As
instructional coaches, one of our most important roles is to bring out the best
in the teachers we work with. This
includes empowering them and helping teachers see the impact of their
contributions. When teachers feel confident, they are willing to take risks and
make changes. A teacher who is unconfident may retreat to carefully-controlled,
worksheet-driven lessons that are easy to teach but not in the best interest of
students. Expressing confidence helps a teacher move from what she is to what
she can become. Here are a few confidence-boosting ideas to consider:
Encourage
During Struggles
If
a teacher lacks confidence, mistakes can confirm feelings of inadequacy. Instead, let teachers know it’s okay to make
mistakes, that missteps are part of the path to success. Fear of failure can be
immobilizing, but knowing perfection isn’t expected makes it safe to try and
then try again. Teaching requires experimenting – using an approach and
examining the results. When a lesson
doesn’t go as planned, we can treat it as a puzzle to be solved, a mystery to
be unraveled. Viewing struggles as
opportunities takes away worry and negative energy.
Scaffold Increasing
Success
As
we plan forward with teachers, we can offer enough support to increase
instructional success. That scaffolding
might look like specific
recommendations or just asking
the right questions to help a teacher think through specifics of a lesson.
Anticipating together how students might react helps a teacher prepare to be
flexible and responsive to students’ needs as the lesson unfolds.
Express Praise
Providing
positive feedback about things that are goes well increases confidence. Never
suppress a compliment! Give
specific examples of what is working, and celebrate incremental improvements. Recognize the microbursts of excellence in
both the teacher and her students.
Let Teachers
Teach Teachers
As
you recognize strengths in the teachers you work with, give them the
opportunity to share those strengths with others. Five minutes at a faculty
meeting to describe something that worked solidifies that practice in the
teacher you are highlighting and helps it spread. Avoid favoritism – look for
opportunities to help everyone be seen as an expert.
Raising
sights and expressing confidence gives teachers a path toward improvement. When we have positive assumptions and treat
teachers as if they already are what they have the potential to become, they grow into those aspirations. When coaches express confidence, they are
supporting the can-do attitude so important to improvement. Lyrics from the song, “I Have Confidence in
Me,” from The Sound of Music, apply:
So, let them
bring on all their problems.
I'll do better than my best.
I have confidence they'll put me to the test;
But I'll make them see I have confidence in me!
I'll do better than my best.
I have confidence they'll put me to the test;
But I'll make them see I have confidence in me!
Teachers
with confidence in themselves are ready to tackle the tough challenges inherent
in instruction. And then when students
struggle, teachers can pass their confidence along!
This week, you
might want to take a look at:
The
planning process for PBL:
Using
drama and role playing for English Learners:
Every
teacher needs a mentor:
Teaching
about reading confusion:
Twitter
hashtags for coaches:
That’s it for
this week. Happy Coaching!
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Good article. Please check these articles also.
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