As
coaches, we build partnerships with our words, so we have to attend to the
bricks and mortar of our conversations. The words we choose have power, one by
one.
We
Could
One
of the most powerful, partnership-creating words is “we.” As someone who used to
value independence, I had to be coached into loving this word. My husband and a former teaching partner
convinced me that the language of “we” sends an important message about the
collaborative nature of our work.
Instead of saying, “You should….,” say, “We could….” You can feel the different dynamic created by
those two very similar phrases. If our
focus has been on classroom discussion, for example, instead of saying, “You
should have students seated in a circle,” try, “We could think about how the
way students are seated affects the conversation.” You’ll likely get to the same end point, but
with more collaborative thinking and buy-in.
In addition
to the joint pronoun, we, the example above demonstrates the power of verb
choice. “Could” is full of possibilities.
“Should” restricts choice. To
build partnerships, we’ll want to use the more open verb, could, as we make
recommendations. Even without its
partner word, we, it feels more inviting.
“You could see what happens if students aren’t required to raise their
hands during circle time,” honors the teachers’ professionalism more than
saying, “You should let students talk without raising hands during circle time.” Switching the modal verb “should” for “could”
is a small but important brick for building coaching partnerships.
Avoid
Superlatives
Another
part of coaching grammar that we should attend to is our use of superlatives….or
rather, our disuse of them. When we use
extreme words like “always,” “everyone,” “no one” and “never,” we discount the
times or people, be they few or many, when things are going well or when other
approaches might be effective. We also
close down creative problem-solving and lose credibility (there will inevitably
be exceptions). Although we often talk
of “best practices” in teaching, the reality is that what is “best” varies by
context. We can say, “There’s research
suggesting that sentence combining activities are a good way to improve
sentence fluency,” without mandating a specific lesson procedure. The conversation that follows may lead to
ongoing improvements that transcend a single lesson. Avoiding extreme labels in our coaching
conversations is an invitation for partnership.
Focus
on Students
Another
way to shift the power dynamic is to direct attention toward students instead
of the teacher. If you are choosing a
focus for a coaching cycle, asking, “What are students struggling with,” will
be received differently than, “What are you struggling with?” This shift puts you on the offensive with the
teacher as teammate, rather than putting the teacher in a defensive position. “What
are YOU struggling with?” implies that the teacher is at fault. Asking about students’ struggles puts the
emphasis where it should be, on student learning, and can result in a more open
and productive conversation.
Words
are a tool for instructional growth. Although
the coaching moves described above are subtle, they build trust and encourage
teachers to take risks because they know they have the backing of a supportive
colleague. The words we choose impact
the strength of the coaching partnerships we are building, conversation by
conversation.
This week, you might want to
take a look at:
Get
ready for National Poetry Month! Here
are helps for unpacking poetry:
A
coaching conversation about emphasizing the good in classroom management:
Using student writing as mentor texts:
Performance as summative assessment:
Coaching special educators? Here’s a report about why they leave (and
what we can do about it):
That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!
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