The essential coaching moves that every coach needs to know

Student-centered coaching is a highly-effective, evidence-based coaching model that shifts the focus from "fixing" teachers to collaborating with them to design instruction that targets student outcomes. But what does this look like in practice?

Student-Centered Coaching: The Moves shows you the day-to-day coaching moves that build powerful coaching relationships. This innovative book is the perfect companion to Diane Sweeney’s Student-Centered Coaching: A Guide for K-8 Coaches and Principals and Student-Centered Coaching at the Secondary Level. Readers will find:

• Coaching moves that can be used before, during, and after lessons
• An abundance of field-tested tools and practices that can be put to immediate use
• Original video clips that depict and unpack key moves
• Richly detailed anecdotes from practicing coaches that provide multiple access points and strategies

Written for coaches who work with teachers in all K-12 content areas, Student-Centered Coaching: The Moves will help coaches support teacher development, foster a culture of learning, and improve student achievement. 

Insights, ideas, and inspiration to keep student learning at the center of instructional coaching

Diane Sweeney and Leanna Harris, whose best-selling books have influenced the practice of thousands of K-12 coaches, frame how Student-Centered Coaching serves as an evidence-based model of professional learning that focuses on student outcomes. Shifting the focus from "fixing" teachers to partnering with them to reach goals for student learning takes coaching to the heart of what matters most in schools. The Essential Guide for Student-Centered Coaching includes all-new material that is grounded in the latest research and the authors’ extensive experience in the field of coaching. In it, readers will find

• An emphasis on how coaching can be asset-based and focused on equity
• Current research in adult learning and professional development
• Examples of how to integrate curriculum into coaching cycles
• Anecdotes that illustrate what Student-Centered Coaching looks like across grade levels and content areas

Designed to accompany Student-Centered Coaching: The Moves (Corwin, 2017) and Leading Student-Centered Coaching (2019), The Essential Guide for Student-Centered Coaching provides the reader with a clear vision for how coaching can promote both teacher and student learning.

"In an honest and heartfelt voice, Diane and Leanna provide guidance and practical advice to help coaches navigate the complexities associated with their role. Diane and Leanna′s passion to ensure that student learning stays at the center of improvement work is evident throughout this book as they paint a path of implementation for coaching that will help educators in realizing collective impact."

--Jenni Donohoo, Author and Consultant

Essential leadership moves for supporting instructional coaching in your school

Strong leadership is essential in any successful instructional coaching effort. Leading Student-Centered Coaching provides principals and district leaders with the background, practices, and tools required for leading coaching efforts that have a profound and positive impact on student and teacher learning. Filled with practical ideas that school leaders can easily apply to their own school settings, this book includes: 

• Tools and techniques for preparing a school for coaching, launching a coaching culture, and supporting coaches
• Leadership Moves sections that provide strategies for building principal and coach partnerships 
• Richly detailed Lessons from the Field, based on the authors’ real-life experiences, that illustrate principal and coach collaboration
• Recommendations for coaches to use as they strive to increase their impact 

With a focus on the critical role of school leadership, this action-oriented guide provides the key ingredients for ensuring the success of school-based coaching initiatives. 

"Sweeney and Mausbach explore the necessary ingredients to a successful instructional coach partnership between the principal and the coaches. This is a must-read for building leadership teams implementing an instructional coach program"
—Timothy S. Grieves, Chief Administrator
Northwest Area Education Agency, IA 

"This book synthesized the work necessary of school leaders when working with the coach. As a principal who was a student-centered coach, this book has shown me how I can tweak the skills I learned and apply them with a leadership lens."
—Kelly Neylon, Principal
Meadowview School, Woodridge IL 

Can your school or district improve its approach to building expertise among teachers, both those new to the profession and those interested in refining their craft? Diane Sweeney, currently a literacy specialist with the Public Education & Business Coalition, tells the story of how the inner-city public school in Denver where she was a teacher and literacy coach used learner-centered professional development to achieve outstanding gains in teacher knowledge and effectiveness.

In Learning Along the Way, you will see concrete examples of how your school can move away from a one-size-fits-all professional development model to create an authentic learning environment that meets the needs of individual teachers. The book features chapters that focus on:

    * implementing an instructional coaching model;
    * establishing study groups among teachers;
    * using observation as a means to model effective instruction;
    * going deeper with discussion through the use of Critical Friends protocols;
    * examining various ways adults process new information;
    * encouraging teachers to take leadership roles;
    * focusing the principal's leadership around the professional development model.

Replete with real-life anecdotes and practical steps offered at the end of each chapter, this book will be useful to any teacher or administrator interested in rethinking the way they look at professional development.