Early in my coaching journey, I assumed that a strong conversation would naturally lead to strong instruction. Yet more times than I would like to admit, even the conversations that seemed effective in the moment did not lead to the change in practice I hoped for. What I misunderstood was that effective coaching is not measured by how inspired a coach or teacher feels at the end of a conversation. It is measured by what happens when the teacher returns to the classroom and encounters difficulty. Do they retreat to familiar practices or do they persist? Do they reduce rigor or do they adjust support? Do they blame students or do they continue searching for ways to reach them?
During a coaching cycle with a teacher I’ll call Ms. Smith, we noticed her middle school students were completing tasks successfully, but very few were explaining their thinking. Most responses were short, surface-level, and heavily dependent on the teacher. We realized students had not been consistently expected to explain their thinking with rigor, so we identified opportunities for them to do so.
At first, Ms. Smith felt uncomfortable incorporating more in-depth discussion of student reasoning. She worried students would not respond thoughtfully, discussions would fall flat, or the lesson would get off track. And there were days when those things did happen. Sometimes Ms. Smith found herself leaning on familiar practices, stepping in with answers to move the lesson along. But she persisted.
Over time, something began to change. Students started giving longer responses and thinking more critically about solving problems and explaining their reasoning. As students responded differently, Ms. Smith responded differently. She became more intentional about probing student thinking, allowing students to wrestle with ideas, and trusting they were capable of more.
What began as a shift in Ms. Smith’s instruction ultimately became a shift in belief. As her students responded differently, she began to see herself differently, not just as someone acquiring an instructional practice, but as someone capable of influencing deeper learning.
Educators are far more likely to sustain a practice when they can clearly see how their actions are influencing student outcomes.
This process taught me that I had to move away from asking myself, Did I give good feedback or guidance? to asking, Did this coaching strengthen the teacher’s confidence, clarity, and capacity to respond to students effectively? The goal was no longer simply to have a good coaching conversation. The goal was to help teachers move from uncertainty to conviction because conviction is what sustains instructional change long after the coaching conversation ends.
Why Conviction Matters
Teachers’ lack of follow-through on coaching is not always driven by an unwillingness to put forth effort. Often, it is rooted in their sense of efficacy—their belief that they can positively influence student outcomes (Goddard et al., 2000). Beliefs influence the decisions educators make and how they interpret events in the classroom (Pajares, 1992). When educators begin believing they can influence student outcomes, uncertainty gives way to conviction.
The challenge for coaches is helping educators stay with the work long enough to see evidence that their actions matter. Like many educators, Ms. Smith experienced moments of uncertainty. When implementation becomes difficult, teachers who lack confidence in their ability to execute a strategy or influence student outcomes may retreat to familiar practices because they feel safer and more manageable. This is why effective coaching cannot focus solely on skill development. It must also strengthen belief.
Building Conviction
Conviction begins with clarity. Educators are far more likely to sustain a practice when they can clearly see how their actions are influencing student outcomes. When that connection remains unclear, uncertainty often fills the gap.
Two coaching approaches can help build conviction: helping educators reflect on the results of their actions and helping them examine their beliefs.
1. Reflecting on Actions and Responses
Rather than focusing solely on the results that students produce, coaches can help teachers reflect on how their decisions may have contributed to those outcomes. This shift moves teachers from simply noticing student growth to recognizing their influence on that growth.
For example, recently, I was talking with a teacher about a particular student’s tendency to opt out of learning. She told me the student was participating more often, contributing to discussions, and showing greater engagement during instruction. I then asked a question that stopped her in her tracks: “As you think about the improvement this student has made, what did you do differently to help make that happen? How did you show up differently for this student?”
There was a long pause. After thinking for a moment, she replied, “I guess I haven’t really thought about that.”
