I can live for two months on a good
compliment.
~Mark
Twain
One
of my personal guideposts for life is, “When you think something good about
someone, say it!” Withholding praise is
like wrapping a present and then not letting it be opened. This holds true in the coaching arena as
well. When we notice something good a
teacher is doing, we shouldn’t bite our tongue!
Compliments are thoughtful words that nurture and nourish. Although some coaching models suggest that
coaches should not praise, the research-based Gradual Increase of
Responsibility Model for Coaching indicates that praising is an effective
coaching move, and it can be the prominent one near the end of a coaching
cycle. As the need for other coaching
moves (modeling, recommending, questioning, & affirming) drops away,
praising takes center stage. Unjustified
praise is ineffective, however, so coaches should take care that they use this
coaching move only when there is genuine justification for praise.
Compliments
build potential for future successes. Providing
specific, justified praise is a collegial action that should be a genuine
response at the conclusion of the coaching cycle. To praise is: to express favorable judgment;
to commend or admire; to acclaim, extol, or laud. When coaches see something worth lauding,
they should pass the words of praise along.
By offering praise, coaches utilize a strengths-based approach. With the accumulation of successful teaching
experiences, teachers need less affirming.
Although they may no longer be looking for confirmation from the coach,
teachers still appreciate a good word, so praise serves an important role.
Although
coaches should not be in a formally evaluative role and should exercise care in
making evaluative statements, praising is a natural and effective move as
teachers take on responsibility. Catch
yourself in that next positive thought and pass it along! Both you and the person you praise will smile
and feel a bit lighter. Go ahead – make
their day!
This
week, you might want to take a look at:
Key
ideas from Teaching with Poverty in Mind,
a book that helps us understand how to meet the needs of all students in our
classes while maintaining high expectations:
If you're nervous about young students searching
freely on the internet, you might want to try Sweet Search, a search tool
that includes only websites
evaluated and approved by educators:
Scroll
down a bit on this page for a great lesson idea: Using ice cream as a hook for your writing lesson:
Join RT on
Facebook: Fun and informative!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Reading-Teacher/297544810290021
Check out
this article about exploring use of iPads for literacy learning:
That’s
all for this week. Happy coaching!
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