wrapping up the year. The calendar is still full, but the tone has shifted—there’s a sense of celebration in the air. Teachers feel a bit more flexibility, and there’s a shared desire to finish on a high note.
 
For instructional coaches, this stretch is about putting the finishing touches on what’s been done—showcasing growth, reflecting on progress, and honoring the effort it took to get here.
 
The Finale of a Coaching Cycle
 
This time of year marks the natural closing of coaching cycles. Think of this as your swan song – not an ending, but a finale—one that reflects confidence in what teachers can now do independently.
 
You’ve worked alongside teachers, helping them try new practices, refine their instruction, and respond to student needs. Now, those practices have become part of their repertoire.
 
As you near the end of a coaching cycle, you are naming strong decisions and celebrating effective practices. Specific, personalized praise becomes the most appropriate and powerful coaching move. That’s what happened in my end-of-year coaching conversation with Norah.
 
After watching a lesson in Norah’s classroom, we sat down together and I asked, “Thinking back on the math lesson, what stands out to you?”  She launched into a description of how she used their morning work to transition into the lesson; she started the description by saying, “Something that I really liked was…” She said she was able to “prime their minds” for the upcoming lesson. I loved that phrase and used it in my follow-up comment. “Yes, it primed them for it – they were ready to think about fractions.”
 
Because Norah started our conversation with a discussion of the beginning of the lesson, I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to talk about another positive aspect of the start. After affirming the smooth transition from morning work to math lesson, I asked her to talk about her decision to start the lesson by “hooking them on the why.” Before launching into the math content, Norah had asked students, “Why are we even talking about fractions? When do we use fractions?” Norah wanted students to recognize that what they were learning was actually relevant to their lives. Responding to Norah’s question, students launched into a long list of ways fractions could show up in their lives: cooking, measuring, construction, cutting up bread, making video games, and even middle-school science class.
 
I tied Norah’s description back to a topic we’d talked about together many times: class discussion. The goal had been for students to take more ownership for whole-class discussions, rather than ping-ponging back and forth between teacher and student – and it happened during this discussion, as students built off of one-another’s ideas about the relevance of fractions. That was something to celebrate!
 
During this final coaching conversation, even the one recommendation I made was wrapped up in an affirmation. Something I’d noticed as Norah listed students’ ideas about fraction use on the board was that many of the comments were morphed into something for future job use; when students talked about cooking, Norah mentioned a job as a cook or baker; when they talked about measuring, Norah mentioned a job in construction. When they talked about measuring in middle-school science, she talked about a career as a scientist. While career insights were worth highlighting, I wanted to make sure Norah recognized the value of the more-immediate applications students were bringing up. So as our discussion of the discussion continued, I said, “That makes me think about…” and I brought up the middle-school science lab example mentioned by a student. Norah nodding, remembering. Then I said, “I thought that comment was especially interesting, because it wasn’t about the long-term future, it was about something they’d been thinking a lot about – that transition to middle school. That seemed like a really authentic, important connection.” Norah brightened up, “It was a point of excitement!” she said, launching into a description of their enthusiasm about both science and middle school and saying, “I definitely think that was an authentic connection.”
 
Our conversation continued as Norah and I took turns bringing up positive parts of the lesson: Her effective modeling, giving students classroom responsibilities, using all-respond techniques (and expecting all to respond!). We talked about her probing questions (“How do you know?”) and even the specific words she used, as I commented: “I loved the way you framed the practice by saying, ‘You’re about to get a chance to show what you know as far as ordering fractions goes.” Norah and I talked about the power of those words.
 
This is what the end of a coaching cycle can look like: a conversation filled with specific, grounded praise that helps a teacher see just how far they’ve come.
 
Making Space for Reflection

One of the greatest gifts coaches can offer teachers is the chance to pause and reflect. In the rush to finish everything on the checklist, it’s easy to overlook the good things happening and just how much growth has occurred. Creating intentional space for reflection allows teachers to see that their hard work has paid off.
 
Sometimes this happens naturally within coaching conversations, like it did with Norah. Other times, it’s helpful to build in structured opportunities.  During team meeting in May, I’ve let music prompt reflection, playing the Beatles song, “In My Life,” followed by Trace Adkins’s, “You’re Gonna Miss This,” while teachers reflected on their best memories of the year, what would stick with them, and how they had changed. Then they shared a memory or celebration with their shoulder partner. The mood in the room was noticeably brighter. 
 
