INTERVIEWQUESTIONSFORHIRINGNEW
COACHES
1.Whatdoesthetermcoachingmeantoyou?
Listenfor:
?Collaboration.
?Partnership.
?Learningtogether.
?Focusonworkingwithteachersasclients.
?Enhancingteachercapacity.
?Job-embeddedprofessionaldevelopment.
?Ultimategoalisgreaterstudentsuccess.
?Emphasisonbuildingstrengthsratherthanfixing“weak”teachers.
?Coachingisbeneficialforalleducators.
Becautiousifyouhear:
?“The”expert.
?“Iwanttogetteachersto…”
?Emphasisonworkingwithstudents(coaches’clientsareteachers).
?Emphasisonplanninglessonsw/teachersasthefocusofcoaching.
?Judgmentaltoneintalkingaboutteachers’struggles.
2.Whenyouthinkaboutyourtypicaldayasacoach,whatkindsoftasks
wouldyoubedoing?
Listenfor:
?Workingwithteachers.
?Coachingconversations.
?Collaborationwithprofessionallearningteams.
?Demonstrationlessons.
Becautiousifyouhear:
?Workingwithstudentsinsteadofteachers.
?Attentiontopre-plannedprofessionaldevelopmentworkshopsandtopics;
althoughcoacheslikelydosomeofthis,coachingisreallyaboutjob-
embeddedPDthatisresponsivetoteachers’needs/interestsandtheir
classroomchallenges.
?Emphasisonobservationinclassroomsasthefoundationofcoaching.
?Emphasisonthingsthatdon’tnecessarilyleadtoincreasedteacher
effectiveness/studentlearning,suchasplanningspecialevents.
3.Whatarethequalitiesofaneffectivecoachingconversation?
Listenfor:
?Coachlistensbeforespeaking.
?Conversationstartswhereteacheris,notwherecoachwantsteacherto
be.
?Questionsareopenandhonest–i.e.coachdoesnotknowtheanswer
andwantstohearteacher’sanswer.
?Problemfindingandproblemsolving.
?Dataareusedtosupportclaims,understandproblems/challenges,plan
instructionalstrategies,anddetermineeffectivenessofchangesmade.
?Coachandteacherhaveadequatetimetomeet.
Becautiousifyouhear:
?Assumptionthatcoachmustobserveintheclassroominorderfora
coachingconversationtotakeplace.
?Perceptionthatcoachasksquestionstogettheteachertoseewhatthe
coachseesand/ormakechangesthatthecoachhasalreadydecidedare
best.
?Conversationbeginswithdata.
?Dataarenotmentionedaspartoftheconversation.
4.Ifyouaresuccessfulasacoachinthisschool,howwouldIbeabletotell
thatattheendofyourfirstyear?
Listenfor:
?Teachersmakingdecisionsinformedbydata.
?Teachersarticulatingwhytheymadeparticularinstructionaldecisions.
?Greatercollaborationamongteachers.
?Coachinpartnershipwithallteachers(orwithallteachersintheidentified
pool,iftheschoolislarge).
Becautiousifyouhear:
?Testscoresincreased.(Coachingisnotlikelytohavethateffectinone
year.)
?Emphasison“fixing”poorteachers.
5.Howdoyouseeyourselfworkingwithprofessionallearningteams?
Listenfor:
?Possiblerolesforthecoach:facilitator,member,occasionalcontributor.
?Partnership.
?Job-embedded.
?Problemfindingandproblemsolving.
?Helpingteamsworkwithdifferencesamongthemselves.
?Purposeofteamsisenhanceddecisionmaking,inquiry,learningtohelp
ourstudentslearn.
Becautiousifyouhear:
?Coachisalwaysinchargeofteams.
?Emphasisonsharingorlessonplanningastheonlyactivitiesforlearning
teams.
?Candidatefeelsoverwhelmedattheprospectofworkingwithteamsthat
donotalwaysagree.
6.Asacoach,howwouldyoudeveloptrustwithteachers?
Listenfor:
?Listening.
?Confidentiality.
?Providingfeedbackintheformofparaphrasingtoindicateunderstanding
ofteacher’sperspective.
?Nojudgment.
?Bodylanguage.
?Separatingcoachingfromsupervising.
Becautiousifyouhear:
?Coachwillshowallthats/heknowsandcando.
?Coachwillemphasizehis/heryears’experience.
