Coaching the Whole Educator

Send us Fan Mail Have you gotten your copy of the  RESISTANCE PLAYBOOK yet?  Get it for only $7 HERE . In this episode, Becca is joined by her friend and colleague Mia Pumo for an unscripted, honest debate about norms and whether they actually work. Rather than offering a tidy answer, this conversation lives in the gray. Becca and Mia explore why norms are so commonly used in schools, why they oft...

Send us Fan Mail [FREE] Find Your Resistance Type Quiz : Find out the type of resistance you are navigating  (previously called The Resistance Audit) What if resistance isn’t defiance… but doubt? In Part 3 of The Resistance Chronicles , Becca Silver unpacks the Success Mindset and the powerful role of self-efficacy. When educators aren’t sure they can succeed, resistance shows up , not as rebellio...

Send us Fan Mail Be sure to grab your copy of the  RESISTANCE PLAYBOOK is now available!  It's  only $7 HERE . In this episode of Coaching the Whole Educator , Becca Silver sits down with Kurtis Hewson, co founder of Jigsaw Learning, to break down what truly drives authentic collaboration in schools. Kurtis explains why many teams think they are “collaborating” when they are actually stuck in...

Send us Fan Mail Resistance Chronicles, Part 2: Belonging Mindset™  In this episode, I explore belonging as one of the most overlooked drivers of resistance in schools. Resistance does not always show up as pushback. It often appears as silence, surface-level agreement, avoidance, or polite compliance. These behaviors frequently signal uncertainty about relational safety. When educators are not su...

Send us Fan Mail The RESISTANCE PLAYBOOK is now available!   Grab it for only $7 HERE . In this episode of Coaching the Whole Educator , Becca Silver talks with instructional leader and writer Lauren Kaufman about how authentic questioning and a true coaching mindset drive meaningful growth for educators. With twenty years of experience across teaching, coaching, and district leadership, Lauren ex...

Send us Fan Mail In this first episode of The Resistance Chronicles , Becca Silver challenges one of the most common leadership mistakes we make: treating resistance as a compliance problem instead of a diagnostic opportunity. She reframes resistance as a signal, not defiance, but an unmet need. Becca introduces five core Catalyst Mindsets that often sit underneath resistance: value, ownership, be...

Send us Fan Mail The RESISTANCE PLAYBOOK was just released!  Grab it for only $7 HERE . In this episode of Coaching the Whole Educator, Becca sits down with Lindsay Deacon, veteran instructional coach and author of The EduCoach Survival Guide . Lindsay brings more than a decade of experience supporting teachers, coaches, and leaders across districts, and she joins the show to unpack one of the mos...

Send us Fan Mail The RESISTANCE PLAYBOOK was just released!  Grab it for only $7 HERE . Here’s a leadership question that sounds simple…but isn’t: How consistent is consistent enough?  And when does it start getting in the way? Chris and I dig into one of leadership’s quieter paradoxes: the pull to be steady and responsive at the same time. We talk about why consistency matters: trust, clarity, ac...

Send us Fan Mail In this powerful episode of Coaching the Whole Educator , Becca Silver sits down with Dr. Naomi Hall, former educator, burnout expert, and co-founder of the Thrive Conference, to unpack why burnout is skyrocketing in schools and what leaders can actually do to support overwhelmed teachers. Dr. Hall brings nearly two decades of experience as a teacher and administrator, along with...

Send us Fan Mail 🚨Don’t forget to register for the VATLL Power of Coaching Conference, February 3–4, 2026! 🚨 Let’s start with a question we don’t ask often enough: What if resistance isn’t the problem? Chris and I push on a pretty common assumption in education; that resistance is something to manage, fix, or eliminate. I offer a reframe that’s shaped a lot of my own leadership: resistance is of...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Coaching the Whole Educator , Becca sits down again with veteran instructional coaching expert Steve Barkley to unpack one of the most overlooked but powerful parts of the coaching cycle: the pre-conference. Together, they break down why pre-conferences are essential for effective instructional coaching, teacher growth, and human-centered school leadership. Stev...

Send us Fan Mail 🚨Don’t forget to register for the VATLL Power of Coaching Conference, February 3–4, 2026! 🚨 Here’s a question I keep bumping into as a leader and a coach: When does empathy help, and when does it quietly stall us out? In the first episode of our three-part series on coaching and leadership, Chris and I dig into one of leadership’s most uncomfortable tensions. I’ll say it plainly...

