Coaching Matters: The Benefits of Seeking Professional Guidance

Coaching shouldn't be limited to athletics. Why do educators need a coach in their corner?

DR. ROBERTA LENGER KANG
Center Director, CPET

We’re all familiar with the image of a coach standing on the sidelines, intently watching their team run a play on the field. When things get intense for the players, they look to the coach for guidance, encouragement, focus, and to see the lay of the land from a new perspective. 

In the realm of sports, the role of a coach is widely accepted. Coaches are seen as necessary in order for professional athletes to increase their performance at elite levels. But coaching shouldn’t be limited to athletics. Coaching in other fields can prove equally beneficial — just ask Atul Gawande, who explained the power of coaching in the operating room. 

In education, coaching takes traditional, procedural staff development to the next level by providing support when, where, and how teachers need it. And we should know — in the past year, we provided over 1,200 days of professional development to partner schools in the US, Istanbul, Saudi Arabia, and China.

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Why you need a coach in your corner

We’re focused on supporting teachers towards transformation. Our five core principles fuel our coaching methods and maximize our ability to customize promising practices for each unique school setting, develop deep relationships with teachers and school leaders, and use data to inform our high-leverage strategies. 

Educators who seek out coaching know why it’s invaluable to have a coach in their corner: 

• Prior knowledge and experience: Teaching is disorienting. One moment you think you know where you are, the next you feel completely lost. Whether with a new class, a new grade level, a new curriculum, or a new test, teachers know that the only constant in education is change. But it’s impossible for a professional to be at the top of their game when the rules of the road are always shifting. Our coaches come equipped with prior knowledge and experience in the classroom, which allows them to help others be mindful of the potholes and pitfalls along the path that they’ve walked before. 

• Outside perspectives expose blindspots: Teaching is a personal profession. When teachers pour hours and hours of their personal time into developing the perfect lesson plan and spend dollar after dollar of their personal money on classroom supplies, they have a vested interest in the success of their lessons and their students. If anything goes awry in the implementation, teachers can take things personally. Coaching provides an outside perspective that helps to expose blindspots that distort or distract from the root of the issue. When teachers are supported by a coach who can offer alternative points of view, challenge assumptions or hold space for teachers to engage in critical reflection, they’re able to regain perspective and identify areas for growth. 

• Acknowledgment, empathy, and encouragement: Teaching is isolating. Most teachers will see over 100 students, and make over 1,500 decisions a day. There are overwhelming lists of papers to grade, parents to call, games to attend, and lessons to plan. In the midst of it all, they often feel isolated and invisible. Coaching can change that. Instructional coaching creates a unique opportunity for teachers to be seen and heard. CPET coaches focus on cultivating teachers’ strengths and acknowledge the progress teachers are making in their practice, make real connections over shared challenges, and encourage continued practice for future growth. These connected conversations create space for teachers to reflect, and develop an increased understanding of their experiences. 

• Targeted guidance: Teaching is strategic. When teachers realize they are in a safe space, they can begin to investigate their biggest challenges and are more open to receiving feedback. Coaches can provide targeted guidance to increase content knowledge and pedagogical skills, and this feedback can have an almost immediate impact on teacher practice and student performance. Feedback that’s offered to teachers leverages teacher strengths in order to build on areas for growth, and offers both broad and nuanced advice about how teachers can evolve their practice, whether it’s by using a new instructional strategy, customizing the curriculum, or helping reposition the relationship between teachers and students.

• Continuous improvement: Teaching is ever-evolving. “Teaching is a human profession,” said John Browne, a professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, “that means it will never be perfect, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.” Like doctors and lawyers, where every patient and every case is a little bit different, every class will present a new type of challenge for teachers. This is why coaching is essential. There are unlimited opportunities for professional learning and growth, and teachers who don’t engage in continuous improvement will not cultivate the skills necessary to meet the demands of the changing generations of students. Just like we want our doctors to be learning the most current medical procedures and our lawyers to be learning the most current legal precedents, we want our teachers to be evolving their practice through the latest research-based pedagogy.