Introducing a New Guide for Our Virtual Instructional Coaches

male teacher and students with arms raised | guide for virtual instructional coaches

In an effort to continuously improve our professional support program for New Teachers (NTs), we embarked on a new project with our partner, TNTP, this year. Together, we created an Instructional Coaching Guide for our Virtual Instructional Coaches (VICs). 

Over the past few years, VICs told us they questioned the support they were providing to NTs. “Am I doing the right thing? Should I be doing something else? How can I frame my coaching to be successful?”

This guide will help take some weight off the VICs. It was designed to:

  • Decrease the amount of stress, external research, and scrambling that a coach might think they need to do

  • Help VICs build strong relationships with NTs faster 

  • Provide a pathway to successful coaching with ELP

  • Make sure NTs have a positive impact on student outcomes

  • Clarify what success looks like

Here’s what’s in the handbook

The handbook walks VICs through everything they need to be successful, starting with ELP’s vision for effective coaching. Next we cover their roles and responsibilities as a VIC and we introduce the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle from a coaching perspective.

At this point, VICs are clear on their role and how to use the PDSA cycle with their NTs. 

Now we get into the details, starting with three common coaching pathways VICs can use to deliver feedback to their NTs:

  • Video observations (the coach watches a video taken in the classroom)

  • Mock lessons (the coach observes the NT delivering an upcoming lesson)

  • Unit/lesson internalization (the coach reviews an upcoming lesson)

At this point, we introduce the ELP CORE Rubric, which is based on TNTP’s CORE Rubric. 

The CORE Rubric is key to teacher - and student - success

Our CORE Rubric explains our vision of excellent instruction that we want for all students in all classes and at all grade levels. It is designed to help teachers, coaches, and leaders identify key levers to improve student access to grade-appropriate assignments, strong instruction, and deep engagement through enhanced teacher practice

The rubric consists of four areas that are critical to student success:

  1. Culture of Learning: Are ALL students engaged in the work of the lesson from start to finish? It helps NTs understand if they have the right classroom environment to support learning.

  2. Essential Content: Are ALL students working with content aligned to the appropriate standards for their subject and grade? 

  3. Student Ownership: Are ALL students responsible for thinking in this classroom? Are they being challenged? 

  4. Demonstration of Learning: Do ALL students demonstrate that they are learning?

VICs start with Culture of Learning. If NTs check every box in this area, the VICs can move to Essential Content. 

However, if NTs need help creating a Culture of Learning, the VIC can introduce and use the PDSA cycle to help the NT create the right environment for learning. Perhaps one PDSA cycle will be enough, but perhaps the NT will need a second cycle. 

It is really all about what the NT needs and wants to focus on. Maybe the NT focuses on Culture of Learning and Essential Content in the first year. During the second year of coaching, the NT can move onto Student Ownership and Demonstration of Learning.

The VIC and NT will know when it’s time to move on based on the PDSA cycle outcome. 

We are really excited about the measurable impact the rubric and PDSA cycle will have on students outcomes in the upcoming years. After all is said and done, competent and confident teachers support student success. 

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