“Although change is unpredictable, you can set up conditions that help to guide the process” says Michael Fullan. That’s exactly what instructional coaches do in schools… they guide the process that helps create and sustain change.

Instructional coaches can create just the right amount of disruption and discomfort in schools to get the ball moving in the right direction. However, this is a messy and disorderly process. It doesn’t necessarily follow a lock-step method guaranteeing that each step flows smoothly into the next. If you think that instructional coaching comes with a “how to” manual… think again! The best I can offer is the notion that working together in a team provides opportunities for collective problem solving after identifying some issues that need to be addressed in school.

January is the time when most of us reflect on the past and share the myriad hopes for self-improvement. Some estimates claim that 40% of us make New Year’s resolutions but how many of us really keep them? How many of us make a laundry list of goals that we want to accomplish but don’t really think about the reality or likelihood of accomplishing those tasks? Sometimes, the desire to make changes overrides the practicality of achieving some of those goals.

In our newest outreach to the coaching community, www.cultureofcoaching.blogspot.com, I wrote about coaches being in the position to disrupt the status quo. That doesn’t mean that coaches burst into classrooms or bombard teachers with the “perfect” lesson plan, a flawless instructional delivery, or the perfect remedy to increase student engagement. What it means is that instructional coaches are positioned to encourage ongoing conversations about teaching and learning in ways that are reflective, deliberate, and challenging. It means that coaches and teachers work together and “walk the talk” about innovation, collaboration, and critical thinking. They need to work together to focus on authentic issues and problem-solve to gather the collective wisdom of the group to resolve these issues.

Ah, Thanksgiving… so much for which to be thankful, especially looking forward to a few days off for the Thanksgiving holiday!  We all need time to rest up after the marathon eating of Turkey and all the trimmings!

In many of my conversations with coaches, one thing is taking the lead about instructional coaching. How do coaches work with teachers to implement effective instructional practices in non-evaluative ways? How do coaches work with teachers to share a variety of instructional techniques if they can’t get to classrooms to see how the teachers practice?