Lifting the Veil on Coaching

In the movie, The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy seeks help from the all-powerful Oz, hoping he can solve her problems and those of her friends. After she lifts the veil to reveal a bumbling man pulling levers, her hopes are dashed. However, Oz provides all they need: heart, brain, courage, and power to go home. Revealing the mechanisms behind the scene did nothing to reduce the assistance that Oz could provide, even though he felt exposed when the veil was lifted.

Like the Wizard, for years I kept the veil drawn on the help I was providing as a coach. I’m not sure why. Perhaps I was afraid that being transparent about my coaching moves would make the process feel less authentic. And maybe there’s some truth to that. But I’ve found that when I have lifted the veil and shared the GIR Coaching Model, it has been well received by the teachers I’m working with.

The Gradual Increase of Responsibility Model for Coaching and Mentoring (below), turns the familiar GRR teaching model on its head by putting the focus on the increasing independence of the learner – in this case, the teacher. I’ve reaped benefits by sharing the model – and the goal – with teachers I’m working with. At the beginning of a coaching cycle, when I’ve said, “Why don’t we start with me modeling this for you,” and pointed out that our goal was for her to be doing it on her own, with me sitting back and praising, the teacher felt confident about the path forward. “It’s so empowering,” one teacher said, while examining the GIR model. She knew that the support I’d be providing would be gradually reduced through mentoring moves that offered less and less support: after modeling, recommending; then questioning; and finally, affirming and praising. These teachers were excited to see their progress charted as I used less-directive coaching moves.

If you’ve had the veil drawn on what you’re doing as a coach, consider whether it might be helpful to share your process and your goals for the coaching cycle. A novice teacher will likely feel inspired by the faith you have in her ability to reach the praising stage. A more veteran teacher may likewise feel encouraged and welcome your explanation as the openness of two professionals talking about their craft. With the veil lifted, you may feel empowered, too, by the transparency you are providing.

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

Tips for successful parent teacher conversations:

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/parent-teacher-conferences-collaborative-conversations-john-mccarthy

Why culturally-relevant literature is important in this NCTE article, “No Longer Invisible”:

http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/CC/0261-sept2016/NoLongerInvisible.pdf?roi=echo4-36269028631-90953809-117c1b0e1f98e14fe4eb0a6dcc337624&utm_source=CC+Journal+Announcement+-+25-3&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Journals

This spotlight on English Language Learners:

https://fs24.formsite.com/edweek/images/Spotlight-ELL2016-Sponsored.pdf

Taking the formula out of non-fiction writing:

https://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2016/01/18/putting-the-exploratory-notebook-into-practice-with-thanks-to-ralph-fletcher/

Procedural Writing in math:

https://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=747

That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!

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Tell Me More

As a coach, it’s handy to have some open-ended prompts on the tip of your tongue – ones that can be used in most situations and that give you time to get your feet under you while you figure out the situation. My favorite new phrase for this is, “Tell me more.”

Asking a teacher to simply tell me more gives her permission to let her ideas tumble from her brain. Keeping the prompt simple and straightforward allows the teacher to focus more on her own thinking and less on what I am asking her to do. A complicated prompt can overwhelm; a simple prompt opens room for reflection and helps the teacher articulate that nagging something about the lesson that just didn’t feel quite right. That’s what happened in my recent debrief conversation with Alison. She said that overall she felt good about the lesson, but she felt there was room for improvement. “Tell me more,” I said.

“I want my students to share their experiences, but I think I may have let them share too much during the lesson,” Alison said.

“Tell me more about that,” I prompted.

“I want my students to be able to share stories. They love to talk, but the lesson was a little crunched for time at the end.”

“Can you tell me a little more about that?” I asked.

“Well, I know I need to find the right balance of letting them talk, but staying on topic is a struggle.”

Now we were getting at the root of the matter. Alison’s concern wasn’t so much that students were spending too much time talking, or even that the end of the lesson was short-changed. She was concerned about an important aspect of instruction: how to make sure students’ talk is taking the learning deeper. Together, we considered ways to increase focused discussion during the partner talk opportunities she was providing. We also noted that asking students to look at the child who was talking during whole group discussions would encourage students to listen to each other’s responses. These recommendations hit the mark because they addressed the specific area of concern that our coaching conversation had uncovered. If I had jumped in sooner, I might have focused on shortening the time for each partner discussion, or ways to provide closure even when time was short. But those weren’t the issues that were really nagging at Alison. Asking her to “tell me more” helped target an area where Alison was ready to grow.

