This
week, I had the opportunity to observe in Allison’s classroom. She was teaching a lesson on maps, making
sure students were familiar with features such as the key, scale, and compass
rose. She used foldables to make the
activity more interactive and had their large world map as a reference. Her goals for the lesson were appropriate,
but between procedures, classroom management, and the content of the learning
experience, there were a number of directions our coaching conversation could
go. As I looked back on my observation
notes, I decided one high-yield conversation we could have would be about
students’ higher-level thinking.
Having
determined an area of focus for our debrief, I thought about approaches that
might be useful. I’ve been working with Allison
for some time, so she’s had lots of modeling, and I’d made plenty of
recommendations. It was time to go
beyond these coaching moves and give Allison more responsibility. I decided that asking questions that probed Allison’s
thinking was the way to go. And it was
worth spending the time to come up with just the right question so that our
time together would be well-spent. After
going over several possibilities, I settled on this question: “As you think back on the lesson, what might
have been some of the times when students were engaged in higher-level
thinking?” I wrote it on a sticky note
and tucked it in my pocket so I could peak at it before our session and have it
handy just in case my mind went blank. I
knew it would be the pivotal point in our coaching conversation. And it was.
Allison’s eyes opened wide after I asked the question as the realization
dawned that there were few examples she could pull from her lesson in answer to
the query. I wasn’t trying to put her on
the spot, but rather to help her to come up with this realization herself
instead of having me make a judgment that might not sit well.
Let’s
take a moment and dissect the question I asked Allison. This question dissection can help us identify
question characteristics* that support teachers’ thinking during a coaching conversation.
The
question begins with an invitational stem “As you think back on the lesson…..”
This phrase sends the teacher’s mind back to the lesson and welcomes reflection. It also has an embedded positive assumption
that the teacher is already taking
that thoughtful, reflective stance.
“What
might have been…” This phrase includes the
tentative word might that lowers
feelings of risk. Teachers sense that
you are open to any possibilities they might pull up. Might suggests
unrestricted thinking.
“What
might have been some of the times….” The plural word some steers teachers away from thinking there is one right answer
and instead opens them up to considering multiple possibilities. Using plurals also builds trust in the
relationship and increases feelings of teacher responsibility; the teacher does
not feel she is playing “guess-what-is-in-my-head” when responding to the
coach’s questions.
“What
might have been some of the times….” also phrases the question in language that
expresses a positive assumption that the teaching did indeed include these
times. Positive language assumes capability
and empowerment. Questions that grow
from positive assumptions encourage teachers to explore their own intentions, enhance
understanding, and support a respectful relationship between teacher and coach.
“….students
were engaged in higher-level thinking?”
The rest of the question gets specific about the topic of inquiry. In any coaching conversation, there are
multiple directions that could be taken.
Think about the needs of students first when determining this focus, and
take into consideration what this teacher knows and is able to do.
One
final characteristic of a good question doesn’t come across in the print on
this page. That is the tone of
voice. As a coach, it’s important to
monitor your voice quality during a coaching conversation. That firm “teacher voice” that got your
students’ attention and let them know you meant business will not get you far
in a coaching conversation! Use an
approachable voice, one with lilt and melody, rather than a flat, firm
voice. To wrap your head around this
one, think about the different tones of voice a parent might use when asking
their teenage daughter this question: “Why
are you home so late?” Try out the
worried tone, the accusing tone, the angry tone, and the frustrated tone. It’s clear that the way we use our voice when
asking a question can make a big difference!
By
selecting a meaningful topic for the conversation, monitoring voice quality, using
plurals, tentative language, and invitational stems and expressing positive
assumptions, coaches encourage teachers to consider students’ responses to
instructional practices. It can be
difficult, however, to keep all of these principles in mind during the flow of
a coaching conversation! If you want to improve
the effectiveness of your questioning, you might choose one of these principles
to focus on at a time.
When a teacher is ready to take on more responsibility, asking questions can be an important part of your coaching conversation!
This week, you might want to take a look at:
Speaking of questioning, let’s take a look at some resources to help teachers refine their own questioning:
Check
out this video about questioning in the language arts classroom:
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/structuring-questioning-in-classroom
Or
this one about questioning in math:
Questioning
the text is one of the comprehension strategies identified by Brenda Powers:
Here’s
a reference form from “The Sisters” about the comprehension strategy of asking
questions:
http://marcy.mpls.k12.mn.us/uploads/rrf_comprehension_ask_questions_throughout_the_reading_proce.pdf
That’s
all for this week – Happy Coaching!
*These suggestions are drawn from Cognitive Coaching, by A.L. Costa and
R.J. Garmston.
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