Teacher < > Coach

The best teachers I know follow this recipe:

• Relentlessly craft lessons that cause students to acquire and retain knowledge relevant to the subject matter. On continuous loop, in many and varying ways.
• Persistently present students with skill development activities that require usage and habitual application of that knowledge. On continuous loop, in many and varying ways.
• Expose students to, and require them to wrestle with, novel situations in which the students must transfer the acquired knowledge and skills to new contexts/problems. Providing ongoing feedback as the students productively grapple and struggle.

The best coaches I know follow this recipe:

• Relentlessly craft lessons that cause students to acquire and retain knowledge relevant to the subject matter. On continuous loop, in many and varying ways.
• Persistently present students with skill development activities that require usage and habitual application of that knowledge. On continuous loop, in many and varying ways.
• Expose students to, and require them to wrestle with, novel situations in which the students must transfer the acquired knowledge and skills to new contexts/problems. Providing ongoing feedback as the students productively grapple and struggle.

The best teachers I know are superb coaches. The best coaches I know are superb teachers.