Send us Fan Mail This episode dives straight into the conversation every educator and leader needs right now: How AI is reshaping coaching, leadership, and the way we build an Innovator’s Mindset in schools. Becca sits down with George Couros, world-recognized educator and author of The Innovator’s Mindset , to unpack how AI can support real human-centered leadership instead of replacing it. Toget...

Send us Fan Mail Looking for inspiration and real talk you can actually use as a school leader? This episode brings you a powerful conversation between Becca and the vibrant duo behind The Principal Exchange, Andra and Sarah. Together, they explore the real challenges principals face every day. The isolation. The constant demands. The search for support that truly understands the weight of school...

Send us Fan Mail What if the resistance you’re seeing isn’t defiance—it’s a clue? In this episode, Dr. Donna Spangler shares the coaching breakthrough that changed everything: She stopped trying to convince teachers, and they started showing up with purpose, ownership, and even excitement. After going through The Resistance Remedy course, Donna realized she wasn’t dealing with a skill gap—she was...

Send us Fan Mail We’ve been taught that good listeners don’t interrupt—but what if the right kind of interrupting is exactly what great leaders do? Have you ever walked away from a conversation thinking, “That should’ve gone better”? You said the words.  They said the words.  But something still missed the mark. Here’s the truth: It’s not what you said. It’s what you didn’t hear. In this episode,...

Send us Fan Mail Rolling out a new curriculum?  Brace yourself—resistance, frustration, and missteps are inevitable… unless you do it right. Join Sean Lindsey and me as we break down what it really takes to get teachers, students, and families on board—without wasted effort or top-down mandates that fall flat. We’re talking about: The most common mistake leaders make when choosing a curriculum – T...

Send us Fan Mail The Ladder of Conscious Competence Four stages: Conscious/Unconscious Competence & Incompetence. This can explain why there’s a lack of knowledge transfer at your school Why having unconscious competence makes skills hard to teach. The Peter Principle in Education People are promoted beyond their skillset (shifting from teaching children to teaching adults). Success in one rol...

Send us Fan Mail Tune in for an engaging conversation with clinical psychologist Dr. Kate Lund as she joins host Becca Silver to explore perfectionism and resilience. This episode dives into how perfectionism can show up in the lives of coaches, leaders, and teachers, and why it often gets in the way of satisfaction and well-being. Dr. Lund explains the difference between perfectionism and healthy...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Becca sits down with Steve Barkley, a pioneer in instructional coaching whose influence has shaped how educators think about growth, feedback, and collaboration. Together, they unpack what it really takes to create lasting change in classrooms; not through evaluation, but through curiosity and conversation. Steve shares his journey from being observed every day as...

Send us Fan Mail What separates schools that grow from those that stall? One word: trust. In this episode, Becca unpacks research showing that strong trust can double a school’s chance of improving student learning. She breaks down the four types of trust:  integrity, intent, capabilities, and results and shares how leaders can pinpoint where trust is missing and rebuild it with purpose. Listen in...

Send us Fan Mail In this powerful episode, Becca sits down with Dr. Ann Ishimaru and Dr. Decoteau Irby, authors of Doing the Work of Equity Leadership for Justice and Systems Change , to unpack what it really means to lead for equity in today’s schools. Together, they trace the evolution of equity leadership through four distinct phases: morning (where new roles and policies first take root), midd...

Send us Fan Mail [Podcast Sponsor] Ever wonder how the smallest moments can spark the biggest shifts in learning and leadership?  In this episode of Research Rundown, Becca reveals the science behind a simple one hour intervention that slashed achievement gaps and boosted happiness for years, all by strengthening students’ sense of belonging. Discover how tiny, everyday moments can ripple out to c...

Send us Fan Mail How can schools and teams make data feel human and actually useful? In this episode, Becca talks with data culture expert Jessica Lane about approaches that move beyond dashboards and charts to create meaningful impact. Jessica shares practical ways to start small, focus on “tiny data,” and connect every action to real student outcomes. Through stories and actionable strategies, l...

Send us Fan Mail Discover how teacher agency really works. In this episode, Becca explores the research on teacher agency , showing it’s not simply a personal trait, but shaped by school leadership, collaboration, and trust. You’ll hear why true teacher ownership can’t be forced, and how creating the right conditions helps teachers grow, lead, and stay engaged. 📥 Download this FREE resource to he...