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
Christian van Nieuwerburgh
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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 work best when they come from a place of genuine curiosity, not routine.
Christian also talks about “positive presence,” a way of being with others that is grounded in attention and respect. Rather than trying to follow a script, he encourages coaches to stay focused on the person in front of them and respond to what they hear.
He shares his idea of the “Four Curiosities” as a guide for staying open and engaged in conversations. Throughout the discussion, he returns to a simple idea: coaching is rooted in authentic connection and a sincere interest in helping others think and grow.
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