How Can Technology Coaches And Content Coaches Work Together?
As classroom coaching becomes a more and more popular teaching development method, schools are beginning to hire multiple coaches that each play a different role in the classroom. For example, two very highly-sought-after jobs are technology and content coaches.
However, if various coaches have their own input, opinions will eventually begin to become inconsistent. In this article, we will discuss how technology coaches and content coaches can work together to provide a consistent and well-established teaching environment.
Ensure Consistent Check-Ins
To avoid opinions and methods from contradicting each other, technology and content coaches should schedule regular check-ins. In these meetings, coaches should discuss success stories, challenges, trends, teaching methods, techniques, and other news. This will ensure that both coaches can work together to provide the school with the best service possible.
There are various tools and resources that can be used to supplement these check-ins. For example, the new Pedagogue app will allow coaches and educators to communicate via video conferencing calls and audio chats. More so, Pedagogue can be used to share resources, techniques, and methods, meaning that all the coaches will actually be able to learn from each other as well.
Bring Teachers Into The Conversation
Teachers need to know what type of information the technology and content coaches share and what information is kept private. When educators are kept in the loop, it builds trust and transparency between the coaches and themselves.
More so, teachers should feel they can add ideas and share their suggestions with the technology and content coaches. At the end of the day, both teachers and coaches’ job is to provide better education for the students, meaning that they all have the same end goal.
Take Note Of The School’s Teaching Materials And Learning Initiatives
Technology and content coaches should all keep a record of the teaching materials offered by the school and the various coaching and mentorship initiatives that it offers. The coaches will both need to make use of the teaching materials and should be involved in the mentorship initiatives.
The coaches will need to decide which coaching model they will be using and which timeline they will follow. More so, they will need to discuss the terminology they will use on the job and how they will measure their students’ progress. Once they have these answers, the technology and content coaches will find the most applicable and complementary methods in which to work.
Concluding Thoughts
Classroom coaching is becoming a very popular method of teaching development. However, finding a way for technology and content coaches to work together is essential for success.
For this to occur, coaches need to plan regular check-ins in which they will discuss success stories, challenges, teaching methods, etc. More so, teachers should be brought into the conversation – coaches can do this by sharing important information with the educators. Lastly, technology and content coaches should keep a record of the school’s stock and teaching programs.