Teaching is a complex activity that
includes frequent, multi-factor decision-making. Planning an effective lesson
requires understanding; adjusting that plan appropriately as the lesson unfolds
requires insight and flexibility.
I like to apply a baking metaphor when
I think about teachers’ flexibility. Great bakers understand how to adjust
ingredients based on their knowledge of how those ingredients interact. A baker
knows how to adjust the liquid in a cake recipe on a humid day, how to adjust
the baking powder at higher altitudes, how to balance sweetness with spice.
Similarly, coaches can help teachers understand how to adjust a lesson when
students are energetic or talkative, when they are confused, or when they are
ready to be challenged.
Knowing the active ingredients in a
lesson, those most important experiences that will enable learning, allows
flexibility with other aspects of the lesson. When teachers can identify the
active ingredients in the lesson, those key pieces that make it work, they can
determine how other aspects of the lesson can be adjusted to interact
effectively.
Flexibility begins during planning as
teachers created your plan and decide what materials to use. Encourage teachers
to use curriculum resources flexibly to match their students, Then, as the
lesson plays out, there will be more opportunities for flexible use of
materials.
Through thoughtful preparation, the
teacher is well-positioned to be flexible based on what she sees and hears from
students. Deviations from the plan might include changing materials or
adjusting instructional methods as the lesson unfolds. Students are constantly
giving the teacher information to guide the remainder of the lesson. Encourage teachers to keep their learning
targets in view as they adjust to students’ needs. Because no two classes are the
same, materials, methods, and pacing will differ. Flexibility acknowledges this
variability.
When teachers fail to flexibly adapt a
lesson, students are denied the opportunity for richer learning that might have
occurred had the adjustments been made.
Even as you work with teachers to plan effective lessons, emphasize that
they are not tied to that plan.
So, if a read-aloud book is too far
outside kids’ experiences, the teacher should stop reading it. If the number
line isn’t working as a visual for fractions, she might pull out the unifix
cubes. If evidence from students’ faces, comments, or work suggests the need
for a change, encourage teachers to make that change. If staying the course
means you will never reach your destination, it’s time for a change.
Another aspect of the lesson where
flexibility is evident is during discussions between teacher and student. Teachers
demonstrate lack of flexibility when they ignore a student’s comment or genuine
question or when they quickly dismiss it. Learning is supported when, instead,
a teacher listens and asks questions to better understand students’ reasoning
or to clarify or extend students’ thinking.
Every classroom has a different
combination of learners who have unique needs and experiences. Because of this
variation, there are many, many aspects of a lesson that require a flexible
response. Coaches can help teachers identify the goals and active ingredients
of a lesson so that teachers know where to stay firm and where to be flexible within
a lesson.
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Helping teachers develop flexibility is
something I’m passionate about! You can
read more about it in my upcoming book, Collaborative Lesson Study, available
here
for pre-order (20%
discount code is TCP2019). Please indulge me in celebrating this book. I’m so excited to share what I’ve learned!
This
week, you might want to take a look at:
Barry
Lane’s TedXTalk on the Power of Kindness:
This
video about lemonade stand entrepreneurs:
Questions
for a team-coaching meeting on student engagement:
How
to establish structures for writing response groups:
Tips
for new instructional coaches:
That’s
it for this week. Happy Coaching!
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