Funded by a grant from the Michigan Department of Education to Michigan State University, Coaching 101 is a collaborative effort to build a professional knowledge base for all Michigan instructional leadership and content area coaches. Its goal is to increase coherence among the various coaching roles so all coaches can effectively and productively work together on behalf of the schools they support. By extending each coach's understanding of the fundamental knowledge, skills, and dispositions of effective coaching, Coaching 101 supports improved instruction and increased student achievement.
All Instructional Leadership and Content Area Coaches funded through Title I Regional Assistance Grants, in the state of Michigan, are required to complete Coaching 101. For more information about program expectations and the entire Coaching 101 training sequence please click here.
What Coaching 101 is meant to be:
- A response to the Michigan Department of Education’s Request for Proposals to create a program to ensure that all educational coaches have a shared basic understanding of the fundamentals of effective coaching that span coaching specialty areas.
- An effort to increase the coherence of the support provided to schools through Michigan's Statewide System of Support (MI-Excel).
- A program focused on developing across different types of educational coaches a common language and common approach to interacting with the teachers and administrators who represent the primary clientele of all coaches.
- An interactive experience, including personal videos, that enables coaches to expand their strengths and identify areas for individual professional development.
- Appropriate and valuable for coaches at every experience and skill level.
- An opportunity for coaches to understand the roles and responsibilities of each type of educational coach that may be engaged in supporting a school’s improvement process.
What Coaching 101 is NOT meant to be:
- A repeat of the content area preparation coaches have had or will have through other coaching preparation programs.
- A set of passive, one-way, lecture-style presentations.
- A culminating experience meant to be the “last word” in coach preparation.
- Preparation to be a distinct type of coach (data, content area, formative assessment, instructional leadership).
