iCOACH©: Transform Education Through Peer Coaching and Professional Development

iCOACH©  is a peer coaching program through which teachers support one another as they consciously work towards improving their skills as 21st century educators.  

“Professional Development alone doesn’t empower teachers; teachers empower teachers.”  Dr. John Kongsvik – Director of TESOL Trainers.

TESOL Trainers’ experimen​tial approach to peer coaching is praised by teachers and administrators alike.  The reasons are simple:

1. iCOACH© builds a solid learning community.
2. iCOACH© creates systemic and sustainable change.
3. iCOACH© transforms teaching and learning at any institution.

​iCOACH© was designed specifically for K-12 schools that want to provide more support for teachers in integrating the content of any professional development. 

Research indicates that peer coaching programs like iCOACH© help boost collective efficacy which correlates with greater learning outcomes, higher employee satisfaction, and stronger retention rates.

iCOACH© gives teachers the scaffold they need to develop confidence and competence in their teaching practices.  Many educators need more than just a workshop to change their teaching practices. TESOL Trainers’ peer coaching program scaffolds all teachers into changing with confidence and competence. 

​iCOACH©  scaffolds teachers into consciously developing specific teaching practices through facilitated peer observations and feedback sessions.  Our research-driven process is supportive, effective, and encourages educators to change.

​Of the many benefits, ​iCOACH© ensures that any professional development a school pursues takes root in the classrooms and the culture of the school.

Contact Dr. John Kongsvik to learn how iCOACH© can transform teaching and learning at your educational institution.

TESOL Trainers offers remote peer coaching professional development too.

• Educators observe another's virtual classrooms
• Teachers provide one another with constructive feedback using the same conscious competence process as in the onsite model.
• Our online peer coaching transforms remote K-12 teaching and learning too.

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: https://www.teachnet.org/)

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.

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 the barriers are overcome, tremendous change occurs.

Obstacle #1: 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. ​

Obstacle #2: 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.  

Obstacle #3: Many educators have never been taught how to give or receive productive feedback. Feelings of inadequacy may lead to teachers sensing an inability to support or be supported by their peers when it comes to feedback. 

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 and 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. In a short amount of time, we can empower educators to be their best trainers in and out of the classroom.

If you would like to learn how our peer coaching program can help take teaching and learning to a whole other level at your institution, contact Dr. John Kongsvik today.