In
previous weeks, we’ve considered each phase of the GIR cycle: Modeling,
recommending, questioning, affirming, and praising. Each has an important place
in an effective coaching cycle. Although generally your coaching will move from
most supportive (modeling, recommending) to less supportive (questioning,
affirming, praising), the path is not a linear one. I’ve described it as shifting, sinuous, flexible and responsive.
So how do you decide which move to use? That is where discernment comes in.
As
a coach, you need the ability to see and understand people and situations.
Choosing what move to use requires insight and discrimination. Through a
combination of careful listening and thoughtful planning, you’ll be able to
perceive how best to support the teachers you are working with. Coaches
familiar with the GIR model have told me there are some helpful clues to look
for when deciding which coaching move to use.
Modeling is helpful when a teacher
lacks experience; either the teacher is a novice or is being introduced to a
new approach. You’ll have the opportunity to make recommendations when a
teacher comes to you with questions, or when you’ve asked a question during
planning and the teacher comes up empty. Questioning might initially be used
to help a teacher slow down and baby-step her way through the planning process;
later the questioning can become more refined, opening up possibilities or
probing for specificity. Affirming comes naturally as you see
good things happening – which happens throughout the process, but becomes more
dominant as the need for other coaching moves drops away. And the shift from
affirming to praising is mostly made by the teacher – as she stops looking
to you to confirm her practice.
Using
the GIR planning form, below, might be a help as you thoughtfully consider the
support each teacher needs. Use it as needed to guide you along the flexible
path of coaching teacher change.
This week, you might want to
take a look at:
Ending the school year by having
students think about next year:
Goals, dreams, end-of-year transitions,
and the football field:
Helping
students make summer reading plans:
This
article about rereading:
Everything
you need to have students compare the book and the movie:
That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!
No comments:
Post a Comment