Coaching Helps You Grow for Your Students | engage2learn

By Olive May

Why have I been assigned a coach? What am I doing wrong? For some educators, the thought of having a coach isn’t appealing because they think they might not be doing a good job. Another misconception is that this will add one more thing to their plate. I found myself in this extraordinary process several years ago when I was assigned my very first coach. What I did not realize is that a coach was exactly what I never knew I needed!

When athletes want to grow or sharpen a skill, they hire a coach. Why should it be any different in the education field? Coaches serve as thought-provoking, solutions-based, and innovative thought partners that can assist you in troubleshooting any issues that you may be facing within your classroom. Even LeBron James has a Coach! Coaches Help Teachers to Grow. Even if you have the notion that you have achieved it all in the classroom, a coach can help take your already amazing instructional practices to the next level.  

Coaching is a proactive approach that enhances instructional delivery. I remember when I first started using small group instruction in my classroom. My students were still not mastering the content after my small group workshops. I discussed this with my coach, and she taught me how to level my workshops and take a more differentiated approach to small group instruction. She taught me how to meet every student where they were and raise them to mastery levels.

My scores reflected that small change in best practice, but most importantly, it reflected in my students’ confidence. My confidence in my ability to reach every student every day also grew exponentially. Coaches highlight your future potential and do not judge you based on your past performance. Coaching is not evaluative, which gives you the opportunity to openly discuss areas you wish to improve and set actionable goals to implement effective practices.

What I found is that engage2learn (e2L) coaches assist partnering teachers in creating experiences for students that will catapult learners to the next level. Through using the eGrowe solution my coach helped me to grow for my students. The e2L curated 12 research-based life ready best practices that serve as the foundation of its coaching process. Through one-on-one personal meetings with your coach, goal setting, and the online growth tracking system in the2L Studio, I found myself growing beyond what I thought possible!

It is time to leave the outdated thinking behind. Coaching is not for the underperforming and coaching is not irrelevant for the experienced. Coaching is for everyone who wants to grow.