“My job is not to coach them to win.

That’s an outcome.

My job is to coach them to work effectively as a team.”

Build the Team, Not Just the Individual

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Athletic coaching requires decision-making before, during, and after games.

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Where do instructional coaches face a similar tension?

Your Turn, Coach

I can explain how instructional coaching can move from a designated role to a shared way of working.

I can identify key practices professional athletic coaches use to develop both individuals and teams.

• I can apply a reciprocal peer observation protocol in ways that support learning rather than evaluation.
• I can identify a starting point to build a coaching culture in my school community.

Today’s Success Criteria

Pass the Whistle

Variance is the spread between highest- and lowest-achieving students within a school.

• The variance in U.S. schools is 80%, one of the highest variance rates in the world.

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• The National Center for Education and the Economy attributes this wide variation within schools partially to how schools are structured, with little opportunity for teachers to spend time in each other’s classrooms, working together in teams to solve problems, and with limited chances for new teachers to learn from experts in their own schools.  

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The National Center on Education and the Economy. (2024). NCEE Blueprint: Designing Systems

That Work. Washington, DC.

Schools that learn reduce the variance by building a collective culture.

High-functioning teams

share the same goal.

Collective responsibility is linked to student achievement.

• Jang & Alexander, 2022
• Vaidya & Battey, 2022
• Park, Lee, & Cooc, 2019
• Morales-Chicas & Aggers, 2017
• Wu, Hoy, & Tarter, 2013
• Lee & Smith, 1996

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Collective Responsibility is…

A shared commitment to each student’s success (not just the ones on your roster).

Therefore, students benefit from the wisdom of all the teachers in the school. (Hirsch, 2010)

“Students attending schools in which classroom observation is undertaken by fellow teachers with greater frequency tend to achieve greater progress in attainment relative to peers” (p. 506)

“A Focus on Quality of Teaching in Schools Increases Students’ Progress of Attainment” (Bernhard et al., 2024)

“A Focus on Quality of Teaching in Schools Increases Students’ Progress of Attainment” (Bernhard et al., 2024)

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Why are teachers reluctant?

Ribosa, J., Corcelles, S. M., Morodo, A., & Duran, D. (2024). Reducing teachers’

resistance to reciprocal peer observation. European Journal of Education, 59(2), 1–21.

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Experience: 41% report having never been an observer or an observee in RPO

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• “I can feel that my professionalism is questioned or judged by a colleague.”
• “During the observation, my lesson may not work as I expect or plan.”
• “The presence of an observer in the classroom can distract me and/or
• my students.”

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How to Increase Success of Reciprocal Peer Observations

1. Teach the process
2. Keep it voluntary
3. Foster cross-grade and cross-subject partnerships
4. Create times for RPO to take place

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Ribosa, J., Corcelles, S. M., Morodo, A., & Duran, D. (2024). Reducing teachers’ resistance to reciprocal peer observation. European Journal of Education, 59(2), 1–21.

• Observe to learn, not evaluate
• Establish a shared focus for teaching and learning
• Notice student actions, teacher moves, interactions, and learning tools
• Record descriptive evidence without judgment
• Reflect on patterns, surprises, connections, and possible extensions
• Debrief reciprocally through strengths, reflective questions, and suggestions
• Identify follow-up actions for continued learning

Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2024). Your Introduction to PLC+. Corwin.

Reciprocal Peer Observation Protocol

I can explain how instructional coaching can move from a designated role to a shared way of working.

I can identify key practices professional athletic coaches use to develop both individuals and teams.

I can apply a reciprocal peer observation protocol in ways that support learning rather than evaluation.

• I can identify a starting point to build a coaching culture in my school community.

Today’s Success Criteria

3 Entry Points to Build a Coaching Culture

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Trustworthiness

Trustworthiness is your currency as a coach and a leader.

Distrust is sand in the organization’s gears.

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Take photos of great practices you see and feature them in professional learning events and staff meetings.

Build dispositions of trust through Claim It and Name it.

Link Evidence to Shared Purpose

Our purpose is not to “raise test scores.”

That’s an outcome.

Notice�“During the partner discussion, nearly every student referred to the text at least once. I also noticed that students used the sentence stems to build on one another’s ideas.”

Name�“You created a structure that supported both participation and evidence-based discussion. The combination of partner talk and sentence stems helped students do the intellectual work.”

Nudge�“What might happen if students had an opportunity to generate their own follow-up questions before moving into whole-group discussion?”

Model the Practice of Notice, Name, and Nudge.

Partner with Others to Protect Time for Reciprocity

A Starting Point for Reciprocity

PLC+ Teams or Grade-Level Teams Conduct Ghost Walks During Meetings

Where is your school on the continuum?

01

Isolation

“My classroom is my responsibility.”

02

Compliance

“I’ll do what is required of me.”

03

Cooperation

“We can help each other.”

04

Collaboration

“We improve learning together.”

05

Collective

“Every student’s learning is ours.”

PRIVATE PRACTICE

COLLECTIVE OWNERSHIP

Talk with a neighbor · What would move you one spot to the right?

Your Turn, Coach

I can explain how instructional coaching can move from a designated role to a shared way of working.

I can identify key practices professional athletic coaches use to develop both individuals and teams.

I can apply a reciprocal peer observation protocol in ways that support learning rather than evaluation.

I can identify a starting point to build a coaching culture in my school community.

Today’s Success Criteria

A coaching culture begins when responsibility for growth is passed from one person to the whole community.

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How will you complete this sentence?

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“If coaching became a culture in my organization, it would become normal for us to …”

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