From Surviving to Thriving with Andi McNair

The pandemic forced us to think outside of the box when it came to approaching our work and connecting with others. In this episode of Sibme Coach Replay, host Cory Camp chats with author, educator and speaker Andi McNair about the hard lessons educators and administrators learned and some key takeaways we can apply to teaching and instructional coaching in a post-pandemic world.

Sustainable change after a crisis

To see our way through an emergency, we frequently need to make rapid decisions and shift priorities based on available and often limited information. The evolving nature of tumultuous events such as the pandemic, in Andi’s view, is kind of like an obstacle course. They are incredibly difficult and force us to be flexible and to adapt if we are to successfully forge ahead.

When a crisis has passed, we need to assess which of the changes made while running the “course” should stick and which ones can be put aside—at least for the moment. During the episode, Andi discussed in-depth the following questions to consider when deciding if changes to your school’s instructional paradigm made during the pandemic or other emergencies are both positive and sustainable.

1. Can your teachers easily put the change into practice? If not, how can the change be made manageable for them?
2. Does the payoff of implementing a change justify the stress involved?
3. Will educators be willing to invest time and energy to successfully implement the change? This is crucial for changes to meaningfully affect learners.