Key takeaways
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An instructional coach is a specialized educator who consistently and intentionally collaborates with classroom teachers to improve classroom instruction and increase student academic growth and achievement.
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An instructional coach's most important responsibility is building and maintaining relationships and connections with classroom teachers so they can collaborate effectively to improve student outcomes.
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An effective instructional coach possesses a variety of skills and traits, including trustworthiness, strong communication skills, and critical thinking skills.
The instructional coach role has rapidly grown over the past decade. It seems that most schools have added one, if not more, to their staff, and for good reason. As the education landscape has shifted dramatically in recent years, so too have educators’ and students’ needs.
Now more than ever, educators need support balancing students’ academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs with the ever-changing mandates and responsibilities imposed by school and district administrators, as well as state legislatures. Their to-do list is never-ending, the curriculum and expectations are constantly changing, and students’ needs are greater than ever before. There just isn’t enough time in the day or the school year.
The role of an instructional coach is meant to meet some of these needs through targeted, intentional support of teachers, aimed at improving classroom instruction and increasing student academic achievement. When effectively incorporated into the school environment, an instructional coach is critical to teacher growth and improved student outcomes.
What is an instructional coach?
An instructional coach is a specialized educator, often an experienced or master teacher, who consistently and intentionally collaborates with classroom teachers to improve instruction and increase student academic growth and achievement.
They do this by working with teachers to improve lesson quality, fully implement evidence-based instructional practices, ensure fidelity to curriculum and other school initiatives, and deliver individualized, long-term professional development embedded within the classroom environment.
What does an instructional coach do day to day?
An instructional coach, like many other faculty and staff members in a school, wears many different hats. First and foremost, they build and maintain relationships and connections with classroom teachers so they can collaborate effectively to improve student outcomes. To achieve this, an instructional coach must build trust and create a safe space for teachers to share ideas, take risks, and learn from one another.
In many ways, an instructional coach serves as a mentor to fellow educators by sharing educational resources, modeling best practices in the classroom, serving as a co-teacher at times, and conducting informal observations to provide feedback on teachers’ practice.
Additionally, an instructional coach typically facilitates Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), conducts coaching cycles, helps teachers analyze and interpret student data to drive instructional decision-making, and provides individualized, long-term professional learning rather than the one-and-done professional development of the past.
While an instructional coach may or may not be considered part of a school’s administration, they act as a bridge or liaison between teachers and administrators and must collaborate with school leadership to ensure students’ diverse needs are met and teachers’ needs are supported.
What are the benefits of having an instructional coach for your school or district?
Historically, schools have relied on one-and-done professional development facilitated by outside consultants or experts. While these trainings can be valuable, schools and teachers, in particular, get much more bang for their buck when they bring professional learning in-house. Teachers receive focused, individualized, long-term support tailored to their specific needs, and follow-up support from an instructional coach, which is the key ingredient in building effective classroom learning and improving student outcomes.
Additionally, an instructional coach may have more time to analyze and interpret student data with teachers and can often streamline the process for the school’s leadership.
Explore Professional Development Resources
See how Discovery Education can support teacher growth through impactful professional learning.
What skills does an instructional coach need?
An effective instructional coach possesses several key skills and characteristics.
1. Classroom Experience
An instructional coach should have a proven track record as a classroom teacher. Earning the trust of veteran teachers isn’t always easy, so extensive classroom experience provides the credibility needed to build relationships. That experience is also necessary to ensure a masterful understanding of pedagogy, curriculum and instruction, and student behavior.
2. Credibility and Trustworthiness
Trustworthiness may be the most important skill an instructional coach can have. An instructional coach’s success depends on their ability to build strong relationships with classroom teachers; if teachers don’t view them as a trustworthy colleague, no real work can be accomplished.
3. Communication Skills
Effective communication skills are key for an instructional coach. Whether facilitating a Professional Learning Community, sharing feedback with a teacher after a recent observation, or collaborating with a grade-level team to make sense of student data, clear, concise communication is critical. Additionally, an instructional coach needs to be comfortable giving constructive feedback and have the skills to do so sensitively.
4. Tech-Savvy
Being savvy with classroom technologies and curricula is critical to an instructional coach’s ability to collaborate with teachers on lesson design and improving classroom instruction.
5. Team Player
An instructional coach is not an administrator. Rather, they are a critical member of every grade-level or content-area team. All staff members, including the instructional coach, must understand this distinction. The instructional coach supports every teacher’s growth and development, and this is only possible when everyone works together toward a common goal.
6. Critical Thinker
An instructional coach must be able not only to analyze and interpret student data to drive instructional decision-making, but also to think outside the box to help teachers solve classroom problems.
7. Knowledgable
Being current on educational practice and research is critical for an instructional coach. A large component of their role is to think outside the box to solve problems and introduce fresh ideas and strategies to teachers who are likely too tired or overwhelmed to do the research themselves.
While the role of an instructional coach is multi-faceted and may seem daunting, it is also incredibly rewarding. When incorporated into a school the right way, an instructional coach plays a pivotal role in supporting teachers’ efforts to bring positive change and growth to the students and the school.
