Appreciative Inquiry

School’s out for many of us, providing a much-needed opportunity to relax and refuel.  It’s also a time to enhance our coaching tool kits and plan for making our coaching in the coming year even better!

Posts on My Coaches’ Couch this summer will revisit important topics related to coaching and the Gradual Increase of Responsibility Model.  I hope my comments will provide food for thought as you road trip, relax in the sun, head to the hills, or put your own house in order.

Today I’m passing along some new ideas I’ve learned about asking questions.  There’s a leadership approach called “appreciative inquiry” that I’ve been reading about.  I liked the sound of it right off – so positive and upbeat!  The positive principles incorporated reminded me of some of my more successful coaching conversations. 

In order for coaches to facilitate instructional change, they have to help teachers overcome habitual ways of thinking and unleash their imaginations.  Coaches can help teachers conceive and construct better learning experiences by taking an inquiry approach that includes these four D’s:

Define the topic of inquiry:

*What specific learning goal do you want to focus on? 

Discover stories and experiences about past successes leading toward this learning goal.

*Can you remember some past students who really improved in this area?  What lead to their improvements? 

*What lessons have worked well in the past?

           

Dream together about the desired future.

*What will you see and hear your students doing if students reach this learning goal?

Design what it will take to bring the dream to life.

*What’s the learning progression students will need to follow?

*What learning experiences will help students move in this direction?

Coaches can ask questions that set the stage for discovery, uncover the stories of past successes, and guide the creation of a workable plan.  Having a dream of the future to work toward is a powerful motivator and mobilizer.  As coaches ask positive, affirming questions, teachers gain the momentum for lasting and effective change. 

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

Two contests for teachers from NCTE – do something for yourself:

Middle and high school teachers are invited to submit works of creative nonfiction for a $5000 cash prize and travel to NYC:

http://www.ncte.org/awards/nmwa?roi=echo4-26683200738-39903576-cf26e38b877aeb08567be7e264672996&

There is still time to apply for the Donald H. Graves Writing before the June 15 deadline. This award recognizes teachers in grades K-6 who, through the teaching of writing, demonstrate an understanding of student improvement in writing: 

http://www.ncte.org/awards/graves?roi=echo4-26725086423-40031578-8e18e22bf318c683fe62d56cdea9bace&

This commentary about allowing teachers to develop their own lessons when teaching the CCSS:

http://edsource.org/2014/districts-must-give-teachers-the-time-opportunity-and-guidance-to-develop-common-core/62773

Confessions of a CCSS Assessment Field-Tester:

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/05/21/32lloyd.h33.html

Books for teaching about theme to review and add to your collection this summer:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=547

Join the NCTE twitter chat on summer professional learning on June 22: 

#nctechat

That’s all for this week.  Happy Coaching!

*Cooperrrider, D. L., Whitney, D., & Stavros, J.M. (2008). Appreciative inquiry handbook: For leaders of change (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.