contact us

Use the form on the right to contact us.

You can edit the text in this area, and change where the contact form on the right submits to, by entering edit mode using the modes on the bottom right.

177 Huntington Ave Ste 1703 PMB 74520
Boston, MA, 02115
United States

617-725-0000

ANet is a nonprofit dedicated to the premise that every child in America deserves an excellent education and the opportunities it provides. We pursue our vision of educational equality in America by helping schools boost student learning with great teaching that is grounded in standards, informed by data, and built on the successful practices of educators around the country.

Improving teacher practice through developmental coaching

With all the time, energy, and money devoted to teacher development these days, school leaders—and everybody concerned about education—want to be sure it’s actually paying off in the form of improved teaching and learning.

Improving teacher practice through developmental coaching

With all the time, energy, and money devoted to teacher development these days, school leaders—and everybody concerned about education—want to be sure it’s actually paying off in the form of improved teaching and learning.

One way to maximize impact is to align coaching support both to teachers’ developmental goals and to their school's instructional priorities. That way, teachers focus on a combination of individual and school-wide goals that work synergistically to  improve their teaching practice. Additionally, when leaders and coaches break goals down into bite-sized action steps, it's far more likely that teachers will attain them and be able to celebrate their progress along the way.

 
Core ideas for developing teachers
  • Teachers, like all professionals, develop most quickly when they receive frequent feedback and opportunities to practice.
  • We learn best when we can focus on one piece of feedback at a time. Giving less feedback, more often, maximizes development.
  • It takes committment to building relationships and a culture of feedback at your school to shift from compliance to development.
  • Consider what is needed for teachers to gain feedback openly: a trusted leader and the opportunity to learn from one-another.
-Adapted from Paul Bambrick-Santoyo, Leverage Leadership
 
 

We created this guide for school leaders and coaches to help deepen their understanding of how to support teachers as they work towards individual and school-wide goals through a developmental coaching cycle. Use this on your own or with your leadership team to practice and hone your skills around goal-setting, observation and feedback, and developmental support for your teachers.