A creative twist on supporting teacher reflection is to ask teachers to reflect on each others’ successes. The “Strength Circle” protocol offers this opportunity.  Each teacher is given an envelope and a blank piece of paper.  They write their name on the outside of the envelope, fold the blank paper, and tuck it inside.  Then everyone gathers in a circle. Once in a circle, everyone passes their envelope to the right. With each passing of the envelope, teachers take out the paper and write a strength they recognize in their peer. Encourage them to describe a specific time they noticed this strength. After a minute or so, the paper goes back in the envelope and the envelope is passed. Repeat several times to give each teacher a happy list of strengths they can celebrate and continue to cultivate. This activity can be done with teams or the whole faculty and staff (be sure participants know each other well enough to be specific about strengths). Moments of reflection shape how teachers carry their work forward.
 
Appreciation Lasts
 
The final coaching conversations of the year can be lighter, more reflective, and filled with affirmation. As teachers revisit goals that once felt distant, they recognize the good work they’ve done. When we help teachers see their strengths clearly, we celebrate and also set the stage for continued growth.
 
As you move through these final weeks, celebrate the wins, both big and small. Finishing strong isn’t about doing more—it’s about seeing, and helping others see, how much has already been accomplished.
 
When my efforts are focused on helping teachers recognize their strengths, I’ve noticed that I am more buoyant!  This work of affirmation not only benefits the teacher, it lifts us, too.
 
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You can find My Coaches Couch, the podcast (with different content) in your favorite podcast app or at MyCoachesCouch.podbean.com.
 
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This week, you might want to take a look at:

An end-of-year teacher reflection template:
 
https://wpvip.edutopia.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Edutopia_Copy_of_Reflections_and_Directions_Table_Version_-_Google_Docs.pdf
 
 
Student-planned end-of-year celebration:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/student-planned-end-of-year-celebration/
 
 
Maximizing coaching in the month of May:
 
https://dianesweeney.com/maximizing-coaching-month-may/
 
 
How to supercharge adult learning:
 
https://learningforward.org/2026/04/21/supercharging-your-adult-learning-its-better-together/
 
 
Pros and cons of homework:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/whats-right-amount-homework
 
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: APR2026 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!

Confidence that Makes Space: Coaching with Curiosity

As coaches, it’s important to be confident about what we bring to the table. You were hired as a coach because you have knowledge of content and pedagogy.  You know how to teach effectively.  Your job is to help others in their pursuits of improvement, and you have a lot to give. But effective coaches balance confidence with curiosity, recognizing that they know a lot, but they don’t know everything. They look to the teachers to find out what they know – about their students, about their class’s history, and about themselves as teachers. 
 
Confidence v. Pride
 
Confidence is a recognition of our own capability. It’s self-efficacy—the belief that we can make a difference in classrooms and in the lives of teachers and students. And as coaches, we need that!
 
But pride? That will not serve us well. Pride leans toward ego. It shows up as needing to be right, needing to be seen as the expert, or walking into a conversation with our minds already made up. And when that happens, the door to dialogue, trust, and partnership closes.
 
Confidence with Curiosity
 
Confidence in coaching doesn’t mean knowing everything. It means offering what you know while staying genuinely open to what the teacher knows. When we approach conversations with curiosity, we signal that we value teachers’ expertise. We position ourselves not as the one with answers, but as a partner in thinking.
 
It feels easy to jump in with a recommendation when a teacher asks for help. But often, a more powerful move is to pause and ask a curious question that allows the teacher to surface her own thinking.
 
When reviewing student work, we might ask, “What is really important to you in this assignment?” When a teacher says she wants students to be able to show their thinking, we might authentically ask, “What does that look like to you?” Authentic questions like these seek the teachers’ perspectives and insight.
 
Recently, I had a coach-the-coach conversation with Angela, an instructional coach who brings lots of experience and expertise to her work. As she talked about the coaching work she was doing, I noticed that our conversation focused mostly on what Angela was observing and her ideas for moving forward. She had noticed, for example, that students were hesitant to jump into whole group conversations, so she had shared ideas with the teacher about setting up small-group instruction. I wondered whether the teacher might feel like things were being done to her or for her, rather than with her. So I asked, “What other ideas has the teacher had about how to increase students’ engagement and participation? What other ideas have teachers brought to the table that might fit in with your vision?” These questions prompted Angela to take a curious stance that elevated the teacher’s voice.
 
