The GIR Model: What's Missing?

It’s taken me several years to realize it, but one of the important things about the GIR model for coaching is something that is not there: correcting. Correcting might seem like a useful strategy when you are helping someone improve their practice, but it can often backfire, leaving the teacher you are working with feel unvalued and even disrespected.

This concept hit home to me this week when I was talking with a novice teacher who had not had a good experience with mentoring. The example she gave was with a simple teaching practice and an extreme situation, but it will serve to illustrate problems with using correcting as a coaching move.

The teacher was in a first-grade classroom, using a document camera to read a picture book. As the story began, the mentor said, “Stop!” and walked up to the front of the room. She rearranged the teacher’s desk, pointing out that she needed to be facing the students while using the document camera. The teacher quickly adjusted her position, refocused students on the book, and resumed reading.

You may be saying to yourself, “I would never do anything like that.” This is, admittedly, an extreme example. But correcting, even when carried out in contexts more thoughtful and with words less harsh, is still not an effective coaching move.

In situations where correcting seems needed, I try to figure out a corresponding, but more effective, coaching move from the GIR model. Often that move is a recommendation.  A recommendation is received differently than correction or its close associate, criticizing.  For illustration, let’s consider differences between criticizing and recommending. A criticism in the above example, given during a debrief conversation, might sound like:

“You shouldn’t have had your back to students while you used the document camera.”

A suggestion might sound like:

“You might want to rearrange your computer desk so that you can see students while you’re using the document camera.”

Correcting and criticism are not part of the research-based GIR model.  There’s a reason for that: the GIR model grew from careful study of effective coaches, examining what they did to support success. Correcting and criticizing don’t show up because they aren’t part of the repertoire of effective coaches.

Just like in football, what happens at the receiving end is critically important. If it’s not caught, even the most beautifully thrown pass does not result in a touchdown. This principle holds true in coaching: your understanding of expert instruction will only help improve another teacher’s instruction if the expertise you offer is received. Recommendations, rather than corrections, will be more likely to be a game-changer.

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

This blog about what makes a good mentor:

http://www.teachingquality.org/content/why-mentorship-matters

Think time and collaborative work as tools for learning:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/independent-and-group-work?utm_campaign=digest&utm_medium=email&utm_source=digest

Busting myths about differentiated instruction:

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/differentiated-instruction-myths-and-truths-john-mccarthy

Lesson resources for teaching good grammar:

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/jul/30/guardian-teacher-network-resources-grammar

A video showing retelling in 1^st-grade, offering students choice:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/academic-choice-lesson?utm_campaign=digest&utm_medium=email&utm_source=digest

That’s it for this week. Happy coaching!

User-Friendly Feedback

Have you ever given coaching feedback, felt like it was well-received, and then seen little change?  Unfortunately, a teacher’s acknowledgment of a problem doesn’t mean she can implement a solution. 

This week I had a conversation with a coach who was feeling frustrated with the results of her efforts. She had been giving detailed, specific feedback but seeing no changes in instruction! What could be going wrong?

I asked her to tell me more.

During a grammar lesson, it quickly became apparent that the approach the teacher had planned wasn’t working. Students did not understand.  Later, when the coach brought this up, the teacher readily agreed and recognized she should have been flexible and changed something in the middle of the lesson. The problem was, the teacher didn’t know what that something was. Even though the feedback had included detailed examples of students’ misunderstanding, it didn’t lead to a better next lesson.

The coach gave another example.  During an observation, this coach had taken careful notes and chosen some details to share with the teacher.  For example, she’d noted that many students were off-task and did not appear to be engaged. That was a problem!  The teacher’s reply was that yes – she had noticed they weren’t engaged. She was aware of the problem.

It was a problem, however, that the teacher didn’t seem equipped to solve. She needed specific recommendations. She needed to hear something like:

“When planning your lesson, think about how you can incorporate students’ interests. For example, Thanksgiving is coming up and they’ve been talking about that turkey dinner! You could center their math problem around a shopping list for Thanksgiving dinner and how much of each item they might buy if they have $60 to spend. Making the problem relevant to their experience will increase engagement.”

