Questioning – Take 6

You might be wondering why there is yet another post on Asking Questions, the third phase of the GIR model.  I’m dwelling on this one because I sense this is where coaches might like a little support.  I’ve never had a coach say to me, “Gee, I have a hard time making recommendations,” but I’ve had frequent feedback about how much coaches have benefitted by thinking more about the questions they ask to support their teachers.  So here we go again with questioning – Take 6.

I mentioned that making recommendations seems to come easily to most coaches.  And as coaches work to incorporate questioning as a coaching move, sometimes there’s an inclination to ask questions that are actually thinly-masked recommendations.  Consider the following coaching language:

Recommendation:

                        “You could have students use the rubric to assess their own papers.”

Recommendation disguised as a question:

“What would happen if students used a rubric to assess their work?”

 

Question:

“What would have to change for students to work more for themselves and less for you?”

When the coach asks “What would have to change….,” she opens the teacher’s thinking to new possibilities rather than funneling her thinking to a single, pre-determined choice.  Authentic questions like these help teachers think flexibly about the decisions they make as they design instruction.  Questions can shake us from our comfort zones as we ponder present practices together and discover new ways to think about our work.  Asking questions creates thoughtful conversations that can lead to lasting change and professional growth. 

 

This week, you might want to take a look at:

Erik Palmer on the six traits of speaking (skip the hype and go straight to minutes 23:30 – 29:00 – 5 ½ minutes well spent):

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/edutalk/2013/01/02/improving-student-oral-communication

Putting the “Gradual” Back into Gradual Release of Responsibility:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1063

Favorite notetaking techniques for secondary students, from Jim Burke:

http://www.englishcompanion.com/vignettes/notetakingstrats.html 

An interview with literacy researcher P. David Pearson about the Common Core:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiReq1WP39s&list=PL0F32BE29849E98E1&index=2

That’s it for this week.

 
Happy Coaching!

Reflection

"Sometimes, you have to look back in order to understand the things that lie ahead."

~Yvonne Woon

One of the ways that coaches use questions is to prompt reflection.  Reflection is the habit of looking back on an experience so that you can learn from it.  Some people seem to be natural reflectors – their mind turns a situation over and over again, examining it from different angles.  For them, the drive home from work might be filled with instant replays that provide opportunities to learn from practice.  But even for these natural reflectors, a conversation with a trusted coach can take reflection to a deeper level, to a level that is likely to lead to more effective instruction. 

Asking questions that inquire, probe, and challenge assumptions encourages reflection.  Reflection increases awareness of self, others, and the classroom context.  When reflection focuses on monitoring decisions and the resulting effects, instructional decision-making is enhanced.  Coaches can ask questions that encourage the teacher to revisit instruction, such as:

           “How do you think it went?” and

           “What did you notice….?”

Or questions that lead to analysis, like: 

“What stands out in students’ work?” and

            “What are your hunches about what may have caused….?”

To solidify discoveries and build bridges to future practice, the coach might ask:

            “What insights can you take from this?” or

             “So what do you want to stay mindful of as you’re planning?”

These questions push teachers to consider implications of their instruction and how they might move forward. 

You may find it useful to keep a list of reflective questions available during a coaching session until these questioning practices become comfortable and instinctive.

Coaches’ questions should encourage teachers to reflect on students’ needs and how their practice is supporting those needs, to analyze their own assumptions about learning, and to consider options for how to move forward.  Reflective questioning can lead to deeper, richer, and more thoughtful coaching conversations.  Whether instruction has been a frustrating failure or an inspiring success, reflection serves a useful purpose, as is illustrated by this quote from Peter Drucker:

"Follow effective action with quiet reflection.  From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action."

This week, you might want to take a look at some resources related to using technology during instruction (plus a bonus on how coaching changes teaching):

A lesson plan for teaching internet researching skills from Read Write Think:

http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/wading-through-teaching-internet-983.html

“Comic Creator” software helps students create comic strips and focus on dialogue and word choice.  You might also consider “Comic Creator” as a way for students to demonstrate their new content knowledge.  Check out this software at:

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/comic/

Ideas for using the iPad to teach traditional literacy:

http://www.ernweb.com/public/How_one_4thgrade_teacher_uses_the_iPad_to_teach_traditional_literacy_skills.cfm?utm_source=March+Current+articles+2013&utm_campaign=current+articles+March&utm_medium=email

To create online slideshows with narration, use

www.empressr.com

(In addition to sharing this tool for students to use, you might consider it as an option for professional development.)

