One of the most frequent questions I get from coaches is about how to coach teachers in the Common Core (CCSS). While there's some content knowledge you'll need to have about the CCSS, there are many coaching skills that apply regardless of the content. More important, there's a big picture knowledge set that can help you determine the coaching strategies you'll use with your teachers--and this is a knowledge set that's usually left out of standard training sessions for coaches on the CCSS. So here's what I think you need to know and remember when coaching teachers towards the Common Core.

Acknowledge the Feelings

First, this is all very scary. This--the Common Core and its associated changes--is rather terrifying for teachers and administrators. It's happening really fast in most places, it's mandating changes in curriculum, assessment, teacher evaluation, and much more. In fact, CCSS creates an opportunity for everyone in the education system to reflect on and make changes in many traditional practices and approaches. This is promising--there's a whole lot that needs to change in order for kids to get what they need, but it's also very scary. Some of the core practices in CCSS require phenomenal higher order thinking skills, collaborative learning, deep questioning of content and learning; there's a chance that in the future, in true CCSS-aligned classrooms, kids won't be sitting in rows listening to lectures and regurgitating facts on a test. But the rate of change is dizzying and this is what we, as coaches, need to manage. And change brings feelings.

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