Hakuna matata!

Today’s animated video – and ticket to lessons about instructional coaching – is Disney’s The Lion King.  Although there are many dark moments and themes in this movie, it lives on in my mind with a warm glow.  That is mostly due to the charming portrayals of Simba as a young cub, the majesty of Mufasa and the tenderness he shows to his son, and the light-hearted segment of the movie where Simba is nurtured by his friends, Timon and Pumbaa.  Hopefully summertime is your chance for what Simba had during his time with these two friends: “hakuna matata” ("no worries")!

Besides the carefree motto of the meerkat and warthog, who nurse Simba back to health after he is nearly killed by the evil Scar, The Lion King has some themes worth noting as we reflect on instructional coaching.  The overarching idea of the movie is cycles – in this case, “The Circle of Life.”  The movie begins and ends with a young royal lion cub entering the world.  What happens in between is a coming-of-age story of growth and change as Simba grows from a young cub trying unsuccessfully to imitate his royal father to a mature lion who is mistaken for Mafusa, not only because of his physical appearance, but also because of his maturity.  Simba has become like his father and obtained the wisdom of a true king.  

Although we are not looking to clone ourselves when we support teachers, there is a cycle of growth and change as we work with teachers in a coaching cycle.  Like Simba, the teachers we are working with need nurturing.  Some light-heartedness from time to time helps, too!  But Simba needed something more than the companionship of his friends to help him revive and grow.  He needed life-giving water.  What are the ways you provide “water” to teachers in your school?  The stages in the GIR model emphasize different types of support you might consider as you work with teachers: 

·         Providing Models - by teaching for or with them in their classroom, through demonstrations during conversations, by arranging for them to visit other classes, by sending them video clips, etc.

·         Making Recommendations – about formative assessment, teaching strategies, content or skills, or the standards.  You might also recommend resources – perhaps by providing an article for a teacher to read that really hits the spot!

·         Asking Questions – to promote reflection or analysis.  Although asking questions may not seem like a way to provide “water,” it may be just the nourishment a teacher needs to grow as a professional!

·         Affirming – by agreeing with a plan, confirming information, or using data to validate their practice.  Definitely water!

·         Praising – to commend their practice, praise their plan, or applaud their knowledge.

Different teachers need different nourishment.  If you’re not sure what a teacher needs, just ask them!  This summer, you might create a menu of coaching services using the above list as a guide.  Starting the year off by sharing this list of ways you can support teachers can enable you to quickly begin your coaching work and get those cycles going!

The theme of The Lion King is also illustrated as we preparing for the start of another school year.  “The Circle of Life” continues as we get ready to welcome new teachers and students and take on whatever opportunities for growth come with the 2013-14 school year.  But for now……..

Hakuna matata!

 

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

What this author says is “Everything You Need to Know about CCSS Testing" (provides helpful insight, but right now you also need to know that there’s a lot we don’t know!):

http://thejournal.com/articles/2013/07/02/everything-you-need-to-know-about-common-core-testing.aspx

An article by Doug Fisher about Sustained Silent Reading (he’s talking about high schools, but the ideas can be applied more broadly):

http://www.reading.org/Libraries/inspire/jaal-48-2-5-resuscitating-the-ssr-program.pdf

Fun for math folks – a video about the decimal point from “The Rappin’ Math Teacher” (the rap starts at 3:21, but the rest is interesting, too!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVR6Usd0usY&feature=youtu.be

 

Try out some digital tools while you have more time.  If you haven’t embedded Google forms (surveys, quizzes) in Wikis, here are some tips.  Once you’ve figured this out yourself, it’s a helpful tool to share with teachers:
 
http://blog.wikispaces.com/2013/03/tips-and-tricks-embedding-google-forms.html

 

That’s it for this week!

Cartoon Break: Something Fishy!