And if you want to read more about how coaching changes classroom practice, check out the article at:

http://www.ernweb.com/public/The_dance_of_teachers_and_coaches.cfm?utm_source=March+Current+articles+2013&utm_campaign=current+articles+March&utm_medium=email

That’s it for this week!  Happy Coaching!

Precision

I have a book on my shelf called The Art and Science of Teaching.*  I like the title because it reminds me that teaching is an endeavor requiring a sophisticated blend of creativity, knowledge and exactness.  The questions we ask as coaches can help teachers attend to both the art and the science of their work.  A previous post discussed asking questions to help teachers access their creativity.  Today let’s dig a bit deeper about using questions to help teachers examine their thinking and make it more incisive.

As a coaching conversation unfolds, you can ask questions that take thinking to a deeper, more precise level.  These probing questions are specific to the content of the conversation.  During a planning conversation, when a coach asks, “What might you hear students saying if they understand that concept?” she invites consideration of the measurement of learning targets.  Her question takes what the teacher has just said (about her goals for students) and encourages the teacher to dig deeper (how are you going to know they’ve got it?).  Similarly, in a reflective conference after a lesson, a coach might follow up on a teacher’s comment, “They just don’t get it!” with the probing question of, “What are some examples of students’ confusion?” By asking this question, she is moving the conversation in a productive direction.  The coach encourages a closer look at evidence that could pinpoint students’ confusions or misconceptions, information that will be helpful as they consider plans for re-teaching.             

In these examples, questions lead to concrete examples of what could be and what has been.  These specific examples clarify both the coach’s and the teacher’s understanding.  Questions that ask for concreteness or request clarification can be used whether or not you’ve made a classroom observation. 

“What might you hear if…..” or “What are some examples of…..” can lead to opportunities for collaborative problem-solving and improved instruction.  Just be sure to fill in the “…..” with language very specific to the situation.  Our precise questions invite precise responses and express our genuine curiosity about the complexity of the art and science of teaching!

This week, you might want to take a look at some resources related to STEM:

Find Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math lessons.  Just select your grade level and area of focus, then choose from a wide variety of topics (don’t skip those marked “afterschool” – these hands-on activities that could be used in school, too!)

http://sciencenetlinks.com/lessons/

Literacy in STEM learning (from Reading Today):

http://www.reading.org/general/Publications/blog/engage/engage-single-post/engage/2013/02/05/wheres-the-l-in-stem

A webinar on mentoring readers of science and technical texts: 

https://iste.adobeconnect.com/_a729309453/p2w9e2atra3/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal

And for a smile, watch the 1 minute YouTube video about why we need STEM education:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V8EjEzIpkg

Happy spring!

*Marzano, R. (2007).  The Art and Science of Teaching: 

Asking Questions in a PLC: Building Consensus, Probing, & Inquiring

Today I had the chance to observe coaching in a PLC.  The coach was leading a discussion about narrative writing with a team of five second-grade teachers.  After reviewing a chart with color-coded data from a recent rubric-based writing assessment, the rubric itself got a lot of attention.  Was it helpful for students?  Was it helpful for teachers?  And more specifically, were the criteria appropriate for eight- and nine-year-olds?  Did they align with the standards? 

As the group posed and considered these questions, I reflected on questions of my own:  Do coaches use questions differently when working with groups of teachers than when working with just one teacher?  What roles do questions play?  I realized that, although most of the functions of questions are the same in individual or group coaching conversations, asking questions can play an additional important role when working with a PLC:  Asking questions can be a tool for consensus building.  The exchange below, which was part of an animated discussion the PLC had about adjectives and adverbs, points out this feature:

Coach:  In the rubric, it’s talking about using adjectives, adverbs, and complex sentences.  To me, that could be an “and/or”.  Do you want me to add an “or”?  What do we expect kids to do?

Teacher 1:  I think we can try it this week with and.  Right now they are just adding them (adjectives and adverbs) in there, they don’t really add to the story.  A lot of times they’re just using colors….

Teacher 2:  Some are sticking them in there because we talked about it.  At least they are experimenting.

The coach’s questions:  “Do you want me to add an “or”? and “What do we expect kids to do?” drew teachers’ attention to the effects of the rubric. Teachers’ responses built agreement that leaving the rubric with the “and” requirement served an important purpose. 

