It is becoming more and more common to see the implementation of instructional coaches into schools with every passing year. An article by Judith Tanner, Lisa Quintas, and Thomas Gamboa Jr (2017) chronicles the experience of implementing educational coaching from each of the 3 key players: school administration, the coach, and the teacher. All 3 must work in harmony to ensure that the coaching can reach its full effectiveness and thereby be of the best help to the most important people, the students. 

Tanner provides the perspective of the school administration, specifically the principal. “One of the most important factors shaping a coach’s effectiveness is the support or lack of support provided by the coach’s principals” (Jim Knight, 2017). If the principal or other administrator expresses scorn or a lack of enthusiasm for any new undertaking happening at the school, then that attitude will surely seep down through the ranks and make it much harder than it needs to be. Conversely, if the principal welcomes the change (such as the introduction of coaches) with enthusiasm, then the coach is far and away more likely to have a much higher degree of impact. Tanner notes that a strong relationship between the teacher, the administrator, and the coach is necessary to effectively analyze student work and determine the best steps, and most especially this good relationship must be in place for the year to implement the coaching model and improve student success.

Quintas provides the viewpoint of the coach. She stresses that coaches must cultivate good relationships with all of the teachers they are working with and has found that when provided with new practices that the teachers can understand the use of, they will often take said practice back to the classroom and implement it. When they collaborate and with the coach, good things happen. Quintas comments that she has found one of the most important aspects of coaching to be the introduction of best practices and increasing teachers’ awareness and knowledge of them (2017). The coach must then be supportive in helping the teachers adapt and implement the new techniques, while also helping them keep an open mind to other new techniques. The learning landscape is constantly changing, and coaches must help teachers learn to shift with it. 

Gamboa fills in the perspective of the teacher. He states that he and other teachers will often be hesitant, uneasy, and possibly even resistant to the presence of a coach. Often teachers will only have someone in the classroom observing because they are judging, rating, critiquing, so the presence of a coach is disconcerting. His experience fully backs up this advice given to coaches by the EdTech Team (2020) “if teachers know you’re not there to judge them, but rather to provide advice and feedback that will make their teaching lives easier and more impactfully, they are likely to be more receptive to your feedback and recommendations”. Gamboa noticed that as time went on, with visits becoming commonplace and as the coach was open, honest, respectful, and transparent, he and other teachers became more comfortable and trusting with the coach, and therefore more open to ideas and feedback. Effective feedback helped improve his class without making him feel negative about himself or his class. Teachers must receive continual support and guidance from coaches because they often are hesitant to implement new ideas or practices, and having a coach’s ongoing support is vital to help teachers navigate new changes in learning and teaching methods. 

References

How to connect with resistant teachers (3 actionable tips) (2020, January 8). EdTech Team. Webpage. Retrieved 8-4-2021 from: https://www.edtechteam.com/blog/2020/01/how-to-connect-with-resistant-teachers-3-actionable-tips/

Knight, J., (2017, August 7). Why principals must support coaches. Webpage. Retrieved 8-4-2021 from: https://www.instructionalcoaching.com/principals-must-support-coaches/

Tanner, J., Quintas, L., & Gamboa, T., (2017). Journal of Educational Research and Practice 2017, Volume 7, Issue 1, Pages 30–44 ©Walden University, LLC, Minneapolis, MN DOI:10.5590/JERAP.2017.07.1.03