Schools and districts in the Lehigh Valley and beyond, are exploring ways to make teaching and learning more effective. The emerging field of instructional coaching provides an opportunity to approach classroom support for this in an ongoing and authentic way. Cedar Crest College is addressing this need with the area’s first instructional coaching endorsement program for teachers.
Instructional coaches operate on a strengths-based approach to support student growth. Like a coach on a team, an instructional coach wants to get the best teaching out of their teachers and the best learning from their students. They help educators develop and refine classroom practices and strategies to impact student achievement.
Collegiality, collaboration, and mentorship have always been fostered in schools. The transition to an instructional coaching model exemplifies a commitment to a school and district’s effort to enhance teaching and learning in their teachers and students.
This program is intended for existing classroom teachers who aspire to be instructional coaches, reading specialists, content area specialists, department chairs, and all educators who want to support professional learning and school improvement with a minimum of five years of experience in the classroom—the requirement for serving as an instructional coach in a school.
Teachers can earn the endorsement in just one academic year. Fieldwork is embedded in each of the four courses, allowing educators a direct connection between theory and practice, using their own school setting for their coaching applications. Additionally, the program can be started at any point, and still finish within a single year.
For more information about the program, contact Melissa Kamyab.