Being coached by someone can be a bit nerve wracking. Honestly, I can now say I get it because I am engaging in my own ongoing job embedded professional development by being coached this year on a regular basis by Nicole Patten, Instructional Coach for Heartland AEA. Each and every one of the above thoughts has run through my brain at some point in time this year. However, I strongly believe in having a collaborative partner who can push my thinking, guide me through planning and reflection, collect data while I’m facilitating learning and model different skills for me. An Instructional Coach is an invaluable resource that I’ve long been missing in my professional life.
Why do I, the Teacher Leader Coordinator for the District, use an Instructional Coach? I believe anyone can benefit from a partner who can walk beside them in their journey to grow professionally. As I am working to meet the needs of a variety of individuals across the District, just like every teacher does in their own classroom, my thinking sometimes gets muddy. I can get overwhelmed by all there is to do, and I benefit greatly from using Nicole as a coach to help me untangle all of the ideas floating around in my brain and keep me focused on my goals.
In addition to keeping me focused, she connects me to other individuals who are working on the same things I am, thereby creating new resources for me. When I need to share ideas or work through issues, I now have a group of people to support me. Building my professional toolbox was something I expected from working with a coach but building my professional connections is an added bonus!
Another area I’m continuing to refine is my delivery of professional development. Nicole is a great help to me not only during planning but also during the actual delivery. She observes me facilitating professional learning in order to collect data and provides me with constructive feedback. She’s also taken the risk herself and facilitated learning for our group of Instructional Coaches so that I can see things from a different perspective. She always follows up any observation with a reflecting conversation that leaves me with a feeling of renewed focus on my goal.
It’s a bit embarrassing to admit that even though I’ve been an Instructional Coach, I truly did not know how beneficial using one is until I took the plunge myself. Coaches are the critical friends that each of us needs in order to grow professionally. They are there to listen, encourage, plan and reflect, provide feedback, model and help educators connect with one another. Elena Aguilar explains it well in her blog post Why Coaches Need Coaches. If you haven’t yet worked with a coach, I truly encourage you to give it a try. It may feel awkward at first. Give it some time. Professionally, you deserve it and so do your students.
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