Polishing the Process

“I can’t wait to tell you about a coaching conversation this week,” Sandi said when I ran into her in the hall. “Molly was so excited about her lesson, and the question I planned to ask her really paid off.”

Sandi is part of a group of coaches I’ve been working with, using the GIR model to support cycles of coaching. In recent weeks our focus has been on asking questions to guide teacher reflection. This week, when I began our meeting by asking for celebrations, Sandi jumped right in to tell her story.

Molly, a teacher Sandi was working with, was so excited about a lesson she had just taught that she asked to meet with Sandi a day earlier than they had planned. Seeing Molly’s enthusiasm, Sandi rearranged her schedule and prepared for their conference. Questioning had been a productive strategy in her recent meetings with Molly, and she felt it should still be her dominant coaching move. Seeing Molly’s excitement about her lesson, she knew a different kind of questions was called for, so she crafted a question that was also affirming (the next stage in the GIR coaching cycle).

“How could you share this lesson with others on your team?” Sandi asked, after hearing Molly’s summary of the lesson. Molly felt validated by Sandi’s question: her coach was acknowledging her expertise by suggesting her lesson would have value to others. Molly was excited to share her ideas, and they planned time for it during an upcoming PLC. But Molly also wanted to think through how she might adjust the lesson if she taught it again so that she could share those tweaks as well. Since Sandi hadn’t seen the lesson, asking questions about what went well and how students’ responded was a natural coaching move that helped Molly refine the lesson.

When instruction is going well and teachers need little support, coaches can be sounding boards as teachers polish the processes they are using. A coach’s questions then take on an affirming role, acknowledging and encouraging best practice. Meeting with a coach can give the teacher’s work a chance to shine.

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

A video of an interactive read aloud:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid2109637168001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAAPmbRRLk~,C5G7jhYNtifLHMZ3Mk1et94EXmm8Be9z&bctid=4073220644001

Ideas for using classroom observation to support teacher learning:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/observing-for-learning?utm_campaign=digest&utm_medium=email&utm_source=digest

Images to support visual thinking skills:

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/10-intriguing-photographs-to-teach-close-reading-and-visual-thinking-skills/?_r=0

Different types of grouping for social learning:

http://readingyear.blogspot.com/2014/08/learning-is-social.html

This article explains why sitting in a circle enhances discussion – an important idea for learning both in the classroom and in professional development settings:

https://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1139

That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!

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