Research School Network: Lessons Learned – Instructional Coaching in (a few) English Secondary Academies. John Hern, Evidence Lead for Dixons Academies, on the challenges of implementing instructional coaching

These are the thoughts of just one teacher. My mission: to explore schools where coaching works. To seek out new ideas and new experiences. To qualitatively investigate where no peer-reviewed evidence has gone before.

Instructional coaching is currently the best-evidenced professional development tool we know of, however research on the effectiveness of different forms of CPD is immature and continues to evolve. Multiple randomised controlled trials and meta-analyses have demonstrated that when instructional coaching is done well it improves attainment. Currently, no randomised controlled trial of coaching has been completed in England.

Therefore, in the absence of robust quantitative evidence I voyaged to schools where they had learned from trial and experience how to make instructional coaching work in their context. This is what was discovered and hopefully there might be a tasty titbit or two for you in here.

Feedback is a gift and I welcome a discussion at @dr_hern

• Instructional coaching is at the forefront of professional development and appears to be our best bet, at present, to ensure the quality of teaching students receive is consistent from one lesson to the next.
• Separating performance management from coaching provides an opportunity for honest reflection not possible in traditional high-stakes appraisal.
• Coaches discover that they become a better listener, ask better questions and stop giving blanket advice outside of their coaching role.
• Data collected during coaching provides feedback to leaders about how successfully changes are being incorporated into classroom practice.
• Implementing instructional coaching provided valuable experience for embedding other change initiatives.
• Coaching doesn’t have to be focused on classroom practice; it could work on improving curriculum implementation, assessment design or lesson planning.

• Every coaching leader confirmed that implementing instructional coaching is hard and is a bigger challenge than they first imagined. It needs to be adapted to fit the context of your school.
• Coaching is a long-term commitment which may take years to get right.
• Some reported that despite initial attempts to launch instructional coaching for all teaching staff, factors such as capacity, recruitment, and budget forced them to reduce the scale.
• One school changed to a model where all teachers participate in instructional coaching in their first five years. During this time the coaching model evolves from directive to dialogic. All other teachers participate in small group coaching. This meant they only needed three highly skilled coaches for 19 newer members of staff and the others all participated in a blended small group model. This strategy was ultimately sustainable.
• Another school got coaching working with a smaller number of staff who were keen to get on board. Once this was established, and the success made very visible, more and more staff chose to participate successfully however this was never 100% of staff.
• One school described how more experienced staff use video peer coaching to reduce the demand on instructional coaching capacity. Teachers were taught to coach each other using video. Evidence suggests this is not as likely to lead to deep change as instructional coaching but can still lead to professional growth.
• It takes significant time and practice to train staff as instructional coaches, especially if they have significant prior experience in other forms of coaching or line management. Schools reported taking up to 18 months to recruit and train their coaching team. One school reported giving their coaches a chance to practice first by coaching each other before they started coaching other staff.
• To be successful in the long-term, coaching needs to be at the heart of the school’s culture. It can be difficult to earn the trust of experienced teachers scarred by the trauma of traditional lesson observations and performance management.
• Experienced teachers will have experienced many change initiatives in the past, most of which will no longer be part of their current practice. They need to be convinced that coaching is different and will be invested in for longer than the initiatives they’ve seen come and go before.

• One school reported how they created a directed path for inexperienced coaches to follow, helping them make their coaching decisions.
• Coaches benefit from the experience of being coached. It allows them to feel how challenging it is to be coached.
• One school described how success at first was to form habits and build trust before significant change could occur. They needed to create an open door policy where staff felt safe with other people coming into their classroom and that they’d be treated with respect.
• All schools reported that participation in coaching is monitored closely and there is a clear and consistent hierarchy of responses to hold staff accountable if it doesn’t happen. Coaching leaders and experienced coaches are prepared to help when coaching doesn’t happen successfully.

• Develop a common language so that staff can talk about coaching. A shared glossary for all staff can help, aka an instructional ​“playbook.”
• Coaching is easier when staff understand the rationale of key teaching strategies.
• The most successful coaches almost always coach within their subject area.
• Coaching works best when each action step is achievable and precise.
• Coaching sessions should be weekly or fortnightly.
• Make coaching highly visible and a central part of your school’s culture. Celebrate successes and make it obvious that middle and senior leaders also actively participate and are coached too. Create a fear of missing out.
• More than one person reported that SLT and middle leaders were the least successful coaches due to their lack of capacity and association with performance management.
• The most successful coaches adapt to highly-tailor their support to their coaching partner.
• Some staff who were reluctant to be coached bought into the process when they participated as a coach.
• If coaching isn’t working, the coach needs to be flexible enough to change their approach.
• Consider coaching pairings carefully and don’t make it difficult to change coaches.
• Coaching conversations should always end with a date and targets being set for the next meeting.

John Hern teaches at Dixons McMillan Academy. He is also an Evidence Lead for Dixons Academies Trust, focusing on the evidence around coaching.