#coachbetter

Today I'm chatting with Jackie Frens, K-8 tech integration specialist in two private schools in Michigan. Jackie has a wide range of experience in both private and public schools in the US, as well as international schools. In this episode, we talked about many different elements of making coaching successful - especially when you're split between two different schools with many different competin...

Today we're chatting with Jocelyn Sutherland, Grade 1 classroom teacher at UWC Singapore. Jocelyn has taught almost every grade level and she's been a digital literacy coach, so she is able to see both the teacher and the coaches point of view as we discuss innovative ideas in teaching and learning. Our conversation got pretty deep as we explored the impact of stereotypes on younger learners, the...

Today we have a thoughtful and in-depth conversation about innovation in schools with Tim, Tricia, Diana, Maggie and Marcello from our YouTube series, Coaching Fundamentals. (Marcello sneaks in around the halfway mark so he didn't get a formal introduction, but you'll hear his voice in there!). Our conversation today focused on the Gartner Group's model of the Hype Cycle and how it relates to impl...

 In today's episode Clint and I are chatting with a very special guest, Steve Barkley. Clint and I have been learning from Steve for many years and it was an extra special treat to be able to have his time for a full hour today! Steve's own experience as an educator, combined with all of his published work and collaboration with public and private schools around the world provided a wealth of know...

In this week's episode Kim is chatting with David Lee, Elementary STEM Coach at Singapore American School. David's experience with design thinking, along with his personal connections to his own education provide great insights into the value and purpose of authentic and meaningful use of technology in the classroom. As a first-year, full time coach, David shares lots of great strategies for how t...

In today's episode we're chatting with Melissa Lim, Learning, Teaching and Technology Specialist in Portland Public Schools. Melissa shares her experiences being only 1 of 2 people who focus on technology in a school district of 90 schools and 50,000 students. Melissa shares her strategies for building teacher capacity when there is limited access to coaches and on-site professional learning. For...

In today's episode Kim  chats with Melanie Smith who oversees the K-12 Counseling program (as well as K-12 PBIS, SEL and Crisis teams) for a large school district in Washington State. Melanie's district-level perspective provides clear direction for how to create a successful coaching culture. She shares critical elements for coaching success, including the balance between skill set and relationsh...

In today's episode Kim chats with Carrie Zimmer, 4th grade teacher at GEMS Dubai American Academy. Carrie has a wide range of experience, including being an instructional coach in her previous school, so her thoughts in this conversation provide great insight into the needs of a classroom teacher - with the perspective of a very recent coach. Carrie shares her thoughts on the real value of a coach...

This episode is the first of a series we're doing called #coachstudies. Our team of experts from our YT series, Coaching Fundamentals, is back again, this time focusing on a deep discussion about specific coaching case studies (we're calling them #coachstudies). We are super excited about this episode because this is a sneak preview to a new project we're working on here at Eduro Learning and we k...

In today's episode Clint and Kim discuss a question from our #coachbetter facebook group: "How do you get teacher / admin buy in for coaching? How do you get teachers to carve out time for a coaching role?" They start by focusing in on school leaders, to help build their understanding of the value of coaching, particularly in comparison to a more traditional facilitation role. As they transition i...

In today's episode we are chatting with  Hillary Marshall, teacher-librarian at Washougal High School in Oregon. Hillary has a great perspective having been a teacher in the US, then spending twelve years teaching in international schools around the world, and returning to the US 6 years ago. A passionate advocate for the students and the library, Hillary shares some key strategies for ensuring th...

Today we're chatting with Jordan Benedict, Teacher and Data Coach at Shanghai American School in China. As a Data Coach, Jordan works with teachers and school leaders to collect and analyze data to inform instruction. His role is relatively new to the school and they are consistently finding new ways to make better use of the data that most schools collect - but have yet to analyze. We dive deep i...

In today's episode we're chatting with Cindy Tisdall-McPhee, Head of Counseling at UWC Singapore. This was a powerful conversation, highlighting the importance of self-care in a coaching role. Cindy reminds us that taking care of ourselves, allows us, as coaches, to be better engaged and present at work, and when you're present, it's easier for staff to approach you. There are so many specific and...