A curious stance carries positive assumptions. You communicate respect. You communicate, “You are thoughtful.” “You are observant”. “You are capable.” Over time, those messages build the teacher’s confidence—and that supports lasting change.
 
Because when teachers feel both respected and capable—when they feel seen for what they already know—coaching becomes something powerful: it is shared learning, where both people grow.
 
Confidence with Humility
 
C.S. Lewis said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.” Humility is a mindset about how we approach those we are working with. Are we stand-and-deliver directors or side-by-side partners? Humility establishes a productive horizontal stance with teachers, rather than a vertical, authoritative stance over them. We can acknowledge and draw on teachers’ expertise and experience while sharing our own.
 
As coaches, it’s important to be confident about what we bring to the table. We can be confident that we are fulfilling our coaching role when we also acknowledge that others bring valid and valuable knowledge and experience. Coaching is a learning journey we undertake together. It is relational work.
 
So yes—be confident. You have knowledge and experience that matter. Lean into the belief that you can make a difference. But hold that confidence with curiosity, and temper it with humility. Quiet confidence, paired with genuine curiosity, invites collaboration and deepens the coaching partnership.
 
 
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You can find My Coaches Couch, the podcast (with different content) in your favorite podcast app or at MyCoachesCouch.podbean.com.
 
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This week, you might want to take a look at:
Instant mood-boosters:
 
https://aestheticsofjoy.com/2020/10/17/8-quick-things-you-can-do-right-now-to-boost-your-mood/
 
 
Family engagement is not an event:
 
https://www.smartbrief.com/original/family-engagement-isnt-an-event-its-a-mindset
 
 
Virtual tutoring can boost learning:
 
https://www.k12dive.com/news/virtual-tutoring-studies-offer-hope-for-early-literacy-outcomes/814091/
 
 
It’s still National Poetry Month - Poetry with paint-chip boards:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/blackout-poems-and-paint-chip-haiku-two-fun-ways-into-poetry-with-adolescents/
 
 
Why positive comments fail (video):
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIpk5g0h2lQ
 
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: APR2026 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 Choice is Constricted: Honoring Teachers’ Voice in Instructional Coaching

As a coach, you’ve probably felt this tension: we want to honor teacher autonomy, but we also work within systems that sometimes narrow the range of choices. Teachers' vision can be constricted by district initiatives, building goals, and defined non-negotiables.
 
These realities are part of the work, and there might be good reasons for it. Instructional priorities should, hopefully, be grounded in patterns detected across classrooms—through instructional rounds, observations, or student data—that point to areas where focused attention could make a meaningful difference. For example, I worked with a leadership team that identified a need to strengthen higher-order questioning across classrooms. It wasn’t a top-down decision made in isolation. It came from careful observation and a shared commitment to pushing student thinking further. From there, staff meetings and coaching cycles were to center on that goal.
 
The direction was clear. But even when choice is constricted, teacher’s voice doesn’t have to be.
 
Making Space for Voice Within Constraints
Of course, not all initiatives seem to align so well with classroom needs. But either way, when the “what” is pre-determined, coaching really matters.
 
Constraining choice doesn’t have to mean silencing teachers’ thinking.
Honoring voice within those constraints is what keeps the work meaningful and sustainable. When teachers have space to interpret, reflect, and adapt, they are positioned as professionals—people who make informed decisions, not just carry them out.
 
This can show up in the questions we ask during coaching conversations:
 
*  What do you think about this?
*  What does this look like in your classroom?
*  What about this seems important or interesting to you?
*  Where do you feel like you are in your learning about and use of this strategy?
*  How might this work for you?
*  How might this work for your students?
 
These questions don’t ignore the constraint; the focus is still there. But questions like these open up space within the implementation. They signal: Your thinking matters here. And that signal can be the difference between surface-level implementation and genuine engagement that improves student learning.
 
From Constriction to Commitment
When teachers’ voices are honored—even in the presence of constraints—they are more likely to invest in the work. They begin to shape the focus in ways that reflect their students, their content, and their own professional judgment. Without that, teachers may comply, but it can feel tight, forced, and performative. And white-knuckled compliance will not support the complex work needed in schools. Compliance may create short-term consistency, but it doesn’t leads to effective, responsive instruction.
 
Lasting improvement depends on teachers having the space to think, experiment, and make decisions. It depends on their ability to engage as professionals, not just implementers.
 

