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
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In this episode of Coaching Conversations, Jim Knight and ICG Consultant Jessica Wise explore the ideas behind Jim’s book High-Impact Instruction — a book designed to give teachers and coaches practical, easy-to-use strategies that can make an immediate difference in classrooms.
Jim walks through the book’s four key areas: identifying clear learning destinations, using formative assessment to stay on track, strengthening instruction, and building classroom community. Along the way, he reflects on what he might revise if writing the book today, especially around formative assessment and feedback.
The conversation also explores a deeper question: What does great teaching actually feel like for students? Jim shares why classrooms should be places where students feel respected, safe, and genuinely engaged in learning.
Jessica adds perspective from her work with educators today, sharing how the ideas in High-Impact Instruction continue to resonate in workshops and coaching conversations with teachers across schools and districts.
Learn more about Introduction to Leadership Coaching:
https://www.instructionalcoaching.com/workshop/introduction-to-leadership-coaching/
Learn more about Managing Challenging Conversations:
https://www.instructionalcoaching.com/workshop/managing-challenging-conversations/