My Coaches' Couch: Proud Coaching Moment

“If you had been here this afternoon, I would have been able to tell you about my proud coaching moment!”

I read the above line in an email and really wished I had been at the school that afternoon! Valorie and I had been puzzling for weeks over the how to support Katie, a teacher she was coaching. When we met, Valorie expressed frustration. “My questions aren’t working,” she said. “They are getting me nowhere!”

Valorie had filled out a GIR conferencing form (see below) in preparation for an upcoming conference with Katie, and she had it in front of her as we talked. “Let’s take a look,” I said. It turns out, the questions she was asking were probably part of the problem. After looking at the questions Valorie had drafted, I said, “I wonder if Katie is getting defensive when you ask a question? Let’s see if we can do some question revision.” We worked together to revise her approach, as captured in the table below:

Original Statement or Question	Revised Statement or Questions
How important is modeling in an early childhood classroom?	Why is modeling important in an early childhood classroom? When do you wish you would have done more modeling?
Why don’t you structure students’ conversation?	I noticed 13 students weren’t engaged during turn & talk.
How are you able to check for understanding if you are lecturing?	How will you know whether (student) knows the difference between metaphors and idioms?
You need to validate student responses.	Were there times this week when you were able to take advantage of teachable moments?

When Valorie and I finally got together, she described her “proud coaching moment.” “This was our best conversation this year!” she said. “Katie said exactly what I wanted her to say, not because she was saying what she thought I wanted to hear, but because she thought about it!”

Valorie went on to describe the conversation they’d had about modelling. Katie recognized its importance and explained how she wished she’d done more modeling during a recent lesson on inferring; it was a hard skill for students, and she felt some additional teacher think-alouds would have helped. Katie was primed for more modelling in future lessons!

When Valorie stated, “I noticed 13 students weren’t engaged during partner talk,” she had to remind herself to pause. (“I had to write “PAUSE” on the conferencing form or I knew I’d rush ahead!”) “Katie just looked at me, so I said it again. Then she was like, ‘I need to structure the partner talk. I could remember to have the one with short hair go first and then switch,’” Valorie reported. Katie planned for formative assessment, too, and Valorie reported that Katie had also taken advantage of a teachable moment. “It was the best conversation!” Valorie summarized with a smile. “The way the questions and statements were structured made Katie think about it, and it shows in her teaching!”

What coaching principles do you see embedded in the above revisions? How might being more aware of these principles support you as a coach? As we revise and refine our coaching, we are sure to see an increase in our proud coaching moments!