Our summer cartoon break continues as we look at what animated movies can teach us about instructional coaching.  This week’s special feature:  Finding Nemo.  It may have been a while since you’ve seen this flick, since it’s no longer in Redbox or online in Netflix, so here’s a recap:

Finding Nemo begins as mama and daddy fish (Coral and Marlin) lay and watch over their eggs.  Then a big, bad predator fish comes along and eats both Coral and all of the eggs – except one.  This horrific experience leads Marlin, understandably, to be a bit overprotective as a father once that single remaining egg hatches.  So eventually, the little son Nemo rebels and heads to the open ocean.  He is captured, and dad Marlin spends most of the remaining movie trying to find his son (while Nemo spends most of the remaining movie trying to find his dad).  In the process, they both learn a few things that, as coaches, we too can apply.

Lesson #1:  Collaboration and collegiality get the job done!  Remember that Marlin’s ultimate success depended on both the direct help of his friends (like Dori remembering the location stamped on the diver’s mask) and indirect help of other fishies who spread Marlin’s story.  In coaching, we provide direct support when we collaborate with an individual teacher or a group of teachers.  Then our work multiplies as these teachers share their successes.  It’s a ripple effect that works to the benefit of students as instruction improves schoolwide.  Consider how you might build routines for sharing successes into school meetings next year.  Such opportunities escalate the rate of change and encourage an openness for coaching. 

Lesson #2:  Transfer!  Nemo, too, learned lessons about collaboration, and he was able to transfer his learning to a new situation.  The ultimate breaking of the net that freed scores of fish happened when Nemo applied what he had learned in the fish tank to life at sea.  As coaches, we use this principle when we help teachers take practices that they have used successfully in one setting and apply them to another.  For example, we may work with a teacher on incorporating opportunities for meaningful student talk into literacy instruction.  After the turn-and-talk routine has become a habitual part of read alouds, we might encourage that teacher to try partner talk during math, getting students to talk about their problem-solving strategies. 

Lesson #3:  Use Assets!  Another attribute portrayed by the aquatic characters in the movie is the ability to look beyond weaknesses or disabilities and use strengths to solve problems.  For example, Nemo has an underdeveloped fin but overdeveloped determination!  Dory has short-term memory loss but lots of loyalty and good instincts!  Coaches take an assets-based approach when they emphasize elements of success and use these as springboards.  For example, a teacher who has developed positive relationships with students by caring about students’ personal lives can be encouraged to expand their knowledge of students by keeping anecdotal records about students’ learning.  In coaching, building on positives tends to get you further than drawing attention to negatives.

Lesson #4: GIR!  Finding Nemo also talks about allowing others to learn from their mistakes and ultimately, turning over responsibility.  Coaching cycles end when teachers have increased responsibility for the specific practices you’ve been working on with them.  Our cartoon for this week ends with Nemo leaving for school and Marlin, who is no longer overprotective or doubtful of his son’s ability, proudly watching Nemo swim away into the distance.  Like Marlin, we can feel a sense of accomplishment as teachers’ abilities increase and we see them take off on their own teaching adventures!

Extra Features:  If you have Finding Nemo among your video collection, you might take a look at some other excerpts and consider how they apply to your coaching.  For example, the shark therapy class talks about rising above old habits.  Dori’s advice, “Just keep swimming,” encourages perseverance that is important for students and teachers alike.  Nemo’s initiation ceremony into the fish tank might get you thinking about how new teachers join your school.   Just for fun, find a 2-3 minute clip that you can show at a beginning-of-the-year staff meeting.  Letting cartoons make the point for you can be memorable and just plain fun!

 

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

5 ways to get Common Core ready this summer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqRMaPG_x4c

 

5 apps for summer reading:

http://litlifeblog.wordpress.com/2013/05/31/apps-for-summer-reading/

Thoughts about classroom design for teachers changing grade levels (and the rest of us, too!):

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=807

A Pinterest board with 60 different Family Literacy Night suggestions that you might consider as you begin planning for next year:

http://pinterest.com/amr161/literacy-night-ideas/

A video about writing text-dependent questions that get kids thinking:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/developing-better-questions?utm_campaign=digest&utm_medium=email&utm_source=digest

That’s it for this week!