Emily Hauesler

Dr. Cain

ITEC 7460

Spring 2022

Coaching Journal Entry 1

The concept of coaching was intimidating to me as I began this course. As a teacher who

has been in the field of education for only three years, I felt that I had inadequacies in both

knowledge and ability and would be unsuccessful at coaching a peer. Quite simply, I did not

know where to begin when preparing for my first coaching session. However, readings from Jim

Knight and other experts helped me to better understand the coaching process and how it can

impact an entire school community if implemented effectively.

Understanding how adult learners acquire knowledge helped me tailor my conversation

as I planned for my first coaching session. As teachers, we dedicate our time to the education of

children and/or adolescents. As coaches, however, we focus on the development and education

of other adults. Therefore, it is important to understand the discrepancies between the learning

styles of these two very different groups of people.

According to the TEAL Center, adult learners tend to have intrinsic motivation and

willingness to learn, the ability to draw upon personal life experiences, the desire to begin

solving problems, and the ability to complete self-directed tasks (TEAL, 2011). At first, the

prospect of facilitating professional development via coaching to a fellow adult was intimidating.

I questioned how I could help someone who was likely to be independent and experienced.
Finally, I realized these very characteristics were not barriers to coaching but rather assets. Most

adults, especially educators, tend to be highly motivated, desiring to make their workplace and in

turn, the world a better place. By drawing upon prior experiences and passions, I knew that I

could build a positive, professional relationship with my coachee. I also felt that this trust would

then result in fruitful, goal-oriented coaching sessions.

After gaining a better understanding of how to interact with adult learners, I then turned

to The Impact Cycle by Jim Knight to plan the content of my first coaching session. I knew that

the session needed to be focused on the teacher’s feelings about her lesson rather than my

observations and opinions. Therefore, I planned to implement Knights Identify Questions

(Knight, 2018). Each of these questions would allow my coachee to reflect upon her lesson and

share her thoughts in order to develop a goal for improvement in the classroom.
Emily Hauesler

Dr. Cain

ITEC 7460

Spring 2022

Coaching Journal Entry 2

As I met with my mentee teacher for the first time after observing her class, I knew the

key to our current and subsequent sessions would be to build trust. Although the teacher I

coached was graciously willing to participate, it was clear that she was unfamiliar and

uncomfortable with the coaching process. Thankfully, I planned for this reaction in advance and

provided as much comfort as possible by reassuring her of her abilities and expertise and

reiterating that she would have control over her own goals and classroom. I was merely there to

provide strategies and feedback and to act as a sounding board for her ideas and questions.

After taking a moment to establish trust with the teacher, I then shared with her data and

notes collected from observing her class. This allowed her to consider an outside perspective and

gain a clearer understanding of the current reality of her classroom. I made sure to keep all data

and comments as objective and encouraging as possible. As we used Knight’s Identify Questions

to guide our discussion, the teacher was able to openly recognize both successes and weaknesses

of her lesson. She was eager to make adjustments and try new strategies in order to create

positive change in her classroom. The teacher’s biggest concern regarding her lesson was student

engagement during collaborative learning. She shared with me that she understands the value of
students working together but also acknowledged that facilitating opportunities for her classes to

do so was a weakness.

After several minutes of honest, rich conversation between the two of us, I segued into

helping my teacher establish a PEERS goal based on what she felt like her needs were. PEERS is

an acronym that explains the criteria for creating a goal that is powerful, easy, emotionally

compelling, reachable and student focused (Knight, 2018). Finally, my teacher settled on the

following goal: to make collaborative learning more frequent and effective in the classroom. We

then discussed strategies she could implement to work towards this goal and established a time

for our second meeting together.

After completing this first session with my mentee, I felt more confident in my ability to

be a coach. Thanks to content from this course, I was able to walk into that first meeting

prepared to establish a positive, professional relationship built upon mutual trust and respect. I

was also able to use resources from The Impact Cycle to help guide our conversations. While I

am thankful the teacher with whom I was working was open and agreeable, I understand that this

may not always be the case. Therefore, I look forward to other coaching opportunities to hone

my skills and gain more experience.