As coaches, we help make that possible—even when choice is constricted—by:
 
*  Slowing down the rush to implementation
*  Inviting reflection and interpretation
*  Honoring different entry points
*  Encouraging thoughtful adaptation and flexibility based on students’ needs
 
Ultimately, the goal isn’t just to see a strategy in use – it’s to support teachers in making sense of it, shaping it, and using it in ways that truly impact student learning.
 
Constrained choice is sometimes part of the system we work within. But honoring teachers’ voice is always part of the work we can choose to do. And when we do, we create the conditions for something more than compliance.
 
We create the conditions for ownership, investment, and real growth. Even within boundaries, that’s where meaningful change begins.

 

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You can find My Coaches Couch, the podcast (with different content) in your favorite podcast app or at MyCoachesCouch.podbean.com.
 
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This week, you might want to take a look at:

“Pilot and pivot” to avoid top-down implementation:
 
https://districtadministration.com/opinion/leaders-rhythm-how-to-engineer-true-collaboration/
 
 
April is coming, and it’s National Poetry Month! Check out these ideas for paint chip haiku and blackout poems:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/blackout-poems-and-paint-chip-haiku-two-fun-ways-into-poetry-with-adolescents/
 
 
Bilingual poetry builds literacy skills:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/teaching-english-learners-write-poetry
 
 
How to boost reading confidence and fluency:
 
https://www.k12dive.com/news/how-reading-aloud-can-boost-students-confidence-and-fluency/811971/
 
 
Students with a sense of belonging perform better (and how to create it):
 
https://www.smartbrief.com/original/now-is-the-moment-to-build-belonging-at-school
 
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: FNDS26 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

Visualizing Failure: How Instructional Coaches Help Teachers Ride the Waves

As an instructional coach, you’ve probably been there when a lesson falls apart. Things are moving along smoothly—students are engaged, the pacing feels right, and everything is clicking into place. Then something shifts. Students get confused. Directions don’t land. Side conversations bubble up. What started as a strong lesson begins to wobble, and sometimes, it unravels.
 
These moments aren’t rare interruptions to otherwise perfect teaching—they are a natural and inevitable part of it. The question isn’t whether things will go off track, but how prepared a teacher feels when they do.
 
This is where instructional coaching can make a meaningful difference—not just helping teachers plan for success, but helping them prepare for when things fall apart.
 
Planning for the Messy
In many professions, it’s part of the training to plan, not just for success, but also for breakdowns. Pilots learn emergency procedures. Athletes visualize how they’ll respond under pressure. Military personnel have a wartime plan. They don’t wait for things to go wrong to decide what they’ll do. Visualizing in advance is the best preparation, and teachers need that preparation, too. But too often, our planning conversations stay focused on the best-case scenario:
 
*What will students do?
*What questions will you ask?
*How will the task be structured?
 
Those are important, but they leave out a critical piece:
What will you do when it doesn’t go as planned?
 
Stopping short of that step leaves teachers without a clear path forward when reality doesn’t match expectations. That’s were a “wartime plan” comes in.
 
Creating a Wartime Plan
I’m not actually suggesting that the classroom will be a warzone, of course, but you understand the metaphor! When things unravel quickly, teachers benefit from having thought things through in advance. A wartime plan means having an intentional response to predictable challenges—a way of thinking ahead about how to navigate those inevitable moments. Rather than being caught off guard, teachers can respond with confidence.
 
Naming possible ways that things might fall apart helps to normalize them and it opens the door for proactive thinking. Instead of reacting in the moment, teachers can begin to anticipate and prepare. During planning meetings, you could bring up potential challenges like;
 
* The activity is too hard (or too easy)
* Students become disengaged
* Technology fails
* The discussion falls flat
* Directions are confusing for students
 
These aren’t signs of failure; they are simply part of the complexity of teaching and learning, and teachers should be prepared for them. Coaches can prepare teachers for flexibility by helping them think ahead about possible sidesteps that might be needed in these familiar moments. We always need a Plan B.
 
On my desk, I have an old toy – a small Gumby doll based on the Claymation cartoon character who can bend, stretch, and reshape himself. He uses this ability to solve problems or escape tricky situations. Gumby reminds me to be ready to be flexible. Like Gumby, teachers need to be prepared to be flexible when things start to fall apart.
 
