Teacher Preparation Blog

The Art of Coaching Teachers

Elena Aguilar, an experienced K-12 educator, trains individuals and teams to build resilient, just communities. She is the author of The Art of Coaching (2013), The Art of Coaching Teams (2016), and Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators (2018). She is also the founder of Bright Morning Consulting (brightmorningteam.com) and is active on social media. This blog is no longer being updated.

Education Opinion How to Know if Coaching Is Working
How much coaching do you invest, and how long do you wait, to see how much growth in practice? What constitutes enough growth for a teacher receiving coaching?
Elena Aguilar, March 19, 2018
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6 min read
Education Opinion The Key to Working With Adult Learners: Mind the Gap
How do we expand someone's ability? Elena Aguilar shares a tool for analysis that can transform your thinking about how to help another person change, learn, or grow.
Elena Aguilar, February 28, 2018
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5 min read
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Teaching Profession Opinion How Core Values Foster Resilience in Educators
Knowing and acting on core values is essential to being a resilient educator—and key to managing the challenges that educators face.
Elena Aguilar, February 4, 2018
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6 min read
Education Opinion How to Structure a Coaching Conversation
Here are the three key questions to think about to prepare for a coaching conversation.
Elena Aguilar, January 25, 2018
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4 min read
Education Opinion How to Tell if a Coaching Conversation Is Going Wrong
Here are some cues that a coaching conversation is not going well—for the coach or for the client.
Elena Aguilar, January 17, 2018
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3 min read
Education Opinion New Year's Activities for You and Your Coachees
Here are some activities to help you reflect on last year and launch this new one.
Elena Aguilar, January 4, 2018
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1 min read
Education Opinion Why You Must Shut Down This Winter Break
If you're anything like the majority of educators, then you've been working really hard since July or August.
Elena Aguilar, December 18, 2017
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2 min read
Education Opinion Put Down Your Phone and Improve Your Coaching
Our addiction to our devices is undermining our ability to focus, concentrate, and listen—and those are key coaching skills.
Elena Aguilar, December 6, 2017
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3 min read
Education Opinion The Empathic, No-BS Coach
Far too often, I think our fear holds us back from using a tool (being direct or even confrontational) that could help someone else gain insight into themselves or grow as an educator.
Elena Aguilar, November 8, 2017
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3 min read
Education Opinion How Purpose Can Ground a Struggling Teacher
We need to do what feels good more often, and often what feels good is taking a step back, or out, and remembering why we're doing what we're doing.
Elena Aguilar, October 12, 2017
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3 min read
Education Opinion What Is Trust? How Do We Build It?
Coaches should explore what makes us trust others and consider what we really mean when we talk about trust. Elena Aguilar shares Brené Brown's 7 elements of trust.
Elena Aguilar, September 23, 2017
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2 min read
Education Opinion How to Coach a Teacher in Crisis
Elena Aguilar shares 14 things to do when a teacher is in crisis mode—and four things not to do.
Elena Aguilar, September 21, 2017
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5 min read
Education Opinion How to Cultivate Trust: Always Remember 5 to 1
Whether you are a coach wanting to build trust with your coachees, or a principal hoping to cultivate trust amongst your staff, or you support teachers to build trust with their students, here is an easy-to-remember strategy to guide this effort.
Elena Aguilar, September 6, 2017
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2 min read
Education Opinion 12 Ways to Boost Resilience in New Teachers
Emotional resilience is the most important thing for coaches to focus on when supporting new teachers, Elena Aguilar writes.
Elena Aguilar, August 14, 2017
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4 min read
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