#coachbetter Introduction to Season 6: Why Should Instructional Coaching Be a Full Time Position?

We have an extra special #coachbetter episode! It’s our virtual launch party for the brand new non-profit organization that we’ve been building for the last year: the Association for the Advancement of Instructional Coaching in International Schools! If you’re an instructional coach in international schools, you know that coaching can look vastly different at different schools - and you might find yourself advocating for, and building coaching programs at every school you move to. Instructional coaching is such a nuanced and complex role - both within your individual coaching practice and at the programmatic level. And moving from school to school in our international context makes it even more complex! Both instructional coaches and school leaders need to be involved in this conversation - and it needs to be specific for international schools - that’s why we founded AAICIS! Eduro Learning is proud to be a founding partner of AAICIS. To find out more about our organization, and to join the conversation about instructional coaching in international schools, head over to our website at aaicis.org Find the show notes for this episode here.

19 Maalis 202442min

In #coachbetter video, Kim talks about creating a sustainable coaching culture - and what systems and structures are either supporting or hindering coaching sustainability in your school context. This video is designed for experienced coaches who are ready to start thinking about how they can further develop their coaching practice. Find the show notes for this episode here.

12 Maalis 202414min

In this #coachbetter episode, Kim talks with Samantha Olson-Wyman, Curriculum, Teaching & Learning Specialist and Stephanie Cifuentes, Lower School Principal at the American School of Guatemala. Both Sam and Stephanie are former instructional coaches so this episode is such a special opportunity to look at the macro lens of coaching with school leaders who deeply understand the micro view too! We're so excited to share this episode with you because whenever we get the chance to speak with school leaders who are former coaches, we know we’re going to be able to go deep about the value of coaching and the actual logistics and structures needed to make it happen - and this conversation does exactly that!  Find the show notes for this episode here.

5 Maalis 202456min

When you’re working on building a coaching culture and a coaching program, you know that you need systems and structures in place to make it sustainable. In this post, we're highlighting three elements of your coaching culture that you may want to examine - so you can both measure the impact you’re making and define the systems and structures needed to continue to grow.  This is a highlight from one of Kim's favorite episodes from a previous season, featuring Laura Lipton. If you’re a longtime #coachbetter listener, you know that Kim often references Laura’s work, particularly the Continuum of Practice for Instructional Coaches.  Since we’re focusing on coaches as leaders right now, we want to share this clip where Laura talks about the big picture of what makes coaching work from a school-wide perspective. Find the show notes for this episode here.

27 Helmi 202422min

This #coachbetter episode is part of our series featuring coaching conversations with one of Kim's amazing clients, Cary Hart, who is a graduate of all 3 of our Certificate Programs: COETAIL, The Coach, and Women Who Lead. HUGE thank you to Cary for being willing to record one of her coaching sessions to share with all of you! In Kim and Cary's conversation, you’re going to hear how having a coach from outside of your school community can take a very complicated situation, with a lot of layers, detail, and complexity, and through targeted questions, paraphrasing and intentional focus, surface a simple and systemic solution. The challenge Cary presents in this call is one that, if you’ve been a tech coach in particular, will be very familiar to you, so some aspects of the solution here might be immediately applicable to your school setting, too. You'll notice the ways that Cary was able to share the different dynamics of her challenge, and through Kim's paraphrasing, questioning, and identifying the root of the issue, they were able to move onto a deeper discussion of potential solutions that address all of the layers to this challenge that Cary’s been struggling with.  Find the show notes for this episode here.

20 Helmi 20241h 6min

In this #coachbetter episode, Kim talks about scaling your impact as an instructional coach.  If you’ve been a coach for several years, you know that you can’t keep working exclusively 1:1 with coaching partners - it’s a ticket to burnout! The reality is that there will never be enough time in the day (or coaches on staff) to support every teacher at the 1:1 level. Once you start finding yourself booked out and busy, with a schedule full of coaching cycles, it’s time to start scaling your impact and start working with groups or teams. This way you can leverage your time and support teaching and learning in even more classrooms than you are already! If you are ready to make this shift, this episode is for you! Find the show notes for this episode here.

13 Helmi 20248min

In this #coachbetter episode, Kim talks with Ellen and Bruce Eisenberg, founders of The Professional Institute for Instructional Coaching. As founders of The Professional Institute for Instructional Coaching Ellen and Bruce come with a wealth of experience in building sustainable instructional coaching programs in schools around the world.  On this call they are talking about the research behind instructional coaching, how to collect data to measure your impact, the enabling conditions that make coaching work and the systems and structures that need to be in place to make coaching sustainable. This episode is full of big-picture thinking about what it takes to make coaching successful and sustainable in schools. If you are curious about the systems and structures that make coaching successful, this episode is for you. Find the show notes for this episode here.

6 Helmi 20241h 31min

This #coachbetter episode is part of of our new special series, #coachbetter Celebrations. To celebrate our 5 years of the podcast (and over 200 episodes), each month we’re highlighting a short clip from one of our favorite episodes from a previous season.  This is a highlight from one of Kim's favorite episodes from a previous season. If you’re a longtime #coachbetter listener, you know that Joellen Killion is her instructional coaching superhero, and Joellen's episode from a few seasons ago was a masterclass in all things instructional coaching.  Since we’re focusing on coaches as leaders right now, sharing this clip where Joellen explains how coaches can directly advocate for the work of coaching would be well worth repeating. Find the show notes for this episode here.

30 Tammi 202419min