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a ready-to-run workshopInstructional Coaching Cycles
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Instructional Coaching Cycles (Workshop)

One-off advice rarely changes practice. Instructional coaching works through cycles: a clear goal, observation of real teaching, focused feedback, and a next step, repeated over time, in a relationship built on trust rather than evaluation.

Key takeaway

Coaching changes practice through repeated cycles, goal, observation, feedback, next step, built on a trusting, non-evaluative relationship, not one-off advice.

Format
PLC / team meeting
Length
45 minutes
Group size
Any (works 4-40)
Who can run it
A coach or instructional leader
You will need
Slides (5)Printed handoutA coaching relationship in mindA timer
Aligned to
Learning Forward: Transformational ProcessesLearning Forward: Conditions for SuccessResearch on instructional coaching
Share / assign

Why it works

Research finds instructional coaching is among the more effective forms of professional development when it is sustained and job-embedded: a cycle sets a specific goal, gathers evidence from real teaching, gives focused feedback, and plans a concrete next step, repeated over time. Trust and a non-evaluative stance are what make teachers open to the feedback.

The research: Research on instructional coaching (Kraft and colleagues); Knight on coaching.

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

    The core activity: plan a coaching cycle

    Coaches leave with a full cycle planned around a teacher-owned goal.

    Trust first, then feedbackTeachers act on coaching from someone they trust. Protect the relationship and the non-evaluative stance, and the feedback will land.

    Facilitator notes

    Do not mix coaching with evaluationIf teachers think coaching feeds their evaluation, they hide struggles. Keep the two firmly separate.

    Adapt it

    Participant handout

    One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

    K12 Academics · Professional Learning

    Coaching Cycles: goal, observe, feedback, next step

    <b>Sustained and non-evaluative:</b> a teacher-owned goal, real evidence, focused feedback, a next step.

    1. The specific, teacher-owned goal:
    2. The evidence I will gather:
    3. My focused, non-evaluative feedback:
    4. The concrete next step:
    5. When I will cycle back:

    Make it stick

    Cycle and protect trust:

    Common questions

    How is coaching different from evaluation?
    Evaluation judges; coaching develops. Coaching works precisely because it is not evaluative, so teachers can be open about what is hard.
    What does a coaching cycle look like?
    Set a specific goal with the teacher, observe real teaching, give focused feedback on the goal, and plan a concrete next step, then repeat.
    How long should a cycle take?
    Cycles are usually weeks, not a single visit. The repetition is what changes practice; a one-time observation rarely does.

    Go deeper

    Build it into a bigger day

    Workshop
    Facilitating Effective PLCs
    Workshop
    Learning Walks & Peer Observation
    Workshop
    Running Better Staff Meetings & PD