C3 Connecting, Coaches, Cognition

Hosts Courtney Groskin and Sandy Heiser reflect on C3's first season, discussing favorite guests, key takeaways about coaching practice, reconnecting with current educational research, and integrating AI into professional learning. They share plans for upcoming cohorts, tips for new administrators, and invite listeners to suggest books and follow the podcast for a new season starting in September.

In this episode, Courtney Groskin and Sandy Heiser sit down with Joellen Killion to explore job-embedded coaching, the 10 roles coaches play, and how to align coaching to school and district priorities. Joellen discusses how transformational coaching shifts mindsets as well as practices, the non-negotiables for sustainable coaching programs, and the importance of equity, clear purpose, and evaluat...

Guest: Mary Webb, veteran educator and instructional coach with 27 years of experience Episode Summary: In this episode, Mary Webb shares her journey from classroom teaching to instructional coaching and explores how artificial intelligence can support — not replace — the human side of coaching. She discusses AI as a navigation tool that aids in goal setting, pattern recognition, and teacher refle...

🎧 Episode Show Notes: Trust Based Observations with Craig Randall In this episode of C3: Connecting Coaches & Cognition, Courtney Groskin and Sandy Heiser sit down with Craig Randall, author of Trust-Based Observations, to explore how reimagining classroom observations through the lens of trust can transform school culture, teacher growth, and instructional practice. Craig shares his unique p...

🎙️ C3: Connecting Coaches & Cognition Episode Title: Elevating Coaching & Instruction with AI Host: Courtney Groskin Co-Host: Sandy Heiser Guest: Tori Fitka, Community Coach of the Year (2025), SchoolAI Episode Overview In this episode of C3: Connecting Coaches & Cognition, Courtney Groskin and Sandy Heiser kick off the new year with an engaging conversation about AI, coaching, and ins...

In this episode of C3, hosts Courtney Groskin and Sandy Heiser welcome Joy De Los Santos, a special education coach with over 20 years of experience who now co-leads an instructional coaching team supporting nine districts. Joy discusses her journey into coaching, practical strategies for overwhelmed teachers—including prioritizing high-impact supports and using visuals like visual schedules—and t...

In this episode Courtney and Sandy welcome Connie Hamilton, author and consultant, to discuss the power of well-crafted coaching questions. Connie explains how to create a cognitive journey for teachers, balance coaching and consulting roles, normalize imperfection, and use targeted follow-up questions to deepen reflection and instructional growth. Listeners get practical strategies: focus deeply...

Episode Description: In this episode of C3: Connecting Coaches & Cognition, Courtney Groskin sits down with Justin Baeder, founder of The Principal Center and author, to explore the art and science of instructional leadership and feedback. Justin draws on his experiences as a teacher and principal to share practical strategies for giving feedback that actually changes teacher practice and impr...

In this episode of the C3 Podcast, we welcome Heather, an educator, administrator, author, and superintendent whose work has reshaped how we think about student engagement. Heather shares her journey from aspiring writer to classroom teacher, staff developer, administrator, and now published author—bringing both practical wisdom and fresh metaphors to the conversation. Heather’s book, Engagement i...

Episode Notes: -Teacher, H.S. Administrator, worked for the State Department in Kentucky, and a middle and high school expert, and worked nationally with schools on instructional improvement and instructional leadership. -Coaching Redefined Book- instructional leaders can have a guide book of how to set it up effectively and all of the components that go into it: growing yourself to growing your s...

Episode Notes: -Education is what Christian’s journey revolves around. “I am most passionate about education. I want to imagine a time when everyone has access to excellent education.” That is what motivates him. He has reflected on how access to excellent education has impacted him, given him more opportunities, and his journey.  -Discovering coaching was a transformational moment for me. Coachin...

Episode Notes: -Served in a wealth of roles within education from teaching, coaching, to administration. -Contract work for curriculum companie and Senior Consultant for Learning Forward -Mentoring Program through Learning Forward- a learning cycle with three parts. 1. Diagnose 2. Coaching Support 3. Monitoring Progress and Reflect -The mentors only goal is to help the mentee grow professionally....

