Watching the amazing feats at the
Olympics this week got me thinking: How
did these athletes develop such expertise?
Doubtless their coaches had something to do with it! I took a look at advice from an Olympic coach
and realized the ideas have merit for instructional coaches as well. Here’s my adaptation of an Olympic coach’s
wisdom:
1. Set individual goals.
Although teaching doesn’t
(shouldn’t!) foster the competitive environment that exists in the Olympic
games, human nature still has us comparing ourselves with others. According to Olympic coach Bob Bowman, a true
champion is as satisfied with meeting personal goals as with receiving a
medal. High performers operate according
to their own standards and are satisfied when those standards are met.
2. Be better today than yesterday.
2. Be better today than yesterday.
If you do that enough days, you’ll
travel a great distance! Be
process-oriented and focus on the things you can control. Skills are developed through experience. One of Bowman’s favorite sayings is, “Good
judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.” It’s okay to make mistakes, as long as we
learn from them and make incremental improvements. We learn from failures – sometimes even more
than from successes! When things don’t
go well, encourage teachers (and yourself!) to take the opportunity to analyze
what’s going on and make changes.
3. Expect challenges.
3. Expect challenges.
There are frustrations and
unexpected situations at school on a daily basis. Accept that these challenges will
happen. Take them in stride and focus on
opportunities; encourage the teachers you are working with to do the same.
4. Recognize that one size does not fit all.
4. Recognize that one size does not fit all.
Coach Bowman said he used to have
just one tool in his coaching toolbox – a hammer. But he quickly figured out that many people
don’t respond well to that approach!
Some respond to logic, others to motivation. Coaches are successful when they tailor their
approach to the individual.
Like the Olympic athletes soaring to
success this week, coaches and teachers will find success in their work as they
set personal goals, strive for incremental improvement, work through the
inevitable frustrations, and expand the toolkits they use in their important
work.
This
week, you might want to take a look at:
An
interactive digital graphic organizer for comparing and contrasting:
A
list of authors who will Skype with a classroom for free:
How
Google Docs are Revolutionizing the Classroom:
Article
Smorgasbord - A great PD activity for offering choice while building background
knowledge:
22
Formative assessment techniques:
That’s it for this week! Happy Coaching!
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