#coachbetter

In today's episode Clint and I are chatting about a question we received in our #coachbetter Facebook group: How do you get feedback on your coaching? In true Clint and Kim style, we expanded on this initial question to dig a little deeper into the purpose and value of feedback, and the ways that we can seek out a critical friend (both within and beyond our immediate school community) to reflect on the feedback we receive. As coaches, it's critical that we demonstrate our commitment to professional growth, and our conversation today builds a potential process that all coaches can use to track, reflect on and learn from feedback on their coaching! Find the show notes for this episode here.

This is a special bonus episode looking back at the learning from Week Two in our MastermindED Redefining Professional Learning. Participants are thinking about the needs of their community, and the ways we go about investigating what educators want and need. Participants explored a variety of prompts and resources, and have reimagined this infographic and considered what they would add to it. Learn more about our MastermindED model here.

Today we are chatting with James Welsh, Director of the Florida Center for Instructional Technology. Researchers at the FCIT developed the Technology Integration Matrix in 2005 and have been continually updating not only the matrix, but also the resources and supporting materials. It a wealth of resources relevant for coaches working with teachers on technology for learning. Our conversation ranges from the history and development of the matrix to the ways that it's being effectively implemented in schools around the world. Find the show notes for this episode here.

In this bonus episode, we take a look at Week 0 and Week 1 of the MastermindED cohort 'Redefining Professional Learning.' You will hear from participants as they reflect on our provocations and resources. Curious to learn more about MastermindED? Head over to Edurolearning.com for more.

Today, Clint and I are chatting with Silvia Tolisano, author of A Guide to Documenting Learning: Making Thinking Visible, Meaningful, Shareable, and Amplified. Our conversation focuses on two main themes: the elements that make professional learning successful, as well as the keys to successfully documenting learning - for teacher professional growth, and for students. We talk about the power of encouraging teachers to be a learner, rather than focusing on student learning before they can truly understand the process of connected learning. Silvia's varied experience in many different countries, and many different roles both within and beyond individual schools, helps identify the ways that we can keep deep self-reflective learning at the forefront of everything we do! Find the show notes for this episode here.

Hello coaches! Welcome back to another episode of #coachbetter! Today we're chatting with Tim Lauer, Director of Digital Learning (EdTech) for Evergreen SD in Vancouver WA. This episode starts with an in-depth discussion on the power and purpose of sharing and connecting using social media as an educator, and then how we can use those very same tools to build a coaching team to support and work with all teachers in a school district. Tim's experience as a classroom teacher, building principal, and now district level administrator highlights the value of iteration in the learning process, and how sharing can deepen both professional and personal learning for both teachers and students. Find the show notes for this episode here.

Today I'm chatting with Jackie Frens, K-8 tech integration specialist in two private schools in Michigan. Jackie has a wide range of experience in both private and public schools in the US, as well as international schools. In this episode, we talked about many different elements of making coaching successful - especially when you're split between two different schools with many different competing priorities. Jackie is a very thoughtful practitioner and her insights and reflections provide lots of opportunities to look deeply at the rewards and benefits coaching can bring - even in a demanding multi-school environment. Find the show notes for this episode here.

Today we're chatting with Jocelyn Sutherland, Grade 1 classroom teacher at UWC Singapore. Jocelyn has taught almost every grade level and she's been a digital literacy coach, so she is able to see both the teacher and the coaches point of view as we discuss innovative ideas in teaching and learning. Our conversation got pretty deep as we explored the impact of stereotypes on younger learners, the importance of bringing diversity into the classroom, and the importance of coaches "just being there" in the classroom. We're super excited about our new questions and conversation format for the #coachbetter podcast, and we hope you love it too! Find the show notes for this episode here.

