1. Olympic Level Coaching
(Blogs/Mentor Blog)

By IU PIIC Mentors Lori Ceremuga and Cindy Shaffer Hopefully, this summer, you were able to catch some of the excitement of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.  The United States came home with a bundle ...

2. The Character of a Coach
(Blogs/Mentor Blog)

By IU PIIC Mentor Jeremy Gabborin and PIIC Regional Mentor Coordinator Kathy Gori It’s not “sugar and spice.” It’s not “snips and snails.” So, what exactly are the ingredients that make up a coach? Throughout ...

3. Habits of Highly Effective Coaches
(Blogs/Mentor Blog)

By IU PIIC Mentors Loriann Hoffman and Melissa Petrilak For the most part, the number seven is associated with good luck.   For coaches, there are 7 habits that can help to define effective ...

4. How Coaches can Help Teachers Distinguish Between Activities and Authentic Engagement
(Blogs/Mentor Blog)

By PIIC RMC Gen Battisto and IU 20 PIIC Mentor Missy Petrilak When a coach and a teacher are engaged in a Before conversation, one important factor to determine is what the coach should look for in a ...

5. March Madness, Coaching Style: A Celebration of Instructional Coaches
(Blogs/Mentor Blog)

By IU PIIC Mentor Heather Moschetta and PIIC RMC Charley Territo I love March. Winter starts to melt away into spring, and every year I feel that metaphorical renewal of spirit that the Transcendental ...

6. Coaching to the Rigor of the PA Core Literacy Standards
(Blogs/Mentor Blog)

By IU PIIC Mentors Terri Lewis and Kathleen Eich How often have we said, “Teachers teach the way they were taught?” The typical learner was presented with lecture, mass practice/homework, review and ...

7. Now that you have Learned the Strategy, how do you Increase the Rigor?
(Blogs/Mentor Blog)

By IU 9 PIIC Mentor Teri Everett Since the implementation of No Child Left Behind and the PA Core Standards, teachers have been in search of strategies to engage students in the learning process. The ...

8. Creating Sustainable Change
(Blogs/Mentor Blog)

By IU PIIC Mentors Carol Adams and Heather Moschetta The iceberg is often used (sometimes overused?) as a metaphor for the work that coaches do. In fact, as we were preparing for our breakout session ...

9. Coaching Teachers through Text Complexity
(Blogs/Mentor Blog)

By IU PIIC Mentors Amy Walker and Diane Hubona When an instructional coach is working with teachers around text complexity, there are three essential entry points to consider that should guide the coaching ...

10. Building Collaborative Relationships with Administrators
(Blogs/Mentor Blog)

By PIIC RMC Virginia Glatzer and IU PIIC Mentor Carol Adams When we sat down to write this piece, we realized that so much depends on confidentiality.  We wondered, “What do we mean by 'Confidentiality'?" ...

11. Rejuvenate this Summer by Exploring 21st Century Critical Thinking Tools
(Blogs/Mentor Blog)

By IU PIIC Mentor Stephanie Schwab and PIIC RMC Virginia Glater Summer is almost here!  It's time to rejuvenate, refuel and reflect.  Picture yourself on a lounge chair, by the pool with your ...

12. The Before and After of Formative Assessment: How Coaches can Help Teachers Use Formative Assessment to Promote Student Learning
(Blogs/Mentor Blog)

By IU PIIC Mentors Mike Derman and Kathleen Eich Knowing that frequent assessment increases learning and retention, coaches who encourage teachers to plan to use formative assessment to inform instruction ...

13. How the PIIC 4 Quadrants Act as the Umbrella for the Coaches' Work
(Blogs/Mentor Blog)

By IU PIIC Mentors Terri Lewis and Kathleen Eich and PIIC RMC Tom Sebastian In a blog posted at huffingtonpost.com, on January 6, 2015, Sean Slade, Director of Whole Child Programs at ASCD, discussed ...

14. Becoming Partners in Learning: the Coach and Teacher Relationship
(Blogs/Mentor Blog)

By IU PIIC Mentors Lori Ceremuga and Barb Wilkinson Building the teacher- coach relationship is the heart of successful coaching programs.  “Building strong relationships with teachers require 6 ...

15. PIIC Hosts First PLO of 2015
(News/PIIC News)

... 140 coaches, administrators, IU PIIC Mentors, and Regional Mentor Coordinators (RMC) from 20 PIIC-participating Intermediate Units (IU) attended the three-day conference.  Ellen Eisenberg, PIIC ...

16. Adult Learning and the PIIC Coaching Model - a Perfect Pair: How the PIIC Model Supports Adult Learners
(Blogs/Mentor Blog)

By IU PIIC Mentors Jeremy Gabborin and Stevie Kline According to the Canadian Literacy and Learning Network (http://www.literacy.ca/professionals/professional-development-2/principles-of-adult-learning/ ...

17. Full-Time Coaching on a Part-Time Schedule
(Blogs/Mentor Blog)

By PIIC RMC Charley Territo and IU 4 PIIC Mentor Amy Walker Recent research done by FHI360 on behalf of the Pennsylvania Institute for Instructional Coaching (PIIC) suggests that the greatest impact ...

18. Advocating the Coaching Role to Schools, Districts, and School Boards
(Blogs/Mentor Blog)

By PIIC Regional Mentor Coordinator Kathy Gori and IU 7 PIIC Mentor Cindy Shaffer Effective educators are very familiar with advocacy.  Therefore, it should come as no surprise that something as ...

19. How Can a New Coach Build a Culture of Learning?
(Blogs/Mentor Blog)

By IU PIIC Mentors Cindy Shaffer and Teri Everett Congratulations!  Your building administrator has just informed you that you will be an instructional coach for the 2014-15 school year.  The ...

20. Using Reflection as the "B" for Next Year
(Blogs/Mentor Blog)

By PIIC RMC Gen Battisto and IU 17 PIIC Mentor Todd Moyer “Sometimes, you have to look back in order to understand the things that lie ahead.” -Yvonne Woon There is always a sense accomplishment ...