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Peer Coaching That Makes PD Stick

From 5% to 90% Implementation. iCOACH™ is the Difference.

The structured peer coaching model that turns the strategies your teachers learn in PD into the practices they use in the classroom — without adding a single new initiative to your district plate.

Or download the iCOACH™ overview ↓
iCOACH™ 45-minute cycle diagram showing three stages: 5-minute pre-observation in navy, 20-minute during-observation in teal, and 20-minute post-observation in gold. Already set as aria-label.
5%
Of teachers implement new strategies after theory only PD
20%
With theory demonstration and guided practice
90%
With peer coaching in the loop

Source: Joyce & Showers (2002); Knight (2007, 2018)

This is the gap iCOACH™ closes.
The Real Problem

Why Most PD Doesn't Stick

It isn't that teachers don't try. It's that real change doesn't begin with a strategy — it begins with a shift in perspective. Until a teacher turns the lens inward and asks, "What can I do differently?", no PD — no matter how good — can take root.

iCOACH™ catalyzes that shift.

How iCOACH™ Works

Three Stages. One 45-Minute Cycle. Repeated for Every Teacher.

At every stage, the teacher being observed leads. The pod serves the teacher's growth — not the other way around. That ownership is what makes iCOACH™ feel different from any evaluation your teachers have ever experienced.
 

Stage 1
Pre Observation
5 Minutes
The teacher leads. They share the lesson's objective, the connection to students, and exactly the kind of feedback they want. The pod listens and walks in with a clear task.
Stage 2
During Observation
20 Minutes
The teacher teaches. The pod observes using a T chart, noting what helps and hinders learning focused on what the teacher asked them to watch for. Active observations catalyze growth.
Stage 3
Post Observation
20 Minutes
The pod reflects together. What helped? What hindered? What did we learn? Reflection looks back, then forward and the teacher leaves with one concrete action point.
iCOACH™ cycle: 5 minutes pre-observation, 20 minutes during-observation, 20 minutes post-observation. Already set as aria-label.
Repeat for each teacher in the pod

A pod of 4 = 4 cycles = 3 hours. Every teacher teaches once. Every teacher observes three times.
 

Active observations catalyze growth. When teachers observe with intention guided by what their colleague asked them to watch for they sharpen their own practice as much as they help the teacher being observed. Everyone grows.
Schedule & Logistics

Pod Math: How iCOACH™ Fits Your Schedule

We've built iCOACH™ around the realities districts actually face. Here are the three most common configurations — and there's a model for whatever yours looks like.

 

The Full Day
8 teachers 1 pod 6 hours
Each teacher teaches once and observes seven peers the deepest growth a single day of PD can deliver. Best when substitute coverage is not the bottleneck.
The Sub-Saver
8 teachers 2 pods half day each
Each teacher teaches once and observes three peers. When morning ends those substitutes walk down the hall to cover the afternoon pod cutting your sub coverage in half.
The Custom Fit
Any number Any schedule
Tight release time Multi school cohort After school model We have designed around district realities. There is a model for yours let us design it together.

Whatever your master schedule looks like, iCOACH™ adapts to fit. We've spent 25 years building models around the realities of K–12 schools — yours can be next.

What Changes

Three Levels of Impact

iCOACH™ doesn't just change individual teaching practice — it transforms the entire instructional ecosystem of your school.

 

For Teachers
Build Confidence and Capacity
  • Higher self efficacy and willingness to take instructional risks
  • Concrete repeatable strategies they actually use in class
  • Stronger metacognitive awareness of their own teaching
  • Healthier more honest professional relationships
For Students
Better Instruction Faster
  • Strategies move from PD handouts into daily classroom practice
  • More comprehensible scaffolded instruction across the day
  • Stronger language and content gains for ELs and MLLs
  • Increased engagement through proven modeled techniques
For Schools
Transform the Culture
  • A growth mindset that moves from I can to we can
  • Higher collective efficacy Hattie's number one driver of achievement
  • PD investment that compounds rather than evaporates
  • Built in accountability without top down pressure

Read more about the iCOACH™ framework

Every letter is a commitment the teacher makes — in the first person, on purpose. iCOACH™ doesn't happen to teachers; it's something teachers make happen.

i
I own my growth.
The lowercase i is intentional small humble and where everything begins. It is the inward turn from what students are not doing to what I can do differently. That shift sparks everything else.
C
I Cultivate Comfort with Discomfort.
Real growth lives at the edge of what is familiar. I lean into the discomfort of being observed of trying something new of hearing honest feedback because that is where transformation happens.
O
I Observe and Overcome Obstacles.
I watch my peers teach with intention and I let them watch me. Together we name what helps and hinders learning so we stop guessing and start seeing.
A
I Act with Awareness.
Every cycle ends with one concrete individualized action point that is mine. No vague goals. No lost momentum. I leave knowing exactly what I am working on next.
C
I Coach Others and Coach Myself.
When I watch a peer through a coaching lens I sharpen my own practice. We become reciprocal coaches and what grows in one classroom grows across the whole school.
H
I Hold Myself Accountable.
Between cycles I self assess using the Conscious Competence Matrix and track my progress. Growth becomes visible measurable and mine.
Bring iCOACH™ to Your School or District

Let's Talk About What's Possible.

Every iCOACH™ engagement begins with a free 30-minute consultation. We'll learn about your context, your goals, and the realities of your schedule — then design a model that fits.

Or call directly: (505) 204-4361 · john@tesoltrainers.com

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