Quality Teaching in a Culture of Coaching

A book review by Terri Bianco, Consultant to Performance Learning Systems, Inc.®

School coaching programs are popping up across the country with great success. Is this a new trend? Another educational mandate? Some new fad you need to deal with? Not at all. A concept similar to coaching has been around since Homer’s The Odyssey when King Odysseus entrusted his son’s upbringing to Mentor.

Mentoring serves a very useful purpose. Yet mentoring is not quite coaching, as you will learn in the delightful and informative book Quality Teaching in a Culture of Coachingby PLS Executive Vice President Stephen G. Barkley. What coaching is, why coaching is important, what it entails, how to introduce it, what skills it requires — all are clearly described in an easy-to-read book that serves as a blueprint for educators and administrators to implement a successful coaching program.

Filled with real-life examples of where coaching is working and how, anecdotes, humor, drawings, and specifically identified skills of communication and inquiry, Quality Teaching in a Culture of Coaching guides you through coaching as if Barkley were sitting right there beside you.

Coaching is not about fixing someone. It’s not about giving advice, “constructive criticism,” judgments, or opinions. It’s not even about friendship. It is about a relationship between two equals, one of whom is committed to making personal and professional improvements. The person being coached takes ownership of his or her own improvement. And therein lies its power.

Coaching focuses on the value of a teacher or administrator sharing his or her vision, beliefs, and desire for improvement with someone who has that person’s best interests at heart. The coach only succeeds when the coachee succeeds. It’s all about quality.

As Barkley walks us through the process, we see that coaching is not only powerful in its ability to achieve results; it is also a whole lot of fun. Celebrations, high-five moments, and a general feeling of goodwill results as teachers, administrators, and students benefit from a collaborative effort that moves their school from good to great.

It was my pleasure to work with Steve Barkley on the development of Quality Teaching in a Culture of Coaching.

I am confident it will be yours as you read it and begin implementing it in your professional life.

This book and a sample chapter are available from PLS Products. Call 800-506-9996, M-F, 8 to 4:30 Central time or access online at www.plsweb.com/resources/ products/books/.