An innovative professional development strategy that facilitates change, improves instruction, and transforms school culture! Instructional coaching is a research-based, job-embedded approach to instructional intervention that provides the assistance and encouragement necessary to implement school improvement programs. Experienced trainer and researcher Jim Knight describes the "nuts and bolts" of instructional coaching and explains the essential skills that instructional coaches need, including getting teachers on board, providing model lessons, and engaging in reflective conversations. Each user-friendly chapter includes: First-person stories from successful coaches Sidebars highlighting important information A "Going Deeper" section of suggested resources Ready-to-use forms, worksheets, checklists, logs, and reports
Widely recognised as a leading practical handbook on coaching, The Coaching Manual combines an understanding of coaching principles, skills, attitudes and behaviours, along with practical guidance and a comprehensive tool kit for coaches. The Coaching Manual demystifies the full coaching process, from first step to final meeting. This is the complete guide to coaching and includes: models, perspectives, skills, case studies, tips and advice.
In schools, every day is "game day." Every day, teachers need the best resources and forms of support because students deserve the best we as educators can offer. An instructional playbook aims to serve as that kind of support: a tool that coaches can use to help teachers match specific learning goals with the right research-based instructional strategies. Coaches have enormous potential to help teachers learn and implement new teaching practices, but coaches will be effective only if they deeply understand the strategies they describe and their explanations are clear. The Instructional Playbook: The Missing Link for Translating Research into Practice addresses both issues head on and offers a simple and clear explanation of how to create a playbook uniquely designed to meet teachers' instructional needs. The idea of an instructional playbook has caught fire since Jim Knight described it in The Impact Cycle (2017). This book helps instructional coaches create playbooks that produce a common language about high-impact teaching strategies, deepen everyone's understanding of what instructional coaches do, and, most important, support teachers and students in classrooms. “em>A joint publication of ASCD and One Fine Bird Press.
"Jim Knight is one of the wise men of coaching. His well is deep; he draws from it the best tools from practitioners, the wisdom of experience, and research-based insights. And he never loses sight of the bigger picture: the point of all this is to have more impact in this life we′re lucky enough to live." —MICHAEL BUNGAY STANIER, Author of The Coaching Habit Identify . . . Learn . . . Improve When it comes to improving practice, few professional texts can rival the impact felt by Jim Knight’s Instructional Coaching. For hundreds of thousands of educators, Jim bridged the long-standing divide between staff room and classroom offering up a much a more collaborative, respectful, and efficient PD model for achieving instructional excellence. Now, one decade of research and hundreds of in-services later, Jim takes that work a significant step further with The Impact Cycle: an all-new instructional coaching cycle to help teachers and, in turn, their students improve in clear, measurable ways. Quintessential Jim, The Impact Cycle comes loaded with every possible tool to help you reach your coaching goals, starting with a comprehensive video program, robust checklists, and a model Instructional Playbook. Quickly, you’ll learn how to Interact and dialogue with teachers as partners Guide teachers to identify emotionally compelling, measurable, and student-focused goals Set coaching goals, plan strategies, and monitor progress for optimal impact Use documentary-style video and text-based case studies as models to promote maximum teacher clarity and proactive problem solving Streamline teacher enrollment, data collection, and deep listening Jim writes, "When we grow, improve, and learn, when we strive to become a better version of ourselves, we tap into something deep in ourselves that craves that kind of growth." Read The Impact Cycle and soon you’ll discover how you can continually refine your practice to help teachers and students realize their fullest potential.
A clear and comprehensive guide to evaluating and supporting instructional coaches and coaching programs, including how to recruit, hire, and retain effective coaches. With sound practices in place to evaluate coaching programs, instructional coaches will become better partners, teachers will become better mentors, and students will become better learners. Few evaluation systems are specifically geared toward coaching roles. Ensuring that school districts have accurate information about both coaches and coaching programs is crucial to guide improvement in supporting classrooms, as well as in ensuring accountability. With sound evaluation processes in place, districts can effectively evaluate instructional coaches and coaching programs and use data to set goals. Advance Praise for Evaluating Instructional Coaching: It has arrived! The ICG team has pulled through again with a much-needed guide, providing a thorough process from how to hire, evaluate, support, and retain instructional coaches. This book will empower school leaders to be partners with instructional coaches by providing meaningful evaluation tools and effective coaching programs. Readers will walk away with ideas on how to help coaches grow to best serve students and teachers in their schools. Thank you, ICG. We needed your research, knowledge, and most of all your humble approach on how best to support coaches and coaching programs! —Kelly Jacobs, District Instructional Coaching Coordinator, Lansing (Mich.) School District Instructional coaches devote their time to growing teachers. One way to support instructional coaches in their professional growth is to ensure an effective evaluation system is in place for them. This book gives leaders several things to consider as they define the coach's role, hire candidates, and put an evaluation process in place. —Michelle Lis, Coordinator, Instructional Coaching, Fairfax County (Va.) Public Schools A joint publication of ASCD and One Fine Bird Press.
This easy-to-read resource describes several popular approaches to coaching, including literacy coaching, cognitive coaching, instructional coaching, content-focused coaching, and classroom-management coaching, and features contributions from leaders in each field.
“Video will completely change the way we do professional learning.” —Jim Knight Video recordings of teachers in action offer a uniquely powerful basis for improvement. Best-selling professional development expert Jim Knight delivers a surefire method for harnessing the potential of video to reach new levels of excellence in schools. Focus on Teaching details: Strategies that teachers, instructional coaches, teams, and administrators can use to get the most out of using video Tips for ensuring that video recordings are used in accordance with ethical standards and teacher/student comfort levels Protocols, data gathering forms, and many other tools to get the most out of watching video
Small changes can lead to big results! Best-selling author Jim Knight presents the high-leverage strategies that make the biggest difference in student learning. Featuring checklists, numerous observation tools, and online videos of teachers implementing the practices, this revolutionary book focuses on the three areas of high-impact instruction: Content planning, including using guiding questions, learning maps, and formative assessment Instructional practices such as the use of thinking prompts, effective questions, challenging assignments, and experiential learning Community building, in which you shape a classroom culture that promotes well-being, creativity, learning, and high expectations
This book describes in simple terms exactly how schools should align and organize professional learning to ensure significant positive change in teaching and student learning. The author's partnership principles-a humanizing approach to professional learning-apply to workshops, intensive learning teams (a focused form of professional learning communities), and instructional coaching. This is the first in a two volume series that is designed to provide a simple (not simplistic) framework and a set of tools for improving teaching in schools. (The second volume, The Big Four, was proposed last year.)
Check out The Better Conversations trailer: https://youtu.be/y3FrWTXC8Uw "I thought I knew how to have a conversation; I’ve had millions of them. Some were good, others not so much so. But I want to have GREAT conversations, and Jim Knight has taught me how. The proof is in: better conversations are possible and the results are worth the investment." --DOUGLAS FISHER Coauthor of Rigorous Reading and Unstoppable Learning Because conversation is the lifeblood of any school You don’t want this book—you need this book. Why this confident claim? Think about how many times you’ve walked away from school conversations, sensing they could be more productive, but at a loss for how to improve them. Enter instructional coaching expert Jim Knight, who in Better Conversations honors our capacity for improving our schools by improving our communication. Asserting that our schools are only as good as the conversations within them, Jim shows us how to adopt the habits essential to transforming the quality of our dialogues. As coaches, as administrators, as teachers, it’s time to thrive. Learn how to: Coach ourselves and each other to become better communicators Listen with empathy Find common ground Build Trust Our students’ academic, social, and emotional growth depends upon our doing this hard work. It’s time to roll up our sleeves, open our minds, and dare to change for the better of the students we serve. You can get started now with Better Conversations and the accompanying Reflection Guide to Better Conversations.
