Abstract
Effective instructional coaching is teacher-centered and responsive, aimed at supporting K-12 teachers’ and their students’ learning and development. Using Briceño’s (2016) challenge to shift humans from “performance zones” to “learning zones”, this article showcases the adjustments two instructional coaches made as they worked throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to support teachers’ learning zones. Their work included facilitating meaningful peer observations, creating space for purposeful dialogues centered on relevant research and practice, and intentionally meeting teachers where they were at. Based on their experiences and feedback, attending to teachers’ learning zones holds positive and long-term implications for instructional coaches seeking to find and nurture hope and possibility with the teachers and students they serve.
Recommended Citation
VanderLugt, Dana; Levandoski, Kathy; and Hamilton, Erica R.
(2022)
"Nurturing the Learning Zone: Moving Toward Hope and Possibility while Coaching through the COVID-19 Pandemic,"
Michigan Reading Journal: Vol. 54:
Iss.
3, Article 9.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/mrj/vol54/iss3/9
Included in
Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Other Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons
Comments
This article is a joint collaboration and is being submitted for consideration in the "Voices from the Region " section of the Michigan Reading Journal. We do not think this manuscript fits as well with the current call for proposals, centered on social justice, equity, and responsive pedagogy. As such, we suggest that this manuscript be considered for the Fall 2022 issue of the Michigan Reading Journal but we leave final decisions up to the editors. Thanks for considering this submission!