Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author
CHAPTER 1. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO IMPROVE?
What Is Instructional Coaching?
Three Approaches to Coaching
Deep Learning, Deep Coaching
CHAPTER 2. IDENTIFY: GETTING A CLEAR PICTURE OF REALITY
Getting a Clear Picture of Current Reality
Using Video to Get a Clear Picture of Reality
Learning From Students
Putting It All Together
CHAPTER 3. QUESTIONS TO IDENTIFY A PEERS GOAL
PEERS Goals
Questions to Identify a PEERS Goal
The Identify Questions
CHAPTER 4. LEARN
Describing Teaching Strategies
Instructional Playbooks
Modeling Teaching Strategies
CHAPTER 5. IMPROVE
The Improve Stage of the Impact Cycle
Step 1: Confirm Direction
Step 2: Review Progress
Step 3: Invent Improvements
Step 4: Plan Next Actions
INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES’ TOOLKIT
Strategies for Enrolling Teachers
Data-Gathering Tools
Instructional Playbook
Strategies for Assessing Student Attitude
Appendix: Lean-Design Research
Development of the Impact Cycle
Lean-Design Research
Interviews
References
Index

About the Author

Dr. Jim Knight, Founder and Senior Partner of Instructional Coaching Group (ICG), is also a research associate at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning. He has spent more than two decades studying professional learning and instructional coaching. Jim earned his PhD in Education from the University of Kansas and has won several university teaching, innovation, and service awards.

The pioneering work Jim and his colleagues have conducted has led to many innovations that are now central to professional development in schools. Jim wrote the first major article about instructional coaching for the Journal of Staff Development, and his book Instructional Coaching (2007) offered the first extended description of instructional coaching. Jim’s book Focus on Teaching (2014) was the first extended description of how video should be used for professional learning. Recently, writing with Ann Hoffman, Michelle Harris, and Sharon Thomas, Jim introduced the idea of instructional playbooks with their book on that topic.

Jim has written several books in addition to those described above, including Unmistakable Impact (2011), High-Impact Instruction (2013), Better Conversations (2015), The Impact Cycle (2018), and The Definitive Guide to Instructional Coaching (2021). Knight has also authored articles on instructional coaching and professional learning in publications such as Educational Leadership, The Journal of Staff Development, Principal Leadership, The School Administrator, and Kappan. Jim is also a columnist for Educational Leadership and.

Through ICG, Knight conducts coaching workshops, hosts the Facebook Live Program, “Coaching Conversations,” and provides consulting for coaching programs around the world.

Reviews

"Jim Knight is one of the wise men of coaching. His well is deep, and he draws from it the best tools from practitioners, the wisdom of experience, and research-based insights. And he never loses the bigger picture: the point of all this is to have more impact in this life we′re lucky enough to live."
*Michael Bungay Stanier*

"I have had many opportunities to learn with and from Jim Knight. I’ve learned as a participant in his workshops, reading his books, and being on panels with him. Now, The Impact Cycle adds to my skills and insights. Jim’s vision of the coach as a partner who sets goals with the teacher, strategizes with and supports the teacher, and monitors changes with the teacher until the goal is met will assist many instructional coaches in targeting their efforts. Student- focused goals will be a game changer in many coaching initiatives and guarantee that coach and teacher investment in teacher learning is impacting student learning."
*Dr. Stephen Barkley, Executive Vice President*

"Once again, Jim Knight has earned his reputation as the reigning expert in instructional coaching. With his trademark clarity and heart, Knight manages to capture both the simplicity and complexity of coaching in an accessible, detailed, and nuanced framework for instructional coaches. Packed with insight, concrete examples, and practical tools, The Impact Cycle is an indispensable guide for coaches who want to make the biggest possible difference for students."
*Nancy Love, Director*

"Coaching done well may be the most effective intervention designed for human performance. Jim Knight’s work has helped me understand the details of how effective coaching can and should be done."
*Dr. Atul Gawande, surgeon, public health researcher, and author of The Checklist Manifesto*

"Continuous improvement is fueled by a focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning. The Impact Cycle provides educators with the strategies and the tools necessary to make that improvement a reality. I have had the opportunity to see how Knight’s model works first-hand and can attest to its effectiveness. The emphasis on effective partnerships with shared responsibility and ownership combined with a goal-oriented coaching cycle results in lasting and meaningful changes for teachers and students. This book shares a clear vision for powerful instructional coaching along with the specific steps to make that vision a reality. Knight′s The Impact Cycle is essential reading for educators who are committed to real and lasting change."
*Dr. Jadi Miller, Director of Curriculum*

"The Impact Cycle is an essential read for instructional coaches. It is organized to take the reader through each stage of an impact cycle, providing a vision for how to coach for a deeper impact. It is filled with stories from the field, allowing the reader to walk in the shoes of other coaches. In the end, all coaching is about creating meaning and supporting teachers to reach their goals, this book supports coaches to do just that."
*Diane Sweeney, Consultant*

"In this very helpful book, Jim Knight builds on knowledge gained from over two decades of assisting coaches to inspire and guide teachers to improve their instruction. Following his own advice to "stay curious", Jim continues to expand upon his coaching model to explicate new dimensions of the coaching relationship. Conversational and informative, this book will be a useful resource for any coach working in the field."
*Dr. Megan Tschannen-Moran, Professor of Educational Leadership*

"There is no one more passionate about improving every student’s learning experience than Jim Knight and in The Impact Cycle Jim has done it again with another well researched and immensely practical book. There are some great features here - the visual maps that introduce each chapter, the numerous checklists and templates, links to the Companion Website, helpful chapter summaries and great recommended resources in the Going Deeper sections. This is a book which will be referred to often. Instructional coaches will be an even better resource for the teachers with whom they work as a result of reading and using this book."  
*John Campbell, Executive Director*