Today we have a thoughtful and in-depth conversation about innovation in schools with Tim, Tricia, Diana, Maggie and Marcello from our YouTube series, Coaching Fundamentals. (Marcello sneaks in around the halfway mark so he didn't get a formal introduction, but you'll hear his voice in there!). Our conversation today focused on the Gartner Group's model of the Hype Cycle and how it relates to implementing change in schools. We share some personal experiences with each stage of the cycle and then focus on strategies all instructional coaches can use to successfully implement new ideas in any school setting - so that change can be less stressful and much more manageable for teachers with very busy workloads! Find the show notes for this episode here.

In today's episode Clint and I are chatting with a very special guest, Steve Barkley. Clint and I have been learning from Steve for many years and it was an extra special treat to be able to have his time for a full hour today! Steve's own experience as an educator, combined with all of his published work and collaboration with public and private schools around the world provided a wealth of knowledge and experience for our conversation. We talked about the critical elements that make coaching (and teaching) a success, everything from the importance of working as team to building trust through vulnerability and even the challenge of expertise getting in the way of coaching. This episode is FULL of essential strategies to build a successful coaching culture. Find the show notes for this episode here.

In this week's episode Kim is chatting with David Lee, Elementary STEM Coach at Singapore American School. David's experience with design thinking, along with his personal connections to his own education provide great insights into the value and purpose of authentic and meaningful use of technology in the classroom. As a first-year, full time coach, David shares lots of great strategies for how to connect with teachers and build authentic learning experiences for students. Full show notes here: http://coachbetter.tv/episode-54

In today's episode we're chatting with Melissa Lim, Learning, Teaching and Technology Specialist in Portland Public Schools. Melissa shares her experiences being only 1 of 2 people who focus on technology in a school district of 90 schools and 50,000 students. Melissa shares her strategies for building teacher capacity when there is limited access to coaches and on-site professional learning. For coaches working in larger school districts and ready to leverage the power of community, Melissa's experiences offer strategic and inspirational pathways to getting started! Full Show Notes: http://coachbetter.tv/episode-53

In today's episode Kim chats with Melanie Smith who oversees the K-12 Counseling program (as well as K-12 PBIS, SEL and Crisis teams) for a large school district in Washington State. Melanie's district-level perspective provides clear direction for how to create a successful coaching culture. She shares critical elements for coaching success, including the balance between skill set and relationship building as coaches, understanding the shared purpose and the "why" for all stakeholders in a school building, and the importance of providing time for coaching from a leadership perspective. For those that are wondering how to scale coaching to a school- or district-wide level, this conversation is full of essential strategies and steps to take! Full show notes here: http://coachbetter.tv/episode-51

In today's episode Kim chats with Carrie Zimmer, 4th grade teacher at GEMS Dubai American Academy. Carrie has a wide range of experience, including being an instructional coach in her previous school, so her thoughts in this conversation provide great insight into the needs of a classroom teacher - with the perspective of a very recent coach. Carrie shares her thoughts on the real value of a coach to a classroom teacher, and what schools and coaches can do together to make sure coaching is perceived as valuable and worthwhile from a classroom teacher's point of view. Full show notes here: https://coachbetter.tv/episode-50/

This episode is the first of a series we're doing called #coachstudies. Our team of experts from our YT series, Coaching Fundamentals, is back again, this time focusing on a deep discussion about specific coaching case studies (we're calling them #coachstudies). We are super excited about this episode because this is a sneak preview to a new project we're working on here at Eduro Learning and we know you're going to love it! In this our first #coachstudies episode, we are looking at specific teacher archetypes that all coaches will be familiar with. Today's conversation was about how to work with The Content Expert. Keri-Lee, Tim, Diana and Kim talk about all the different ways we might approach and work with this type of teacher - just the four of us came up with ELEVEN different strategies! Have you worked with The Content Expert in your school? What strategy worked best for you? Do you want to be part of conversations like this? Let us know. Full show notes here: https://coachbetter.tv/episode-49/

