Unless there’s an urgent need to do otherwise,
it’s best to coach teachers on something they are interested in working
on. To figure out what that is, “What’s
on your mind?” is a useful open-ended question to start a conversation.
(If that question sounds familiar, it
may be because it’s the prompt in Facebook to create a post. I think the Facebook gurus are onto
something!)
According to Michael Stanier, a
business coach, asking “What’s on your mind?” can quickly move a conversation
to what’s exciting, anxiety-provoking, or all-consuming for the person. It’s a question that says, “Let’s talk about
what matters most to you!” This question
invites teachers to get to the heart of what they care about and grants them
the autonomy to choose the coaching path ahead.
Once you’ve gotten to a core concern,
be sure that both you and the teacher understand why this issue is
important. Making this connection moves
the conversation from coaching a specific situation to coaching
for development, which ensures a broader and more sustained impact.
I recently met with Allison, a special
education teacher. When I asked, “What’s
on your mind,” the conversation moved quickly to how her role as “co-teacher”
in one class turned out to be a situation where she was basically being used as
an aide, a role that was not satisfying for her and not as impactful for
students as it could have been. We got
straight to a need and began looking at the people and processes that were
constructing this situation.
A conversation with another teacher, Sarah, quickly became productive when I asked, “What’s on your mind?” She wondered about how the new scripted
curriculum they’d been given for reading comprehension was going to meet the
needs of her first graders. Although she
saw the value of a focus on comprehension, the program took up much of their reading
block, leaving little time for the foundational skills her students still
needed to develop. We were instantly
talking about something that mattered.
Instead of letting a conversation
drag on with small talk or telling the teacher what the topic will be, asking, “What’s
on your mind?” demonstrates your curiosity and concern, your trust for the teacher to have insights about her own
needs. It signals an open agenda rather
than a pre-set coaching script. It cues reflection and sharing and sets you up
for meaningful coaching work. Give this question a go and watch it launch a
productive coaching conversation!
This week, you might want to take a
look at:
Thoughts
about mindful test-taking that can be applied more broadly:
Lessons learned as an instructional
coach:
Read aloud ideas:
Building
content knowledge as teachers of writing:
Advice
on co-teaching:
That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!
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