Open

A week ago I met with Piper after observing in her classroom. Piper is an effective teacher who includes active learning opportunities. She listens to her students, they listen to her, and they listen to each other.  These interactions are pretty impressive for 4^th-graders. When we met to talk about the science lesson I’d observed, we had so many effective practices to talk about: including multiple representations of the content; short, effective partner talks; discussion where students’ built on one-another’s comments, explaining concepts to one another. She also made meaningful connections to previous learning, provided clear instructions, and encouraged students to use independent work time efficiently by setting a timer. Of course, we celebrated all of these successes!  Eventually, the conversation turned to an aspect of the lesson that went less smoothly: After all students drew a picture of the human eye (as a check for background knowledge near the beginning of the lesson), she had each student hold up their drawing and say something about it.  Snaking around the room through the COVID-straight rows of 27 desks, the conversation started out productive but soon dissolved into embarrassment about sharing their drawings and nothing to say.  Because I trust Piper’s judgment as a teacher, I wanted to remain open to her ideas and her reasoning for including this approach. So I asked, “When has having every student respond worked well in the past?”  Responding to this question helped Piper pin down criteria for when a sequential all-respond might be appropriate in future lessons.  Even though my instinct was to dismiss this practice altogether, Piper showed me there are times when it can work well.  I’m glad I was open to her thinking!
 
Being open is a coaching attribute that can be part of our lifelong-learner mindset.  Asking an open-ended question, as I did with Piper, is one way to demonstrate an open mindset.  Starting a conversation with, “What’s on your mind?” leaves the door wide-open for any topic of conversation.  Asking, “What else could you try?” suggests there are many possible solutions. Asking, “What makes you say so?” deepens the level of analysis in a conversation.  When we ask questions without having our own answer in mind, we are displaying an open mindset.
 
Keeping the doors of the mind open means that we avoid criticizing or ignoring new ideas.  It means delaying judgment. It’s refreshing not to have to defend your own ideas, but rather to listen intently to others’.  Although there are definitely times when coaches should share their expertise, doing so with an open mindset brings a lightness to the conversation, affording teachers their agency and acknowledging their own professional judgment.  Being open invites a productive conversation. 
 
When we maintain open communication with teachers, we welcome their thoughts, worries, concerns, and celebrations. We establish a conversational tone where teachers feel free to talk about their thoughts and opinions.  Teachers know they can bring up both everyday issues and difficult topics. I’ve found that exploring ideas together leads to growth – for the teacher and for me.
 
When coaches have an open mindset, they are approachable.  Their posture, positioning, and facial expressions help teachers feel at ease. Some of us have to think intentionally about each of these things, but they tend to flow more naturally when we remind our brains to move our own ideas to the back burner for a minute and be open to the ideas of others.
 
Our state of mind frames and changes everything we see. When we are open, our mental models are temporary and flexible. A good conversation is one where we learn something, and what others say is always interesting.  Being open is seeing things both as they are and as they could be.  It means seeing our coaching work as full of possibility.
 
This week, you might want to take a look at:
 
How to build resilient teams:
 
https://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/coaching_teachers/2019/07/how_to_build_resilient_teams.html
 
 
A podcast about productive PLC conversations:
 
https://barkleypd.com/blog/creating-plc-converstions-that-increase-collective-responsibility/
 
 
7 rules for supporting students who have difficulty self-managing:
 
https://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2011/04/23/7-rules-of-handling-difficult-students/
 
 
Assessing engagement with the engage-o-meter:
 
https://studysites.corwin.com/highimpactinstruction/videos/v12.2.htm
 
 
Humor writing for teens:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/humor-writing-with-teens/
 
 
That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!
 
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Interrogating Success

This week, I’ve felt a little grumbly about our teacher evaluation system – the negative messages it sometimes sends through its wording.  Although I think the elements of the rubric our state uses are generally aligned with strong instruction, I find myself grimacing at certain words, phrases, and assumptions.  Phrases like, “but may display lack,” and “no knowledge.”  Words like, "limited," “however,” “only,” “although,” and “but.”
 
If we have a growth mindset, wouldn’t we say, “Teacher recognizes the value of understanding students’ skills…and displays this knowledge for the class as a whole” rather than “Teacher recognizes the value of understanding students’ skills…but displays this knowledge only for the class as a whole.”*  Changing the but to an and and dropping the only sends a message that acknowledges what a teacher can do.  Words matter, whether coming from a rubric or from the mouth of an instructional coach.
 
I was also grumbly about the final section of the rubric, where the observer is to list, “Focus areas for next observation.”  That section of the rubric seems to be asking for recommendations.  But what if the teacher doesn’t need recommendations?  What if, instead, she would benefit more from authentic questions? 
 
In our state’s use of the system, a post-observation question for teachers’ written reflection is, “If you had the opportunity to work with the same students on this lesson again, what would you do the same? What would you do differently?” I’m so glad the reflection request begins with the notion of what worked well, but I find that most teachers jump right to the second question and list changes they would make.  What if, instead, we interrogated success?  What if we began with only the question, “What would you do the same and why?”  What if we focused so much on the things that went well that they became an emphasis for future lessons?   
 
This week, I tried to focus my conversations with teachers on the things that worked – the effective core structures of lessons, the in-the-moment adjustments, the thought-provoking questions.  I talked with Annie about how her follow-up questions stimulated learning.  I asked Ashley about how including opportunities for students to self-assess supported the work.  Aymanda and I talked about her spontaneous decision to stop reading the words of a book and let the pictures tell the rest of the story.  With Emily, the conversation centered around the joy that is palpable in her room and what she does to build it. After these conversations, both the teacher and I felt thankful for the good things that were happening in their classrooms – good things that will surely continue, and perhaps be more intentional, because we have looked at them closely.  By interrogating successes, we gain a deeper understanding of effective instruction. A close examination of what went well creates anchors that help teachers stay the course.
 
