Rethinking Coaching in the Digital Age
Technology continues to change the way students learn, and teachers play a key role in creating experiences that make learning both engaging and meaningful. Instructional coaching provides the support teachers need to confidently integrate new tools and methods into their classrooms. One framework that helps guide this process is Jim Knight’s Impact Cycle a research-based approach to professional growth that emphasizes collaboration, reflection, and results.
In my current coaching partnership, I’m working with a teacher who wants to bring more robotics and coding into her lessons to make the library more interactive. Her vision includes a creative Thanksgiving-themed breakout activity where students will use robot cars to code a path down a “parade route” they design themselves. Using The Impact Cycle as our guide, we are moving through the Identify, Learn, and Improve phases together to build confidence and inspire authentic student engagement.
The Identify Phase: Seeing the Current Reality Clearly
In the Identify phase, the goal is to pinpoint exactly what the teacher wants to accomplish and why. Together, we have identified that she wants to make library lessons more engaging while helping students develop problem-solving and critical-thinking skills through coding.
Using the PEERS model Powerful, Easy, Emotionally Compelling, Reachable, and Student-Focused), we will shape specific goals that guide this project. A few examples include:
Students will use coding to program a robot that can successfully navigate a parade route.
Students will collaborate in small groups to design and test their parade routes using digital tools and classroom materials.
The teacher will integrate at least one robotics-based activity per month to reinforce computational thinking and digital literacy.
This stage will also include reflective questioning to better understand the teacher’s vision and readiness. For instance, asking, “What outcomes do you hope students will take away from the robotics experience?” encourages meaningful goal setting grounded in student success.
Learn Phase: Building Skills and Confidence
During the Learn phase, the teacher will begin exploring new instructional strategies and digital tools that bring her ideas to life. Together, we will plan lessons that integrate coding and robotics in ways that are engaging and purposeful. One exciting plan includes creating a Thanksgiving-themed breakout activity where students will use robot cars to “drive” down a street they build together, simulating a Thanksgiving parade.
Before implementation, we will model each step, discuss possible challenges, and identify ways to support all learners. This phase will also include experimenting with small portions of the lesson in advance, for example, testing the coding sequence or the breakout clues, to ensure the activities run smoothly. The focus will be on helping the teacher feel confident using technology to enhance learning outcomes while promoting student creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving.
Improve Phase: Reflection and Refinement
In the Improve phase, we will reflect on how the lesson went and identify what worked well and what could be adjusted. We’ll use student feedback, classroom observations, and teacher reflection to analyze the results. The goal will be to make small, targeted improvements, whether refining the pacing, adjusting coding tasks for difficulty, or adding opportunities for peer collaboration.
This phase will also focus on celebrating growth. Even if the first round includes challenges, those moments will serve as valuable learning opportunities for both the teacher and students. Together, we will refine the activity so it can be expanded or repeated later in the year, continuing the cycle of growth and innovation.
The Impact Cycle in Technology Coaching: A Sustainable Model for Growth
The beauty of the Impact Cycle is that it’s not just about improving instruction; it’s about building confidence, reflection, and lasting change. When used for technology coaching, it prevents teachers from feeling like they have to master every new tool at once. Instead, they focus on one meaningful improvement, supported through dialogue and partnership.
Knight (2017) highlights that powerful coaching is built on trust, choice, and reflection. Similarly, Mraz, Kissel, and Greathouse (2020) found that teachers are more successful when technology coaching provides time for experimentation and reflection rather than one-time training sessions.
By using the Identify–Learn–Improve model, coaches can help teachers take small, strategic steps that lead to big instructional shifts.
Building Future-Ready Classrooms Together
Technology will continue to evolve, but the foundation of good teaching remains the same: connection, reflection, and growth. The Impact Cycle gives instructional coaches a powerful roadmap to guide teachers toward technology integration that’s intentional and engaging.
By walking through the Identify, Learn, and Improve phases together, coaches and teachers can transform classrooms into spaces where curiosity and creativity thrive. Whether it’s coding a robot parade or designing a digital story, the process empowers both educators and students to see technology not just as a tool, but as a pathway to meaningful learning.
For those ready to dive deeper into Jim Knight’s approach to transformational coaching, check out The Impact Cycle on Corwin Press. It’s an inspiring resource that shows how reflection, partnership, and purpose can spark meaningful change in classrooms everywhere.
When instructional coaches combine the Impact Cycle with digital tools, teachers gain more confidence and ownership in their learning. Research shows that ongoing coaching focused on teacher reflection and data-driven feedback leads to higher instructional quality and improved student engagement (Kraft, Blazar, & Hogan, 2018). Technology can strengthen this process by providing coaches and teachers with real-time evidence of growth, making professional learning more personalized and effective.
Building trust also plays a major role in successful coaching. According to Goff and colleagues (2020), teachers are more likely to take instructional risks when they feel supported and respected by their coaches. This trust creates a safe space where learning is shared, and mistakes are seen as part of growth. When combined with the Identify, Learn, and Improve framework (Knight, 2017), trust helps create a continuous cycle of progress that benefits both teachers and students.
Ultimately, empowering teachers through coaching and technology isn’t about using the newest tools; it’s about building confidence, collaboration, and purpose. As coaches and educators commit to learning together, they model the very growth mindset we hope to see in every classroom.
References
Goff, P., Guthrie, M., Goldring, E., & Bickman, L. (2020). Changing principals’ leadership through feedback and coaching. Journal of Educational Administration, 58(3), 297–313. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-03-2019-0046
Kraft, M. A., Blazar, D., & Hogan, D. (2018). The effect of teacher coaching on instruction and achievement: A meta-analysis of the causal evidence. Review of Educational Research, 88(4), 547–588. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654318759268
Knight, J. (2017). The impact cycle: What instructional coaches should do to foster powerful improvements in teaching. Corwin Press.
