What is an Instructional Coach?
Instructional coaches are educational leaders that bring best practices into classrooms by working with teachers and school leaders. The role varies from district to district and is sometimes subject-specific and other times grade-level specific.
Instructional coaches have experience teaching and strong content knowledge that move away from a teaching position to work with teachers to improve their practice and, in turn, have a positive effect on student achievement.
Instructional Coach Interview Questions
Prepping for an interview to become an instructional coach is just like any other type of interview. It is essential to jot down all experiences you feel relevant to why you would be a great candidate for this position. As a loose instructional coach job description, you are a supporter of student learning and effective instruction, a facilitator of curriculum, content, and professional learning, a data coach, and a change agent, so it is important to reflect on what you do in each of those capacities that would benefit the teachers and students.
What is your vision for this role?
This type of question you can be asked during a teacher interview for instructional coach jobs. The role in itself is so broad, as you work with so many different teachers and various administrators. Be prepared to discuss what your vision for the role is, and mention the impact it will have on student achievement in the long run.
What do you think the biggest challenge will be in this role?
This is a question that could have various answers depending on the role the instructional coach has in your district. For example, I am an instructional coach for mathematics in kindergarten through sixth grade. I work in four different buildings with 115 teachers. When I was asked this question in my interview, I said the biggest challenge was working in seven grade levels and being able to address the needs of teachers and students effectively.
Your answer can be different based on the role as you may have fewer grade levels but more subject areas. As an instructional coach, there are so many challenges, so just be honest in your response. Do your homework to find out as much about the role as you can before your interview, to accurately assess what is going to be most challenging for you.
How would you build relationships and trust with teachers?
This is such a large piece of instructional coaching. You need to work extremely hard the first year to build relationships with the teachers. I have been working on a self-paced course called Simply Coaching & Teaching and have learned a great deal about the importance of building relationships. You want teachers to “buy in” to what you are doing and make them feel you are trustworthy.
You also want to make personal connections with teachers and try to find a common denominator to do so. Having an open door, being available, listening to the teachers, providing feedback, and just being genuine are all important in developing relationships with the teachers you work with. The more approachable you are, and the more you make the teachers feel at ease around you and confident within themselves, the more they will like and trust you.
What do you see as your daily responsibilities as a coach?
Since the role of instructional coach varies so much from district to district, you could have to do so many different tasks each day. One good idea would be to reach out to an instructional coach in another district to see if you can discuss with them their day-to-day operation.
It might shed some light on the role you are interviewing for. Going into classrooms, meetings with teachers or administrators, preparing lessons and unit plans, professional development presentations, and researching best practices are just some tasks you will see on your daily agenda.
How would you handle pushback from teachers?
It can be challenging to work with different teachers, as not all educators are as open to instructional coaches as some. Take criticism with a grain of salt, as many teachers do not understand the role of an instructional coach.
The best advice I have been given is to “Water the flowers, not the rocks.” Sometimes you need to give people time to wrap their heads around the idea of an instructional coach, but being present, available, knowledgeable, and friendly are all ways to make someone feel more comfortable with you.
What would your core values be as an instructional coach?
It is crucial to determine the values most important to you as an instructional coach. My core values are to be innovative, approachable, knowledgeable, friendly, and easy to work with. Everyone’s values are different, but you have to figure out what is most important to you to make you the most effective in this role. This a great to think about before your interview as your values will be intertwined into various responses you may have during your interview.
Why do you want to be an instructional coach?
What is your “why”? Be honest and genuine in your response to this. My answer was that I see it as an excellent opportunity for my school district to become better in so many ways. In my role, I can see so many best practices, as well as where issues are present. I want to be an agent of change in the school environment and do my best to help teachers be their best so our students have the best experience possible.
I shared some of my responses for you to see the passion that comes along with this role. As Conrad Hall stated, “You are always a student, never a master. You have to keep moving forward.” An instructional coach does just that, learning and evolving one day, one lesson, and one teacher at a time.
Interested in an instructional coach certification or graduate degree program? Check out our available curriculum and instruction graduate degree programs!
