Are
you working with a teacher who is frozen in old practices? Being stationary is never sufficient when it
comes to teacher learning. “Teacher
preparation” in universities is merely the beginning of a career-long journey
in instructional improvement. Once in
the classroom, our “texts” expand beyond books and articles on a required
reading list. Our students’ responses
become texts that we “read” every day, along with other professional resources.
When
confronted with a teacher who is immobile in the cycle of continuous
improvement, we can “turn up the heat” in ways that warm, rather than burn,
those with whom we are working. One way
we can warm the teacher to new ideas is by using a strength or a positive observation
as a point of departure. For example, if
we find one question the teacher posed that invoked thoughtful responses from
her students, we can lift this question from the lesson and hold it up for
examination. Warming in the glow of this
acknowledgement, we can sponsor reflection that focuses first on examining the
effective question, then expands to other aspects of teaching.
Preparing
for a coaching conversation with overconfident Katie this week, I am looking
for the positive lever to use to open the conversation. I know she is a lifelong learner, I’ll say,
because I saw her at a conference this summer.
What were her take-aways? What is she working on? How can I help? Because Katie never wants to appear
vulnerable, starting by applauding her conference attendance should circumvent an
icy reception.
These
first steps may not initiate significant departures from past practices, but
hopefully they will mobilize the learning process for these teachers,
unfreezing some of their less-effective habitual practices. I hope that my honest acknowledgments of
their strengths will set in motion coaching cycles that have positive impacts
on student learning.
This week, you might want to
take a look at:
High
fives for teachers:
Podcast
on infusing social and emotional learning in the curriculum:
A Teacher’s Month by Month
Guide to Growth Mindset:
Using
blended learning in the ELA classroom:
What
is effective teaching? Join the
discussion:
That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!
