Would you be willing?

Unless you’re new to this blog, you know I am a word nerd.  The truth is, I’ve found that word choice matters in coaching.  A lot.  The right turn of phrase can open the door for collaboration, for coaching, for change.  ‘‘We are pushed and pulled around by language far more than we realize,” says Elizabeth Stokoe, a professor of social interaction who has analyzed thousands of recorded conversations.

Stokoe’s findings are relevant for coaching situations.  For example, her research found that doctors who listed “options” rather than “best-interest” solutions got a more positive response.  I wonder if the same is true for coaches?  When making a recommendation, are teachers more receptive when I list options rather than describe best practices?  Although I haven’t studied this (yet), my guess is that the idea of options feels more open to teachers and is most likely to result in interest and application. 

One of Stokoe’s findings that surprised me was the power of the phrase, “Would you be willing…”  When extending an invitation to participate, this phrase was more effective than, “Would you like to…”  or “Would you be interested in…” and got agreement even from people who had already responded negatively to an invitation.  The word willing seemed to trigger rapid and enthusiastic agreement.  As coaches, we might ask, “Would you be willing to participate in one coaching cycle?”  “Would you be willing to try this strategy?”  “Would you be willing to host a peer observation?” Since coaches sometimes meet with resistance, this is a good word tool to know about.  Using the word willing seems to make people more willing.  Let’s try this!

Combining these research findings might be even more effective.  “Some of the ways I’ve seen teachers meet this challenge are…….Would you be willing to try one of these ideas?”  A recommendation that includes options and invites willingness could increase buy-in.  The teacher is in the position to make informed decisions about how to best meet the needs of the students she serves.  Offering choice increases ownership and honors a teacher’s professional knowledge and her knowledge of her own students.  A coach’s language about instructional decisions can enhance the willingness for change.  Choosing your words carefully might help a teacher to see a situation (and even to see you) in a new light.

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

Keeping up your confidence as a coach:

https://www.kathyperret.org/2019/11/10/3-daily-tasks-to-coach-with-confidence/

Anchor charts that document students’ changing thinking support learning:

https://choiceliteracy.com/article/building-a-reflective-community/

The benefits of having to cope with a little mess:

https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_harford_how_messy_problems_can_inspire_creativity

What about STEAM:

https://www.gettingsmart.com/2019/11/how-a-steam-integrated-environment-is-the-classroom-makeover-you-really-need/

Give yourself permission to be “good enough:”

https://twowritingteachers.org/2019/09/18/the-good-enough-writing-workshop/

That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

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Kick the Habit

There are many metaphors that can be used to talk about change.  In my post on slushiness, I talked about viewing change as the process of becoming.   What are you becoming?  What are you helping teachers to become?  As lifelong learners, we are all in the process of becoming better versions of ourselves.  That might meaning trading out some old habits for new ones.

Out with the Old, in with the New

“Out with the old, in with the new,” is a slogan or mantra for everything from dieting to dating.  And there’s a reason it’s so often used.  When we get rid of old habits, if there’s not something to fill the vacuum, it’s hard to maintain new ways.  We easily default to past practices.  To make change more lasting, it’s helpful to view becoming as a compact replacement cycle.

Identify Problem

The first step in kicking a habit is recognizing that we have one.  A teacher that I worked with didn’t realize she had a habit of repeating students’ answers.  In fact, Annie didn’t recognize it as a problematic practice.  So awareness needed to be raised on two levels: first, that repeating student answers had accidental consequences.  For example, students listened to each other less, since they could count on a repeat-performance by the teacher.  This led to drawn-out, less-engaged whole-group discussions that ping-ponged back and forth between teacher and student.  Not good.  After discussing these drawbacks, we watched a video clip from her lesson. “I never realized how much I did that,” Annie said.

Eliminate Problem

Now Annie was convinced that repeating student answers was a problem she wanted to eliminate. The next time she felt tempted to repeat a student’s answer, she said she would hold her tongue.  But for that to realistically happen, I thought we needed to peel back some layers. 

“Why do you think you repeat student answers?” I asked. 

Annie thought for a minute.  “Sometimes, students’ answers are so drawn out, I’m afraid the others won’t really see their point,” Annie said.  “And sometimes, it’s just really hard for students to hear one another.”

 “Those are valid concerns,” I said. “Let’s figure out what to do about them.”

Identify Replacement

As we talked, Annie and I identified replacements that we hoped would squelch her urge to repeat.  Instead of repeating students’ answers to clarify the point, Annie decided she could give another student that task.  There were lots of benefits to that approach!  Instead of repeating a hard-to-hear answer, she’d ask the student to repeat it herself, saying it “loud and proud!”  These replacement behaviors would safeguard her in attempts to quit repeating.  Now it was time to put the plan into action.

Add Replacement

The next time I met with Annie, she was well on her way to becoming a teacher who didn’t repeat students’ answers.  It still happened from time to time, of course, but usually, she was quick to use one of her replacement strategies instead.  Students were getting in the habit of listening to each other. When they were asked to summarize what their friends had said, it was a bit meandering at times, but they were getting better.  And those quiet students were starting to speak up more, even without Annie’s prompting.  It was still a work in progress, but Annie felt this delete-and-add process was moving her classes’ discussions forward.

