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
Sherry St. Clair
In this episode, I’m joined by Sherri Sinclair—an incredible instructional coach, author, and thought partner. Together, we dive into the heart of what great teaching looks like.
Sherri brings deep wisdom from her new book, Intentional Instructional Moves, and we talk about what really makes an impact in the classroom: strong classroom management, authentic student engagement, and meaningful assessment for learning.
What stands out in Sherri’s approach is how practical and intentional it is—from purposeful group work to clear, focused direct instruction to differentiation that actually works for real classrooms.
We also dig into why clarity, connection, and continuous feedback are so essential—not just for student success, but for building learning environments where both teachers and students thrive.
If you're a coach, a school leader, or a classroom teacher, you'll walk away from this conversation with real, usable strategies you can start trying tomorrow. Intentionality isn't just a theory—it’s a practice. And Sherri shows us how to do it well.
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