Thursday, May 14, 2009

More on coaching

I had mentioned the importance of the Iowa Professional Development Model with technology integration. Specifically, the need for coaching in between theory, training, implementation, and feedback.

Dr. Kevin Washburn has an excellent article on the importance of coaching worth a read, where he identifies it as the missing piece of the puzzle. In it, he articulates the reprocessing and focusing skills that people need to maximize their potential as teachers.

Because we can never have enough basketball coaching analogies, I'll share one of my favorite points in his passage:

A coach helps transform thinking to reality. Let’s move to the gym for a moment. Imagine a basketball coach who meets with the team once at the beginning of the season for a day-long seminar held in the school library. After that, the players are on their own to achieve excellence throughout the season. How successful would this approach be? Not very. The team needs the coach nearby to help them implement the vision and ideas on the court. (Even professional basketball teams need coaches.) Similarly, the coach in the classroom helps the teacher experience success with a new initiative.


Definitely worth a read!

No comments: