Welcome to week three of February! In today’s newsletter, we feature a guest post by education leader and author, Erik Youngman, titled Coach with a Growth Mindset. Erik shares tools for promoting a growth mindset and how to apply them. In our free resource section, we’ve included a tool for coaches to use at the end of their coaching cycles to get feedback from their partnering teachers. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our asynchronous course, Better Conversations. This course is truly a valuable resource for all professionals in that it helps provide insight into where convers ..read more

Welcome and happy 4th week of January! In this week’s newsletter, we take a look at what it takes to develop the skill of good questioning and share tools for planning and cultivating effective questions. Following up these free resources, Jim shares his thoughts on effective questioning in a 90-second video from our Radical Learners course, Instructional Coaching: The First 90 Days. Plan your PD through the spring! Check out our upcoming course offerings, including the next Introduction to Instructional Coaching virtual workshop, set to start March 6th, as well as the Intensive Instructiona ..read more

Happy third week of January! In this week’s newsletter, we take a look at the habits for effective listening & questioning and share a checklist for self-coaching. We also recognize how important it is for you to develop a sense of role clarity, and have included a video of Jim unpacking the core practices used by effective instructional coaches. Take a look at our upcoming course offerings inlcuding the next [Virtual] Introduction to Instructional Coaching workshop, set to start March 6, 2023, and several events including Jim’s upcoming institute in South-East Asia. Also, be sure to che ..read more

Happy December 15th! We’re halfway through the month and quickly approaching the end of 2022! If you haven’t already done this today, take a moment to recognize yourself for all that you bring to your teams, schools, districts, and most importantly, your students. You’re making a positive difference every day and we thank you for it! In this week’s newsletter, Elena Aguilar is on the Coaching Conversations Podcast sharing her ideas for coaching and cultivating emotional resilience in educators. We also share one of Jim’s posts and a tool for reflection from Better Conversations to help you a ..read more

Happy December! In this week’s newsletter we take closer look at balancing the needs of our schools and protecting time for coaches to partcipate in meaningful coaching interactions with an article by ICG Senior Consultant Sharon Thomas. We also include details about our upcoming 8-week virtual course, An Introduction to Instructional Coaching: Seven Factors for Success starting in 2023 and share Jim’s latest article from ASCD, The Beautiful Question. If you have a question, story, or comment about professional learning and coaching, we want to hear from you! Click the link at the end of the ..read more

Hello and welcome to the ICG newsletter! As we close in on the end of the year, we hope you are finding ways to connect with your colleagues and students.  In this week’s newsletter we take closer look at role clarity and defining instructional coaching evaluation with another article by ICG Senior Consultant Sharon Thomas and share a free resource for reflecting on the tasks and roles of an instructional coach. Be sure to check out the latest updates on our course offerings and content on the podcast. Podcast: Coaching Conversations Episode #6: Parker Palmer Jim Knight and Parker Pa ..read more

Hello and welcome to the ICG newsletter! In this fourth week of November, we hope you’re taking time to unwind, visit with loved ones, and making time for self care.  In this week’s newsletter we take closer look at evaluating instructional coaches with an article Sharon Thomas wrote last year and share a free resource for building good habits for listening and questioning. Be sure to check out the latest updates on our course offerings and content on the podcast. The ICG team wants to hear from you! If you have a question you’ve been exploring or a success story you wish to tell, click ..read more

Hello and welcome to the new Instructional Coaching Group blog! As our products, services, and team have grown over the past few years, it’s become apparent that we have lots of valuable coaching resources to share with you. In creating this weekly newsletter, we hope to share all of those key resources not just for instructional coaches, but administrators and teachers too, in one convenient location. Take a look around and let us know what you think in the comments below! Podcast: Coaching Conversations Episode 5: Dan Pink Follow along as Jim Knight and Dan Pink discuss an international ..read more

Our ability to separate our challenges from our identity in our coaching conversations is a crucial step in having more meaningful, life-giving conversations. Cultivating a familiarity with each of the 4 parts of identity might just be the step needed to engage more fully in conversations where the truth can be heard. In his most recent ASCD column, How Not to Hit Land Mines in Coaching Conversations,  Jim Knight discusses tips to raise awareness of the ingredients that make up our identity and how this awareness can move us closer to engaging in more productive, life-giving con ..read more

“Good questions open up conversations, generate respect, accelerate learning, and build relationships.” – Jim Knight BETTER CONVERSATIONS One key insight into the early research on instructional coaching by Jim Knight and colleagues at the Instructional Coaching Group was that asking better questions was a key component to more meaningful dialogue between the teacher and the coach. Questioning created interactions that were back-and-forth and not one directional as was the case when coaches were caught in the telling-mode of coaching. In Better Conversations, Jim highlights three s ..read more