This example illustrates a role for questioning (building consensus) that is unique to working with groups.  Questions serve additional roles that are useful in both group and individual coaching conversations.  For example, coaches ask questions that enhance reflection and support teachers’ understandings.  Depending on need and where the conversation is in the coaching process, coaches may ask questions that inquire (to broaden thinking) or probe (to deepen thinking).  For example, the question, “How much pictorial support are students in this group needing?” inquires about an important cueing system for early readers; the question supports teachers’ thinking about the continuum of literacy learning.  The probing question, “Is Jason reading at his instructional level, based on results of his diagnostic testing?” sends the teacher to specific assessment data and may implicate intervention strategies. 

Whether in a small group or with an individual, different types of questions serve different purposes.  Building consensus, inquiring, and probing are a few of the valuable roles that questioning can take.

 

Last, week, I included among the links some information about vocabulary instruction.  This week, I’ve brought together a variety of resources about vocabulary instruction.  Because building word knowledge is important for students across all academic areas, you might want to take a look at and share some of the links below:

 

A thought-provoking article about the correlation between economic poverty and word poverty:

 

Word Poverty

 

Check out the engaging, short word learning videos at:

 

TINGOED

 

Download this PDF and consider having students use the 5-column note format or the graphic organizer for learning new words:

 

Vocab Notes & GO

 

 

Here’s a podcast about using the Internet for vocabulary learning:

 

Podcast Internet Vocab

 

And scroll down on this site for a video discussion on a similar topic:

 

Search Engines

 

There’s more on this site!  Check out chapter one of the book Word Travelers.  Use the menu at the right navigate through the online chapter, which includes video clips:

 

Free book chapter & videos

 

And, if you want to read a whole book about vocabulary instruction, the full text of Word Nerds is available online at:

 

Free Online Book

 

(Note:  You do not have to register)

 

I’m sure that’s more than enough for this week!

 

Happy Coaching!

Broadening the Scope of Imagination

One of my favorite fictional characters, Anne of Green Gables, was fond of spaces and situations that offered “scope for imagination.”  She loved to consider people, places, and possibilities, imagining what could be or what might have been.  Like Anne, teachers are full of imagination, and coaches can help them to broaden their “scope for imagination” as they consider causal influences and plan for instructional possibilities.  By asking questions, coaches can guide inquiry and encourage flexible thinking.

In last week’s post, we considered how coaches increase teachers’ responsibility by moving from a consulting stance of making recommendations to a coaching stance of asking questions.  One of the purposes of asking questions is to broaden the scope of ideas under consideration.  These inquiring questions tend to be open-ended.  Consider how you might use the following question stems to craft questions that support inquiry:

 
How are __ and __ similar/different?

How does __ affect ___?

What might the benefits be?

What are some other ways that might be done?*

Pondering questions like these requires higher-order thinking that moves the conversation toward broader views.  Generating alternatives and considering multiple perspectives can result in important “ah-ha!” moments. 

When you ask inquiring questions during a coaching session, you haven’t predetermined a thinking path; you’ve instead initiated a course of inquiry that you and the teacher can pursue together.  Because of the contextualized nature of education, there is seldom one right answer as we explore instructional possibilities.  If there were one right answer, coaches wouldn’t be needed:  Teachers could simply follow a script.  That’s not the case, however.  When making instructional decisions, there is so much to consider!  But that makes the journey of inquiry all the more interesting, right?  As Anne says,

"It wouldn't be half so interesting if we know all about everything, would it?  Ther'd be no scope for imagination then."**

 

This week, you might want to check out a few ideas from this potpourri of resources:

Do’s and Don’ts for literacy coaches from the Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse (scan the bold headings for a quick refresher!):

http://www.literacycoachingonline.org/briefs/DosandDontsFinal.pdf

A podcast with Doug Fisher, who talks about vocabulary, comprehension, & the Common Core:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1198

 
Wondering how to use the one iPad you have in your room?  Check out these ideas:

http://jonathanwylie.com/2012/11/05/revisiting-the-1-ipad-classroom/

Video of a second-grade, hands-on lesson for measuring distance with Debbie Diller:

http://www.stenhouse.com/shop/pc/viewprd.asp?idProduct=9720&r=n271

That's it for this week - happy coaching!

 

*Adapted from Taking the lead: New roles for teachers and school‐based coaches, by J. Killion & C. Harrison (2006).

**From Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery (1908).