How to Be a Successful Instructional Coach and Build a Partnership Approach

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Jul 18

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Alissa Crabtree from Crabtree Coaching Collaborative, is an instructional coach who helps teachers and instructional leaders reach their full potential and conquer their goals.

She specializes in helping coaches build relationships and provide feedback that sticks. Alissa focuses on building relationships and being a thought partner because teachers are the hero of the journey and coaches are sidekicks.

Partnership Approach with an Instructional Coach

Instructional coach picture with Crabtree Coaching Collaborative — Crabtree Coaching Collaborative

Coaches support tier-one instruction to help the teacher identify their goals and create a realistic, actionable plan that will not overwhelm them but help them succeed in their growth goals.

The instructional coach is the teacher's Richard Simmons. The annoying little workout partner that comes in like, "Hey, how you doing?" It really is just a partnership approach. When instructional coaches take that partnership approach, they can look from the outside and be that fly on the wall.

Teachers are making 500 decisions in one class period, they don't have time to notice all the things. That's where a coach comes in. A coach's job is to notice, and notice things that are helpful to the goal the teacher has stated.

In doing that the instructional coach can provide feedback and strategies, but not as the superior, sometimes instructional leaders can come across as, 'I know best,' 'I'm the decision maker.' That's where a lot of coaches get it wrong.

It is really important that instructional coaches remember to be the guides to teachers and their success. Instructional coaches are not the hero, we're the Yoda of the journey. We are not the hero of their story.

Having that opportunity to be on the outside and help teachers identify areas for growth is so important. But here's the kicker, and this is one thing that I always stress to instructional coaches is that it is a collaborative partnership approach where the teacher is giving you permission where to give them feedback.

Feedback that Sticks

Quote for instructional coach about being a partner with teachers — Trust is built with small deposits.

This is the meat and potatoes of coaching. It doesn't matter if you're using Jim Knight, Diane Sweeney, or Elena Aguilar, it does not matter what method you prescribe to, if you don't have that relationship with the teacher, it's going to fall flat on its face.

You have to build trust.

Trust can. be built in three C's: collaboration, competence, and communication. When you foster those three things, that's when the magic happens. But you have to get to know your people.

As a coach, when you put in those little deposits of relationships, they will trust you more and more.

Alissa shares all her secrets to building trust and gaining traction with teachers by laying the foundation for a strong partnership and being the coach every teacher wants to work with on Episode 14 of the Annotated ELA Podcast!