A recent report analyzed educators’ experiences participating in Collaborative Coach, a personalized and curriculum-specific model for 1:1 educator coaching. The research shows that:
1. Collaborative Coach participants are overwhelmingly pleased with the professional learning and would recommend it to others.
2. Educators believe Collaborative Coach strengthens their teaching and builds relationships.
3. Collaborative Coach is successful with both new and veteran educators in a wide range of roles.
Too often, professional development does not meet the needs of educators: it is “one-size-fits-all, ” gives educators no agency or choice, and is unconnected to instructional materials or classroom practice.
In contrast, educators who participate in Collaborative Coach describe overwhelmingly positive professional learning experiences. This blog highlights a new research report that analyzes the experiences of participants in the Collaborative Coach professional learning model.
Table of contents
What Is Collaborative Coach?
Developed by Collaborative Classroom to support educators implementing our curricula, Collaborative Coach pairs individual educators with an expert coach who provides personalized, curriculum-specific professional learning tailored to the educator’s specific needs.
Coaches are seasoned educators and Collaborative Classroom curriculum experts, trained to create safe and supportive environments for goal-oriented, one-on-one learning.
Together the educator and their coach engage in a cycle of asynchronous, video-recorded learning and feedback that honors the educator’s unique needs and flexibly accommodates their busy schedule.
What Participants Think About Collaborative Coach
Participating in Collaborative Coach had a transformative impact on my teaching methods. I acquired strategies and practical tips that significantly enhanced my engagement with students. The combination of collaborative techniques and innovative tools ultimately enriched my instruction, leading to more successful learning outcomes.
How We Measure Satisfaction With Collaborative Coach
Surveys and questionnaires are a vital component of Collaborative Coach, both before beginning the learning cohort and after finishing. These surveys and questionnaires ensure Collaborative Coach remains personalized, dynamic, and adaptable.
The pre-coaching questionnaire helps the educator and the coach identify focus areas together through understanding the educator’s level of comfort and experience with their Collaborative Classroom curriculum, the types of support they previously received, and their individual coaching goals.
The questionnaire serves to prompt careful consideration surrounding the educator’s current instructional practices. Through deliberation, educators glean insight into the explicit challenges they face and are able to describe their desired outcomes corresponding to the curriculum they use. Finally, coaches use this information to tailor their support to the educator’s stated goals.
Each cohort ends with a survey to measure effectiveness, educator satisfaction, and any resulting impact on students and educators alike. Rather than keep this data on the shelf, Collaborative Classroom is using this essential feedback to help refine and expand Collaborative Coach. Participant thoughts and experiences are crucial to ensure Collaborative Coach remains grounded in the realities of classroom practice.
Why Collaborative Coach Participants Are Satisfied
At Collaborative Classroom, we understand the relationship between quality relationships and learning. Consequently, we do not offer a one-size-fits-all model. We design personalized, one-on-one coaching to provide maximum impact for each individual teacher.
Beginning by defining objectives and desired outcomes, the flexible, video-based exchanges between coach and educator foster valued relationships over the course of the learning cycle that respect time and background knowledge.
Who Are Collaborative Coach Participants?
Launched in 2021, Collaborative Coach has expanded over the last four years to support 1,400+ educators in 284 school districts or organizations.
Where Are Participants Accessing Collaborative Coach?
Locations include
- 43 states
- 3 foreign countries
- 1 U.S. territory
What Collaborative Coach Participants Can Expect
Collaborative Coach is not generic professional development. Coaching focuses on the Collaborative Classroom curriculum that each individual educator uses, and provides time for asynchronous practice and feedback.
As a result, Collaborative Coach helps educators develop true mastery of each curriculum component, ensuring they receive the most value for their time and investment.
This was one of the best professional development opportunities I’ve ever had. Having the ability to take what I learned and apply it immediately without having to devise a plan or make copies was a huge blessing.
Relationship-First, Cost-Effective Coaching
Professional learning for educators must be nimble and adaptable to the increasing challenges within the educational realm. Emphasis on knowledge and mastery of the curriculum used strengthens an educator’s day-to-day classroom practice and is a cost-value efficiency.
Collaborative Classroom is committed to ensuring educators are supported with implementation of curriculum materials and quality, relationship-building coaching, to strengthen teaching and improve student outcomes.
I am so encouraged by this process, I am signing up for the winter cohort because I got so very much out of this process. I have shared with many colleagues how valuable this process was for me! Thank you for the opportunity.
Read the Report
Coaching that Connects:
Understanding the Experience and Impact of Collaborative Coach
Read a Blog: A True Learning Partnership: Michele Cadwallader, Reading Interventionist, and Collaborative Coach Emily Pedersen
Learn More: White Paper: What Are the Features of High-Quality Professional Learning?
Explore Collaborative Coach
Personalized, Curriculum-Specific, 1:1 Coaching for Individual Teachers, Coaches, and Leaders