The Department of Public Instruction is committed to providing resources based on the needs
and requests of educators statewide.
As coaching became a recognized practice, a group of stakeholders came together to create
the coaching competency practice profile.
A practice profile is a way to allow practices in the field to be observable, teachable,
learnable and doable.
It also serves as a clear and consistent definition of “coaching”.
Wisconsin’s coaching competency practice profile is the foundational document from
which coaching systems are built.
There are some significant differences between a rubric and this tool.
Like a rubric, a practice profile includes the what and the how … but it also specifically
identifies the why and the how NOT.
There are several elements of a Practice Profile that I would like to draw your attention to.
These elements, have been created to make it more user friendly for you.
This is the “anatomy of a practice profile”.
Each page of the profile details one of the several coaching competencies and they are
all organized in the exact same way.
Let’s take a look at the organization here.
Across the top banner, () we have included the “contribution to system change” - this
is the WHY.
This discusses why this particular competency has been included and why it is important
for systems change.
Along the left hand column, () is further detail for each competency (the what) is described
in the components (or the essential functions).
As you move through each column describing the practitioner’s behavior, () you will
notice there columns that describe both expected use in practice and what it looks like a coach
is developing these skills.
Finally, the last column () describes what harmful or unacceptable coaching practices
look and sound like.
() In Wisconsin’s Coaching Competency Practice Profile, you will notice that the words “coach”
and “client” are used throughout..
These terms were chosen intentionally.
Any type of coach can reference and use this document.
Coaches of systems, teams, and individuals can use and reference this document to inform
their work.
And the term “Client” can refer to individuals or teams and is meant to be inclusive of a
wide variety of coaching interactions.
The document describes 6 core competencies and corresponding components of each.
It describes each in observable terms.
Not only does the document describe observable behaviors that exemplify coaches who use the
skills consistently and independently;
it also includes observable behaviors about coaches who are not yet able to implement
required skills or abilities in any context and often can cause harm to the clients served.
Often times, if a coaches’ work is falling into the unacceptable category, there may
be challenges related to the overall implementation infrastructure.
For example, there may be issues related to how regions, schools or districts are selecting
or training staff, managing the new innovation, or using data to inform continuous improvement.
The Coaching Competency Practice Profile can be utilized in several ways and for multiple
purposes.
* If you’re already serving as a coach in your environment, () you can use it to inform
your current practice.
(cick) You can create professional goals and use it to track your growth.
* () If you’re an administrator and looking to hire coaches in your schools or districts,
you can use it to create position descriptions and it can help guide interview questions
during the hiring process.
If you’re interested in learning more about what DPI says about coaching, visit the webpage
at WWW.DPI.GOV/Coaching