Seeing Through New Eyes

As I have delved further into the published literature about instructional coaches, I am learning that there are many types of coaches and sometimes the meaning of the word is lost (meaning, that it is used loosely for instruction that I don't believe is actually coaching). One interview I did last week, with a coach aligned directly with what I believe a coach should be: a support, a guide, a co-planner, a questioner, a data organizer, an analyst, full of feedback but asking more questions than giving answers, a relationship builder, and approaching the entire process with a inquiring mind. I have more to read and more interviews to do, but am in the process of revising an interview protocol. I am very curious to see what approach is taken in the problem-based learning literature in terms of coaches. If anyone has suggestions of where I could find PBL lit about instructional coaches I would love to hear about it.

The last few weeks I have been learning about instructional coaches. For anyone who doesn't know, an instructional coach isn't all that different than a sports coach. It is someone who assists another person, pushing them to make their strengths even stronger, nudging them on their weaknesses so those become strengths. An instructional coach is there to work with someone (like a teacher) so they become better at what they do, are more effective in their work, and grow in their profession. I do find it amazing that the stigma that a teacher would need a coach points to them as being weak and not good at what they do. How is it that in sports many even have private coaches to make them better, while in education and teaching that appears to be somewhat frowned upon? My conversations with instructional coaches have been amazing and I am looking forward to learning more about them, through them and the word written about them. Hopefully, more to come.