Written by My action plan is focused around how I can better support the department heads in my school so they feel empowered to affect student learning in their respective discipline.
I very much enjoyed the design thinking process that we experienced at the second face to face session. In fact, I have worked with another teacher in my school to use this approach with our students as they develop their IB internal assessment topics. I appreciated the fast pace and fun nature of the crazy 8’s that helps one get out of your head to allow new ideas to emerge.
I also enjoyed the opportunity to read other people’s action plans and to receive input from others. 
When I arrived at the second face to face I was not sure whether I wanted to develop an action plan centered around my own classroom practice or my role as instructional coach. In the end, I chose to move in a third direction which was to look for ways to support the Heads of Department in my school. I have since met with the Heads of department in my school and we are well on our way to redesigning their role in the school to allow them to better support the teachers so they in turn can enhance student learning.
My next steps are to research effective strategies other schools might have for using their department heads and how to provide pedagogical support for teachers. I’d also love to see if other schools are using an instructional coaching model and if so how that group works together with department heads. In addition I want to explore strategies to help support department heads ability to perform their duties efficiently as time restraints are always an obstacle.
@kanderson Well done. It sounds like your action plan is underway. Use tomorrow as an opportunity to find out how other coaches are building middle leaders in their schools. There are lots of models and ideas out there to learn from.