About+Coaching

The Peer Coaching Program, supported by Microsoft Corporation, is a proven methodology for training teacher leaders to serve as peer coaches for their colleagues.

Peer coaching is a practical way to deliver the ongoing, consistent support essential to assist teachers to improve their teaching and increase student achievement.

Peer coaches help other colleagues in their schools integrate technology into classroom learning activities and improve lesson design by incorporating engaging strategies such as project-based learning.

Peer Coaching assists teacher leaders to develop the coaching skills essential to help their colleagues learn the necessary technology skills and instructional strategies needed to integrate technology into active, engaging learning activities.

Coaches help colleagues in their schools by providing timely training or resources, co-planning learning activities, modelling effective teaching, observing colleagues and reflecting on what they observed.

Coaches encourage ongoing educator collaboration focused on improving student learning and help schools to develop the capacity to meet their professional learning needs.

Peer Coaching training focuses on //**three pillars**//:
 * Utilising the **//communication and collaboration skills//** needed to build trust and effective collaboration. Peer Coaching activities that develop communication and collaboration skills draw on the work of other successful programs like Cognitive Coaching, Atlas Communities, and the National School Reform Faculty.


 * Strengthening coaches’ **//lesson design skills//** to help colleagues to improve learning activities so they reflect 21st Century learning. For many teachers around the world, successful integration of technology means learning to use active, engaging instructional strategies. Peer Coaching’s focus on lesson design relies on the work of Bransford, et al, How People Learn, and the instructional strategies used in constructivism or Project-Based Learning.


 * And **//understanding best practices in technology integration//** so coaches can assist teachers use technology to enrich and enhance student learning. The partnership with Microsoft brings participants in Peer Coaching a variety of incredible examples of technology integration from the thousands of participants in Microsoft’s Innovative Educator Forums which are held annually in more than 70 countries around the world.

The following documents provide further information on Peer Coaching.  



