The Power of Not Being There

Although there are lots of benefits to classroom observations, sometimes coaches’ goals are furthered by not being there.

Reflective teaching is a powerful tool for teachers. Reflection helps teachers recognize not just what they did, but why they did it. Taking a look at underlying assumptions and beliefs helps teachers be more intentional in their decision-making. This is important, since teachers make hundreds of instructional decisions daily, many of them on the fly, with literally trillions of options to choose from.  Reflection has many benefits, and some teachers seem to be natural reflectors. Those are the easy ones to coach.  For some teachers, however, reflection doesn’t seem to come naturally. For these teachers, questions like, “What did you notice during the lesson,” seem to fall flat.

When I am trying to build teachers’ capacity for reflection, I’ve found it is sometimes helpful for us to talk about a lesson for which I wasn’t present. My questions come across as more authentic. When I ask, “How did students respond when…..” the teacher digs into her memory so that she can give me the picture. I follow up with specific questions about the whys and hows that help us examine and evaluate the learning.

As teachers become more reflective, they feel more powerful about their practice. They realize the agency they have to exercise expertise through thoughtful decision-making.  Changes in attitude and awareness lead to changes in practice.  Reflective teaching supports teachers’ professional development.

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

Advice about balancing demands as teacher leaders:

http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2017/01/16/caught-between-worlds-balancing-classroom-teaching-with.html

A podcast about what makes lesson planning work:

https://www.jackstreet.com/jackstreet/WEDC.Chat11-29-16.cfm

This video reminds us what it’s like to be a new teacher (and includes thoughts on mentoring):

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/mentoring-for-new-teachers

Sticky notes and reading comprehension:

http://readingyear.blogspot.com/2016/09/still-learning-to-read-sticky-notes.html

“Concept attainment” is a widely-applicable instructional strategy. Check out a description and example here:

https://www.middleweb.com/33825/why-i-love-this-strategy-to-introduce-concepts/

That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!

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