In today's episode Clint and Kim discuss a question from our #coachbetter facebook group: "How do you get teacher / admin buy in for coaching? How do you get teachers to carve out time for a coaching role?" They start by focusing in on school leaders, to help build their understanding of the value of coaching, particularly in comparison to a more traditional facilitation role. As they transition into talking about teachers, they highlight the connections between strategies that work with school leaders and those that work with our teaching colleagues as well. This is our second episode highlighting a question from our #coachbetter facebook group, and we'll be responding to more questions here the channel regularly, so please join the facebook group or connect with us @edurolearning to ask your question! Full Show Notes: https://coachbetter.tv/episode-48/

In today's episode we are chatting with Hillary Marshall, teacher-librarian at Washougal High School in Oregon. Hillary has a great perspective having been a teacher in the US, then spending twelve years teaching in international schools around the world, and returning to the US 6 years ago. A passionate advocate for the students and the library, Hillary shares some key strategies for ensuring that all community stakeholders understand the value of a teacher-librarian. In this episode Hillary shares her specific strategy that helped build the team of teacher-librarians in her school district from just one, to one in each building in just six years! Full show notes here: http://coachbetter.tv/episode-52

Today we're chatting with Jordan Benedict, Teacher and Data Coach at Shanghai American School in China. As a Data Coach, Jordan works with teachers and school leaders to collect and analyze data to inform instruction. His role is relatively new to the school and they are consistently finding new ways to make better use of the data that most schools collect - but have yet to analyze. We dive deep into different examples of data coaching in all different areas of the school - and the impact this process is having on teacher professional growth and student learning. Full show notes: https://coachbetter.tv/episode-47/

In today's episode we're chatting with Cindy Tisdall-McPhee, Head of Counseling at UWC Singapore. This was a powerful conversation, highlighting the importance of self-care in a coaching role. Cindy reminds us that taking care of ourselves, allows us, as coaches, to be better engaged and present at work, and when you're present, it's easier for staff to approach you. There are so many specific and authentic examples of how coaches can work with counselors - from supporting parents, to helping ease the transition to (or away) from a school for students, to connecting the social and emotional elements to, our often, skill-based work around digital citizenship. This conversation sparked so many great ideas that we are inspired to create a follow up series, don't miss it! Full Show Notes: https://coachbetter.tv/episode-46/

In this episode Kim chats with Lisa Fung-Kee-Fung, 6th grade science teacher, Shanghai American School, Pudong Campus. Lisa's concrete examples of working with the coaching team at SAS provide clear and practical insight into what makes coaching so powerful for teacher professional growth. As Lisa points out, by building solid relationships, coaches give teachers the confidence to be vulnerable. For coaches looking to take their practice to the next level with specific examples of how to support their teachers, this episode is full of practical guidance from a teacher perspective! Find the show notes for this episode here.

In this episode we chat with Tara Ethridge, Elementary School librarian at International School Prague. Tara has taught everything from Kindergarten to Grade 9 English and everything in between! She made the transition to librarianship about six years ago when we worked together at International School Bangkok. Tara's superpower is meeting teachers where they're at, and her endless patience and interest in supporting teachers in just what they need at that moment - no matter how many times she's explained that very same thing before! Full show notes: https://coachbetter.tv/episode-44/

In this episode Kim is chatting with Beth Dressler, Deputy Head of Elementary and PYP Coordinator at NIST International School in Bangkok, Thailand. As a school leader, Beth works very closely with the coaching team at NIST. Her deep understanding of the coaching role in inquiry-driven schools provides such great insight into the power of coaches as "learning partners" for their teaching and leadership colleagues. It's clear that Beth's vision and passion for coaching truly support teacher agency and there's lots to take away from this conversation that can be applied in any school setting. Full show notes: https://coachbetter.tv/episode-43/