Ongoing Cycles

When teachers are unconscious of problematic practices, identifying these problems is the first step.  We have to discover a negative behavior before we can downsize it.  Then, we try to delete it from our playbook.  Knowing the triggers, the situations that activate these problematic practices, can be helpful and can lead to identification of replacements that will be more productive.  As teachers experiment and experience success, it will become easier and easier to incorporate the replacements.  Soon, the replacements will be normalized, as automatic as the problems were that they replaced.  Ongoing cycles of identifying, deleting, and replacing support change – the process of becoming.

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Are you at NCTE?  Stop by and visit me in the exhibit hall during my book signing at noon on Thursday, Nov. 22 (Teachers College Press booth 1327).  It would be nice to see some familiar faces!  And if you're available from 9:30-10:45 that day, consider stopping by the session where I'll be presenting about Lesson Study as part of a panel (rm 325). 

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

Results of and resources for coaching:

https://blog.tcea.org/coaching-connections/

How do pressures of accountability influence special education?

https://www.vialogues.com/vialogues/play/42681

How to play “Crumple & Shoot:”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkNLN_mc134&list=PLh8j72So6cvzeEZs06m40WtIKypfAEI9-&index=13&t=0s

New ways to share during writing workshop:

https://choiceliteracy.com/article/a-variety-of-share-sessions/

More about changing habits:

https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/changing-habits/

That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

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Top It Off

Last week’s post talked about finding the raw materials to help teachers go from good to great.  But the journey from good to great is not just for teachers – it is for coaches, too! 

This week, I participated in a group process for creating a school vision.  After several rounds of writing and combining ideas individually, in pairs, and in small groups, we were ready to take it to the next level and look at the ideas from everyone in the room using a process similar to affinity mapping.  Our facilitator said, “Find the person in your group who really likes to group things and look for patterns.  If that’s you, tell your group so.”  As soon as she said those words, I knew I should step forward.  She was describing something I LOVE to do.  This may sound crazy, but I got excited about the possibility, so I volunteer myself to be our small group’s delegate for the assignment.  Looking for commonalities was my nerdy kind of fun.  Here’s how it ended up:

(Of course, this isn’t the end of the vision-creation process, but it was an important step along the way.)

In this scenario, I recognized my own strength.  Now, how do I use it in my coaching role?  One thing I do, when working with a group of teachers, is look at observation data and find patterns there.  What can we celebrate as a strength of the team?  What is an area where we are all good and could be GREAT?  Finding ways to put my pattern-seeking strength to work can also help me improve as a coach.  Our talents are our greatest asset.

A cool thing about finding the good things and building on them is that we usually love doing what we are good at.  It’s what you volunteer for and circle back to whenever you can.  Ask yourself:  When do I feel spikes of enthusiasm?  When does my energy flow?  What do others tell me I are good at? What seems easy for me, but others complain about doing it?  Once you are aware of your genius, you are able to use it more intentionally, and this can take you from good to great.  Pause…just for a moment….and think of something you are good at.  When you top off a strength, you are wisely investing your energy.

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

Results and resources of coaching:

https://blog.tcea.org/coaching-connections/

Involving or empowering teachers?  Listen in:

https://barkleypd.com/blog/podcast-involving-teachers-or-empowering-teachers/

Using reading notebook covers for reflection and goal-setting:

https://choiceliteracy.com/article/using-reading-notebook-covers-for-reflection-and-goal-setting/

The case for active learning:

https://www.edutopia.org/article/students-think-lectures-are-best-research-suggests-theyre-wrong

The benefits of having to cope with a little mess:

https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_harford_how_messy_problems_can_inspire_creativity

That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

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Raw Material for Greatness

Marcus Buckingham, in a podcast called “9 Lies about Work,”* described the importance of building on the good things that are happening on the job.  "Your current goodness is the raw material for your greatness," he said.  Those words resonated with me because of my work in instructional coaching.  Affirming and praising are the final phases of the research-developed GIR coaching model, but they are important coaching moves all along the way. 

When you have a chance to talk with teachers after observing instruction, be sure to notice things that went well.  Some of these were probably preplanned, but other successes became apparent during the unfolding of the lesson.  Highlighting what went well can move it from good to great!

While observing a third grade math lesson, I noticed that as students discussed the process they used to solve a fractions problem, it helped them to correct errors, especially when students asked their peers clarifying questions.  Emphasizing this effective aspect of the lesson encouraged the teacher to include another step in the instructions for small-group work.  After a group member described how they solved the problem, students were encouraged to:  “Ask questions about what they did.”  Making this step a more explicit part of the process increased opportunities for students to listen to and learn from one another.  It took something that went well during the lesson and made it even better!  Students found success as they worked a problem independently and then shared their process with others in their small group.

When we lift something from the lesson that went well and hold it up for examination, we increase the chances that it will happen again. Noticing and naming successes settles them in our brains so that we can call them up again when the situation warrants. Our teaching toolkits get bigger.