Episode Notes:   -High Tech High- PBL Based Leader -International Educator to move from teacher focused to student focused learning. -Moving from  sage on the stage to the guide on the side. Where do you start? Look at the physical environment first. Eliminating the ‘front’ of the classroom and teacher desk, which changes the dynamics in the room. It makes any space in the room a learning space. ...

Episode Notes: -Thomas has had a wealth of experience teaching middle school and high school. Then he went to graduate school at the University of Chicago. He worked with Benjamin Bloom. He has had the amazing opportunity to learn from such remarkable minds as this.  -We have to give credit to those brilliant people who came before us. Tom worked with Chicago Public School as a Curriculum Evaluato...

Jim Knight is a founding senior partner of the Instructional Coaching Group (ICG) and a research associate at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning. He has spent more than two decades studying professional learning, effective teaching, and instructional coaching. Knight has written several books and his articles on instructional coaching have been included in publications such a...

Carol Ann Tomlinson is William Clay Parrish, Jr. Professor Emeritus at the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education and Human Development. Prior to joining the faculty at UVa, she was a public school teacher for 21 years. During that time, she taught students in high school, preschool, and middle school, and administered district programs for struggling and advanced learners. She was Vir...

Coaching is intentionally building skills, showing and modeling best practices, and intentionally training people to be better.    -His work has been in some of the most difficult zip codes to work in. They see coaching in more of a model practice. They define clear directions.   -Sky Rocket Your Teacher Coaching ( Skyrocket Education and Rebel Culture )   -Intentionally building the relationship,...

There is nothing more powerful that we can do, than knowing our own selves. When we know ourselves, we know how our past affects our present, and forms our vision for the future, and we are so much more empowered!   -Lonely and isolated, she entered into the profession feeling unsure of what she was doing. Belonging and acceptance was the core, as well as building community. That commitment contin...

  -Coaching is seeing a person who is carrying the weight of life,  and finding their way. This model is so respectful. It is about people making progress and positive changes.   -Every industry needs coaching.    -An expert is the person who experimented and failed the most. Seeing people as the experts in their lives.   -Dialogic Orientation Quadrant ( DOQ) - organizes the content you are listen...

-Art and Bob have worked together for over 40 years at California State University at Sacramento. Cognitive Coaching was born through this relationship. ‘We have these things in common, let's talk further.’ -A coach is used in many different ways, typically in an athletic realm. There is a distinction between these types of coaches and cognitive coaches. A coach is a person who, alongside the pers...

  -Connections Over Compliance- Our nervous systems are social systems. The educational system consists of us being with other people all the time. COVID created a huge social loss. It is even more relevant in this time.  -Attachment builds the brain. “We work for people we like; we respect people who respect us.”-  Rita Pearson -Touchpoints where you resonated with each other, student and teacher...

Tricia McKale Show Notes: -Preparedness meets lucky opportunities - Middle school teacher turned Instructional Collaborator via Jim Knight.  -Working with adults with a lot of trial and a lot of error. Found that the behavior management system was getting in the way of us doing instructional coaching. Behavior is where my life is at and I was a Tier 3 student in school. -C.H.A.M.P.S. - Conversatio...

Sherry St. Clair is the founder of Reflective Learning LLC, an educational consulting agency based in Kentucky. Her organization works with schools around the world, creating specialized training and coaching services for school administrators and educators. She holds a master’s degree in Instructional Leadership and a Rank 1 in Instructional Supervision. Sherry has served as a Senior Consultant f...

-Leading Impact Teams: Building a Culture of Efficacy and Agency  -New book - we wanted to share more of the explicit ‘how', as well as making sure equity is up front and present in this edition. It is infused with culturally responsive sustaining education practices that are asset based, where we look at assessments through the theme of culture. We all have different cultures and are coming toget...

-Building thinking classrooms- around the notion that students spend time in classrooms not thinking. Many structures are not designed for thinking, and instead for conformity and compliance. 15 years of research before the book, and the research continues. -One of the least conducive places to have students do thinking is at their seat writing in their notebook, but one of the most conducive spac...