{solsc} 16/31 #sol17 Teaching Better

My Instructional Coach and I sat together and reflected for the last time today. It was a meeting we had been putting off because we didn't really want this coaching cycle to end. 

The cycle started so naturally. She came in at the beginning of the year just to observe, to see high school kids in action. But she loved my College Prep Lit class and the discussions we had about books. She read and discussed right along with us. I loved that about her. Even the kids would ask when we were discussing if she was coming in to join us. It was so positive to have her in my room.

And then one day, she told me about a class she had visited that used thinking prompts to guide discussion. It sounded like something right up my alley. 

"Want to try a coaching cycle with me?"

I thought, "Why not?"

And so a partnership was born.

I know some thought I was crazy to do this in my last year. Why not slide by? Why did I need to work with a coach? What could I possibly learn? 

I did it anyway and loved every minute of ir.

Let me tell you about working with a coach.

It's reflecting on what you already do and upping your game. It's thinking about what you already do and making it work better for kids. These discussions in class made me look at the  standards and how they connected to the books and literature I am using. I paid more attention to the interactions of certain students and their groups. I would not have noticed that before. I shared the standard with students and we talked about what they needed to do---and their discussions got better.  I love the dynamic of this class because of the work I have done with my coach. 

Working with a coach is not teaching harder, it's teaching better.