Introduction
In an International Baccalaureate (IB) school, reflection is more than a teaching strategy—it’s a mindset that fuels continuous improvement. The most effective IB educators regularly analyze their practice, question assumptions, and seek ways to better engage their students. But sustaining such reflection across an entire faculty takes structure, support, and intentionality.
That’s where instructional coaching comes in. When schools embed coaching into their professional culture, they create environments where teachers feel empowered to reflect deeply, experiment with new strategies, and refine their craft in a supportive, non-evaluative way.
This article explores how coaching can build a reflective teaching culture, strengthen collaboration, and align everyday practice with the IB’s core philosophy of lifelong learning.
Quick Start Checklist
For IB leaders aiming to establish a coaching culture:
- Clarify the purpose of coaching—growth, not evaluation.
- Identify and train skilled instructional coaches.
- Create time within the timetable for coaching cycles.
- Anchor discussions in IB Approaches to Teaching and Learning (ATL/ATT).
- Encourage goal-setting and reflection before, during, and after coaching.
- Celebrate progress and reflection as much as results.
Why Reflection Matters in the IB Context
Reflection is one of the ten IB Learner Profile attributes, and it underpins nearly every element of IB pedagogy. Teachers who model reflective practice:
- Encourage students to analyze their learning processes.
- Continuously adapt teaching strategies to meet diverse needs.
- Foster metacognition—the ability to think about one’s own thinking.
- Cultivate a culture of honesty and openness around growth.
Reflection transforms teaching from routine into deliberate practice—something the IB deeply values across all subject groups and programs.
Coaching as a Catalyst for Reflection
Instructional coaching supports reflection by creating structured, ongoing dialogue about teaching practice. Unlike traditional professional development, which is often one-size-fits-all, coaching is personalized, contextual, and relational.
In a coaching relationship, teachers can:
- Analyze classroom challenges in a confidential, supportive environment.
- Receive feedback grounded in observation and evidence.
- Set achievable professional growth goals.
- Reflect on progress through guided questioning.
A strong coaching culture moves teachers from “How did my lesson go?” to “What did students learn, and why?”
The Core Components of Reflective Coaching
1. Trust and Confidentiality
Teachers must feel safe to be vulnerable. Coaching conversations should never feed into evaluation. Trust allows for honest reflection and experimentation, essential in IB environments where innovation is encouraged.
2. Evidence-Based Dialogue
Effective reflection relies on evidence—student work samples, observation notes, assessment data. Coaches help teachers interpret this data, connecting patterns to instructional decisions.
3. Goal Setting
Reflection becomes powerful when linked to specific, measurable goals. For example:
- “I want students to demonstrate greater independence during inquiry tasks.”
- “I want to improve transitions between ATL skill activities.”
These goals guide focused reflection throughout the coaching cycle.
4. Feedback That Promotes Inquiry
Rather than providing solutions, coaches ask probing questions:
- “What do you notice about student engagement here?”
- “How might you scaffold that differently next time?”
- “What surprised you about this outcome?”
This keeps reflection teacher-owned and inquiry-driven.
Embedding Coaching into School Culture
To make coaching sustainable, IB schools must treat it as part of professional learning, not an add-on. Leadership plays a key role by:
- Allocating time for coaching cycles within schedules.
- Providing training for coaches to develop listening and questioning skills.
- Aligning coaching goals with whole-school priorities (e.g., assessment for learning, ATL integration).
- Modeling reflection at leadership level—showing that everyone, including coordinators, is a learner.
When coaching becomes part of the school’s DNA, reflection flows naturally through classrooms and meetings alike.
Linking Coaching to IB Frameworks
The IB’s Approaches to Teaching (ATT) emphasize inquiry, collaboration, and reflection—precisely the qualities coaching nurtures. Coaching cycles can focus on:
- Inquiry-based teaching: Helping teachers design lessons that encourage curiosity.
- Differentiation: Reflecting on strategies that meet diverse learning needs.
- Assessment as learning: Using feedback to deepen student reflection.
- Conceptual understanding: Ensuring units connect ideas across subjects.
By tying coaching to IB standards, schools ensure that reflection directly supports program success.
Reflection-in-Action and Reflection-on-Action
Donald Schön’s classic distinction between reflection-in-action (thinking during teaching) and reflection-on-action (thinking after teaching) fits beautifully with IB coaching.
- Reflection-in-action helps teachers adapt in real time—for example, rephrasing a question when students struggle to engage.
- Reflection-on-action involves post-lesson analysis, identifying what worked and why.
Coaching cycles that emphasize both help teachers develop professional agility—the ability to think flexibly in the moment while learning from experience.
Using Peer Coaching for Wider Impact
While designated instructional coaches are essential, peer coaching expands reflective practice across the faculty. Pairing teachers from different disciplines encourages the exchange of pedagogical strategies.
For example:
- A TOK teacher might coach a Science colleague on questioning techniques.
- A Language teacher might support a Mathematics teacher in embedding communication-based ATLs.
- A Visual Arts teacher might share strategies for fostering creative risk-taking.
This builds professional empathy and understanding across the school community.
Measuring the Impact of Coaching
Reflection doesn’t always show up in test scores. However, schools can assess impact by tracking:
- Teacher self-assessment surveys before and after coaching cycles.
- Student engagement or confidence indicators.
- Evidence of revised unit plans or new strategies being applied.
- Feedback from peer discussions or departmental reviews.
The goal isn’t to measure “performance” but to monitor growth and learning over time—for both teachers and students.
Why RevisionDojo Supports Coaching-Based Growth
At RevisionDojo for Schools, we believe that a reflective teaching culture is essential to IB excellence. Our platform provides structured tools for collaborative reflection, professional inquiry, and progress tracking. By supporting coaching conversations and shared goal-setting, RevisionDojo empowers schools to sustain authentic professional growth aligned with IB pedagogy.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How is coaching different from formal evaluation?
Coaching focuses on growth, not accountability. It’s confidential, goal-driven, and supportive, while evaluation measures performance against standards. The two can complement each other, but coaching should remain a safe space for reflection.
2. How often should coaching cycles occur in an IB school?
Ideally, each teacher engages in one or two coaching cycles per year, each lasting 6–8 weeks. This allows for focused goal-setting, observation, feedback, and reflection without overwhelming workload.
3. What qualities make an effective instructional coach?
Great coaches are empathetic, skilled listeners who ask open-ended questions and foster trust. They should understand IB frameworks deeply and help teachers link reflective practice to IB learning outcomes.
Conclusion
A reflective teaching culture doesn’t emerge by chance—it grows through intentional coaching, trust, and shared purpose. When IB schools invest in coaching, they empower teachers to become lifelong learners who continuously refine their craft.
By embedding coaching into professional development, schools nurture reflective practitioners who model inquiry and growth for their students. Reflection then becomes more than an IB expectation—it becomes the heartbeat of the school community.
