The
old year is drawing to a close, and we are looking with hope towards 2018. That probably involves some reflection on the
year gone by, considering its favorites and also its faults and flaws. A debrief conversation when coaching is a lot
like this end-of-the-year reflection. A
teacher may be more comfortable looking back on a lesson if she is using the
reflection to look forward – to consider teaching moves she might make in the
future – rather than focusing too much on the lesson that has already
occurred. I call this coaching
forward.
When
we coach forward, we use post-conferences to connect reflection with future
practice. The lesson has passed, and it is useful only as the pillar that holds
the bridge to future lessons. The
phrase, “As we think about the next lesson….” becomes a pivot point from past
to future for both the high points and the low when coaching forward. “As we think about the next lesson, what do
you want to be sure to hang on to from this lesson?” “As we think about the next lesson, what
might you want to change?”
I
took this approach recently when working with Amy after she’d taught a first-grade
lesson on adjectives. Amy felt the
lesson was successful and had evidence from student work to support her
assertion. When we talked about what
went well, it was with an eye toward future lessons. She noted that students were engaged as they
generated lists together, using their five senses to stimulate and categorize
their thinking. When I prompted Amy
about what she might want to hang on to from this lesson, she was able to
articulate the success in terms of building on previous learning and taking a constructivist
approach. Coaching forward helped Amy
crystalize her learning. The approach
that worked so well after this successful lesson can also be helpful following
a less-successful one.
When
coaching talk is backward-focused, there may be an uncomfortable emphasis on
what could have gone better in a lesson.
Taking a future-focus increases comfort and makes a post-observation
conference more productive. For Amy,
coaching forward led to the construction of action plans. Objective observations from the lesson are important
insofar as they support conversations that are directed toward future practice.
As
you coach your way into the new year, resolve to create space for teachers to
generate ideas that lean to the future, mentally rehearsing how the next lesson
builds from the last. Coaching forward
takes a “back to the future” approach, framing reflective conversations that
support future teaching.
This week, you might want to
take a look at:
A podcast
with Jim Burke, author of English Teacher’sCompanion, as he takes a back-to-the-future view of his career:
The
role of stories in teaching and change:
A video
for students that describes a concrete approach to short constructed responses
(the R-A-C-E strategy):
Summarizing in science:
Dealing with distraction:
That’s it for this week. Happy New Year!
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Hi Vicki,
ReplyDeleteThanks for celebrating. I agree with your idea of coaching forward -- it is always about the next things we can do to influence student learning. I enjoy your round up of links, too.
Thanks,
Ruth