Moving from “What if?” to “I See Myself…”
Teachers need to ask themselves, in advance, “What will I do when things get hard?” They begin building the habit of asking this question when you regularly ask, ““What will you do when things get hard?” Then, we move the practice from abstract planning to mental rehearsal by asking for visualization that brings those thoughts to life. Asking a teacher what they might do is a good starting point, but the mental imagery of visualizing a hoped-for outcome prepares the teacher’s mind for the challenge.
 
When visualizing, teachers can mentally simulate the classroom experience—the students, the timing, and even the pressure of the moment. This kind of rehearsal strengthens decision-making because it reduces the cognitive load when the teacher is tested. Instead of generating a response from scratch, she draws on something she has already “experienced” in her mind. Instead of being reactive, she is intentional.
 
Visualizing helps teachers clarify the steps they’ll take. It reduces hesitation, helping them to react more quickly and deliberately in the moment. Entering a challenging situation with a plan increases confidence. Teachers can be steady instead of panicked, calm instead of anxious. Because of visualization, a teacher’s mind and body feel like they have practiced success before the real moment arrives.
 
Coaches can support this rehearsal by asking questions that ground the plan in action:
 
* “What might you say first in that moment?”
* “What might students do?”
* “Where would you move in the room?”
* “What might you do?”
* “How will you know whether the adjustment is working?”
 
Questions like these can slow the coaching conversation down in productive ways that transform a vague idea into a concrete plan.
 
The goal of a wartime plan is not to anticipate every possible outcome, but to have a starting point that keeps the lesson moving forward. It is a first step that creates a sense of readiness. Taking this step can make the difference between a lesson that stalls and one that recovers.
 
Why the Plan Matters
Without a plan for these messy moments, even experienced teachers hesitate. When there’s not a clear next step, it’s easy to default to ineffective habits or to lose valuable instructional time while deciding what to do.
 
But when teachers have visualized and rehearsed their responses, they are ready to act quickly and intentionally. They are more likely to maintain the flow of the lesson, preserve student engagement, and adapt in ways that support learning goals. They begin to see these moments not as disruptions, but as manageable parts of the teaching process. That shift in mindset is empowering!
 
A Coaching Move Worth Trying
In your next planning conversation, consider creating space for this kind of thinking. After discussing the flow of the lesson, you might ask:
“In this lesson, when might things get messy?” Then invite the teacher to visualize that moment and talk it through in detail. Ask follow-up questions that help them see themselves in action. Over time, these pauses build a habit of proactive thinking that teachers carry into their independent planning.
 
Our Own Wartime Plans
Just like in the classroom, the goal of instructional coaching isn’t to eliminate difficulty. It’s to be ready for it. As instructional coaches, we encounter our own challenging moments. There are conversations that feel tense and sessions that drift away from their purpose. In these situations, we are also susceptible to hesitation and uncertainty and can benefit from a wartime plan.
 
In our practice, we might prepare by considering how we’ll respond when a teacher becomes defensive, when silence lasts too long in a conversation, and when teachers are unproductively negative. Having intentional “go-to” moves, and taking the time to visualize using them, can help us navigate these moments with greater confidence and care.
 
Because when we are prepared for the waves, we’re far more likely to keep moving forward—to ride the waves, even when the water gets rough.
 
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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.
 
*******************************************************************************************

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: FNDS26 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! 

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

Pause, recenter, and renew during busy days:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/pausing-for-renewal-throughout-the-day/
 
 
Visual thinking activities to boost student writing:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/6-cool-visual-thinking-activities-that-strengthen-student-writing
 
 
3 ways to help students manage emotions:
 
https://blog.heinemann.com/3-coping-skills-activities-to-help-kids-manage-emotions
 
 
Ideas for coaxing poems (April is National Poetry Month – coming right up!):
 
http://www.poemfarm.amylv.com/search/label/Coaxing%20Poems
 
 
Book guide for the picture book, Big:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/course/big-book-guide/
 

That's it for this week. Happy Coaching!

Why Modeling Matters in Instructional Coaching

One of the most powerful ways instructional coaches support teachers is through modeling. When we step into the classroom to demonstrate a practice, we make teaching visible. We show what a strategy looks like with real students, in a real classroom, with all the unpredictability that comes with it.
 
In the GIR Model for Mentoring & Coaching (see below), modeling is shown as the most supportive coaching move. It offers a clear example of what instruction might look like and creates a shared experience that teachers and coaches can discuss afterward.
 
