Do
you know about the power of the simple word, yet? This word is powerful
because it is full of potential! Consider these comments:
* “The
classroom climate isn’t yet what it needs to be.”
* “Your questioning strategies don’t require
enough higher-level thinking yet.”
When
we tack the word yet onto a sentence,
we are saying, “I know you can do this!
You will get there soon!”
As
coaches, we do a disservice to teachers if we only acknowledge the things they
are doing well. Growing and learning require
risk, and as teachers take risks, they will make mistakes and experience
occasional failure. Yet allows for negative feedback while also showing confidence that
they will get there!
Yet
helps
to create what Carol Dweck has called a growth
mindset.* Those with a growth mindset are willing to
work through difficulties because they feel that, with effort, they will
achieve success. Honest feedback,
coupled with faith that continued work will make a difference, creates progress
and improvement. With a growth mindset,
teachers see success as within their control, recognizing that focused practice
will make a difference. They have
attitudes that are more positive and have more confidence in difficult
situations.
Teachers
can handle – and actually benefit from – feedback that focuses on areas where
they need growth. Adding the word yet softens
the critique and opens the door for a recommendation to be well-received. The cumulative effect of working through
difficulties is long-term success. The
power of yet suggests
improvement and mastery. Using this
little word can make a big difference in your work with teachers!
* Dweck,
C.S. (2006). Mindset. New York: Random House.
This week,
you might want to take a look at:
This
interview with Charlotte Danielson (author of Framework for Teaching) about teaching with the CCSS:
Got
a family vacation planned as we wrap up the summer months? Check out this list of the best audio books
for long family car rides (they also make great read-alouds!):
Still
looking for a good teacher book for summer reading? Check out this list:
This
video about the power of common language (click the second link):
“App
Smashing” ideas to combine the power of multiple apps in lessons:
Combining
Shakespeare and Technology? Watch this
YouTube video, “Remixing Shakespeare”:
That’s it
for this week!
No comments:
Post a Comment