Coaching through Rose-Colored Glasses

There are some weeks when I have a very short amount of time to spend in classrooms, and recognizing the power of positive feedback, I want to be sure I notice something positive in each class. Especially at those times when things get busy and more extensive coaching work gets squeezed out of the schedule, I focus on finding something that is going well so that I can provide affirmation. Building on a strength provides a firm foundation for coaching.

So when I did quick walk-throughs recently, I was intentionally looking at the world through rose-colored glasses. The lens through which I was viewing instruction allowed me to find opportunities for affirmation. When I walked into a room, I stood quietly to the side. Sometimes I immediately noticed something I could affirm. So I made a quick exit, stepped into the hall, and used my phone to record an audio-memo to myself about what I wanted to applaud. Then I stepped into the next room and repeated the process. Sometimes I told myself, “Wait for it….wait for it….” And with a little patience and the right attitude, I found something encouraging in each classroom. Then I went to my computer, retrieved my memos, and sent a brief email to every teacher whose classroom I’d visited. Teachers responded quickly and positively. “I appreciate the affirmation!” one teacher replied.

When using the GIR coaching model, affirming is the dominant coaching move near the end of a successful coaching cycle. But that doesn’t mean that the end of a cycle is the only time it is used. Affirming becomes the dominant coaching move as the need for other types of coaching decreases, but effective coaches use affirming all along the way to maintain a positive climate for coaching.

So go ahead – make someone’s day!

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

Ideas for finding another way into coaching:

https://leadliteracy.com/articles/350

Taking a conference approach to professional development by offering choice:

http://www.teachingquality.org/content/blogs/jessica-keigan/strategic-professional-development

Talking during writer’s workshop:

https://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1314

Discussing fairness and kindness to close the achievement gap:

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jul/10/philosophy-for-children-pupils-maths-literacy

Ideas for vocabulary instruction across academic areas:

http://www.literacyinlearningexchange.org/sites/default/files/planning_for_content-area_vocabulary_instruction.pdf

That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!

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Igniting the Fire

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

~William Butler Yeats

Several years ago I did some consulting in a district that told coachess they could not coach on classroom management issues. The coaches grumbled about this. The teachers grumbled about it. Many teachers, especially less-experienced ones, said it was their biggest concern, and they wanted help.

I was reminded of this district’s decision this week when I sat around a table with professors from several colleges of education. The topic was teacher preparation, and, not surprisingly, a professor started off by saying, “With our student teachers, we do a lot with classroom management.” Heads nodded.

I work every week with mentor teachers (those who have a student-teacher in their classrooms), and I thought about how frequently the conversation turns to classroom management. They come to me with concerns about their interns’ problems in this area. When we start peeling back the layers, however, there is often something more important to focus on – and when we do put our attention here, classroom management issues often fall away. What makes this difference is a focus on student engagement. Although there still may be classroom management issues that need addressing, increasing students' cognitive engagement dramatically decreases problems with student behavior.

Engagement is not just being busy or compliant. It is not a measure of on-task behavior. Engagement doesn’t mean simply planning a hands-on activity (although that often helps!). The important thing to consider when focusing on engagement is the mind: Engagement is a minds-on condition.

Davis, Summers, and Miller, in their book An Interpersonal Approach to Classroom Management, talk about engagement as students’ cognitive and emotional investment in the learning, including their interest and ownership. When we focus on what will interest students in the learning and what we will do to encourage student ownership, engagement increases. Asking questions like the following during a coaching conversation can put the focus on engagement:

*What might ignite students’ interest in the work?

*What personal connections could they make?

*How will you grab students' attention in a purposeful way?

*What needs to happen so that students recognize the importance of the work? *How will today’s learning connect with what students did yesterday and what they need to be able to do tomorrow?

I love the conversation that ensues when I lead with these questions, and I find that when we focus on student engagement, teacher engagement often increases, too. These coaching conversations reinvigorate the teacher and the teaching, igniting teachers’ interest in the important role that student engagement plays  in learning.

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

This video about increasing student engagement (it’s 14 minutes, but includes coaching conversations with ideas to apply across grade levels and content areas):

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/making-science-engaging

Golden rules for engagement:

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/golden-rules-for-engaging-students-nicolas-pino-james

The 3 R’s of Writing Celebrations:

https://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1174

This Pinterest board with classroom management ideas:

https://www.pinterest.com/jenp761/classroom-management/?utm_campaign=81436d&e_t=editorial_1308_63b0030000013a0&utm_content=280701057963656455&utm_source=31&utm_term=2&utm_medium=2002

Disciplinary literacy or content-area literacy. What’s the difference? Find answers and some good suggestions in this article:

http://www.literacyinlearningexchange.org/sites/default/files/manderinowickensircj2014.pdf

That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!

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Inviting Wonderings

All thinking begins with wonder.

                                      ~Socrates

This week, I’ve been at a conference with the theme, “Illuminating A World of Wonder” (thank you, CCIRA!). As I’ve listened to speakers and participants make connections to the importance of wondering, I’ve thought about the utility of “I wonder” statements when coaching. “I wonder” awakens curiosity and arouses motivation, both of which are important catalysts for change.

Wondering can happen throughout the coaching cycle. After I’ve modelled in a classroom, I often ask, “Thinking back on that lesson, what are you wondering about?” This question takes a modeling experience and turns it into an opportunity for inquiry. “I wonder” coaching statements might also take the form of a recommendation: “I’m wondering what would happen if……” A powerful way to use “I wonder” statements frames them as questions: “I’m wondering what other ways……” As noted in last week’s post, “I wonder” statements can also be affirming (as in, “I wonder how you might share that with others!). Whichever way you use an “I wonder” statement, my hunch is that you’ll find that these phrases catalyze thinking and engage teachers as problem-solvers.

When we turn the tables and ask teachers what they are wondering about, we expand the impact. P. David Pearson (my research idol!) notes that “Asking a question calls for more cognitive demand than answering one.” So giving teachers the chance to generate their own wonderings ensures their cognitive engagement with the task of instructional improvement.

As you’re planning for upcoming coaching conversations this week, try an “I wonder” statement on for size. These two words can create a sense of wonder about student learning that will energize the work.

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

A video demonstrating the see-wonder-think sequence that builds students’ analysis skills (in art and beyond):

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/thinking-routine-getty

Seven ideas for replacing worksheets with wonder:

http://wonderteacher.com/7-ideas-for-replacing-worksheets-with-wonder/

Tips on transitioning from teacher to coach:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2015/07/01/transition-from-teacher-to-coach/

Conferring during writer’s workshop:

https://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2015/01/31/conferring-and-student-goals/

Teaching Channel’s whitepaper on how video is redefining professional development:

https://dqam6mam97sh3.cloudfront.net/resources/uploaded_document/resource/824/TeachingChannelPOV0210_HowVideoisRedefiningTchrDev.pdf

That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!

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