In this episode Kim chats with Lisa Fung-Kee-Fung, 6th grade science teacher, Shanghai American School, Pudong Campus. Lisa's concrete examples of working with the coaching team at SAS provide clear and practical insight into what makes coaching so powerful for teacher professional growth. As Lisa points out, by building solid relationships, coaches give teachers the confidence to be vulnerable. F...

In this episode we chat with  Tara Ethridge, Elementary School librarian at International School Prague. Tara has taught everything from Kindergarten to Grade 9 English and everything in between! She made the transition to librarianship about six years ago when we worked together at International School Bangkok. Tara's superpower is meeting teachers where they're at, and her endless patience and i...

In this episode Kim is chatting with Beth Dressler, Deputy Head of Elementary and PYP Coordinator at NIST International School in Bangkok, Thailand. As a school leader, Beth works very closely with the coaching team at NIST. Her deep understanding of the coaching role in inquiry-driven schools provides such great insight into the power of coaches as "learning partners" for their teaching and leade...

Today we have a great conversation about summer learning for coaches, teachers and school leaders with Tim, Tricia, and Ben from our YouTube series, Coaching Fundamentals. We talk about all sorts of opportunities for professional growth from formal book clubs to the power of documenting and sharing professional learning, and the importance of "coaching up" when working with school leaders. We talk...

In today's episode Clint and I talk about trends in instructional coaching, particularly in international schools in Asia. In this spotlight we're talking about what it means to be a coach, and many of the key elements of being a coach today, that perhaps were not a significant part of the role several years ago. Our conversation today was inspired by questions from our #coachbetter facebook group...

In this episode of #coachbetter we're chatting with Ben Summerton, ES Tech & Innovation Coordinator at Singapore American School. Ben talks about the outstanding school infrastructure at SAS that enables his amazing coaching team to innovate and closely support teacher and student learning. Full Show Notes https://elpn.edurolearning.com/coachbetter/episode-40/

In this episode of #coachbetter Kim chats with Niki Dinsdale, University Advisor at UWC, SEA. During their conversation Niki described coaching as an "intellectual spa" (which is now Kim's new favorite metaphor for coaching!)Niki believes that coaching is a critical opportunity to stop and deeply reflect on our own professional "habits" that have been built over time. Niki thinks coaching can almo...

In this episode of #coachbetter spotlight we're chatting with Jen Clark, Library Media Specialist and Tech Coach at Canadian Academy in Kobe, Japan. Jen is in the unique perspective of being both a coach and a librarian at the same time, so we had a great opportunity to take a deeper look at how these two positions can truly overlap in a school setting. Full Show Notes https://elpn.edurolearning.c...

In this episode, we're chatting with John D'Arcy, Deputy Director of Western Academy of Beijing in China. John's extensive experience in innovative school environments around the word provides a clear vision of how we can create an inclusive and empowered community of learners through a leadership structure focused on empathy and understanding of the individual humans that make up our schools. Joh...

In this episode of #coachbetter spotlight we're talking about the importance of coaches taking time to visit classrooms while students are learning - especially in content-heavy subject areas like science. Our guest, Merilyn Winslade, IB Diploma Chemistry and Middle School science teacher at NIST International School in Thailand, shares how valuable it would be for her, particularly in higher leve...

In this episode we're talking to Katy Vance, Librarian at Yokohama International School In Japan. Katy talks about how coaches make her a more awesome version of herself! Katy combines a wealth of experience as classroom teacher and a librarian in schools around the world to identify her keys to building a culture of coaching: from prioritizing community and connections, to valuing risk taking and...

In this episode Clint and Kim are chatting about a question we received in our #coachbetter FB group: Can anyone be coached? They talk about all sorts of critical elements, like school culture, teacher mindset, and the perception of what coaching is (and what it isn't) in this conversation. They also talk about lots of different ways that coaches can start to have deeper professional conversations...