Build Stronger Teacher Teams with Bite-Sized Coaching

 Tired of overwhelming your teachers with endless professional development? Discover the game-changing "Coaching à la Carte" approach that's transforming how instructional coaches support educators!

In this episode of Schoolutions, instructional coaches and Two Writing Teachers Blog authors Amy Ellerman and Morgan Davis share revolutionary strategies for building stronger teacher teams through bite-sized professional development and innovative learning labs. If you're struggling with teacher burnout, low engagement in PD, or need effective coaching strategies that actually work, this conversation is for you.

What You'll Learn:
✅ How to implement "Coaching à la Carte" for busy, depleted teachers
✅ The power of learning labs to transform teacher collaboration
✅ Why turning teachers into "risk-takers" (not experts) creates better outcomes
✅ Practical strategies for instructional coaching that drive student success
✅ How to build collective efficacy through parallel practices

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction to Amy Ellerman & Morgan Davis
2:04 Inspiring Educators: Katie Wood Ray & Sam Bennett
4:33 The Shift in Teacher Capacity for Professional Learning
5:43 What is "Coaching à la Carte"?
7:21 Teacher Teams & Risk-Taking in Learning Labs
9:50 Understanding Learning Labs Structure
11:06 Pre-Unit Planning: Building Clarity Together
12:55 Teacher as Writer: Living the Experience
15:28 Pre-Brief: Setting Up Learning Lab Success
20:46 Mid-Unit Collaboration & Feedback Palooza
24:20 Observation: Growing Teacher Learning
27:00 The Critical Debrief Process
30:12 Finishing Units Strong: Reflection & Celebration
35:07 Commitment & Follow-Up in Learning Labs
39:33 Call to Action: Building Collective Efficacy
42:11 Getting Started: Breaking Down Big Work
45:09 Closing & Two Writing Teachers Blog

Episode Mentions:

• Coaching à la Carte: Stronger Together Blog Series by Amy Ellerman (10/31/22)
• Teacher Teams: Stronger Together Blog Series by Morgan Davis (11/5/22)
• Katie Wood Ray
• Sam Bennett
• Learning Lab Structure
• Professional Learning Community (PLC)
• Vicki Collet’s 2022 CCIRA session based on her book, Collaborative Lesson Study: ReVisioning Teacher Professional Development (2019)

Other Recent Blog Posts by Amy & Morgan:

• Conferring Notes: The Key to Unit Planning
• Joy and Agency: An Origin Story
• It's not Magic (but it IS): The Power of Being a Teacher who Writes

When coaches, teachers, administrators, and families work hand in hand, it fosters a school atmosphere where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged in their learning journey.