No
two teachers are alike, so no two coaching cycles will be, either! The GIR coaching model can serve as a guide
no matter who you are working with, but where you begin and the way you move
through it will change every time.
Working with
Expert Teachers:
When
I talked to a coach who was working with an expert teacher to implement the
CCSS, she said, “She really didn’t need the modeling, or the recommending,
either. I jumped right in with
questioning. That helped support her
thinking and reflection.” But later,
when the same teacher was working on differentiation – a complex teaching skill
– modeling and recommending were included before moving to less-supportive
coaching approaches.
Working with
Novice Teachers:
Another
coach talked about how the model guided her as she worked with a less-confident
teacher. “She really needed the
modeling,” she said, “and at first even that wasn’t working. She didn’t know what to pay attention
to. Modeling started working better once
I gave her very specific things to watch for.”
Then they moved into recommending – a phase that lasted a long, long
time! Questioning finally became the
dominant move (even though recommending lingered) very late in the coaching
cycle. And the coach felt they never
made it to praising when she commended the teacher’s work; it still felt more
like affirming, because the teacher seemed still to be looking for validation.
The Upward-Trending Line
I hope the GIR Model will be a guide for you as you work with a variety of teachers. Coaches have told me that keeping the upward-trending squiggly line from the model in the minds helps their coaching move forward so they don’t get stuck in a coaching cycle. Teachers increase in competence and confidence (even with difficult instructional approaches) as we continually push the upper limits of their ZPD’s by adjusting our support. You’ll likely use a variety of the coaching moves described (modeling, recommending, questioning, affirming, praising) at some point during each coaching cycle – and with some teachers, you’ll hang onto an approach throughout the time you are work together. But shifting which move is dominant – which one you are doing the most of – helps to move your work forward. So change it up every time, in response to teachers’ needs. Variety is the spice of life – and coaching!
I hope the GIR Model will be a guide for you as you work with a variety of teachers. Coaches have told me that keeping the upward-trending squiggly line from the model in the minds helps their coaching move forward so they don’t get stuck in a coaching cycle. Teachers increase in competence and confidence (even with difficult instructional approaches) as we continually push the upper limits of their ZPD’s by adjusting our support. You’ll likely use a variety of the coaching moves described (modeling, recommending, questioning, affirming, praising) at some point during each coaching cycle – and with some teachers, you’ll hang onto an approach throughout the time you are work together. But shifting which move is dominant – which one you are doing the most of – helps to move your work forward. So change it up every time, in response to teachers’ needs. Variety is the spice of life – and coaching!
This week, you might want to take a look at:
A
quick video about anecdotal records:
Touchy
topics sure to get the ideas flowing for opinion/argument writing:
Tips
for handling questions during professional presentations:
Drawing
diagrams of a word problem makes a big difference! Check out ideas for support this strategy at:
If
you have the patience to listen to (or skim through) this recording, you’ll
find an incredibly powerful message about student engagement and learning (don’t
stop at the computer part – that’s not really what it’s about):
Just
for fun……12 Things you should never say to a teacher:
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