Digital Promise Launches Instructional Coaching Playbook
New resource will help schools and districts build successful classroom coaching programs
July 14, 2020 | Washington, D.C. – Digital Promise has launched an Instructional Coaching Playbook designed to help schools and districts build sustainable and scalable classroom coaching programs. The playbook is based on three years of research on the Dynamic Learning Project pilot, an instructional coaching program in which teachers were coached to use technology in more powerful ways that enhance their teaching practices and their students’ engagement and learning. This new resource for coaches and administrators explores why teachers need coaches and suggests strategies which school and district leaders can use to develop a successful coaching program or to improve and expand an already existing program.
Research suggests that providing schools with a coaching position is not enough; to maximize the impact of coaching, school/district leaders should consider the following, among other recommendations:
Adopt a coaching model that supports their specific school/district goals.
Select an effective coach and clearly define their role and scope of work.
Actively support coaching throughout the school year.
Plan for continuous professional development for both coaches and school administrators.
Develop a non-evaluative culture of continuous improvement and collaboration among staff.
The playbook also identifies principles of effective coach-teacher collaboration and offers recommendations for both coaches and administrators to promote this collaboration within their settings.
“As schools rapidly shifted to remote learning this spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw that those schools that already had a digital learning coach had an advantage. Coaches were incredibly valuable as thought partners and problem solvers as teachers sought to support student learning at home,” said Digital Promise President and CEO Karen Cator. “The strategies and recommendations outlined in the new Instructional Coaching Playbook will position more schools and districts for success.”
The Dynamic Learning Project was a three-year pilot coaching program and research study developed in partnership with Digital Promise, Google, and EdTechTeam from 2017–2020. It supported more than 2,700 teachers in 160 predominantly Title 1 schools across the U.S.
To learn more about the best practices, check out the Instructional Coaching Playbook. For more information about Digital Promise’s research on instructional coaching, visit digitalpromise.org/initiative/instructional-coaching/.
Press Contact:
Jessica Schuler
Digital Promise
410-598-9848
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About Digital Promise
Digital Promise is a nonprofit organization that builds powerful networks and takes on grand challenges by working at the intersection of researchers, entrepreneurs, and educators. Our vision is that all people, at every stage of their lives, have access to learning experiences that help them acquire the knowledge and skills they need to thrive and continuously learn in an ever-changing world. For more information, visit the Digital Promise website and follow @digitalpromise on Twitter for updates.