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Favorite Books on Teaching and Coaching

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We know how valuable a good book recommendation can be especially from people in the know. So here are a few beloved resources that our Coaching Inquiry Network participants recently shared along with their comments of why they like them so much.  

These are books and articles about coaching, community, and how to shift your perspective.

The Art of Coaching by Elena Aguilar
“The content is both practical and theoretical in a great way.”
“I really identify with this principal’s feelings about trust and ways to understand teachers’ behaviors.”

Onward by Elena Aguilar
“A great resource to support teachers’ emotional resilience.”

The Deepest Well: Healing the Effects of Childhood Adversity by Nadine Burke Harris, M.D.
“Trauma lens is a superpower!”

Choice Words by Peter H. Johnston
“Helpful reminder to use language as a powerful tool in a positive way, with teachers and students and families.”

Student-Centered Coaching by Diane Sweeney
“Sweeney’s site has lots of free, downloadable coaching resources that have helped inform my coaching practice”

Student-Centered Coaching in the Classroom: It’s Where the Joy Is by Diane Sweeney
“I’ve found teacher investment deepens when my coaching support has a measurable student learning goal in addition to the teachers’ personal professional growth goals.”

Nurturing Creativity: An Essential Mindset for Young Children’s Learning by Rebecca Isbell and Sonia Akiko Yoshizawa
“As a firm believer of fostering and nurturing creativity in young children, this magazine topic resonates with a passion of mine.”

Beautiful Work by Ron Berger
“Helps me remember that we all need to step back and take pride in the work we do, as well as all the work (revisions, feedback, etc.) it takes to get to a final product.”

Listening Leader by Shane Safir
“Stresses the importance of voice from all stakeholders.”

The Mentor’s Guide: Facilitating Effective Learning Relationships by Lois J. Zachary
“Provides strategies for structuring mentoring conversations and setting the foundation for meaningful mentor-mentee relationships.”

Mentoring Matters: A Practical Guide to Learning-Focused Relationships by Laura Lipton and Bruce Wellman
“The concepts of coaching stances and focusing/broadening questions are especially useful in my work as a coach.”

The Need for Teacher Communities: An Interview with Linda Darling-Hammond  by The Council Chronicle (National Council of Teachers of English)
“I’m focusing on how to make teaching teams more effective through collaboration and space for feedback. This idea of teaching as a team sport is very relevant to my work.”