The Power of a Coaching Cycle: What’s the Impact on Teachers and Students?

As Linn-Mar Schools work to refine our coaching skills during year three of our TLC Program, there is one looming question on everyone’s mind:  What’s the impact?

Finding a test score to give us the exact number or data to answer this question is nearly impossible.  Instead we’ve hit the pavement and gathered our information the old fashioned way:  We talked to people and asked them directly how coaching is impacting the work they do in the classroom as teachers, and how the changes they are implementing from coaching conversations are impacting students.

Here's what teachers, coaches, and students say about Coaching Cycles:

“After I looked at my data I wanted to dismiss some of my students who performed low and never exhibited effort or initiative.  After reflecting with my instructional coach, I began to think differently about the needs of those students.  Data collection and cognitive coaching questions created a shift in my thinking about my teaching practice to better meet the needs of my students."

                                                                                               ~Teacher

"When the Technology Integration Coach visits my classroom, they show my teacher new ways to learn about subjects.  They watch my teacher and show her how to use technology to make school fun."

                                                                                                               ~ Elementary Student

“Coaching conversations have helped shift my thinking to see that what I might have considered the best plan of action before, wasn’t meeting the needs of all my students.  Success for most does not mean success for all.  I’m learning to differentiate and dig deeper than I ever have before as a teacher.”

                                                                                              ~Teacher

“Recently, I went into a reflective coaching conversation after a classroom observation. I went into the situation assuming that we'd reflect on the lesson, how the co-teachers thought it went, and what to celebrate or do differently, etc.  None of that happened. They discovered that their ability to be vulnerable, do something different, and still hit content made for a rich learning environment and real connections with their students. It also opened up doors they didn't even know were closed with many students. There was engagement, thoughtful discussion, and an openness that surprised both teachers. This has become my favorite part of coaching, and to me, it's most wonderful aspect. You can plan to go down a certain path, but often it goes to places you never thought it could.”

                                                                                             ~Instructional Coach

"Coaching cycles are some of the best professional development available to teachers.  The process allows the teacher time to reflect with a purpose and enables the teacher to deeply connect to their craft.  Often the result of a coaching cycle is not only a profound understanding of students and their thinking but also the desire to set up another coaching cycle!"

~Teacher

“I can see a difference in my teacher.  She tells us what she is learning from the coaches.  I like knowing that my teacher is a life long learner who values reflection.”

~Secondary Student

As we continue to build capacity at Linn-Mar with our teacher leadership program, we celebrate the changes our teachers are making to teaching practice and instruction to impact and influence student outcomes.  By focusing on helping individuals be self-directed, we increase their capability to think differently and problem solve.  The only way to increase this capability is through coaching, not telling.  

The University of Georgia research says that when we don’t coach, but rather only offer up consulting or suggestions to our colleagues, three things can happen:

            1.  57% will do NOTHING to change practice

            2.  25% will take the suggestions

            3.  18 % will do the OPPOSITE of what was suggested

Building capacity takes time.  It's the beginning of our third year, and we attribute much of our success to Cognitive Coaching training. 

The mission of Cognitive Coaching^SM:

“…is to produce self-directed persons with the cognitive capacity for excellence both independently and as members of a community.”

Cognitive Coaching doesn't add one more thing to the plate for teachers to do. Instead CC organizes things so teachers can arrange their plate to make instruction more appetizing in order to effectively meet students' needs. Cognitive Coaching has become the base of our work.  We can utilize coaching to implement and work on all other initiatives in our district. 

Check back for more stories on how our coaching is helping teachers think differently to affect student learning.  For more information on Cognitive Coaching click here.