When coaches model instruction, they provide a vision for what future instruction might look like and open a window into parts of teaching that are invisible to students—planning decisions, instructional moves, the moment-to-moment problem solving that happens during a lesson, and the reflection that occurs afterward.
 
Making Teaching Public
Teaching can feel like solitary work, but modeling pushes against that isolation by making practice public. This starts with the pre-observation conversation. Before Alice modeled a lesson on inferring in Crystal’s fourth-grade classroom, they talked through specific instructional moves she would make: beginning with a thumbs‑up self‑assessment, adjusting instruction based on student confidence, reading aloud from an article, listening to partner talk, and probing students’ reasoning. Alice suggested that Crystal listen in on students’ thinking and also make note of the probing questions that Alice asked to assess and support students inferring skills.
 
During a modeled lesson, the classroom becomes a shared professional space. Teachers can watch how students respond, notice instructional decisions, and focus fully on learning without worrying about making the next teaching move themselves. Stepping into the role of observer offers teachers the opportunity to focus closely on participation smf engagement—details that are easy to miss when you’re the one leading the lesson.
 
Observing Is Not the End
Observation is only part of the modeling process. Powerful learning also happens afterward. Modeling creates the shared experience that fuels rich professional conversations. After the lesson, coaches and teachers can analyze what happened: What did students do? What instructional moves supported learning? What might the teacher try next? Sharing these observations out loud helps us see teaching differently. As we talk through what occurred, new insights emerge. What seemed automatic during the lesson becomes clearer when we reflect on it together. Modeling is more than demonstration—it becomes a catalyst for professional thinking.
 
The “Something More” Teachers Might Need
Sometimes experience alone isn’t enough to create instructional change. When a teacher is trying to reach a group of students in a new way, implement an unfamiliar strategy, or move beyond a long-standing routine that isn’t producing the desired results, Modeling can provide the “something more” that helps a teacher move forward. Because it is the most supportive coaching move, modeling can be a powerful place to start a coaching cycle. It can also be the move we return to when other approaches aren’t quite enough. Modeling fills the gap.
 
Principals have noticed how modeling supports instruction. In one study, a principal noted that teachers’ wait time increased after observing, and he emphasized how that increased wait time boosted students’ participation. Another principal said that modeling allowed teachers to evaluate and talk about instruction in a non-threatening context. Observing instruction creates distance from the pressures of teaching, which can make reflection more productive.
 
And modeling has another powerful benefit: coaches learn from modeling, too. When we model and then reflect alongside teachers, we deepen our own understanding of teaching and learning. Maybe that’s one of the reasons coaches enjoy being in classrooms so much.
 

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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:
 
When students refuse accommodations:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/what-do-when-students-reject-their-accommodations
 
 
Reading – just reading – matters:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/unadulterated-reading/
 
 
Reading to children develops empathy and creativity:
 
https://theconversation.com/reading-to-young-kids-improves-their-social-skills-and-a-new-study-shows-it-doesnt-matter-whether-parents-stop-to-ask-questions-274926
 
 
A podcast episode about the power of student interest (and more):
 
https://www.classroomcaffeine.com/guests/massey-and-vaughn
 
 
The importance of a good feeling:
 
https://davestuartjr.com/credibility-booster-freds-best-line/
 
 
3 Ways to more “aha” moments in coaching:
 
https://www.growthcoaching.com.au/resource/3-ways-to-more-aha-moments-in-coaching/
 
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: FNDS26 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!

Co-Teaching as Modeling in Instructional Coaching

Modeling, the most supportive move in the GIR coaching model (see below), offers the opportunity to demonstrate practices that the teacher might choose to take up. Modeling also provides content for teacher-coach conversations and builds teachers’ confidence and efficacy. And, since the end goal of coaching is to improve students’ learning, it’s important to note that research demonstrates coaches’ modeling can improve student achievement.
 
Modeling helps to establish the coach’s credibility and to foster a learning culture where everyone’s practice is put up for analysis, including the coach’s.
When the modeling occurs in the teacher’s own classroom, the teacher sees that the practices observed (hopefully!) were worthwhile for her students. Thoughts that “this wouldn’t work for my kids” are avoided. Teachers appreciate seeing the strategies in action with their students. They value the coach as demonstrator to support possible changes in practice. Modeling can sharpen teachers’ attention to student learning and broaden their instructional repertoire. 
 