Dr. Cain

ITEC 7460

Spring 2022

Coaching Journal Entry 3

After helping my teacher identify a goal to help her improve her instruction and

classroom management, it was time to help her develop a plan of action for reaching her goal.

Therefore, it was time for me to create the first entry of an Instructional Playbook. As I learned

from Jim Knight, checklists are integral components of an Instructional Playbook (Knight,

2018). The Impact Cycle had many great ideas and examples of checklists that could be used to

guide a teacher in working towards a goal. However, I knew that it would be imperative to tailor

the checklist to the needs and concerns my teacher expressed.

The teacher shared with me that she felt not all students were equally engaged in tasks

during collaborative learning. She also expressed that group work tended to result in

interpersonal conflicts between students. Therefore, I knew that the checklist I provided would

have to help this teacher be proactive when facilitating group work within her classroom. The

checklist I created for her includes the following information:

The teacher has envisioned what the activity will involve and should look and
sound like.

Written and verbal expectations are provided for students explaining how they
should speak, act, and move while participating in collaborative work.

Students are provided with explicit instruction regarding expectations and

The teacher has carefully considered and determined the best student make-up for
each group based on behavior, academic data, or other factors.

The teacher allotts an appropriate amount of time for each collaborative learning
activity.

The teacher plans and prepares additional activities for students if they finish early,
whether individual or whole class.

The teacher has considered how lesson plans and activities can be adjusted if the
collaborative learning activity takes more or less time than expected.

After sharing the checklist with my mentee, I gave her the opportunity to read through it

thoroughly and decide whether any changes needed to be made to better fit her teaching style and

the needs of her classroom. I also made sure to reiterate that the checklist was a living document

that she had full control over. This reassured her that she still had autonomy of her own

classroom and her knowledge and expertise was respected. I then explained the importance of

modeling and offered several options for her to see collaborative learning effectively take place.

She chose to visit a colleague’s classroom to observe and learn.

Before, we parted ways, my mentee and I planned not only our next meeting but also

another time for me to come observe her class. While another observation was not something

required or encouraged at the time, I was impressed to see this teacher receptive to and excited

about the coaching process. It was clear that we had established mutual trust and respect and that

we were willing to learn from each other. Even though I had not observed her again quite yet, I

could not help but feel that this teacher had already grown professionally through understanding

her current reality and implementing goal-driven strategies to improve her classroom practices.
Emily Hauesler

Dr. Cain

ITEC 7460

Spring 2022

Coaching Journal Entry 4

By my Improve coaching session, I began to feel more comfortable in the role of a coach.

I also found the Improve stage the most rewarding because I was able to see how much my

teacher had grown since we first began working together. Before we met, I had the opportunity to

observe her implementing strategies that we had discussed in our prior coaching sessions. It was

clear that she was making progress toward her goal, which was to provide more opportunities for

effective collaborative learning. I was so impressed to see how much more engaged and invested

her students were in group work during this most recent observation.

During this meeting together, we used Knight’s four-step process to guide our

conversation (Knight, 2018). First, we confirmed our direction to ensure that we would be on the

same page, working toward a common outcome throughout our time together. During this time,

we were able to discuss any concerns she had and establish the focus of our meeting.

Then we discussed observation data together. We focused on areas of strength and areas

of weakness as we reviewed her progress toward her goal. She was very successful with the

implementation of her strategy which was to provide students with explicit instructions and

practice with group work expectations and procedures. However, she acknowledged that she had

not made as much progress as she would like. While certain aspects of collaboration had
improved, she was disheartened that early finishers were becoming disruptive to the rest of the

class.These important realizations allowed us to move into the invent improvements step of the

Improve process. Together, we brainstormed ways to modify the strategy so that she could

eventually see the results that she desired.

It was clear that this teacher was completely committed to her goal. She also shared with

me how helpful the coaching sessions had been. I am so thankful that the two of us were able to

build a professional relationship through this process. I, too, have learned a great deal from my

first experience as a coach, and I look forward to possibly having the opportunity again in the

future.