Today we have a great conversation about summer learning for coaches, teachers and school leaders with Tim, Tricia, and Ben from our YouTube series, Coaching Fundamentals. We talk about all sorts of opportunities for professional growth from formal book clubs to the power of documenting and sharing professional learning, and the importance of "coaching up" when working with school leaders. We talk about everything from strategies to getting started, to books, podcasts and other professional learning resources that have been powerful for our team. Plus, we end with a great idea for collaborating with our instructional coaching peers to build our individual coaching toolkits through even more great conversations! Full show notes: https://coachbetter.tv/episode-42/

In today's episode Clint and I talk about trends in instructional coaching, particularly in international schools in Asia. In this spotlight we're talking about what it means to be a coach, and many of the key elements of being a coach today, that perhaps were not a significant part of the role several years ago. Our conversation today was inspired by questions from our #coachbetter facebook group. We're planning to respond to those questions here on the channel regularly, so please join us or leave a question in the comments below! Full Show Notes Here: https://elpn.edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-41/

In this episode of #coachbetter we're chatting with Ben Summerton, ES Tech & Innovation Coordinator at Singapore American School. Ben talks about the outstanding school infrastructure at SAS that enables his amazing coaching team to innovate and closely support teacher and student learning. Full Show Notes https://elpn.edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-40/

In this episode of #coachbetter Kim chats with Niki Dinsdale, University Advisor at UWC, SEA. During their conversation Niki described coaching as an "intellectual spa" (which is now Kim's new favorite metaphor for coaching!)Niki believes that coaching is a critical opportunity to stop and deeply reflect on our own professional "habits" that have been built over time. Niki thinks coaching can almost be self-indulgent because of the many great benefits that come from a meaningful relationship, full of thoughtful conversations, with a colleague who is focused on helping her achieve her own professional goals. If you're not sure coaching is for you, this conversation with Niki will likely convince you that it's time for your own "intellectual spa" experience! Full Show Notes Here: https://elpn.edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-39/

In this episode of #coachbetter spotlight we're chatting with Jen Clark, Library Media Specialist and Tech Coach at Canadian Academy in Kobe, Japan. Jen is in the unique perspective of being both a coach and a librarian at the same time, so we had a great opportunity to take a deeper look at how these two positions can truly overlap in a school setting. Full Show Notes https://elpn.edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-38

In this episode, we're chatting with John D'Arcy, Deputy Director of Western Academy of Beijing in China. John's extensive experience in innovative school environments around the word provides a clear vision of how we can create an inclusive and empowered community of learners through a leadership structure focused on empathy and understanding of the individual humans that make up our schools. John's depth of understanding of the power of coaching, and the role that school leaders and school culture plays in the success of that role, made this conversation a wealth of practical ideas and opportunities for reflection for coaches, teachers and school leaders! Full Show Notes https://elpn.edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-37

In this episode of #coachbetter spotlight we're talking about the importance of coaches taking time to visit classrooms while students are learning - especially in content-heavy subject areas like science. Our guest, Merilyn Winslade, IB Diploma Chemistry and Middle School science teacher at NIST International School in Thailand, shares how valuable it would be for her, particularly in higher level sciences, to have a coach observe in her classroom to help her identify opportunities for innovative learning by seeing exactly what's happening during her lessons. Full shownotes: https://elpn.edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-36

In this episode we're talking to Katy Vance, Librarian at Yokohama International School In Japan. Katy talks about how coaches make her a more awesome version of herself! Katy combines a wealth of experience as classroom teacher and a librarian in schools around the world to identify her keys to building a culture of coaching: from prioritizing community and connections, to valuing risk taking and learning from failure, to a culture of openness and collaboration - it all comes down to relationships. Full Show Notes https://elpn.edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-35

In this episode Clint and Kim are chatting about a question we received in our #coachbetter FB group: Can anyone be coached? They talk about all sorts of critical elements, like school culture, teacher mindset, and the perception of what coaching is (and what it isn't) in this conversation. They also talk about lots of different ways that coaches can start to have deeper professional conversations with their colleagues. If you're wondering how to support all the different teachers in your school, this conversation has tons of great ideas to get you started! Full Show Notes https://edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-34

