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The Instructional Playbook: The Missing Link for Translating Research into Practice
The Instructional The Missing Link for Translating Research into Practice Written by Jim Knight, Ann Hoffman, Michelle Harris, and Sharon Thomas
Providing resources for teachers to help implement new teaching strategies is an essential part of an instructional coach’s work, and an Instructional Playbook can be one of the most effective tools to ensure that teachers reach the goals they set with their coach. This succinct document can be tailored to specific needs and goals and provides a reference to keep both teachers and coaches on track. The Instructional The Missing Link for Translating Research into Practice illustrates the value of Instructional Playbooks and guides readers through the three elements that comprise The Instructional Playbook was written by the consultant team at the Instructional Coaching Group, professional development providers whose mission is to provide better learning and better lives for all students.
Providing resources for teachers to help implement new teaching strategies is an essential part of an instructional coach’s work, and an Instructional Playbook can be one of the most effective tools to ensure that teachers reach the goals they set with their coach. This succinct document can be tailored to specific needs and goals and provides a reference to keep both teachers and coaches on track. The Instructional The Missing Link for Translating Research into Practice illustrates the value of Instructional Playbooks and guides readers through the three elements that comprise The Instructional Playbook was written by the consultant team at the Instructional Coaching Group, professional development providers whose mission is to provide better learning and better lives for all students.
Kindle Edition
Published October 22, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 24, 2021
I was hooked for the book by the title. Imagine a playbook that can serve as an everyday guide for teachers and instructional coaches. Think about the intensity and passion for a big sports game, and imagine if that same level of excitement, care, and dedication was brought to every school day, every class.
The Instructional Playbook by Jim Knight, Ann Hoffman, Michelle Harris, and Sharon Thomas presents the rationale and philosophy for using playbooks for school leaders, instructional coaches, and teachers. An instructional playbook is a “lean and clean” guide to various important elements in schools, such as instruction, content planning, assessments, and school culture. Think of it as a manual for high-impact strategies that are foundational for a school’s success and values.
As recommended in this book, the instructional playbook has 3 main components: a table of contents that lists all of the strategies, one-pagers for each strategy, and checklists for each strategy.
I definitely liked the concept of the instructional playbook. Teaching is an art but also a science; there are core components in teaching and instruction that can be studied and learned.
The book emphasizes many times that the instructional playbook should not be used as a rigid, static directive from the top down; rather, it should be a living, collaborative document that is the subject of frequent reflection and refinement.
The book inspired me to think about the core strategies I would emphasize in my own instructional playbook and how collaborating with others on a playbook would be an interesting and fruitful experience.
My one critique is that the book did feel a bit repetitive at times. Also, I was totally on board with the concept but would have liked more concrete examples of complete instructional playbooks. I understand the rationale of not including a complete playbook to encourage teachers and instructional coaches to work on their own personalized one, but I still would have liked to see a complete one. There were excerpts from five different playbooks at the end, which were helpful, but the book mentioned that there was a complete playbook in Jim Knight’s previous book The Impact Cycle, so I probably want to read that book as well. From researching online, I did find a model instructional playbook, which I will check out more now that I have finished the book.
Overall, I recommend the book to teachers and instructional coaches interested in creating or utilizing instructional playbooks in their schools. This book presents the reasoning and process in creating the playbooks and why they are beneficial to students, teachers, and school leaders. The book also has a section on recommended books for further reading and study.
Teaching should be viewed as a craft, and a living, flexible instructional playbook can be a useful tool for teachers in improving and refining their craft. Teaching should also ideally be infused with the excitement, focus, and joy of a crucial game.
The Instructional Playbook by Jim Knight, Ann Hoffman, Michelle Harris, and Sharon Thomas presents the rationale and philosophy for using playbooks for school leaders, instructional coaches, and teachers. An instructional playbook is a “lean and clean” guide to various important elements in schools, such as instruction, content planning, assessments, and school culture. Think of it as a manual for high-impact strategies that are foundational for a school’s success and values.
As recommended in this book, the instructional playbook has 3 main components: a table of contents that lists all of the strategies, one-pagers for each strategy, and checklists for each strategy.
I definitely liked the concept of the instructional playbook. Teaching is an art but also a science; there are core components in teaching and instruction that can be studied and learned.
The book emphasizes many times that the instructional playbook should not be used as a rigid, static directive from the top down; rather, it should be a living, collaborative document that is the subject of frequent reflection and refinement.
The book inspired me to think about the core strategies I would emphasize in my own instructional playbook and how collaborating with others on a playbook would be an interesting and fruitful experience.
My one critique is that the book did feel a bit repetitive at times. Also, I was totally on board with the concept but would have liked more concrete examples of complete instructional playbooks. I understand the rationale of not including a complete playbook to encourage teachers and instructional coaches to work on their own personalized one, but I still would have liked to see a complete one. There were excerpts from five different playbooks at the end, which were helpful, but the book mentioned that there was a complete playbook in Jim Knight’s previous book The Impact Cycle, so I probably want to read that book as well. From researching online, I did find a model instructional playbook, which I will check out more now that I have finished the book.
Overall, I recommend the book to teachers and instructional coaches interested in creating or utilizing instructional playbooks in their schools. This book presents the reasoning and process in creating the playbooks and why they are beneficial to students, teachers, and school leaders. The book also has a section on recommended books for further reading and study.
Teaching should be viewed as a craft, and a living, flexible instructional playbook can be a useful tool for teachers in improving and refining their craft. Teaching should also ideally be infused with the excitement, focus, and joy of a crucial game.
February 16, 2025
Will I ever compile an instructional playbook for my school? Probably not. And even if I did, I doubt whether or not, anyone would use it. However, I found this book deeply helpful for a couple reasons. First off, every teacher has an instructional playbook— it just happens to reside in their head. Externalizing it would only help the planning, design, and execution process. So, even though this book is billed as a tool for district-level instructional coaches, an enterprising teacher with a little time to kill could make something pretty special through the guidance that this book provides.
The real gift in this book, however, is the compilation of research that Jim Knight calls upon to illustrate examples of what one might include in their instructional playbook. The References section at the back of the book reads like the canon of the last 20 years of the most widely read and widely respected authors and ideas.
One more thing: authors as prolific as Jim Knight tend to put a lot of filler in their books, or they tend to recycle ideas. I am very impressed that the last three books that I’ve read from Jim Knight, I felt like every page earned its spot. No fluff, no filler, no self-referential nonsense.
The real gift in this book, however, is the compilation of research that Jim Knight calls upon to illustrate examples of what one might include in their instructional playbook. The References section at the back of the book reads like the canon of the last 20 years of the most widely read and widely respected authors and ideas.
One more thing: authors as prolific as Jim Knight tend to put a lot of filler in their books, or they tend to recycle ideas. I am very impressed that the last three books that I’ve read from Jim Knight, I felt like every page earned its spot. No fluff, no filler, no self-referential nonsense.
November 1, 2023
This had some good information that I can use professionally but it just wasn’t what I was looking for. It’s a 3-star book for me only terms of how applicable it is was for me. Instructional Coaches and leaders in curriculum & instruction would most likely find this extremely useful!
December 24, 2020
Great book for coaches. I'm in the midst of creating a playbook based on the NEASC ACE standards and it's helping me soooo much. I love the format and the ideas.
January 1, 2022
The Resources section was the best part. And I don't mean that in a snarky way. The rest of the book was fine, but I now have some more avenues to explore.
August 11, 2023
A work read that was great when paired with a thinking team to create an instructional playbook to be used for the school year.
August 11, 2023
4.5 stars. A little repetitive but a great book to have for creating a playbook
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews