A Coach is a Coach…. or is it?

When I started reading the chapters for this module, my first thoughts were of our instructional coach in our building.  She is very helpful, good with data and very uplifting and encouraging. But then I also thought about how I started out my first year teaching without one. I started out  in a 7-12 high school setting, no formal mentor relationship and no instructional coach.  I realized, while reminiscing,  that on my own, I sought out exactly that type of person.  She was a veteran teacher, well respected by both students and coworkers as well as  someone I knew would know the right advice to give, and she did.  I also, looking back, entered into an informal mentor relationship with another person in that school that I still seek advice from to this day.  I never thought of either of those relationships as a “coaching” relationship, but now, looking back, I think that’s exactly what they were.  According to Marzano and Simms (2013, p. 4) “the term coach generally means helping someone move from where he or she is to where he or she needs or wants to be.”  That is exactly what those people helped me to do.  That is what coaches do, whether in the professional, athletic, or academic arena, that is what they do, they make us better at what we do. 

There is lots of research out there on coaching, various stances on which style is best or how it should be done, but it is not a one size fits all item.  In fact “effective coaching is not entirely dependent on the coach. Rather many assert that the person being coached is the most important determiner of the success or failure of a coaching relationship” (Marzano & Simms, 2013, p. 9).  This statement emphasizes just how important and unique that relationship must be in order for it to be successful.  I am from the south, where football is king.  We all know what sport takes precedent in the fall, and we can all name famous coaches.  All of these coaches are successful, but most would agree their styles vary greatly from one another.  I think instructional coaching styles would be the same.  There are going to be basic needs in any coaching relationship for it to be successful: trust, feedback, choice (Marzano & Simms, 2013, p. 10). There are a wide variety of personalities out there in education.  I think there would have to be a wide variety of coaching styles ready to meet those needs as well.  This, as in most aspects of education, is not a “one size fits all” situation.

Instructional Coaching With Technology. (2013, November 13). Retrieved September 28, 2015, from https://youtu.be/wA4ZHlBHvDc

Marzano, R., & Simms, J. (2013). Coaching classroom instruction. Bloomington, IN: Marzano Research.

Waterman, R. (2013). Coach Graphic. Retrieved September 28, 2015, from http://www.richwaterman.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/coach.jpg