What is Instructional Coaching?

Instructional coaching works on a relatively novel view of the teaching professional as a performance professional. In the same way that an athlete, a doctor, a barrister may only get one shot at executing their role, teachers can never gain back their time with classes and so it is vital that we perform at our best. 

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When we look at how these other professionals are trained and then coached throughout their career, we see some core principles on which training is based. The first is that the techniques they must use are modelled to them by an expert, enabling a thorough analysis of what makes that practice successful. 

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Then, there is an opportunity to practise techniques, away from the hustle and bustle of the 'live' classroom. This is vital for ensuring that staff are fluent in using these techniques. After all, if we found that our surgeon was attempting an operation on our body for the first time ever, having never practiced the techniques with an expert, we'd be pretty alarmed! Deliberately practising these techniques in a training environment, with feedback from an expert is a key step in the instructional coaching process. 

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Even after practising these techniques, it is essential that an expert then observes these new techniques in the live environment and provides further feedback, supporting these new techniques to embed in practice. 

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From here, coaching becomes an iterative process, with coach and teacher(s) working together to identify the next step for improvement. Each step in the process must be laser-focused, with a clear technique identified to address the area for development. This next step should be achievable in one to two weeks and so the cycle progresses. 

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Thankfully, modern teacher training programmes have embraced these principles in recent years. However, this leaves the majority of teachers in schools not having enjoyed the benefits of instructional coaching. 

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Instructional coaching is supported by evidence, but implementing it effectively in schools is not always easy. A successful coaching programme requires a significant investment of time. Many schools opt to pay for expensive software packages but this does not guarantee the successful and impactful implementation of instructional coaching and so this valuable way of working can fall by the wayside. 

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Our consultants are experienced in implementing coaching programmes in schools across phases and can work with you, your senior team, middle leaders and all teaching staff to ensure that coaching becomes an impactful, manageable and positive way of working. 

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