Coaching Conversations with Jim Knight
Jim Knight is the founder of The Instructional Coaching Group, a professional development provider dedicated to offering PD for coaches, teachers, and leaders based on a partnership approach that creates better learning environments for all students. As a research associate at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning Jim has spent 25 years studying professional learning and instructional coaching. He earned his PhD in Education from the University of Kansas and has won several university teaching, innovation, and service awards. The pioneering work Jim and his colleagues have conducted has led to many innovations that are now central to professional development in schools. Jim wrote the first major article about instructional coaching for the Journal of Staff Development, and his book Instructional Coaching (2007) offered the first extended description of instructional coaching. Jim has written several books in addition to those described above, including the bestsellers Unmistakable Impact (2011), High-Impact Instruction (2013), Focus on Teaching (2014), Better Conversations (2015), The Impact Cycle (2018), and The Definitive Guide to Instructional Coaching (2021). He has also authored articles featured in Educational Leadership, The Journal of Staff Development, Principal Leadership, The School Administrator, and Kappan.
Episodes
171 episodes
Daren Croy | Learning from Experience
This week’s Learning from Experience segment features host Dr. Jessica Wise in conversation with Daren Croy, a teaching and learning facilitator at Oakdale Middle School in Oregon. Drawing on nearly 30 years in education, Daren reflect...
Coaching Q & A
Jim Knight and Jessica Wise settle into a conversation about what it’s really like to write books on instructional coaching and professional learning. Jim talks through how an idea slowly takes shape on the page, noting that early drafts are of...
Christian van Nieuwerburgh
In this episode of Coaching Conversations, Christian van Nieuwerburgh explores what it means to be a thoughtful, intentional coach. He describes four skills - listening, questioning, noticing, and playing back - and explains that they ...
Coaching Q & A
Jim Knight and Jessica Wise dig into the art of giving and receiving effective feedback in instructional coaching and leadership. They explore how empathy, self-awareness, and a partnership approach can transform feedback conversations from unc...
Learning from Experience with Mina Ibrahim
In this special “Learning from Experience” episode of Coaching Conversations, host Jessica Wise speaks with Mina Ibrahim, an educational leader from Egypt. Mina describes his path from engineering to founding an all-girls school and la...
Coaching Q and A
Jim Knight and Jessica Wise explore the critical process of enrolling teachers in instructional coaching cycles, discussing the importance of building trust, respecting teachers' autonomy, and using one-on-one conversations to foster engagement...
Kate Murphy
Jim Knight welcomes back author of You're Not Listening, Kate Murphy, for a thoughtful exploration of interpersonal synchrony and its influence on coaching and human connection. Drawing on research and lived experience, they examine ho...
Learning from Experience with Jessica Wise
We’re excited to introduce a new segment of the Coaching Conversations podcast: Learning from Experience with Dr. Jessica Wise.In this first conversation, Jessica sits down with Beth, an instructional coach from rural...
Christian van Nieuwerburgh
This week we have a special episode with Jim Knight and Christian van Nieuwerburgh about their 20-day trek along Nepal's Annapurna Circuit. They share stories from the trail—the stunning landscapes, the physical and mental challenges, and the m...
Coaching Q&A
Traditional SMART goals in educational coaching often fall short because they focus on what teachers do rather than what students learn. Jim Knight and Jessica Wise explore a different approach: the PEERS framework—goals ...
Ignacio Lopez
In this episode of Coaching Conversations, Ignacio Lopez and Jim Knight explore how emotional intelligence shapes the way educators lead and coach in schools, particularly as they continue to navigate the ongoing challenges they've faced since ...
Dr. Haesun Moon, Michael Bungay Stanier, and Christian van Nieuwerburgh
What is the purpose of coaching?In this episode, Jim Knight reunites with Dr. Haesun Moon, Michael Bungay Stanier, and Dr. Christian van Nieuwerburgh to explore this fundamental question. Together, they examine coaching's role in ...
Kim Scott
This week, I'm welcoming Kim Scott, author of Radical Respect, back to Coaching Conversations. We discuss leadership, communication, and fostering respect at work. Kim explains her concept of "radical respect," emphasizing dignity for all, and ...
Coaching Q&A
Sometimes the most profound lessons come from unexpected places. I recently trekked Nepal's Annapurna Circuit, and the experience left me with fresh perspective on gratitude, silence, and what really matters. In this episode, Jessica Wise and I...
2025 Favorites with ICG Director of Consulting, Amy Musante
In this episode of "Coaching Conversations," Amy Musante, ICG's Director of Consulting, reflects on her favorite podcast highlights from 2025. Amy and looks back at three episodes that really stayed with her. She talks about what she learned fr...
Robert Biswas Diener
What's the difference between directive and non-directive coaching? Should coaches set the agenda or let teachers lead?In this episode, Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener joins Jim Knight to explore the philosophy and practice of instructional co...
2025 Favorites with Jessica Wise
In this episode of Coaching Conversations, ICG Consultant Jessica Wise looks back at three standout episodes from 2025. Each one pushed her thinking about how we can better support educators and help schools flourish....
Coaching Q&A
In this week's Coaching Q&A episode, Jessica Wise and I dig into one of the most important topics in education today: the role of school leaders, especially principals, as instructional coaches.We talk honestly about what ...
Zaretta Hammond
In this episode, Jim Knight sits down with the brilliant Zaretta Hammond, author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain. They discuss how teachers can bridge the gap between knowing and doing; bringing the science of learning ...
John Campbell & Chris Munro
Chris Munro, John Campbell, and Jim Knight talk about what leadership coaching really looks like in schools. So much of it comes down to the conversations we have every day—the small moments that help people think, reflect, and grow....
William DeJean
Jim Knight talks with William DeJean, founder of Unleashed Learning, about what it means to teach and lead in what he calls the “era of overwhelm.” Their conversation explores how systems thinking, a clear teaching and learning mission, and the...