This
year, more than ever, if I want coaching work to move forward, I need to soft pedal. In cycling, soft pedaling means turning the
crank without applying force. As needed, a soft-pedaler can smoothly apply
power or back off a bit, easily feathering their speed. The dictionary says
that soft pedaling is to refrain from emphasizing the more unpleasant aspects
of something. Either way, I found myself soft pedaling while working with
teachers recently.
Stephan is a teacher who has been too hard on himself. He wants to break the habit of jumping in to rescue before students have time to think – an important goal, and one I’m supporting him with by gathering data about student response. But, more than anything, I am drawing on the inspiring moments in his classroom. Stephan teaches with joy and humor. This year, especially, I don’t want him to lose that as he focuses on his current goal.
Alissa is a novice teacher who was struggling with classroom management but wasn’t really aware of it, because she was just so focused on getting through the lesson plan. The examples I shared in a debrief conversation had too much sting. I could see it in her eyes above the mask. So I’ve been back-pedaling to find, instead, those moments when students are participating and engaged, and we are building on them. We’ve already seen a lot of forward movement!
This year of 2020 is one of fragility, and my coaching needs to reflect that. As I’ve been coaching myself toward a soft-pedaled approach, I’ve been looking back over past blog posts for reminders. Below is a string of ideas related to soft-pedaling. Each is linked to a previous post, so if an idea strikes you as something you’d like to dive into, click the link to read more.
First, since we can never really stop thinking about infection, let’s remind ourselves that attitudes are contagious, too! Coaches can take the lead, sharing a positive attitude that will spread. An increase in confidence follows.
Now, more than ever, it’s important for me to attend to how teachers are responding, using their body language, expressions, and tone of voice, in addition to the words they say. The ability to read a conversation with all of my senses is a valuable coaching skill that I’m reminding myself to use.
I’ve also noticed that the better I am at really hearing what a teacher is saying, the better I will be heard. I have to first listen deeply to teachers’ ideas, trying to understand both the purpose and the process. I might have to asked question to better identify what the teacher values so that our work aligns with her needs.
As I noted in the scenario about Alissa, coaches can offer an injection of hope by taking a strengths-based approach to their work. Areas of struggle become easier to address – and sometime disappear entirely – when you and the teacher you are working with are focused on making what is good even better.
Alissa is thriving on praise, building on things that are working. Specific praise can get teachers thinking about their practice and has been found to increase motivation, efficacy, creativity, and willingness to take risks. It enhances reflection and keeps a good thing going!
An emphasis on praise this year doesn’t mean I won’t use the other coaching moves in the GIR model. But I’ll soft-pedal those moves. The coaching journey is a cautious one. My steps are trepidatious – I have to test the ground before I move. I have to think things through before I say them and measure what the impact might be, because as 2020 winds down, perhaps we are all a little fragile.
If you, too, are finding the need for soft-pedal coaching, I hope these ideas will help you on your journey.
This week, you might want to take a look at:
This podcast about trauma and reducing stress:
How mentors help first-year teachers:
http://neatoday.org/2017/06/19/lean-on-me-how-mentors-help-first-year-teachers/
Strategies for better online discussions:
https://inservice.ascd.org/three-strategies-for-better-online-discussions/
Build connections before providing feedback to students:
https://twowritingteachers.org/2020/08/09/providing-feedback/
Let students write ANYTHING:
That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!
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