According to Hughes (2024), “Research indicates that in the United States, approximately one-third of teachers in public schools exit the profession within five years of obtaining their teaching qualifications, highlighting a significant retention challenge in the American education system” (para. 4).
One of the ways that educators can help battle this is by instructional coaching (Knight et al., 2018). Instructional coaches partner with new or struggling teachers to determine their current reality, set goals for improvement, develop teaching strategies to meet goals, and offer support throughout the process. Coaches coming alongside teachers as a partner helps provide a safe space for the new or struggling teacher to discuss and learn from their mistakes. Instructional coaches are non-judgmental and coworkers who are equal in status (Knight, 2017).
My instructional coach, or mentor as we called it, when I was a new teacher had a huge impact on my teaching career. She filled me in on things that were important for me to know and coached me through many different learning experiences I had during my first year. She was great about listening to me when I was stressed, frustrated, or just struggling. She would ask great questions to make me think about how I could adjust or change the situation instead of just telling me how she would handle it. She observed my teaching several times and gave me extremely helpful feedback. I felt supported all throughout my first year of teaching instead of on an island by myself trying to survive the year.
According to Johnson (2016), it is important that the lines between the role of an instructional coach and an administrator are not blurred. New or struggling teachers need to feel that it is safe to talk to their instructional coach about things that they are finding difficult in their classroom without feeling like they are being observed and their job will depend on what they are saying. Teachers must be able to trust their instructional coach so that they can be honest in order for true learning and real growth to take place.
Good coaching, according to Knight et al. (2018), includes seven partnership principles; equality, choice, voice, dialogue, reflection, praxis, and reciprocity. Instructional coaches who use these principles help their collaborating teachers feel like they are professionals and in charge of their own teaching and learning. This allows for teachers to do the thinking for themselves and learn from the thought process used when problem solving. It is a partnership between teachers who learn from each other and ultimately make a difference in the lives and education of their students.
Instructional coaches or mentors help foster effective teachers and good, effective teachers have an impact on student achievement. When new or struggling teachers grow in their confidence and knowledge of their content and ability to teach, student achievement will increase. According to Will (2020), “If new teachers are paired with high-quality, trained mentors and receive frequent feedback, their students may receive the equivalent of up to five months of additional learning, a new study found” (para. 1). When schools implement an effective mentoring program, retention rates increase as well as student achievement.
References:
Johnson, K. G. (2016). Instructional Coaching Implementation. Journal of School Administration Research and Development, 1(2), 37–40. https://doi.org/10.32674/jsard.v1i2.1917
Knight, J. (2017). The Impact Cycle: What Instructional Coaches Should Do to Foster Powerful Improvements in Teaching (1st ed.). Corwin.
Knight, J., Knight, J. R., & Carlson, C. (2018). The Reflection Guide to the impact cycle what instructional coaches should do to foster powerful improvements in teaching. Corwin.
Will, M. (2020, November 19). Mentors for new teachers found to boost student achievement-by a lot. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/mentors-for-new-teachers-found-to-boost-student-achievement-by-a-lot/2017/06
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