Christy shares that chapter 4 discusses the role of the
coach in Instructional Coaching. Also,
discussed in this chapter is the fact that the principal also plays a role in
instructional coaching. Partnership is
the key in this chapter. The coach must
be a partner to the teachers. The
principal must be a partner with the coach.
I will share the first couple that Knight indicates as important to the
process:
·
The principal must be involved in the
process—but not too much or too little.
Knight refers to this process as the bottom-up approach or the
top-down approach.
o
Bottom-up approach is when the administrator is
hands-off and doesn’t serve as the instructional leader. Teachers may or may not participate as it is
totally voluntary. Teachers who need to
partner the most are often the ones to opt out.
o
Top-down approach is when the administrator
dictates that all participate. Teachers
resent being forced to “partner” and make it difficult.
o
Knight advocates a blend of both—administrator
encourages participation and shows the importance of the coaching.
·
The principal must clarify the role of the coach
and make sure all understand what the coach should or should not do.
o
The coach’s primary role is to work with
teachers.
o
The coach’s work with teachers is about
professional learning for the teachers.
o
The coach’s primary role is not to work with
students or to be a sub or to do administrative tasks!
§
A quote from Knight: “Leaders are often tempted
to ask coaches to work directly with students instead of coaching….However,
this is a quick fix that does not fully exploit a coach’s ability to make a
lasting impact. When coaches work with
students instead of with teachers, they only affect those particular children
for that year….when coaches help teachers reach their students, they help every
student teachers will teach for the rest of their lives.” Unmistakable Impact, pp.98-99.
I agree with your quote from the book-
ReplyDelete"The coach must be a partner to the teachers. The principal must be a partner with the coach." We all need to work together to get the best results!
We only have one coach on staff and lately she has been worn to a frazzle because of breaking Mr. Knight's principles. She is supposed to be Reading Instruction Coach. She has become RTI coach. She plans, coordinates, and documents PST meetings. She teaches classes (students). She types the CIP plan. In the past, I have benefited from her coaching as I had to change grade levels and taught Kindergarten for the very first time ever. Lately, I feel guilty to go to her because I know she has so many hats stacked on her head that I vision the little man in "Caps for Sale" trying to balance them all. If she experiences burn-out and we lose her, teachers for those students she has been teaching have no better competence to meet RTI because she has been taking care of that for them rather than coaching them in skills.
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