My Coaches' Couch: Another Layer of Knowing

I know two amazing math brains. They can both do calculus, applied mathematics, and whatever else it is that amazing math brains do. They know their stuff. One of them is an amazing teacher. The other is not.

When one sits down with a student to tutor him through a difficult math problem, he prompts and supports and explains and leads his student into understanding.

When the other sits down with a student to tutor him through a difficult math problem, he demonstrates how to solve the problem. He gets frustrated and can’t understand why the student can’t do it, too, after the clear procedure he has provided.

I know two amazing math brains. One is a teacher. The other is not. It is clear that teaching requires more than simply knowing the content. The skills necessary to support a learner along the path to discovery go beyond content knowledge. Pedagogical knowledge supports good teaching.

Similarly, there is more to good coaching than knowing the content. Even being a good teacher, having pedagogical knowledge, is not enough. Another layer of skills is required. These complex relational skills make the difference between successful and unsuccessful coaching. A conceptual simple view of these skills is portrayed in the GIR Coaching Model.

Through modeling, recommending, questioning, affirming, and praising, a coach supports a teacher’s growth. Although some contend that content knowledge isn’t a prerequisite to coaching, In the GIR model, knowledge of both content and pedagogy are required all along the way. You supply the content and pedagogical knowledge, and the GIR model supplies a process to guide you. Stages of the GIR model depend on your expert knowledge. To model, you must know the what and the how of the lesson you’ll be teaching. To recommend, you call on your knowledge of the content and your repertoire of effective teaching strategies. Similarly, content and pedagogical knowledge guide coaches in knowing which questions will lead to effective inquiry or specific insights for the teacher. Content and pedagogical knowledge are also prerequisite to affirming and praising – we need to know what works in order to notice, name, and encourage it.

When coaching, bring with you all of your expertise in academic content and pedagogy. Let the GIR model guide you in putting it to good use as you support teachers. The soft skills of coaching are the additional layer of knowing you need as an instructional leader.

This week, you might want to take a look at:

Tips on having influence that are just right for coaches:

http://jenniferabrams.com/what-not-to-do-if-you-want-to-be-more-influential/

Concept development using the four-fold strategy:

http://tpsconnect.org/2016/07/06/four-fold-concept-and-vocabulary-building-literacy-activity/

Try using it with primary source documents:

https://via.hypothes.is/http://tpsconnect.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/4-Fold-Strategy.pdf

A guide to Pinterest for educators:

https://rossieronline.usc.edu/pinterest-for-educators/

Free (recorded) webinar on coaching the coaches (no registration):

https://video.edweek.org/detail/video/5821978801001/webinar-coaching-the-coaches-how-districts-can-support-teacher-leaders?autoStart=true&cmp=eml-enl-vid-p6

Using reading response letters in middle grades: