Are you a new instructional coach? Trying to figure out how to organize yourself but not sure exactly where to start? Let me show you some of the forms and tools I use as a coach.
First off, figure out your priorities. You can’t do everything all at once. If you’re new to your school, take some time to observe and get to know the teachers in your building. Find out what areas they are interested in learning more about and how they would like you to help. Throughout the year I add bullet points to the priorities chart below.
Next, organize your calendar. I like to use Google calendar and I block off time for specific tasks such as observations, walk-throughs, emails and PDs. I wrote a post with some helpful tips on how to organize your calendar.
Third, you’ll need a tool to keep track of when you informally observe teachers. This helps me know if there’s a teacher I’ve forgotten. I use a simple table with all the teachers names on it. I write in the date when I spend time in their room on a walk-through or observation.
Finally, when I pop into teacher’s classrooms I like to leave them a little note with some positive feedback and perhaps one thing they can think about or adjust. Teacher’s really love receiving these and it makes it less “scary” for me to come in their classrooms.
Get all the tools in this post in my TPT shop. Just click on the images below.