We hope you've had a chance to watch our Level Up Your Coaching miniseries of 8 episodes, featuring perspectives on coaching from our inspiring educators from around the world! Just in case you missed an episode, we've pulled together the key highlights from each conversation in this one video! Instead of hearing all the perspectives to one question, today's episode will feature one educators response to each question. The purpose of this highlights video is to share the key takeaways from each of the 8 videos in the series - all in just one episode! This overview of how school leaders, counselors, classroom teachers, and librarians all work with coaches - and how they view the coaching role from their perspective - is a great way to see the impact that we have as coaches in our schools!

Welcome back to our mini-series Level Up Your Coaching. We interview two school leaders, two teachers, two librarians and two school counselors to get their perspectives on coaching. It's our last episode in this mini-series and our guest panel of experts share their responses to the question, what was your "aha" moment that shifted your perspective from not caring about coaching to being on board? Full Show Notes https://elpn.edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-32

Welcome back to our mini-series Level Up Your Coaching. We interview two school leaders, two teachers, two librarians and two school counselors to get their perspectives on coaching. In this episode our guest panel of experts share their responses to the question, what makes a coach invaluable to you? Full Show Notes https://elpn.edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-31

Welcome back to our mini-series Level Up Your Coaching. We interview two school leaders, two teachers, two librarians and two school counselors to get their perspectives on coaching. In this episode our guest panel of experts share their responses to the question, where do coaches/does coaching fail and what can we do about it? Full Show Notes https://elpn.edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-30

Welcome back to our mini-series Level Up Your Coaching. We interview two school leaders, two teachers, two librarians and two school counselors to get their perspectives on coaching. In this episode our guest panel of experts share their responses to the question, what are the essential elements for coaching success in a school and what's needed to build a coaching culture? Full Show Notes https://elpn.edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-29

Welcome back to our mini-series Level Up Your Coaching. We interview two school leaders, two teachers, two librarians and two school counselors to get their perspectives on coaching. In this episode our guest panel of experts share their responses to the question, what do you do when you don't have the opportunity to work with a coach? Full Show Notes https://elpn.edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-28

Welcome back to our mini-series Level Up Your Coaching. We interview two school leaders, two teachers, two librarians and two school counselors to get their perspectives on coaching. In this episode our guest panel of experts share their responses to the question, what are some good opportunities for coaches to work with you? Full Show Notes https://elpn.edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-27

Welcome to our new mini-series Level Up Your Coaching. We interview two school leaders, two teachers, two librarians and two school counselors to get their perspectives on coaching. In this episode our guest panel of experts share their responses to the question, how do you work with coaches at your school? Full Show Notes https://elpn.edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-26

Welcome to our new mini-series Level Up Your Coaching. We interview two school leaders, two teachers, two librarians and two school counselors to get their perspectives on coaching. In this episode our guest panel of experts share their responses to the question, what do coaches do? It's inspiring to hear both the depth of understanding about coaching from so many different educators, as well as the vision for coaching from those perspectives. If you're struggling to define your role, or articulate the value of coaching to others, you are going to love this episode! Full Show Notes https://elpn.edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-25

In this episode we're chatting with Pana, Maggie, Tim, Dave and Diana from the our original Coaching Fundamentals series! Our topic for today was "who coaches the coaches?" - especially when you're the only learning coach in your school setting. Our team of experienced coaches share the different ways that they develop their coaching skills, as well as what they WISH they had access to when they first started coaching. It's exciting to hear that everything they wished they had - as well as the ways that they learn today - is actually part of our The Coach microcredential mentorship program, so if what you hear in this episode sounds good to you, check out edurolearning.com/coach to learn more! Full Show Notes https://elpn.edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-24

