If
you want to ask good questions during coaching conversations, take a very close
look during instruction. Ground your
observations in the specifics of what you see and hear. Get right in the center of the learning. Lean in to hear student conversations and
interactions between teacher and student.
Look closely at student work.
What does that work tell you about the student’s understanding? Does the student work look much the same,
regardless of students’ ability level? Are
there common errors across student work?
Patterns of misunderstanding? Is
the teacher giving feedback that is general (“Great job!”) or specific
(“Drawing the diagram really helped you solve that problem!”)? Can students explain to you why they are
doing what they’re doing? Who is
answering the teacher’s questions?
Gathering information during observations that is concrete and specific
will provide food for thought.
After
observing but before sitting down with the teacher, take some time to review
your notes. Highlight things that stand
out to you. What seems important? Zero in on one or two ideas and craft
thoughtful, open-ended questions to generate meaningful dialogue. For example, if you decide to discuss teacher
feedback, you might ask the teacher, “What aspects of the work were you
focusing on when checking in with students?”
A discussion of patterns of student response might ensue from the
question, “How did you decide who would answer your questions?” Your question isn’t meant to be a “gotcha,”
but rather an honest inquiry into the teacher’s decision-making processes. Be careful that your tone and wording carry
that positive, supportive message.
One
or two thoughtful questions, if explored deeply, will provide the fuel for a
meaningful coaching conversation.
Allowing ample processing time will increase the depth of teacher
responses. Then listen hard to the teacher’s
answer, because you’ll want to carry that thread of conversation forward.
Discussions that are grounded in insightful
observation and careful analysis of classroom interactions are likely
to be rich and meaningful. Your
insightful observations will help you and the teacher figure out together how
to make instruction stronger.
This week, you might want to take a look at:
This
video about an end-of-class formative assessment – the stop light method:
A video about effective
systems for coaching:
10 Tips for Professional
Development:
10 technology-enhanced alternatives to book reports:
Strategies
for great student discussions about math:
That’s
it for this week. Happy Coaching!
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