Jim Knight
Senior Partner
Jim Knight, senior partner of Instructional Coaching Group, is a research associate at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning. He has spent more than two decades studying instructional coaching, writing several books on the topic. Knight’s articles on instructional coaching have been included in publications such as the Journal of Staff Development, Principal Leadership, The School Administrator, and Teachers Teaching Teachers. Knight directs several research projects, including Pathways to Success, a comprehensive, district-wide school reform project in the Topeka, Kansas, School District. Knight also leads the Intensive Instructional Coaching Institutes and the Teaching Learning Coaching annual conference. Knight has presented and consulted in more than 40 states, most Canadian provinces, and around the world. He has also won several university teaching, innovation, and service awards.
All Articles
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Members-only: Tools & strategies with Jim Knight & Jessica Wise
May 15, 2025 03:00 PM ET Presenters: Jim Knight, Jessica Wise Participants will dive into The IC Toolkit (2024), our latest Learning Forward Book Club pick. (You do NOT need to have the book for this webinar). Authors Jim Knight and Jessica Wise will share insights from the book, which […] -
The IC Toolkit
Jim Knight, Jessica Wise, Michelle Harris & Amy Musante Foreword by Frederick Brown This book guides instructional coaches through a 36-week journey of practice, reflection, and learning using concrete tools such as activities, checklists, case studies, and videos. Publisher: Corwin, 2024 -
Ask more, tell less: How to structure learning conversations
Learning conversations lie at the heart of leading and coaching in schools. At their best, conversations between teachers, coaches, and administrators can lead to greater effectiveness, self-efficacy, and student success. When they are ineffective, however, they can crush morale, diminish trust, and interfere with professional learning. Leaders and coaches are […] -
‘Data’ shouldn’t be a dirty word
Data is an inescapable part of our lives. We ask Siri the temperature before we decide which coat to wear when we leave the house in the morning, we keep an eye on the speedometer as we drive to and from work, and we might even use a sleep app […] -
Coaching with impact: Enacting partnership principles through the Jim Knight coaching model
Teachers and coaches can build trusting and effective relationships by collaborating as partners to help students achieve. In this 90-minute webinar, Jim Knight will share the partnership principles that form the foundation of his coaching model. Offered in partnership with AIR, this webinar will highlight Knight’s Impact Cycle and Instructional […] -
When times are tough, show compassion.
The twin hardships of COVID-19 and political polarization are wearing down even the most resilient among us. Unfortunately, at a time when people really need us to show compassion, some of us are finding it harder and harder to be compassionate. Compassion, as Sara Schairer (2019) has explained, is different […] -
What I’ve learned from a traumatic accident
The morning of July 4, I went for an early morning bike ride on my usual loop around my hometown. Just after starting, I hit a slippery patch on the trail, causing my wheels to go out from under me, and I crashed, shattering several bones in my hip and […] -
The moral universe won’t budge unless we move it
“The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.” —Martin Luther King Jr. Do you agree with King’s often-quoted statement? In light of the heartbreaking and racist events I see in the news almost daily, I can’t say I’m sure. What I do believe, however, is […] -
Real learning happens in real life
When talking about instructional coaching, I find it helpful to divide professional learning into two different models: outside-in and inside-out. The outside-in model involves leaders identifying effective teaching practices for teachers, then providing learning experiences designed to help them learn those practices. The thinking behind this approach makes sense. These […] -
How to foster hope in tough times
At the beginning of every new year, I create a playlist for my friends filled with music that brings me joy. I call it my happy list. This year, as I chose my songs, I realized that a theme was emerging: new beginnings. As Nina Simone sings, “It’s a new […]