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

A coaching conversation that focuses on the ratio of interaction to create a positive classroom environment:

https://studysites.corwin.com/highimpactinstruction/videos/v14.1.htm

Reading & writing “to sustain happiness”:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid3671211724001?bckey=AQ~~,AAABlTNHE7k~,oIicl_E-tmhDtDkfwzKAp9yYvfvdcIPK&bctid=5037418095001

Inquiry Questions that celebrate the National Parks Centennial:

http://www.edutopia.org/article/celebrate-national-park-centennial-project-suzie-boss

Find one-minute for non-fiction (first look at the ideas for teachers, linked here, then go to “The Non-Fiction Minute” tab for texts):

http://www.nonfictionminute.com/for-teachers.html

Using the classroom as a resource to support students’ independence and reflection:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/classroom-wall-ideas-nea

That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!

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Modeling as Translation

The Gradual Increase of Responsibility Model for Coaching and Mentoring is a guide to support learning: specifically, the learning of teachers. But as learners, teachers aren’t so different from the students they work with. Everyone benefits from a good model.

I observed the importance of modeling in a first grade classroom recently. After explaining the task, which involved creating arrays on a grid using Unifix cubes, the teacher did something that made all the difference in students’ understanding of the task. He sat down in the middle of the carpet, gathered students all around him, and did a “fishbowl” model of the process. Then he sent students on their way to do it on their own. Afterwards, the teacher talked about the lesson. “Even though I say it, they don’t really hear it,” he said, talking about his oral instructions. “They’ve got to see me doing the process. That’s when they understand.”

Like their students, teachers sometimes need a good model. If you’ve made a recommendation that isn’t being taken up by the teacher, consider whether seeing the practice in action might help. Modeling is like a translation. A model interprets and explains the recommendation, making it understandable. A “visual translation” puts the suggestion in language that is more easily grasped.

Modeling can happen during a conversation, as you talk with a teacher about a useful practice; it can happen in the classroom, as you flexibly use the practice with a group of students; it can be provided through a video (one of you or a colleague, or one of the many videos available on the internet). As the most supportive coaching move, modeling can be the “go to” when other coaching moves aren’t working. Modeling is a way of saying, “Gather ‘round. Here’s what this will look like.”

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

This video, with a model and explanation for using popsicle sticks to strengthen the concept of 10:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/popsicle-stick-math

How to be a teacher leader:

http://www.literacyinlearningexchange.org/blog/how-be-teacher-leader

A useful whitepaper on close reading, by Ray Reutzel:

http://www.casamples.com/downloads/Habits-of-Close-Reading-whitepaper.pdf

This idea for 15-minute Writing Fridays:

https://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1933

Shadowing a student provides instructional insights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGGzVYh8JGU

That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!

How to Frame a Recommendation

In coaching, when it comes to recommendations, it’s all about how your frame it. If a meeting starts with a teacher airing frustrations about a lesson or the kids, you may be headed in the wrong direction. When that happens, I like to back up the conversation by asking, “What went really well in the lesson?” When we couch recommendations within a broader framework of success, they are more likely to be received and employed.

Another way to frame a recommendation is by stating it as a “noticing.” I like to memorize sentence starters so that I can prompt myself during a coaching conversation. My sentence starter for noticings is, “I’ve noticed that when the teacher ____, students ____.” I’ve found this handy sentence stem is flexible and effective.  The noticing can be specific to the teacher’s class: “I’ve noticed that when you use the doc cam to model, your kids follow directions better” or a more general observation: “I’ve noticed when teachers use the last two minutes of a lesson for reflection, students often make new connections.” The frame can be stated as a negative, “I’ve noticed that when teachers move on to another student after a wrong answer, kids often shut down” or a positive: “I’ve noticed that when teachers probe an answer that seems wrong, they can often uncover a kernel of correct thinking to build on.”

Oftentimes this sentence stem leads a teacher to make her own recommendation: “I should try asking follow-up questions when students are confused.” If the teacher doesn’t go there herself, I use another favorite sentence stem that is full of possibilities: “I wonder what would happen if…..” 

These sentence frames worked for me today when I met with Amanda, a vibrant young teacher who has much to offer the profession. She walked into my room and even before she was in the seat she was venting her frustrations about the lesson I’d observed. “The kids were all over the floor,” she said. “There were two girls playing with each other’s hair, and half the time the kids weren’t even listening!”

“You sound frustrated,” I said. “Let’s back up and think about what went right in the lesson.”

“What went right?” she said, surprised that I’d suggested there was anything valuable to be discussed.

“Yes,” I queried. “What do you feel good about?”

“Well, the read-aloud. The kids were really into that.”

We talked about all the positive comments and relevant learning that happened during the story. “That book was a great choice,” I said.

“And I was really pleased that some of the kids noticed the way I’d grouped the numbers. They noticed it on their own without me pointing it out. And Edgar – he is really shy and hardly ever speaks up. I saw when he figured it out. The light bulb went on!”

