Lead Lit Topic: Guiding Teachers
Here is where you'll find information on guiding teachers.
Results
Slicing Up the Pie
I had just sent my email response to a parent when the phone call came in. “Are you still able to step in for Sarah’s classroom? Her students are coming...
Coaching Minute: Keep the Focus on Students
Inga Omondi suggests keeping the focus on students in order to entice apprehensive teachers into a coaching relationship.
Coaching Minute: Navigating Tough Conversations
Instructional coach Holly Wenning shares advice for navigating tough conversations.
What Happens When Teachers Receive Conflicting Advice?
As we sat across from a brand-new teacher and listened to him share the writing lessons his team was using, a million questions and thoughts flitted through our heads. Does...
Coaching Minute: The Power of a Stopwatch
Ruth Ayres shares how timing parts of an observation gives unique and meaningful data for reflective conversations.
And I Quote: Coaching Through Quotes and Sayings
I excitedly grabbed my phone to capture the image of this sign while doing a little retail therapy one Saturday morning. Although my shopping cart and purse could not handle...
What Does Your Feedback Say About Your Coaching Relationships?
Walking out of Emily’s room, I had that post-coaching high. It had been the kind of meeting you leave knowing that you’ve pushed practice and impacted students all while sharing...
Crafting Coaching Conversations
“You know, I didn’t think the tool you shared with us at professional development last week was anything my class needed. I thought that by fourth grade, they had reading...
It’s Time to Pause: A PD Session to Reconnect with Core Values
Whatever things you go through, you stay true to who you are and your core values. —Sophie Gregoire Trudeau Being called to yet another meeting, with an already full to-do...
Coaching Minute: Be Aware of How Your Presence Affects the Room
In this installment about norms for professional learning, Ruth Ayres shares the importance of being aware of how your presence affects the room.
Goals Are Greater than Nice Conversations
If there’s no goal, it’s just a nice conversation. —John Campbell, Growth Coaching International I am still grappling with this quote. It hit me hard. Was I just having nice...
Coaching Minute: Expect and Accept a Lack of Closure
In this installment about norms for professional learning, Ruth Ayres shares why it is important to expect and accept a lack of closure.
Aiming for a 5 on a Scale of 1–10
To help our schools gather fast, formative data to guide instructional steps, determine which students qualify for intervention services, and meet the requirement of our state's new dyslexia screening law,...
Coaching Minute: What’s Said Here Stays Here; What’s Learned Here Leaves Here
In this installment about norms for professional learning, Ruth Ayres shares the importance of having a place for instructional coaches to learn, as well as process their own situations. The...
Coaching Minute: Be Wholly Present
In this installment about norms for professional learning, Ruth Ayres shares the importance of setting a norm about presence.
How the Influences of Reggio Emilia’s Teaching Approach Still Affect My Practice
I started my teaching career more than two decades ago at the American School in Paraguay, where I taught preschool in a bilingual setting. Our pedagogy was based on the...
Coaching Minute: The Importance of Norms
In this first installment about norms for professional learning, Ruth Ayres shares the reason why norms are important.
Bite-Sized PD
As an instructional coach, I sometimes worry how I’m going to continue to meaningfully share the aspects of new resources to support our frameworks. Recently we've been learning to add...
Three Books that Changed How I Teach and Think About Reading
My school is going through a renovation. Although most of my supplies were boxed up and moved to storage in the building, one set of items I brought home from...
Guided Reading Debrief
Lora Bieghler debriefs with teacher Cheryl Miller after a guided reading lesson.
Affirm, Acknowledge, Ask: A Simple Protocol for Communicating Feedback
How do we let people know how they might improve if they are not ready to hear it? There are many situations in which the signals are clear that feedback...