Co-Teaching as Modeling
You have probably used, seen, or heard of co-teaching as a model for providing support for students needing special services. The special education teacher pushes into the classroom and becomes a teaching partner.
 
Co-teaching can also be a way for a coach to model. When coach and teacher co-teach, it offers an opportunity for learning-while-doing. In the perfect scenario of co-teaching, colleagues ping pong instruction back and forth – one asking a question, another following up to push students for deeper thinking; one at the document camera, another leaning in to support an individual student. Teaming like this gives a coach a chance to be part of the action and to demonstrate the nuances of an instructional approach with the teacher as an active participant. I love it when I see this happen! However, this is not always easy to pull off. Below are some guiding principles for coaches who want to try this modeling approach:
 
Pre-Plan
Co-teaching works best as a planned experience, not as a response to ineffective instruction. When you plan the lesson with the teacher, including how you will partner, the teacher will be ready to both participate and pay attention. Jumping into a lesson to co-teach because you feel something has gone awry, however, is more likely to cause damage than improvement.  
 
No Correction-in-Action
Correction-in-action can be hurtful to the teacher and can also undermine her relationship with her students. Ensure that words and actions convey respect. Respectful relationships (teacher/coach and students/teacher) are vital to learning. Anything that could potentially undermine those relationships should be avoided.
 
Don’t Interrupt Student Learning
Coach-to-teacher conversations shouldn’t interrupt the learning experience for students. In the classroom, the most vital outcome is student learning. Although some have suggested that students will put up with a pause while teacher and coach confer with each other, to me, this undermines the very goal of coaching. We can find other times and places to talk that are not on students’ time.
 
Cautions for Co-Teaching
I have observed co-teaching working seamlessly, which helped me recognize the above guidelines. However, I’ve also observing co-teaching in ways that give me reason to suggest caution in using this modeling approach.
 
A co-teaching experience I saw years ago remains strong in my mind. The coach seemed dismissive of the teacher’s knowledge and possibly undermined her relationship with students. I was in a first-grade classroom when this coaching occurred. The teacher introduced students to an activity, giving instructions that were, admittedly, a bit ambiguous. The coach, who had been observing, decided to step in and make it a co-teaching situation. She changed the task slightly as she gave students clearer directions about what to do. The teacher, in what appeared to be a face-saving attempt, reiterated to students what the coach had just said. Students started working and then the coach called for a mini-conference with the teacher. She whispered, “I wonder what would happen if…” and then finished the sentence with a recommendation disguised as a question. The teacher nodded her head and complied, her feelings of self-efficacy ebbing before my eyes.
 
I know the coach was acting out of two sincere desires: a desire for strong instruction for the students and a desire to help the teacher. But this co-teaching scenario backfired, illustrating the importance of pre-planning, conveying respect, and maintaining the flow of instruction for students. Additionally, it raised a caution about recommendations disguised as questions.
 
Co-teaching can be an effective coaching move, but it’s a risky one. The example above is extreme, but I’m sure I’ve made mistakes in my coaching that were similar in nature – it’s always easier to see it from the outside. I’m learning that giving myself time to think before reacting helps me choose words that respect the teacher’s intentions, and it’s harder to do that in the midst of instruction.
 
Co-Teaching as Collaborative Partnership
Modeling through co-teaching can be a powerful way for coaches to make instructional practices visible while keeping teachers actively involved in the work of teaching. Students benefit because two heads and four hands are better, and teachers benefit as they learn while teaching. Co-teaching can enrich the teacher’s instructional repertoire and strengthen the collaborative partnership that coaching depends on.

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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:

Instant mood-boosters:
 
https://aestheticsofjoy.com/2020/10/17/8-quick-things-you-can-do-right-now-to-boost-your-mood/
 
 
Teaching students discernment and reasoning when using AI:
 
https://www.middleweb.com/53084/teaching-discernment-in-our-interactions-with-ai/
 
 
Modeling acceptance when dysregulated behavior happens:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/responding-to-dysregulated-behaviors-what-about-the-other-kids/
 
 
Building the emotional resilience to receive feedback:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/helping-students-give-receive-feedback-without-defensiveness
 
 
Like Superbowl champs, coaches treat teachers as capable professionals:
 
https://www.the74million.org/article/super-bowl-players-get-expert-coaching-teachers-should-too/
 
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: FNDS26 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!