Saturday, September 17, 2016

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:



How to be a teacher leader:



A useful whitepaper on close reading, by Ray Reutzel:



This idea for 15-minute Writing Fridays:



Shadowing a student provides instructional insights:




That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!

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