Cory Camp, the director of professional development for Sibme, joins Steve in exploring how instructional coaches can use goal setting to guide teachers’ continuous improvement. They explore how evidence and data gathered by the coach can support the teacher’s reflection and persistence. Cory describes a focus on progress rather than perfection.Contact Cory: https://sibme.com/about-us

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How does being forward focused differ from future focused? What is the difference in plans for improvement and plans for change? When should we be exploring, "How do we get a little better than last year?"  When should we be asking, "Where do we need to go and how can we get there?" Maria Hoover, Director of Educational Services for the Capital Area Intermediate Unit in PA shares insights from exploring these questions with 24 diverse school districts.Find Maria on LinkedIn.  Email Maria: [email protected]

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Studies identify that interventions that influence students’ beliefs about the relevance of school to themselves, their lives, and their society, can impact student academic tenacity and increase student success. Without a future focus, students act according to short-term rewards and costs. A future focus that builds academic tenacity prepares students to set more challenging goals and persevere through challenges and setbacks."Academic Tenacity: Mindsets and Skills that Promote Long-Term Learning""The Most Powerful Mindfulness Is Future-Focused: Use mental time travel to navigate your destiny."

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How would you describe a great leader? How would you describe a not so great leader? Heather Lyon, an author, central office administrator, and graduate instructor for pre-service administrators, explores these questions. The conversation extends to explore, “how similar are the characteristics of a quality teacher leader in the classroom to a quality educational leader in a school or across a district?”Find Heather’s article here.

Find Heather on Twitter: @LyonsLetters

E-mail Heather: [email protected]

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One of the elements of a Positive Psychology framework to coaching is the use of a strengths- based approach. Explore the value of coaching from strengths, spotting strengths, and times that our strengths can limit our success. Consider the strengths that you have that guide your coaching skills in building from strengths. How do you practice prowling for strengths?"Want to Bring Out The Best in People? Start With Strengths""Positive Psychology in Coaching and Professional Practices""S is for The Strengths Coaching Approach" (Questions to Identify Strengths)

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Sparks are skills, talents, or interests that one finds deeply motivating. Students who get joy and energy from using their sparks and learn valuable life skills from their sparks are more likely to do well in school, be more engaged, and be more hopeful about the future. Identify a process that you can use to engage your students in sharing and building upon their sparks.Read the article, "Finding the Student Spark: Missed Opportunities in School Engagement" here.Read the article, "Anchor Activity: Identifying Sparks" here.Watch Peter Benson’s Ted Talk here.

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When leaders leave workshops and return to the “real” world, they often are overwhelmed by tasks, making it difficult to convert what was learned in a program into actions that address real problems. In workshops, coaches may practice the verbal skills of coaching: questioning, paraphrasing, providing empathy, feedback and support for differing views. But when the pressure is felt in that reluctant teacher conversation, the freeze often sets in.

Debriefing conversations with a coach around what one could have said builds the likelihood that next time, I will. Or, prepping for the conversation with a coach ahead of time builds a confidence that allows for better listening and increases the odds of connecting with the teacher. Explore leadership coaching possibilities.Read "Vertical Leadership Development:Developing Leaders for a Complex World" here.

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Some teacher leaders and administrators have job descriptions that include what I would call elements of coaching and elements of supervision. In an effort to be efficient, these leaders sometimes approach the two roles in a single observation and conferencing session. Confusion can arise when the roles mix. Supervisors can be coaches if the teachers believe they can separate the roles. As you listen to this podcast, consider if some of the forms, processes, or practices in your system can be confusing.View the Evaluation-Peer Coaching Continuum here. 

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Many teachers get frustrated with students’ questions such as, "Does this count in my grade?” or "What can I do for extra credit?" Middle school math teacher, Crystal Frommert, shares strategies that teachers can implement to encourage students to focus on learning rather than “getting a grade.” Crystal’s goal: making grades more accurate, collaborative, and much less stressful.Find Crystal's article, "Five Ways to Help Students Focus on Learning Rather Than Grades" here.Find Crystal on Twitter: @mrs_frommert

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The implementation of new curriculums and/or instructional strategies should create an opportunity for increased team building across a school system. Fidelity is important and unlikely to be built through supervision. Reminding teachers of fidelity in statements rather than in discussions and telling them to “trust the program” may not have the desired impact. Engaging teachers in a partnership with school leaders to learn from the implementation of a new program with integrity should be our goal.Read the Iris Center article, "Understanding Fidelity of Implementation and Its Importance" here. Read Jim Knight's article, "High-Quality Teaching High Fidelity Teaching" here.