Friday, June 7, 2013

Planning the Coaching Conversation

Although most of you have finished the school year and won’t have the opportunity to put it into practice right away, I wanted to share with you a planning guide for coaching conversations.  This summer, you’ll have the time to think through how you might use or adapt it so that you can have systems in place when the new school year begins. 

The GIR Conferencing Guide (below) is a chance for you to prepare for the important conversations you have with teachers.  We know that planning is an important part of teaching, and it’s an important part of coaching, too.  Taking a few minutes to think through the conversations you will have with teachers pays big dividends.  Let’s walk through the conferencing plan step by step.  As we do so, think about modification you might make so that it works well for you. 

In the top left corner you’ll see the (hopefully familiar) GIR model.  I include this on the form because many coaches have told me that this visual reminder encourages them to continually think about giving teachers more responsibility.  As you plan the coaching conversation you’ll be having, you might put an “X” on the squiggly line to indicate where you are in the coaching cycle with that teacher.  What kind of support will they be needing most?

The focus of the coaching cycle is best determined jointly with the teacher.  Zeroing in on a specific need that the teacher has identified ensures buy-in and makes your coaching cycle more productive.  You’ll likely have the same focus for 3 – 8 weeks.

Next on the page is a table with suggestions for coaching moves.  The list is not exhaustive, but hopefully it will provide food for thought.  As you move through a coaching cycle, you’ll also want to move farther to the right in terms of the coaching moves that are predominant.  In planning and in practice, there may be cross-over between the different coaching moves within one week.  For example, you’ll probably ask reflective questions throughout the coaching cycle, but questioning will likely become the dominant move only when the teacher needs fewer recommendations. 

The planning form also includes space for you to jot reminders to yourself.  These might be points from previous conversations that you want to follow up on, specific students you want to discuss, or even sensitive issues you want to steer clear of.  It should only take a few minutes to complete a form like this one.  You’ll feel more prepared, and you can have the guide with you as a reference during the coaching conversation.  There’s also space where you can write notes during the coaching session. 

Like the GIR model itself, the conferencing guide is a tool that should be used flexibly to meet your own needs and the needs of the teachers you work with.  If you’ve used this form in the past, please comment on this post about any adaptations you’ve made that have been helpful to you.  Your comments will be helpful to other readers and also to me as I revise and share with other coaches.



Here are a few ideas to take a look at this week:

Give yourself a treat by reading some popular children’s literature this summer.  You’ll also be more prepared to have conversations about books with students at your school when fall rolls around.  Here are the top 10 most-circulated K-5 books (at one elementary school).  You can also hit previous post to see the top 11 – 20 books in circulation. 


Other books (both professional and not) to add to your summer reading list:



Support for making the six shifts of the Common Core Literacy Standards:


http://www.engageny.org/common-core-curriculum-assessments


https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos?categories=topics_common-core



For those coaching friends who are still in school:  Read about the “Hail Mary” Pass – Taking Risks at the End of the School Year:



That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

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