Coaching Choice Board

A recent blog post by Pam Hubler has me thoughtfully considering how I want to provide assistance to my teachers. Pam created a coaching choice board that she uses to collect requests for her "services" to teachers. Pam used a combination of Google Drawings, Slides, and Forms to create her coaching choice board. She was recently a guest on The Suite Talk with Kimberly Mattina and she explained her process and provided all the elements needed to complete your own coaching choice board in this Wakelet collection.

Source

This choice board appeals to me for a couple of reasons.

​#1 Hallway Meetings
I often get stopped in the hallway with questions or conversations that lead to action items. I'm ashamed to say that sometimes, I forget these action items because before I get to space to act on it, I get stopped by someone else in the hallway.

#2 "Technically," that's not my job
I often get asked about things related to hardware or software that aren't actually my job. Because I love learning, problem-solving, and am willing to try things, I can usually figure out the issue. While tasks like troubleshooting why the projector won't come on or unjamming the copy machine aren't technically my job, I enjoy helping others. I like that this choice board highlights the ways I can assist teachers.

It's still a work in progress as I define what I can do for teachers, but I'm excited about just really processing it. Next school year is sure to look different due to how COVID-19 has pushed us into a season of quarantine and remote learning. Many of the teachers I serve are now much farther along in their technology integration competency and confidence than ever before. The focus can't be tools, but how technology integration can be a regular part of their pedagogy.

I don't know yet if I'll actually use this choice board in the Fall. If I do, I'll likely link to it in my email signature. Or when I have one of the those hallway meetings with an action item, I'll ask "Will you complete my choice board request so I don't forget?". I think it'll also be great to have a log of the requests I get and be able to have data for how I'm assisting teachers.

I'm interested to know. If you're in an instructional technology or coaching position, what benefits and drawbacks do you see to using the coaching choice board? If you're a teacher, how would you respond to a coach who offers their "menu or services" in this format?

**UPDATE 1/7/21**
See how I've decided to use the Coaching Choice Board here.