If you are an instructional coach, joining your school's professional learning community (PLC) of teachers can be somewhat daunting. When I joined a teacher PLC this year, I worried that many in the group saw me as an evaluator. Perhaps they thought I was there to catch them slipping up—I'd heard through our school's grapevine that the group was anxious to make a good impression. I hated the uncomfortable effect my presence had on the group even before our first meeting. I wanted them to know that I had their backs.
Affirm and Support
At the group's first meeting, I immediately established myself as a team resource that could help teachers build their strengths. Our vantage points on student data, classroom systems, and teacher instruction make coaches particularly suited to identify these strengths. Starting with strengths builds a relationship bridge that makes teachers more likely to receive your feedback and see coaches as partners in their growth. I comment on positive things I see in the classroom, and when I need to give constructive feedback, I make myself vulnerable by sharing my struggles in the classroom. For example, I may tell a story about something that worked for me in the classroom or something that was a failure, but in each instance, I share what I learned from the experience. This helps lead the conversation in a direction of change. This discussion isn't always roses and butterflies, but if the teachers know you are there to support, rather than evaluate their performance, they will be willing to open up about their challenges and weaknesses.
Be a Visible Partner in the Classroom
Adding a coach to a teacher PLC created a lot of unknowns, and a lot of fear of evaluation, for teachers. I tried to take away the "unknown" by establishing my role as a listener, sounding board, and teammate in the classroom. One way I did this was by working with groups of students during a teacher's lesson I don't always pull my groups out of the classroom because then teachers can overhear me teaching or scaffolding strategies for my group. As a classroom teacher, I learned so much watching my literacy coach work with students in my classroom. Later, when the two of us reflected on a lesson, I could ask specific questions about the prompts and strategies I had seen her use. Working alongside teachers in the classroom helps me build relationships and trust, and also helps jumpstart debriefing conversations on instructional methods.
Don't Waste Their Time
Teachers' time is precious, so coaches are always attuned to what teachers can take away from a coaching session. When working with groups of teachers, however, you will have to balance individual coaching needs with a holistic picture of the team's needs for staying on track toward their PLC agenda. I found it helpful to prepare several options for how to support my new PLC—as a sounding board for implementation of instruction, helping with deconstruct standards, co-teaching in the classroom, or providing resources. Then, as I got to know the members, become more focused in my approach. Bottom line, I wanted teachers leaving our meetings—whether one-on-one or in a group—feeling more secure in their instruction.
From Gotcha to I Got You
The greatest part about working with a new group of teachers is seeing them change over time. What started off as a first encounter full of nerves turned into an opportunity to cultivate growth mindsets and reflective practices to help students succeed. As the year progressed, I shifted from guiding this PLC to supporting teachers as they ran the PLC on their own. Building relationships based on strengths, being a visible partner in the classroom, and always giving teachers something useful during our meetings helped establish trust in my work with my school's teacher PLC. Together, we can reflect on pedagogy without teachers wondering whether I'm there to "catch" them doing the wrong thing. Now, I can truly say I am a part of a teacher team.