“You can observe a lot by watching.”
~Yogi Berra
Although I’m guessing you already have plenty of acronyms in
your educational vocabulary, today’s coaching blog post suggests you add one
more: CBWA – Coaching by Walking
Around. In
suggesting that you try CBWA, I’m putting a new spin on an old practice that is
gaining renewed energy in the business world.
“Management by walking around” was popularized in the 1980’s and is
making a comeback because it builds rapport and provides a first-hand opportunity
to see how things are going. Coaches can
benefit from the practice for the same reason.
Here are some tips for reaping the benefits of CBWA:
1. Make CBWA part of your routine.
Let colleagues know you’ve learned about a new coaching practice and
want to give it a try. Tell them you’ll
be casually dropping into rooms for quick visits…Just long enough to lend a hand
in passing out papers or kneel down and have a child explain his work. Block out short, random spots on your
calendar several times during the week. The more often you do it, the more beneficial
it is. In 15 minutes you can make the
rounds, see lots of teachers, students, and classrooms, and get some exercise,
too! Make sure your CBWA walks are at
different times during the day so you get a sense of the wide variety of
learning that is going on.
2. Go it alone. Make it a solo
experience. Don’t walk in with another teacher. Don’t walk with the
principal or assistant principal – that smells like evaluation! Your intention is to be in tune with the
contexts, content, and routines of learning so that the support your offer –
whether one-on-one, small-group, or in a staff training – is on target.
3. Visit everybody. Dropping in
on some folks more often than others is likely to create the wrong kind of
buzz. Hopefully coaching in your
building is an all-in model: Everyone (including you!) benefits from the process. So as part of the CBWA process, try to spend
roughly the same amount of time in each classroom – not necessarily in the same
day or week, but over time and across visits.
4. Recognize good ideas. Leave
a quick note – a small post-it is all it takes – naming one specific thing you
noticed or appreciated. Especially
well-received is an anecdotal record about the great thinking a specific
student was doing. Don’t criticize. Recommendations can come in other parts of
your coaching work as needed, but keep CBWA positive. Remember, your goals for walking around are
to gather information and build rapport.
Don’t undermine your effort.
Being visible to all teachers in the school – with a smile on
your face and a compliment in your wake – can keep you in tune and open doors
for ongoing coaching work.
This
week, you might want to take a look at:
The great quote on this Pinterest board (so true for me!):
A
video about literacy in the high school science classroom:
A podcast about student research:
This lesson plan from NCTM, based on
the Apache game "Throw Sticks," packs plenty of math content into a
simple variation of a game of chance:
That’s
it for this week. Happy Coaching!
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