Madeline Hunter and Doug Russell wrote this book in “response to requests from supervisors and coaches for help in knowing 1) how and what to observe in a classroom, 2) how to analyze that observation, and 3) how to translate those observations into conference feedback and interactions that encourage teachers to continue enhancing their professional effectiveness.” Professional growth is identified as the major purpose of all coaching, supervision and evaluation.

Four ideas are put forth by Hunter and Russell as essential to becoming a skilled coach or supervisor:
1. Coaching and supervising must be guild on the observer’s solid foundation of knowledge of instructional theory.
2. Initial training time is adequate only to build a base of understanding for beginning application to the observations and conferences of supportive, volunteer teachers. The primary purpose of initial observations and conferences is to develop the observer’s skills rather than contribute to the professional growth of the teacher.
3. There are no formulas for designing an effective instructional conference. Planning and conducting a conference is situational and relativistic.
4. Evaluation of educators, without adequate staff development and supervision (coaching), can be costly in time, energy and money, resulting in little, if any, professional growth by teachers.

What I notice is that the ideas in this book are based on research and practice, which is where coaching has been heading in the past few years. The concept of supervision is one that is used in the United Kingdom in relation to coaching, whereas in the United States the same concept is referred to as mentoring.

How does the concept of supervision, or mentoring, apply to the practice of professional coaching?

Vikki G. Brock, Ph.D., EMBA, MCC
Leadership & Mentor Coach
Director, History & Archives Division