Friday, September 2, 2016

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:


That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!

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