Stacy
is an experienced coach working with a teacher, Sarah, who at first seemed aloof
and self-confident. Later, Stacy realized Sarah’s distance is a cover for her
self-doubt, that her assurance masks uncertainty. Like many of the students she teaches, Sarah
is a vulnerable learner who sometimes responds defensively when recommendations
are offered.
This
week, when Stacy reviewed the lesson plans Sarah had shared via email, she was
careful to couch her recommendation about the lesson focus within positive
comments about other aspects of the planning. Still, when she met Sarah the
next day, Sarah emphatically threw her papers on the table saying, “I changed
the whole thing.” Rather than tweak the lesson
as suggested, she had dumped it and started over. Stacy felt it was a shame that a lesson with
so many positive aspects had been scrapped because her recommendation had not
been received as intended. We pondered
together how such situations could be avoided in the future and came up with
some sentence frames we hope will help:
“So, you could
think about….” This
suggestion invites the teacher to ponder the suggestion, reducing pressure to
put it into action. We hope, however,
that by decreasing pressure we encourage ownership and action.
“Some things
you might want to consider…..”
Similarly, this framing offers the teacher agency to think through what
was offered. By providing multiple suggestions, we increase choice.
“Of the things
we’ve talked about, what do you want to give some thought to?” Although this
phrase also invites contemplation, it requires some of that thinking to occur
now, with more commitment.
We
hope that these sentence frames will help Stacy structure recommendations that Sarah
receives and implements. I hope that you’ll
find them useful as you plan for conversations with teachers who appear less
open.
This week, you
might want to take a look at:
Moving
to an “all in” coaching model:
Make
blogging an authentic classroom activity:
https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2018/05/14/integrating-blogging/?utm_source=newsletter20180519/
Steven King’s top 20 rules for writers:
Ideas
for combatting school-year stress:
A
free, recorded webinar, “How to Talk About
Race in Your Classroom”:
That’s it for
this week. Happy Coaching!
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