Coaching With a Purpose

 Coaching, a term you hear often when speaking about sports and extracurricular activities. I have had several coaches myself. Soccer, softball, even dance, all had a coach to train me, push me to do my best, stretch me in ways that were far outside of my comfort zone. 

I had the great privilege of becoming a vocal coach at the last school I taught at. Twenty middle school boys and girls trusted me to lead them and increase their vocal abilities. One of my favorite parts of coaching these students was the relationships I built with them. One girl in particular comes to mind. This little girl had a tremendous amount of potential vocally and, for some reason, took to me quickly. She would not only come to me for advice with her musical needs, but personal issues as well. Her mother was very supportive of our mentor-like relationship and even called me mom number two. Needless to say I took a particular interest in this young lady. We would work additional afternoons to stretch her vocal range, work on increasing her breath support, and fine tuning her craft. This intentional and purposeful time built a lasting relationship where she trusted and valued my input and advice, one that is still strong and growing to this day even after moving away from the school I was at. Because of the time and effort I put into the coaching relationship, and intentionality and purpose I put into the time spent together honing her craft, she became more motivated to compete in vocal competitions and try her best to show me my time was worth while.

(Left: The two of us at our last competition)

(Right: Meeting my son for the first time)

I believe that the intention and purpose put into that coaching relationship can also, and should also, be put into an instructional coaching relationship. Knight (2018) explains that the role of instructional coaches (ICs) is to "partner with teachers to help them improve teaching and learning so students become more successful" (p.2). As a former classroom teacher, I have experienced instructional coaching support provided by the school district, both good and bad. There is nothing more frustrating than an already overwhelmed first year teacher who has very little personal time due to the lesson plans, parent contacts, extracurricular duties, and so on to have yet another thing piled on them (activities from instructional coaches or homework so to say, meetings, presentations) that is nothing more than busy work to check a box for the coaches saying they are working with the teacher. Unfortunately as Plotinsky (2023) explains, "Coaching becomes a tool to address incompetence or poor test results rather than a process that elevates the practice of all."

On the flip side, I have experienced instructional coaching that you could tell was well planned and intentional in its presentation, activities, and the overall goal it is trying to achieve. Knight (2018) explains if coaches and teachers are going to spend the enormous amount of time and effort it takes to reach a goal then they should make sure it is worth reaching (p.66). There have been several times where I wished I knew more about a topic or how to increase my students' ability in a certain skill and was able to reach out to the instructional coach I was in a mentorship with to help me understand better or increase my knowledge of how I could reach my students better when it came to developing said skill. I have sat through presentations that addressed real needs we saw evident in our students and I would walk away pleased to have had the opportunity to have sat under the coach's teaching. I have also walked away feeling like a presentation was a total waste of time I could have been with my students working on something that was actually applicable to them. When the purpose of instructional coaches is to provide support in areas to benefit the teacher's and students' needs, no time is wasted. When referring to a text by the importance of putting teachers’ needs (both individual and collective) at the forefront of PD efforts.

One final thought on coaching with a purpose is to make sure that you are purposeful in the relationships you build with those you are coaching. "To have a productive relationship, teachers

and coaches need to trust one another, respect each other professionally, commit to keeping their partnership agreements, and clearly define the work they will do together. Teachers must believe that the coach supports them and that the coach’s top priority is student academic achievement" (Killion et al., 2014). Just like in the example of my vocal coaching with the young lady, we were able to build a strong bond to where she trusted my leading and advice and followed it to increase her vocal ability. Teachers are the same way. If they know they can trust you and what you are saying and/or doing is to increase their abilities, they are much more likely to be open to advice and direction and follow it.

Coaching can be challenging as well as rewarding. An important thing to keep in mind for both the individual coaching as well as the one being coached is you get out what you put in. Go into this relationship with an open mind and the students always at the center of focus.

References

Killion, J., Harrison, C., Bryan, C., & Clifton, H. (2014). Teacher-coach relationships - learning forward. Learning Forward. https://learningforward.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/teacher-coach-relationships.pdf  

Knight, J. (2018). The impact cycle: What instructional coaches should do to foster powerful improvements in teaching. Corwin.

Plotinsky, M. (2023, April 5). The case for instructional coaching throughout a teacher’s career. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/instructional-coaching-as-professional-development/