One way coaches can support administrators is to assist with planning or designing a training for staff development. Training is typically offered as a way to strengthen or teach new content. This strategy may be useful when you have administrators or programs in need of building knowledge and understanding in the same content areas. Training can take a variety of forms, such as workshops, webinars, or Professional Learning Community, each with unique benefits.
As a coach, one of your goals is to engage the administrator in conversations around supporting staff development. Planning with your administrator depends on how much content knowledge the director has about the intended training. Coaches can choose the intensity of support depending on the skill level of the administrator. Coaching support may range from finding resources for the administrators training to providing feedback on the design of the intended training.
Some competencies you may use include:
- The coach engages the administrator in conversations about the process for continuous improvement planning, the coach’s role in supporting the practitioner toward meeting goals, the coach’s expectations of the practitioner, and supports that are needed at the administrative level in order to make progress toward identified goals
- The coach provides content-focused feedback that references and builds upon what the practitioner already knows about skill development, pedagogy, and evidence-based practice
- The coach shares leadership during activities intended to increase practitioner problem solving and decision-making skills
Mentoring Prompts
- “Thinking about your current staff needs, what areas should we focus on for training?”
- “Based on your data, what are some areas you’ve noticed your staff needs support with?”
- “What types of training do you feel your staff would like to learn more about?”
- “Let’s outline ways in which I can support you in meeting your staff development needs.”
- “Let’s think about ways to design your monthly staff training.”
- “How can we design a training that is meaningful and will keep your teachers engaged?”
- “Let’s plan ways for you to follow-up with your staff about the training content they were given.”