What struck me was not her response, but the realization behind it. She was able to recognize the student’s growth but had spent very little time reflecting on how she may have contributed to that growth. The student’s growth was not happening by accident. Her decisions were creating the conditions for that growth. The more we reflected on the question, the more she began to recognize that her actions mattered. She identified several things she had done differently. She had become more intentional about checking in with the student, asking questions that invited participation, and finding opportunities to acknowledge effort rather than simply correctness.
What made this conversation powerful was not simply that the teacher identified strategies that worked. It was that she began to recognize her influence on the student’s behavior. The student’s growth was no longer something that happened around her; it was something she helped create.
Teachers’ feelings of efficacy grow when they can clearly connect their actions to student outcomes. For this reason, coaching must intentionally help teachers connect their decisions to changes in student engagement, participation, thinking, or achievement. Over time, their growing sense of efficacy strengthens their conviction that they can make a difference.
To help teachers recognize the impact of their instructional decisions, consider asking questions such as:
- “What did you intentionally do that may have influenced this outcome?”
- “What instructional decision seemed to have the greatest impact?”
- “If you had to identify one thing you did that mattered most, what would it be?”
- “What did you begin doing more consistently?”
Questions like these help teachers move beyond simply recognizing that students improved to understanding how their own practice contributed to that growth. As teachers repeatedly reflect on the connection between their actions and student outcomes, their sense of efficacy grows into the conviction that they can make a meaningful difference.
We can spend our energy convincing teachers to do something, or we can help them discover evidence that their actions matter.
2. Examining Beliefs
Helping teachers recognize their influence is only one part of building conviction. At times, the challenge is not a lack of awareness about impact but the beliefs and assumptions that create uncertainty in the first place.
A teacher may understand a strategy and even agree with its value, yet still hesitate to implement it. They may question whether students are capable of the work, whether they have the skills necessary to facilitate it effectively, or whether the effort will produce meaningful results. In these situations, the barrier is not knowledge; it is belief.
This is why some of the most important coaching questions help surface the assumptions and perceptions that often drive instructional decisions. Instead of asking, “What are you going to do?”, coaches can ask questions like these:
- “What makes that difficult?”
- “What concerns you about that?”
- “What do you believe will happen if you try this?”
- “What do you believe students are capable of?”
- “What evidence supports that belief?”
When beliefs become visible, they can be examined, challenged, and strengthened. And when beliefs begin to shift, lasting changes in practice become far more likely. The following example illustrates how these coaching questions can be leveraged to strengthen conviction.
Teacher: I know we’ve talked about increasing academic discourse, but honestly, I’m not sure my students are ready for that. A lot of them struggle just to answer basic questions.Coach: What have you seen that makes you think they’re not ready?Teacher: When I ask open-ended questions, I usually get silence. They often look at me waiting for the answer.Coach: Have there been any times recently when students surprised you?Teacher: Actually, yes. Last week, I had students talk with a partner before sharing out, and a few students who normally don’t participate had some thoughtful responses.Coach: What do you think contributed to that?Teacher: Maybe the partner talk helped. Maybe they just needed more time to think.Coach: What does that suggest about your students’ abilities?Teacher: Maybe they’d improve if I gave them more opportunities like that.
Coaching conversations like this one can help teachers examine the beliefs that shape their instruction. Beliefs rarely stay confined to our thinking; they often find their way into our actions. What may seem like a harmless assumption or momentary doubt can significantly influence the opportunities students experience every day.
Aiming for Efficacy
Belief changes classrooms. Lower efficacy is not always an indicator of less desire for students to do well (Chism, 2022). Most educators want their students to succeed and are willing to put forth the effort necessary to improve. Yet when the connection between what teachers do and how students respond remains unclear, uncertainty often fills the gap. Teachers may begin to question whether their efforts are making a difference, whether students are capable of more, or whether the strategy is worth continuing.
This is where coaching matters. Coaching must do more than improve instructional skill; it must strengthen efficacy. Every coach eventually faces a choice. We can spend our energy convincing teachers to do something, or we can help them discover evidence that their actions matter. One creates compliance. The other creates conviction. And conviction is what keeps educators moving forward long after the coaching conversation ends.
