Which Experiences DON'T Help You Become an Instructional Coach?
If you want to become an Instructional Coach, you may be asking yourself:
“What experience do I need before someone will give me a chance?”
But I want you to consider a different question:
👉 “Which of my experiences actually prove I'm ready to coach adults?”
Because there's a BIG difference.
You can be an amazing teacher.
Have 10+ years of experience.
Serve on multiple committees.
Earn advanced degrees.
Attend dozens of professional development sessions...
And still struggle to get an Instructional Coach interview.
Why?
Because those experiences by themselves don't necessarily demonstrate that you can help other teachers improve their practice.
erve on multiple committees.
Earn advanced degrees.
Attend dozens of professional development sessions...
And still struggle to get an Instructional Coach interview.
Why?
Because those experiences by themselves don't necessarily demonstrate that you can help other teachers improve their practice.
🎯 What Doesn't Help as Much as You Think?
1️⃣ Being an Excellent Classroom Teacher
Being a strong teacher matters.
It gives you credibility.
But your own classroom success doesn't automatically demonstrate that you can help another adult become successful.
Your resume shouldn't stop at:
❌ Increased student achievement by 20%.
Strengthen it with experiences like:
✅ Modeled instructional strategies for colleagues that supported implementation of new practices across multiple classrooms.
See the difference?
One demonstrates your teaching ability.
The other begins demonstrating your ability to influence teaching.
2️⃣ Serving on Committees Without Demonstrating Impact
Being on the:
• School Improvement Team
• Equity Committee
• MTSS Team
• Curriculum Committee
• Leadership Team
...can absolutely provide valuable experience.
But simply writing:
“Served on the School Improvement Team”
doesn't tell a hiring manager much.
Ask yourself:
What did I contribute?
Who did I influence?
What problem did we solve?
What changed because of my involvement?
The committee name isn't the accomplishment.
Your contribution is.
3️⃣ Attending Lots of Professional Development
Being trained in:
✔ PLCs
✔ MTSS
✔ Data Analysis
✔ Differentiation
✔ Curriculum
✔ Instructional Strategies
...can strengthen your knowledge.
But instructional coaches aren't primarily hired to attend professional development.
They're expected to help facilitate the professional growth of other educators.
So don't just show what you've learned.
Show what you've done with it.
4️⃣ Having a Leadership Title Without Leadership Evidence
Department Chair.
Team Leader.
Lead Teacher.
Mentor Teacher.
Those titles can certainly help.
But the title alone isn't enough.
A hiring team still needs to understand:
“What did you actually DO as the leader?”
Did you facilitate collaborative learning?
Coach colleagues?
Analyze data with teams?
Model instruction?
Provide feedback?
Lead change?
Solve a problem of practice?
That's where the value lives.
💡 Here's What the Research Tells Us
Research on teacher professional learning emphasizes the value of individualized support, instructional coaching, active learning, and job-embedded professional development.
AIR's review of teacher professional learning research found individualized support such as instructional coaching and hands-on active learning to be important features of professional learning.
Learning Forward describes instructional coaching as job-embedded professional learning grounded in teachers' day-to-day practice and focused on improving instruction and student learning.
And recent Learning Forward guidance describes coaches as supporting adult learning, professional growth, and implementation of instructional initiatives.
That gives you an important clue about what your resume needs to demonstrate.
Stop Collecting Titles. Start Collecting Evidence.
If you're pursuing your first Instructional Coach position, intentionally build experiences where you can demonstrate:
✔ Coaching adults
✔ Providing actionable feedback
✔ Facilitating professional learning
✔ Modeling instructional practices
✔ Analyzing data with teachers
✔ Leading collaborative conversations
✔ Helping teachers solve problems
✔ Measuring changes in teacher practice or student outcomes
Those experiences make it much easier for a hiring manager to imagine you doing the actual job.
Good Candidate vs. Strong Candidate
A good candidate says:
“I've taught successfully for 12 years and served on several leadership committees.”
A strong candidate says:
“I've spent the past two years facilitating PLCs, mentoring new teachers, modeling instructional strategies, analyzing student data with teams, and helping colleagues implement changes in their classrooms.”
That's a completely different candidate story.
And here's the important part:
They could be the SAME teacher.
The difference is the experiences they intentionally developed—and how they communicated their value.
Take a Look at Your Resume
Ask yourself:
“How many of my bullets demonstrate what I accomplished with students?”
Now ask:
“How many demonstrate how I helped ADULTS improve?”
If you're pursuing Instructional Coaching and almost everything on your resume is about your own classroom...
That's the gap I'd start working on now.
If you're pursuing your first Instructional Coach position and aren't sure whether you're building the right experiences, let's talk.
📅 Sign up for a FREE 10-Minute Mentoring Session.
We'll discuss:
✔ The experiences you already have
✔ Which experiences carry the most value for coaching positions
✔ What might be missing from your candidacy
✔ Opportunities you can intentionally pursue this school year
You may not need another degree.
You may not need another title.
You may simply need better evidence that you can help adults grow.
To your next opportunity,
Ray Singletary
Founder | Educator Career Coach
"Good candidates prove they can teach. Strong coaching candidates prove they can help other teachers get better."
