iCOACH© Supports All Professional Development

​iCOACH© was designed specifically for K-12 schools and colleges that want to provide more support for teachers in integrating the content of any professional development, school focus, district goal.  ​

iCOACH© gives teachers the scaffold they need to develop confidence and competence in their teaching practices.   

​iCOACH© that scaffolds teachers into consciously developing specific teaching practices through facilitated peer observations and feedback sessions.  

​Of the many benefits, ​iCOACH© insures that any professional development a school pursues takes root in the classrooms and the culture of the school.
TESOL Trainers offers remote peer coaching professional development. 
  • Educators observe another's remote classrooms
  • Teachers provide one another with constructive feedback
  • Our online peer coaching transforms remote K-12 teaching and learning

 Exploring the Impact of Professional Development - {PD}

Professional Development is an important component of support for both teachers and the students they serve. It provides teachers with the latest research on the teaching-learning paradigm and its practical classroom applications.

Although educational institutions spend large amounts on professional development every year, the time and money spent on teacher training do not always have the projected impact.  Workshops on their own do not offer enough support for sustained teacher growth and systematic change towards positive teaching practices.  

Consider this graphic representation on the impact of professional development on teachers and their teaching practices.  
  • Only 5% percent of teachers are able to change their practices after attending a typical workshop - powerpoints and lectures.
  • When peer coaching follows a training, 90% of the teachers are able to effectively integrate new techniques into their practice.
  • The most cost effect way to insure that teachers integrate the content of any professional development (PD) workshop is to add iCOACH© to the kinds of support you offer teachers.
(Adapted from: http://www.teachnet.org/TNPI/research/growth/becker.htm)

The Benefits of iCOACH© on teaching and learning are impressive:

In addition to this model being flexible, there are many advantages to choosing iCOACH©:
TESOL Trainers and John Kongsvik provide experiential teacher training on reflective teaching practices
Reflection improves learning and teaching.
  1. ​teaches educators how to consciously improve teaching practices.
  2. improves teachers' understanding of what helps & hinders learning.
  3. motivates teachers to strive to become more effective and efficient.
  4. scaffolds educators into integrating new strategies into their classrooms.
  5. develops teaching confidence and competence.
  6. empowers educators to empower themselves and fellow colleagues.

Using Peer Coaching Transforms the Teaching and Learning Community

When teachers come together to watch one another teacher and given one another feedback amazing things can occur.  However, there are many obstacles to peer coaching.  When they are overcome, tremendous change occurs.

Most teachers operate in a bubble.  Educators rarely have the opportunity to see one of their peers teach. There are many reasons for this: teachers are busy, they have little time, and there is not a culture of this type of collaboration. ​Because teachers have been conditioned to see observations as punitive or a waste of time, there is little impetus to invite peers to watch a lesson or to ask to watch a peer.  Nonetheless, nothing supports effective teaching better than peer coaching.

If set up correctly, teachers get out of peer coaching far more than they put into it.  Once the fear of being observed dissipates, teachers quickly realize the value in having others watch their classes.  Once teachers learn how to give an receive feedback in a safe, productive manner, teachers find professional conversations about teaching and learning to be quite valuable.

TESOL Trainers' peer coaching program, iCOACH™, is a powerful means of supporting professional communities, effective teaching and learning, and growth mindsets in educators.
Contact TESOL Trainers directly for more details on how iCOACH© can transform your school.