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.
Coaching Conversations with Jim Knight
Coaching Q&A
In this episode of the Coaching Conversations podcast, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jessica Wise to explore what I call the Seven Success Factors for effective instructional coaching. These factors come from years of research and practice, and they represent what I've seen work in real schools with real teachers.
Jessica and I talked about the importance of approaching coaching as a partnership, where both coach and teacher learn from each other. We also dug into how crucial it is to use data—not just to measure success, but to guide our decisions in a way that truly supports student learning.
Throughout the conversation, we kept coming back to one central idea: coaching must be rooted in empathy, trust, and a relentless focus on student outcomes. We talked about how leadership can make or break coaching programs, and why a supportive culture is essential if we want teachers to grow. Teaching is deeply personal work, and coaching needs to honor that by being compassionate, collaborative, and always grounded in respect.
Access the "Teach to Win" article referenced in this podcast.
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Learn more about The Impact Cycle:
https://www.instructionalcoaching.com/workshop/the-impact-cycle/
Learn more about Consulting:
https://www.instructionalcoaching.com/instructional-coaching-program/