Show Yourself That What You Do Makes A Difference

COACHES CORNER

Show yourself that what you do makes a difference

By Sharron Helmke

Categories: Coaching, Fundamentals, Social & emotional learning

Coaches are called upon to meet teachers’ needs, but we have some of the same needs in our own professional lives. One of those needs is validation that our efforts are making a difference. That’s often harder to find for coaches than for teachers, who can see their impact on an almost daily basis — the aha moments of students, the notes and drawings left on our desks, the growth in our student outcomes, and more. Where does a coach find proof of impact? Coaching takes place behind the scenes, supporting teachers’ mental processes and problem-solving skills. The ideas generated in a coaching session rightfully belong to the teacher, as does the successful implementation and outcomes of those ideas. Teachers deserve praise for making changes

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References

Suttie, J. (2021, June 21). Does venting your feelings actually help? Greater Good Magazine. greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/does_venting_your_feelings_actually_help

Wolverton, J. (2019). What is job creep? Strategy Source. strategysourcellc.com/what-is-job-creep/

Sharron Helmke

Senior Vice President, Professional Services at Learning Forward | + posts

Sharron Helmke, senior vice president of professional services at Learning Forward, designs and manages the organization’s consulting service programs that support state, regional, and local organizations in translating their improvement and learning goals into custom-designed high-quality professional learning programs that result in scalable and sustainable change. During her twenty-plus years in education she has served in a variety of roles at the campus and district levels, including teacher, instructional coach, and district-based program administrator. She is an international coaching federation certified professional coach, a Gestalt professional coach, and a trauma-informed care provider, all of which inform her approach to supporting educators. She is the author of numerous professional articles, including “To make a difference for every student, give every new teacher a mentor” in the August 2022 issue of The Learning Journal.