My Coaches' Couch: Requests for the “Passenger”

Friday, March 17, 2017

Requests for the “Passenger”

The GIR Model for Coaching is simple in concept, complex in practice! Coaching includes considerations about teaching, learning, relationships, and the change process. Even the most scaffolded type of support, modeling, benefits from nuanced preparation. When the coach is doing the “driving,” the teacher needs a focus during the ride.

As I worked with a group of coaches this week, I shared with them the “Verbs for Observation,” listed below. In preparation for lessons that they would be modelling in teachers’ classrooms, I asked the coaches to think of what they wanted the teacher to learn from the modeling, choose a verb, and write a request. Here are a few of the requests they came up with:

Watch who I call on for what.

Notice how I transition between learning activities.

Listen and list how I am redirecting specific students.

Pay attention to the use of wait time as a strategy for learning.

Notice how I respond to inaccurate answers.

Keep track of students who don’t understand or aren’t engaged.

The teachers these coaches are working with have different levels of expertise, but all were at a point where modeling would be helpful. Requests reflect the specific aspects of instruction that had been identified for coaching, and they provide a focus during the sensory overload that it part of every teaching experience. Whether you are in the driver’s seat teaching a lesson or a passenger along to observe, classrooms offer so much to consider that it’s helpful to narrow the focus. Perhaps the verbs below will help you craft requests that draw attention to aspects of the lesson worth noticing.