“If you’re going to do something more than once, you need a template.”
– Alex Mandossian
As an instructional coach, each day brings new challenges. You never know what teachers may ask of you or how best to support them. Flexibility is key, as is having systems to ensure your coaching practice runs smoothly and efficiently. One of the best ways to achieve this balance is to templatize everything.
Why Templates Work
Templates streamline repetitive tasks, ensuring consistency and saving time. When juggling lesson plans, feedback forms, professional development sessions, and instructional resources creating from scratch every time is a recipe for burnout. Templates provide a starting point—a framework that allows you to focus on the content rather than the structure.
By investing time upfront to create high-quality templates, you can:
- Maintain consistency: Ensure every teacher or stakeholder gets the same level of support and professionalism.
- Save mental energy: Free brain space for more critical thinking and problem-solving tasks.
- Adapt quickly: With a template in place, you can modify and personalize as needed without starting from zero.
- Reduce errors: Consistency in formatting and structure minimizes mistakes.
What to Templatize as an Instructional Coach
Here are some areas where templates can make a significant difference:
- Meeting Agendas and Notes
- Create a template for one-on-one coaching sessions, PLC meetings, or team planning meetings. Include sections for goals, discussion points, action items, and follow-ups.
- Lesson Plan Feedback
- Develop a standard feedback form that aligns with instructional frameworks and includes space for strengths, areas of improvement, and actionable next steps.
- Professional Development (PD) Materials
- Use templates for session agendas, slide decks, handouts, and evaluation forms. This ensures every PD session is polished and well-organized.
- Observation and Coaching Tools
- Design forms for classroom walkthroughs, teacher observations, and coaching cycles. Include checklists, space for notes, and specific criteria for standard alignment.
- Email Responses
- Draft templates for common email scenarios, such as welcoming new teachers, responding to coaching requests, or providing resources. Save these as snippets or drafts in your email client.
- Goal-Setting and Reflection Forms
- Provide teachers with templates for setting SMART goals and reflecting on their practice. Use similar tools for your own coaching goals.
- Student-Centered Resources
- Create reusable templates for authentic assessments, project-based learning rubrics, and student reflection forms that align with district standards and graduate profiles.
How to Create Effective Templates
- Start Simple: Identify your most repetitive tasks. These are the low-hanging fruit for templatization.
- Design for Flexibility: Make your templates easy to adapt. Use placeholders for names, dates, and specific details.
- Incorporate Branding: If your school or district has a preferred style, include logos, fonts, and formatting to align with expectations.
- Test and Refine: Use your templates a few times and solicit feedback. Adjust based on what works and what doesn’t.
- Organize and Store: Keep templates in a centralized location—a shared drive, Google Docs, or a project management tool—so they’re easy to access.
Avoiding Template Overload
While templates can revolutionize your workflow, it’s essential to avoid over-templatizing. Not every task requires a template. Focus on high-impact areas where consistency matters most.
Final Thoughts
Templatizing isn’t just about saving time; it’s about creating space for what matters. When the logistics of your work run smoothly, you can dedicate your energy to supporting teachers, fostering creativity, and driving meaningful change in the classroom.
Take a moment to reflect: What’s one task you repeatedly do that could benefit from a template? Start small, and watch how this simple strategy transforms your productivity and impact.
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