?Coachwillbepassiveandwaitforteacherstoapproach.
7.Whatmakesforasuccessfuldemonstrationlesson?
Listenfor:
?Demonstrationlessongrowsoutofcoachingconversation.
?Demonstrationlessonaddressesgoal/needofteacher.
?Teacherisinterestedandengagedduringthedemonstration.
?Thelessonisinsynchwiththecurriculargoalsandstandardsforthat
class.
?Teacherandcoachdiscussthelessoninadvance.
?Adebriefingconversationtakesplacesoonafterthedemonstration.
?Thedebriefingconversationdiscussesnotonlywhatwasdonebutalso
whyitwasdone.
Becautiousifyouhear:
?Noengagementbyteacher.
?Nopre-planningorfollow-updiscussionswithteacher.
?“Showy”lessonsratherthanlessonsthatareplannedwithregardto
wherestudentsareandwheretheymightgo.
8.Whatistheroleofdataintheworkofacoach?
Listenfor:
?Datadoesnotdrivethework;itisanessentialtool.
?Goodquestionsinthecoachingconversationelicitdata.
?Skilledcoachesaskquestionstohelpteachersanalyzeandapplydatain
decisionmaking.
?Teachersandcoachestogethergatherabroadrangeofdata.
?Dataareusefulinmakinginstructionaldecisionsandindetermining
whetherinstructionaldecisionswereeffective.
Becautiousifyouhear:
?Thecoachcollectsallthedata.
?Thecoachtellstheteacherwhatthedatasay.
?Thecoachreliesonlyonstandardizedtestsorstate-mandatedtestsas
sourcesofdata.
?Thecoachbelievesthatdatastartthecoachingprocess.(Theyaretools,
notthegoalorfocus.)
9.Howdoyouperceivetherelationshipofacoachwiththeschoolprincipal?
Listenfor:
?Coachmeetsregularlywithprincipal.
?Coachandprincipaldiscussoveralldirectionofcurriculum,instruction,
assessments.
?Coachandprincipaldonotshareconfidentialinformationaboutteachers.
?Coachdoesnotcontributetoprincipal’sunderstandingofindividual
teachersinawaythatwouldaffecttheprincipal’sevaluationofthose
teachers.
?Coachdiscusseshis/herprofessionalgoalswithprincipal.
?Coachservesasresourcetoprincipalinprincipal’sroleaslearningleader.
Becautiousifyouhear:
?“Goodcop/badcop”descriptionofrolesofcoachandprincipal.
?Intentiontoreportineffectiveteachingtoprincipal.
?Beliefthatprincipalwillreporttothecoachthenamesofteacherswho
“need”tobecoached.
10.Describeadifficultsituationinwhichyouwereultimatelysuccessful.
Listenfor:
?Evidenceofstamina.
?Evidenceofattemptstounderstandothers’perspectives.
?Regardingtheotherswithrespect.
?Theabilitytoworkwithsomeonewhohasadifferentperspective.
?Theabilitytotakeaproblem-solvingstanceandworktowardasolution.
Becautiousifyouhear:
?Jokingaboutothers’limitationsorbehaviors.
?Cynicism.
?Vaguenessabouttheoutcome–wasitreallyasuccess?
11.Describeatimewhenyouworkedcollaborativelytomakeadifference
inyourschool.
Listenfor:
?Collaborationthatreallyengagedallparticipants.
?Evidenceofproblemsolving.
?Respectforallparticipants.
?Specificevidenceofhowthecollaborationmadeadifference.
Becautiousifyouhear:
?Onepersonactuallydidthework.
?Vaguedescriptionsoffeel-goodtypesofactivities.
?Unresolvedrelationshipstruggles.
12.Whydoyouwanttobeacoach?
Listenfor:
?Commitmenttoteachersascolleaguesandpartners.
?Commitmenttolearning–students’,teachers’,andcoaches’.
?Recognitionofteachers’strengths.
?Coach’sdesiretoformpartnershipswithteachersandteams.
Becautiousifyouhear:
?Interestinconveyinginformationasthefocusofcoaching.
?Focusuponprovidinglarge-groupprofessionaldevelopmentworkshops.
?Desireto“fix”weakteachers.
?Interestinultimatelybecomingaprincipal.(Thereisnothingwrongwith
becomingaprincipal,butitshouldnotbethedrivingforceinbecominga
coach).
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