As you observe a lesson, you can find many things that went right. Celebrate successes!  The debrief conversation provides a space to unpack experience and think about both the observable and the inner work of teaching. Teaching is complex and messy because teachers and their students are unique.   Aspects of instruction that work in a teacher’s classroom context are the raw materials for making instruction even better!

* https://bregmanpartners.com/podcast/marcus-buckingham-nine-lies-about-work/

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You can read more about retaining successes in my book, Collaborative Lesson Study, which is now two months old. J  I loved making this book for teachers and hope you’ll love reading it!  It’s available here (20% discount code is TCP2019). 

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

Self-management vs. classroom management:

https://choiceliteracy.com/article/an-identity-of-success/

What are they doing right with education in Finland?  Listen up:

https://www.teachthought.com/podcast/the-teachthought-podcast-ep-143-talking-finland-and-the-soul-of-education/

New research supports a growth mindset. Here are some tips:

https://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/work_in_progress/2019/05/developing_a_growth_mindset_in.html

Having courage for difficult conversations:

https://www.instructionalcoaching.com/videos/

Allington’s summary of research-based practices for reading instruction. A must to read and share:

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar12/vol69/num06/Every-Child,-Every-Day.aspx

That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

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Like on Facebook at: facebook.com/mycoachescouch for more coaching and teaching tips!

Not all Pumpkins Turn Into Coaches

During this harvest season, images of pumpkins are everywhere, looking golden and ripe.  Some of these round beauties met their demise yesterday, turning into Jack-o-Lanterns.  I was reminded of this makeover in an advertising email with the heading, “Not all pumpkins turn into coaches!”  That got me thinking about the Cinderella story and her magically-transformed pumpkin-coach – the coach that carried her to the fortuitous ball. 

Coaches of the Cinderella variety are conveyances that carry people to where they want to go.  Costa & Garmston use this as a metaphor for instructional coaching, saying, “To coach means to convey a valued colleague from where he or she is to where he or she wants to be.”  It’s a useful metaphor, but, like all metaphors, it’s faulty if we take it too far.  I don’t like the carriage image that implies carrying someone along.  When coaching, I hope to support teachers as they refine perceptions and processes so that they are carrying themselves.

How do we turn into the kind of coach who invites, moves, and empowers teachers?  For me, it’s an ongoing transformation.  I’m moving, too, trying to get better at my craft while I help teachers improve theirs. 

Something I’m continually thinking about is how to offer the right amount of support – not too little, not too much…just right!  The GIR model creates a kind of path for this, for thinking about how to build capacity by making sure teachers have ownership for the process. 

I’ve had enough experience to know that sometimes a recommendation is just what is needed – I take a consulting role.  But I’ve noticed that sometimes my recommendations are perceived as directives.  It’s difficult, when sitting in the coach’s seat, to ensure that the teacher maintains ownership for instructional decisions.  I don’t want my suggestions to curb others’ thinking.  I don’t want to save the day; I want to make sure they do.

Through recommendations, I want to invest in teachers, not divest them.  I want to infuse ideas that build their genius, not rob them of the opportunity to use and extend their own intelligence.  I want my recommendations to encourage teachers to use their talent, expertise, and experience.  I want to support a teacher’s ability to solve and avoid problems.  I want to contribute a relevant insight that will move the teacher forward.  All this while acknowledging that the teacher knows his students and their needs, that he has insights gained from first-hand experience that will help him make good decisions.  I want to get involved in the details in appropriate ways while keeping the ownership with the teacher.  It is sometimes hard to know when to talk and when to stop.

For me, a writer’s workshop analogy helps me remember about positions of power.  As I confer with students, I have to resist the urge to put a mark to the child’s page.  If I really want to support her writing growth, the pencil has to stay in her hand.  We can talk about craft, but she is the one who will choose how to use it in her writing.  Similarly, as a coach, I sometimes recommend, but the pen must stay in the teachers’ hand (metaphorically) if I want her to convey herself to where she wants to be as a teacher.  She decides how to apply the craft.

As the harvest season moves on and I see more images for pumpkin transformations (pie, anyone?), I’ll use that as a cue to do a coaching self-check: Who has the pen? Who has the power?  Is my coaching helping the teacher move along a path she has chosen?  I hope you’ll join me in the magical transformation of becoming a better coach.

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

This post is about more than classroom management; consider how the conversation with teachers was facilitated (they include their agenda at the end):

https://choiceliteracy.com/article/new-teacher-conversations-management-stories-from-the-classroom/

Showing appreciation for peers’ contributions:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/video/showing-appreciation

Free, online, non-fiction text sets:

https://www.commonlit.org/text-sets

Structures to create a coaching culture:

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov19/vol77/num03/You-Can't-Have-a-Coaching-Culture-Without-a-Structure.aspx

Try 6 Ed Tech tools recommended in this Cult of Pedagogy podcast episode:

https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/ed-tech-tools-2019/

That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

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Like on Facebook at: facebook.com/mycoachescouch for more coaching and teaching tips!