We gloried in the light-bulb moment, and then Amanda returned on her own to the frustrations she’d expressed earlier. However, she was now on more solid ground. “But it was still so frustrating that kids weren’t paying attention during the game!”

“Why do you think that happened?” I asked.

“I’m not sure,” she said, and paused thoughtfully. “Maybe they didn’t understand the procedures. I just shouldn’t have tried that game so early in the year, before procedures were in place.”

I didn’t want her to give up on the game so easily! Now was the time for that flexible sentence frame: “I’ve noticed that when teachers are clear in giving directions, students are more engaged.”

“Yes, I definitely could have been more clear with the directions,” she said.

“Modeling would help,” I suggested, and added another sentence with my frame: “I noticed when you were clear in describing the purpose at the beginning of the lesson, students seemed very focused. I wonder if they didn’t see how the game connected to that purpose? I’ve noticed that when teachers keep bringing the activity back to the purpose, reminding students of the reason for the activity, engagement goes up.”

Wow, that was a lot of noticings! Had I overdone it with that sentence stem, I wondered?

But Amanda’s face suggested otherwise. She sat up straight and seemed reenergized. “Yes,” she said, “that makes sense.”

“So, being clear with directions and tying each part of the lesson back to the purpose. Do those seem like good goals to shoot for?”

“Yes! I can do that!” she confidently responded.

As Amanda’s experience demonstrates, words matter. Choosing the right ones to frame a recommendation makes coaching more effective.

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

Info. on Next Gen. Science Tests:

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2016/08/what_will_the_next_generation_science_standards_tests_look_like.html?cmp=eml-eb-popweek+09092016

A Podcast with Kyleen Beers on being an advocate (you can skip to 2:15 for the start of the panel discussion):

http://www.ncte.org/journals/vm/podcasts/vol-24-episode-2?roi=echo4-36154142385-90795172-324af1f52ca506238d4696d695010aa4&utm_source=2016-08-09+Members&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Inbox

Poems for the beginning of the year:

http://blog.stenhouse.com/archives/2016/08/24/poems-right-from-the-start/

Mentor texts to build classroom community:

https://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1030

Three tips for beginning of year writing workshop:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid5043572966001?bckey=AQ~~,AAABlTNHE7k~,oIicl_E-tmh-P1MYnYtUFKA3vxntu_8N&bctid=5043397361001

That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!

Like on Facebook at: facebook.com/mycoachescouch for more coaching and teaching tips!

Choice, Chance, & Invitation

Opportunities for growth come by choice, by chance, and by invitation. As a coach, you can help teachers take advantage of opportunities, no matter their source.

When a teacher actively chooses to make a change, she is likely to not only be open to support, but to look for it. When a teacher identifies an area where she’d like to grow, you can support her by providing professional resources, like short articles or book recommendation. She might also appreciate specific lesson ideas or materials that would support the change. Offering to model or observe and then report back on your noticings can also be a help when a teacher has chosen her own area of focus.

When an opportunity for growth comes by chance, the teacher may be dog-paddling to keep her head above water, and offers of assistance might turn the unplanned-for experience into a springboard for lasting change. For example, when a new student with significant challenges becomes part of the class, the teacher might first appreciate an extra pair of hands on the job. This could open the way for discussions about instructional practices that not only suit the new student well, but offer more authentic engagement for all students. Solving challenges created by one child’s distractibility might lead to long-term instructional improvement.

Sometimes, opportunity comes by invitation. Your principal might extend the opportunity to work with a coach as part of a professional growth plan. These can be tricky coaching situations. I’ve found success in this situation when I was able to shift the conversation away from what the principal wanted and focus first on one thing the teacher was really interested in thinking about. “What’s an instructional practice you’ve been wanting to think more about?” can be an invitation that comes with or without the principal’s urging.

Considering whether an opportunity for growth comes by choice, chance, or invitation can help coaches determine which approaches might be best received. I’ve also found that thinking about the growth opportunities I’m personally facing by placing them in one of these three categories has been illuminating. I see more clearly how to respond to a situation when I understand its source.

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

Developing students’ perseverance:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/persist-through-challenges-perts

Teaching reading skills with wordless picture books:

https://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=703

Favorite read-aloud books for boys:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/246994360793370453/?utm_campaign=bprecs&e_t=c5d4e59c5b954d3cb8154da709cceed4&utm_content=246994360793370453&utm_source=31&utm_term=1&utm_medium=2004

Starting the year with a growth mindset (for yourself!):

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid5043572966001?bckey=AQ~~,AAABlTNHE7k~,oIicl_E-tmh-P1MYnYtUFKA3vxntu_8N&bctid=5079638940001

Classroom expectations (this is a pre-K video, but broadly applicable!):

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/classroom-expectations-pre-k

That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!

Like on Facebook at: facebook.com/mycoachescouch for more coaching and teaching tips!