Inside(r) Coaching 4 Educators: Recent Episodes
Laura and Nichole
Welcome to Insider Coaching for Educators, where we explore the insider knowledge coaches gain from doing the work with diverse groups of teachers and educational leaders. Join us in mindfulness practice and conversation to delve into those pieces of insider knowledge that we’ve all learned along the way. Whether you’ve been coaching for one month or for 20 years, we’re so glad you’re here, and we’re thrilled to be learning with and from you!
In this episode Laura and Nichole gather to discuss their takeaways from the conversation Laura had with Dr. Bruce King. They talk about the important role of a coach in making connections between seemingly unconnected initiatives and helping to see what can be taken off the plates of teachers. The conversation ends with a great idea for how you can take action to engage in sense making for yourself and your coachees.
In this episode Laura talks with her colleague and friend, Dr. Bruce King. They have a rich conversation that focuses on the ways coaches support teachers, protocols support deep conversation, and coaching supports school wide instructional change.
In this episode Nichole and Laura share their takeaways from the interview with Matt Hayden. In their discussion, they touch on the importance of coaching as a practice, engaging in transformational coaching, and the power of knowing and not knowing.
In this episode, Nichole talks with Matt Hayden, Monona Grove School District Math Instructional Coach, about how Buddhism influences his coaching, his approach to making space for transformational change, and the difficult work involved in coaching.
In this episode, Laura and Nichole discuss their takeaways from the rich and wonderful conversation Laura had with Drs. Katz Berger and Razer. They delve into the importance of the felt experience and share ways they use their own embodied knowledge in their coaching work. They also discuss how to know it's time to set aside a specific manner of coaching or specific protocol in order to serve the coachees. We hope you will enjoy listening to the conversation as much as we enjoyed having it!
In this episode, Laura talks with Dr. Hila Katz Berger and Dr. Michal Razer about their coaching work in Israel. They discuss the use of the Authentic Intellectual Work framework with teachers, the importance of tending to the emotional state of teachers as well as the intellectual work, and the challenges of using a protocol with fidelity and flexibility.
In this conversation, Nichole and Laura dig into the roles of the coach as broker, bridge builder, and educational leader. They share their own experiences walking the line between coaching and evaluating and, as always, continue to dig into the difficult work of being a coach.
In this episode, Laura talks with Dr. Tim Dohrer about how coach training has influenced his work as a department chair, a principal and, currently, as the Director of Teacher Leadership at Northwestern University. Their conversation explores a range of topics focused around how coaches and coach training can make principals even better. A few highlights:
-The reciprocal - but sticky - relationship between coaching and evaluation.
-Tim’s recent opportunity to serve as an external coach for a local school for the first time, after 25 years of incorporating coaching strategies into his leadership practice.
-The opportunities and challenges associated with being an external v. school-based coach.
In this episode we interview Heather Lott, Chair of The Dane County New Teacher Project, about the important work she does supporting coaches and mentors. The conversation is filled with the wisdom Heather has gained from listening to the needs of coaches and mentors and provides suggestions for how you too can create a supportive community with other coaches.
In this episode, we discuss why it’s imperative that coaches avoid positioning themselves as “fixers” and why it’s often so hard to avoid that mindset.
In this episode, we interview Fiona Robertson, an instructional coach currently based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, whose blog post we referenced in Episode 7. Fiona reveals how her thinking about loneliness has evolved, and she explains the larger, organizational influences that contribute to teachers and coaches feeling valued and empowered.
In this episode, Laura and Nichole discuss why it’s so important to acknowledge and address feelings of loneliness in our coaching: Loneliness can impact our physical health and the way we show up in our coaching role. Nichole and Laura also explore strategies they and other coaches have used to help them to counteract these feelings of loneliness or disconnection.
In this episode, Nichole and Laura explore why starting a new coaching role can often feel more lonely than we anticipate.
In episode 5, Nichole and Laura explore the importance of being open and authentic in our coaching relationships. They reveal the pieces of their own “selves” that they rarely brought into their earlier coaching interactions and share why they now make a point of showing up as their whole “selves."
Note: We recorded this in multiple settings with multiple types of equipment and therefore there might be some variations in sound quality. We are still learning what works best and how we can provide the best content and sound to you all.
In this episode, Laura and Nichole share some very uncomfortable situations that they’ve found themselves in and how navigating these difficult situations ultimately enabled them to clarify their core coaching beliefs and values.
In this episode, Nichole and Laura continue their discussion about why it’s so important for a coach to identify their core beliefs and values. Doing this allows us to shape our coaching roles, prioritize people over programs, and trust our gut instinct.
In this episode, Laura and Nichole explore the core beliefs and values that guide their coaching work and how they came to recognize that coaches need to attend to “heart work”, to the role of vulnerability, and to the kinds of changes that impact organizational systems and cultures.
In this episode, Nichole and Laura introduce themselves, discuss how their own coaching journeys began, and explore why being familiar with a variety of coaching models and strategies is essential for instructional coaches.