You have duties and responsibilities as an instructional coach. In this post, I discuss some important boundaries and rules of thumb for what instructional coaching is and is not. These are great things to keep in mind as an instructional coach - make sure you do not break any of these cardinal rules! What to look for in this post : Do not be more invested than the teachers with whom you are working Do not cancel meetings with teachers Do not over promise or under deliver Make sure your teachers know you believe in them If you prefer to hear me talk through this, here are four videos featuring all of this content: Do Not Be More Invested Than the Teachers With Whom You Are Working This tip is a friendly reminder that you, as the instructional coach, cannot be more invested in the work you are doing with a teacher than the teacher is. I have, on more than one occasion, realized that this is the case as I am working with a teacher. If you find yourself wondering why they are not as con...

  It is important to keep performing your roles and responsibilities as an instructional coach, even if you come up against teachers who seem uninterested in working with you. You never know who is watching and may want to be a part of your work as an instructional coach. In addition, you have to be mindful of how many teachers you can effectively coach at one time. Be sure to set realistic limits for yourself in order to ensure success! What to look for in this post : Teaching and coaching resistant teachers How many teachers to coach at one time If you prefer to hear me talk through this, here are two videos featuring all of this content: Reaching and Coaching Resistant Teachers Instructional coaching is intimidating. You have to know a lot, and you have to reach a lot of teachers. At my school, I am responsible for supporting around 150 teachers. Sometimes it can feel disappointing, because you may notice that not all teachers are equally willing to work with you. I wanted, however,...

  Know your content knowledge. As an instructional coach, I believe you need at least a little bit of content knowledge that relates to the teachers you are working with. What to look for in this post : Strategies versus content knowledge Tips for decreasing overwhelm related to content knowledge If you prefer to hear me talk through this, here are two videos featuring all of this content: Strategies Versus Content Knowledge When I first interviewed for an instructional coach position, they asked about strategies I would use. The position was for K-12 math, so I listed a couple of strategies but also told them I would need to make sure I revisited math content. It had been a while since I had done calculus and algebra. The interviewer told me to focus on strategies. They told me that the content did not matter, and that I could coach teachers without knowing the content. In that moment, I decided that I disagreed with that statement. I have now been coaching for over six years, and I s...