I reminded the coach of the recommendation equation we’d discussed earlier: Feedback + Advice = Recommendation.  The coach realized she had left out the “advice” portion of the equation.

Sometimes teachers take feedback well – they nod and agree when a problem is identified. But there are times when they can’t take it from there without your help. User-friendly feedback at these times includes recommendations. Without the recommendation, the feedback isn’t useful. In fact, it is frustrating.

A novice teacher who is just beginning to build a teaching repertoire may need support in using your feedback.  They need you to figuratively hold their hand and turn the feedback into a recommendation.  A recommendation that can be put into action will make direct feedback welcome and user-friendly.

This week, you might want to take a look at this potpourri of ideas and resources:

Using music parodies to teach history:

http://www.middleweb.com/18597/parody-synthesis-class-say/

4 minutes of movement increases students’ attention:

http://www.medicaldaily.com/fun-exercise-boost-kids-attention-school-performance-all-it-takes-4-minutes-308922

Executive function (mental processes that help us plan, organize, control emotions, and manage time) in teens is intermittent; here are some suggestions for improving it:

http://www.amle.org/BrowsebyTopic/Teaching/TeaDet/TabId/203/ArtMID/833/ArticleID/298/Looking-at-Executive-Function.aspx

11 Tips for Teaching about Theme:

https://fs24.formsite.com/edweek/images/WP-GreatBooks-11_Tips_for_Teaching.pdf

Read the blog post, “Dipsticks” for ideas to share about formative assessment (includes 53 ways to check for understanding!):

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/dipsticks-to-check-for-understanding-todd-finley

That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

Time Out for Coaching

Football season is upon us, but it’s more than just athletes who need a Time Out! With high-stakes testing and merit pay, teaching has never been a more stressful profession.  And ongoing stress has serious consequences, affecting the area of our brain responsible for memory and learning.

When stress is high and seems to be getting in the way of your coaching efforts, you might try some of the following to get both you and the teacher you are working with ready for a productive coaching session.

1) Take a deep breath.  You might even close your eyes while you do it. Don’t hide your attempt from the teacher you are working with. Our brains subconsciously mirror the emotions of others. As you relax, the teacher you are working with is likely to relax, too. You may even see the exhale.

2) Drop and relax your shoulders. We carry a lot of tension there! Rotate your shoulder blades and imagine the stress going down your arms and out of your fingertips.

3) Laugh out loud – it lowers stress hormones and boosts feel-good endorphins. You don’t have to be a stand-up comedian to bring out a chuckle!  Slip a comic strip in the front of your clear-view binder or save a story from the school-day that made you smile. Lightening the mood can increase the effectiveness of your coaching.

4) Add calming images, sounds, or scents. In your classroom or office, a photo or sound of waves washing up on the beach can foster relaxation. Bird song, music, lavender, the scent of pine trees, the sound of rain, or the image of a sunset are some other possibilities. Invite your senses to take you to a relaxing place. It will ease the way for an open conversation and make others feel good, too!

5) Chew gum.  A few minutes of chewing can actually reduce anxiety. So offer a minty stick when you sense tension.

6) Offer lotion. Our hands also carry a lot of stress, and applying lotion provides a mini hand-massage for instant relaxation.

7) Squeeze a stress ball. It’s a portable way to reduce tension.

8) Head outside. If it’s a sunny day, an outdoor walk-and-talk will lift your spirits and inspire new ideas.

9) Journal. Writing about what’s stressing you can make emotions less intimidating. In addition to reducing stress, taking a few minutes to write at the beginning of a coaching session builds in reflection time and can provide a springboard for discussion. Those two or three minutes for reflection feel like a luxury in our fast-paced days.