Today we're chatting with Diana Beabout, Innovation Coach at American International School of Guangzhou. Diana is also the Academy Mentor for our Eduro Learning The Coach Microcredential, and we love talking about coaching whenever we get the chance! Side note: our third cohort of The Coach Microcredential starts soon - and this conversation is a great preview to why you might be interested in joining us! Instructional Coaches in international schools, this episode is for you! Our conversation today is about "the gap" that seems to happen often in international schools - specifically for instructional coaches - the gap between the expectations of and the support for the coaching role. This conversation was actually prompted by a previous discussion about professional development opportunities for coaches - both new and experienced coaches - and we dig even deeper today! Full Show Notes https://elpn.edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-23

Today we're chatting with Lissa, Geoff, Tanya and Diana from the #isedcoach slowchat team! We talked about everything from the different types of coaching roles we all have in our schools, to the power of social media for professional growth. Learning more about how this team works together to bring you a monthly slowchat on Twitter gives us some great insight into the value of connected learning. Hosting the slowchat is a testament to importance of sharing as an opportunity for professional growth. After you listen to the podcast, join the #isedcoach slow chat to learn even more from these superstars! Full Show Notes https://elpn.edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-22/

Today we're chatting with the entire #coachbetter slowchat team! Jana is a Tech Coach in Germany, Nick is a Kindergarten teacher at UWC Thailand, and Verena is an EdTech Coach at the German European School in Singapore. We talk about the amazing learning potential of being a contributor (and not just a consumer) of social media - and - how facilitating this slow chat has made them more connected and reflective. Full Show Notes here: https://edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-21

Today, Kim is talking with Adrienne Michetti, Middle School Digital Literacy Coach at United World College Southeast Asia, East Campus. Adrienne has tons of practical tips and strategies to build relationships and make coaching successful, especially in such a large school community. Full Show Notes here: https://elpn.edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-20

In this episode we're chatting with Nici Foote, Grade 3 classroom teacher at Western Academy of Beijing in China. Nici has just arrived at WAB and in her previous school she was a coach, so she brings us a very important perspective: the classroom teacher who was just a coach! In her current role of classroom teacher she is reminded of all the critical things that coaches can easily forget when they move out of the classroom. Our conversation highlights all those essential ways that coaches can support very busy classroom teachers. For coaches who are looking for insight into how and what classroom teachers are thinking about their coaching role in the school, this episode provides tons of very practical feedback from Nici! Full Show Notes https://elpn.edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-19/

In this episode we're chatting with Tico Oms, Middle School Dean of Students at the International School Bangkok. Tico shares his experience and perspective as a school leader coming from a background in the fast-moving high tech industry. Tico helps define the power of coaching in an innovative school environment as well as the potential of being a lone "island of trust" if you're working in a more traditional school structure. His vision for coaching and leading from the middle is inspiring and a fantastic model and resource for both coaches and school leaders alike. Full Show Notes https://elpn.edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-18/

Introducing our 8 Experts in our new series: Level Up Your Coaching.

Hello coaches! Welcome back to another episode of Coach.Better! Today Kim is chatting with two of our amazing participants in the second cohort of our The Coach microcredential: Jana Poukka and Nadia Ellis. Jana is currently a Technology Coach in Germany, and Nadia is a grade 3 classroom teacher and team leader in Vietnam. Jana and Nadia are both new to coaching and describe their professional growth process for learning about how to be an outstanding learning coach. For those of you new to coaching, this conversation highlights the many different elements which are critical for the success of developing your coaching skills. And you'll get an inside look at our The Coach microcredential to see if it's right for you! Full Shownotes here: https://elpn.edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-17

Woohoo! Great things are coming to the channel in 2019! We're so excited about all the developments in our #coachbetter series that Kim had to share them here with you! Plus you get a sneak peak at one of our new series coming in 2019 called 5 Minute Friday with quick coaching tips in under 5 minutes every week! The one shared in this bonus episode is 5 Ways to Become a Better Learning Coach.