Coaching | Consulting

The primary goal of any professional development is to promote permanent change in classroom practices.

Kathleen offers teacher coaching and teacher mentoring to assist teachers in being their very best. Teachers who have been coached in their classroom teaching have higher success rates with their students, experience higher job satisfaction, and stay in teaching longer than those who have not.  Researchers from the University of Delaware, University of Virginia, and Georgia Department of Education identify several specific aspects of teacher coaching that have a significant influence on teaching practice. --Sharon Walpole, Michael C. McKenna, Ximena Uribe-Zarain, and David Lamitina, "The Relationships between Coaching and Instruction in the Primary Grades: Evidence from High-Poverty Schools."

Research has clearly shown that one-shot teacher training sessions have limited long-range impact on instructional practices. Effective professional development requires an ongoing commitment by a district and teachers so that support can be offered as learning is applied in an instructional setting. Without this support, change is often temporary. In-school support allows teachers to gradually implement learning, building opportunities throughout the school year to revisit, discuss, question, and modify learning over time.

Several options are available for in-school support. Kathleen offers this support only as an extension of previous professional development so that a foundation is in place prior to this experience.

In-Classroom Observation

Kathleen uses what she describes as a “nurture and nudge” model as she works with teachers in their own classrooms, providing insights and techniques to help them attain their personal goals. Classroom coaching done well enhances teacher skills in a positive, growth mindset manner. In this design, Kathleen rotates between classrooms to observe instruction in progress then meets with teachers immediately after to discuss successes and provide support for challenges. The purpose of coaching is to help teachers become more self reflective as they grow their teaching practices.  

Invest in your teachers, and thus, your students, today by providing these valuable coaching services in your school or district.