10) Food for thought: although complex carbs create a more lasting stream of serotonin, simple carbs, like sweets, produce a spike in the hormone that can get the brain in gear for productive conversation.  My favorite research about stress is that dark chocolate regulates the stress hormone, so now I have an excuse for my addiction!

Of course, you won’t try all of these at once. One or two will likely do the job, releasing helpful hormones that chase away the ill-effects of stress. Decide whether or not to explicitly mention the stress and what you are doing to relieve it based on the context, the people you are working with, and your relationship to them. 

The quick-fix stress-reducers mentioned above set the stage for the coaching conversation – which could be another stress reducer.  Talking about stressful situations to a calm listener relieves, relaxes, and creates opportunities for problem solving.  

Try a few of these suggestions yourself to get ready for the day. You’ve earned that time out!

 

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

An article about the value of reading for pleasure:

http://www.reading.org/reading-today/post/engage/2014/02/27/reading-pleasure-central-to-practice?utm_source=Inspire-1014&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Inspire

In this video, a middle school National Teacher of the Year finalist shows how she develops writing confidence in English Language Learners:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/meet-dorina-sackman-2014-ntoy-finalist?utm_campaign=digest&utm_medium=email&utm_source=digest

An article about using memorabilia as writing prompts:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=348

An online app for Venn diagrams:

http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/mobile-apps/venn-diagram-a-30994.html

 

Get convinced about the power of collaboration:

https://www.edsurge.com/n/2014-08-09-say-yolo-to-studying-solo-the-power-of-collaborative-learning

 

That’s it for this week. Happy coaching!

 

Conversational Courage

Do you really want to improve student learning?  In many situations, focusing on student work will help you get directly to the need. This is especially true if the conversation is with the student – the learner doing that work.

At other times, however, a conversation about instruction will be more effective.  This is often true if the conversation is with the teacher – the one doing that work.

Talking about teaching head-on might require conversational courage.  For coaches, conversational courage is a type of relationship courage: the courage to engage in meaningful conversations about the work.  

Here are some suggestions to lay the groundwork for courageous conversations: 

*Give ample time for the teacher to explain her ideas without judgment.

 *Speak less and listen more so that you can understand the teacher’s perspective.

*Ask open-ended questions (it helps to have a couple of those ready in advance).

These practices build a trusting, open atmosphere and enrich your understanding of the situation.  After a thoughtful pause (giving yourself time to synthesize this new information), you can speak honestly, providing recommendations that are more likely to hit the mark because of the perspective you’ve gained.  Interestingly, there’s some brain chemistry behind this.  Listening thoughtfully stimulates your prefrontal cortex, allowing you to access more sophisticated strategies.  You can then respond intelligently and creatively, offering recommendations that are likely to improve instruction. And, importantly, the teachers’ “mirror neurons” will reflect the empathy you’ve shown, and she’ll feel understood and more open to influence.

Having conversational courage, foregrounded with empathic listening, helps you talk about teaching with the one doing that work. It’s an indirect way to get at student learning, but it targets aspects of the work that the teacher has the most control over.  Although it may take conversational courage to make recommendations about instruction, specific suggestions are sometimes the shortest route to improved student learning.

As the Wizard of Oz taught, wisdom and courage should work together. So couple your recommendations with conversational courage.  Conversational courage is a coaching tool that can get you to the heart of effective instruction. 

 

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

Commentary about working together for school improvement:

http://www.itemonline.com/news/everyone-is-working-together-to-make-mance-park-the-best/article_4276988c-62d4-11e4-a3fe-d75a26b714d2.html

 

The importance of trusts in PLCs:

http://www.teachingquality.org/content/blogs/kim-worth/building-plc-possibilities-four-tenets-trust

 

This video showing debrief circles in math:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/students-reflect-on-learning-exl?utm_campaign=digest&utm_medium=email&utm_source=digest

 

A video with suggestions for talking about texts:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/analyzing-text-as-a-group

 

A podcast:  Why do inquiry:

http://www.literacyinlearningexchange.org/why-do-inquiry

 

That’s it for this week.  Happy coaching!