246. Coaching Teacher Teams? Try this template.

One-off workshops rarely create lasting change in classrooms. In this episode of the Time For Teachership podcast, Lindsay shares a practical Google Doc template designed to support teacher teams in ongoing, meaningful professional learning. She walks through a structured approach called Group Implementation Coaching Sessions, showing how coaching, feedback, and inquiry can help teachers refine their practice and better support student learning.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode/Key Takeaways 

• Why continuous coaching is more effective than standalone workshops (Joyce & Showers, 2022).

• How to set the stage for teacher team coaching by identifying team strengths, individual values, and key priorities.

• Strategies for maintaining an asset-based, equity-focused, and student-centered approach in coaching sessions.

• Key coaching moves to help teachers shift mindsets, including:

  • Asking for examples to get to evidence.

  • Reframing challenges (e.g., valuing curiosity over background knowledge).

  • Moving from scarcity to prioritization.

  • Aligning pedagogy to core teaching values.

• A step-by-step walkthrough of a coaching session:

  1. Human Connection: Check-ins, celebrations, and group reflection.

  2. Implementation Check: Review previous action steps, data, and student feedback.

  3. Action Planning: Identify instructional strategies, micro-groups, or feedback systems to try before the next session.

  4. Next Steps: Decide who will try what and how data will be gathered.

• How to leverage peer coaching and group reflection to generate richer insights and practical solutions.

Timestamps

[00:00:00] – Welcome & Episode Overview

• Introduction to Episode 246

• The importance of continuous learning over one-off workshops

[00:00:22] – Google Doc Template Overview

• How to support teacher teams after workshops

• Group Implementation Coaching Sessions

[00:00:47] – Influences & Inspirations

• PLC at Work: Dr. Anthony Mohammed, Dr. Chad Dumas, Bob Sanju, Marin Powers, Shalene Miller

• Grow Model & Raman Behan

• Positive psychology, asset-based education, values alignment

• Books: Street Data, Pedagogies of Voice, Rebuilding Students’ Learning Power

[00:04:00] – Meeting 1: Setting the Stage

• Identify team strengths and values

• Center equity and “critical hope”

• Name the students/groups on the margins

• Define success: what it looks, sounds, and feels like

• Co-design inquiry questions and evidence-gathering

[00:07:16] – Coaching Bank & Key Moves

• Asking for evidence: “Can you say more? Share an example?”

• Reframing challenges: curiosity > background knowledge

• Shifting from scarcity mindset to prioritization

• Aligning teaching to core values

[00:14:42] – Structuring Subsequent Meetings

• Start with human connection: check-ins, listening dyads, celebrations

• Implementation check: review prior actions and data

• Three containers: initial reactions, data reflection, gut checks

[00:19:35] – GLEE Model for Action Planning

• Goal: What do we want to foster before next session?

• Learn: Analyze student strengths, gaps, and feedback

• Explore: Identify instructional moves to grow skills & student agency

• Expectations: Decide who does what and gather data for next session

[00:24:34] – Final Thoughts & Evidence for Coaching

• Joyce & Showers (2022): coaching increases skill transfer from 5% → 75–90%

• Peer coaching and structured feedback as essential professional learning

[00:26:04] – Closing

• Think big, act brave, and be your best self

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