Instructional Insights

Join NIET at the Upcoming AAEA Summer Conference! 

Elevating Instruction Through Evidence-based Conversations

Submitted by the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching

Contrary to its name, summer “break” is the optimal moment for educators to reflect, plan, and elevate their instructional practices. At the AAEA Summer Conference, July 28-30, 2025, educators will explore various approaches to transform their work in the field and act as a catalyst for growth in student achievement, including NIET’s expert-led session: Evidence-based Coaching Conversations.

Join NIET for an active discussion on how various forms of data - from student work and performance assessments to observational evidence and more - can guide coaching conversations that promote sharing decision-making and reflective practices. These strategies support both the capacity of individual teacher leaders and greater school and district leadership teams to improve student outcomes.

Districts across Arkansas have seen measurable results from coaching strategies rooted in data through partnerships with NIET. Whether through improved student achievement, stronger team collaboration, or more effective instructional leadership, the impact of data-driven coaching is clear.

“Strength-based coaching helps teacher leaders elevate teachers and help them become more reflective. A reflective teacher is going to improve instruction and they’re going to identify evidence in the classrooms, not only of student performance, but of their own performance,” said Cross County High School Master Teacher and NIET Fellow Stephen Prince. “They’re going to identify what they’re strong at and how they can leverage that strength to work on that area that they’re growing in.”

NIET supports the development of great coaching across the state of Arkansas, providing the NIET AR Lead Professional Educator Pathway as a path to earn the Lead Professional Educator Pathway Designation, which prepares teachers to coach and support their colleagues from the classroom through training that builds instructional expertise.

Learn more about the AAEA Summer Conference on the AAEA website, or visit NIET.org to learn about our work in Arkansas.