*Danielson, C. (2007). Enhancing professional practice: A framework for teaching. ASCD.
 
 
This week, you might want to take a look at:
 
This podcast about the school as a conversational community:
 
https://www.growthcoaching.com.au/podcasts/the-school-as-a-conversational-community
 
How to curb burnout:
 
http://teacher.scholastic.com/education/pdfs/Educator-Check-In-Campaign-Infographic.pdf
 
What really matters in learning to read. A podcast with Dr. P. David Pearson:
 
https://blog.savvas.com/learning-to-read-what-really-matters-with-dr-p-david-pearson/
 
What makes a good mentor:
 
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/may99/vol56/num08/The-Good-Mentor.aspx
 
This work-Life Balance quiz:
 
https://cmha.ca/work-life-balance-quiz#.VyYsIzArKhc
 
That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!
 
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Follow on Facebook at: facebook.com/mycoachescouch or Twitter @vscollet for more coaching and teaching tips!  You can also find me at VickiCollet.com

Guessing or Gathering

When planning– whether it’s in our personal lives or in our classrooms - we look forward and think about what the future might hold. We think about hoped-for outcomes and anticipate potential roadblocks. All this forward-thinking is essential, of course, but future-oriented forecasting is best coupled with the “look back” practice of reflection.
 
The future hasn’t happened yet, so it can’t be our teacher.  As we plan, instead of looking ahead and guessing, reflection helps us look back and gather.  Gathering beats guessing as a planning tool.
 
It’s also unrealistic to depend on the present to teach us in the moment as it happens.  The present is fleeting; it happens too fast, and we are going to miss out on the nuances if we don’t rewind to reflect. We need to name the unnamed, and this requires attention.
 
That is why reflection is such an integral part of coaching. When working with a coach, teachers have a reason to say it out loud, to make connections, to describe specific, concrete examples, to make sense of a situation.  After the moment has passed, we can connect the dots and look for patterns. We pull lots of ideas together to consider the relationships between them.
 
I had a reflective conversation with Ryan this week after observing in his classroom.  The lesson was about informational writing, and there were parts that went smoothly, along with bumps in the road.  After we had talked our way through the lesson, thinking about what we noticed and why that mattered, Ryan returned reflectively to his favorite moment in the lesson.  After sharing informational texts written by published authors, Ryan had asked, “Do you think the authors who wrote these could always write like this?  Do you think when they were in third grade like you, they could include facts, details, and definitions like this?” A student called out, “No!” enthusiastically, and Ryan asked students to turn to their partner and talk about this question.  I heard students dialoging energetically, “They can’t just know that already!” “They have to learn about it first!”  When he later reflected on this bright spot in the lesson, he realized the thing that made it stand out was how it brought authentic purpose to the lesson objective.  Students had ah-hah experiences about their own learning.  Seeing that moment in connection with and in contrast to other parts of the lesson helped Ryan gain valuable insight.   
 
During reflection, we gather information - little bits and pieces that were mostly unnoticed in the steady forward-flow of the moment. After gathering, we synthesize – that is, we pull lots of ideas together to consider the relationships between them.  Our answers won’t be definitive.  In fact, one of the valuable outcomes of reflection is the questions we carry with us into the future. For the reflective practitioner, though, the future will be guided by gathering rather than by guessing.
 
This week, you might want to take a look at:
 
The case for coaches in professional learning communities:
 
https://www.allthingsplc.info/blog/view/362/the-case-for-coaches-in-professional-learning-communities
 
A podcast - We are all teacher leaders:
 
https://learn.teachingchannel.com/tchtalks-podcast/tch-talks-episode-11
 
 
Lifting a line from mentor texts helps students’ writing soar:
 
http://all-en-a-days-work.blogspot.com/2013/11/line-lifts-great-strategy-still.html
 
 
Avoiding Zoom fatigue (for teachers and students) – check out the notes or the podcast:
 
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-09-15-is-learning-on-zoom-the-same-as-in-person-not-to-your-brain
 
 
Using single-point rubrics:
 
https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/how-single-point-rubrics-can-improve-quality-student-work/
 
That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!
 
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Follow on Facebook at: facebook.com/mycoachescouch or Twitter @vscollet for more coaching and teaching tips!  You can also find me at VickiCollet.com

Downloading Solutions

When coaching with the GIR model, we are always thinking about what the teacher needs. But moving from recommending to questioning requires a deep shift in how we, as coaches, see.  We may need to work on ourselves before we work with others.

As knowledgeable, experienced educators, we are able to download solutions based on patterns that have worked in the past. This is comfortable territory! Interpretations and options for action are those we know and trust. However, as we shift our coaching moves from recommending to questioning, we are also shifting what we attend to.  When making recommendations, the center of our attention is really ourselves – what we already know and can do. We perceive through the lens of judgment. When we question, our attention shifts to the unique reality in front of us.  Instead of past patterns, we see the present moment and emerging futures.  Instead of letting what we see confirm what we know, we suspend judgment and broaden our perceptions. Questioning opens the boundaries of potential solutions. Instead of listening to the voice inside of us, we listen to the voice in front of us.

How can we make this internal shift?

·       Listen without letting your brain forecast your own response.

·       Suspend judgment.

·       Pause before responding.

·       Recognize the possibility of multiple solutions.

·       Suspend the decision.

·       Look for new information.

·       View the situation from another perspective.

·       Be ready to brainstorm.

When coaching shifts from recommending to questioning, we stop downloading the familiar from our own existing knowledge. Instead, we work collaboratively to create new possible futures. Moving from recommending to questioning is as much about changing as coaches as it is about teacher change.

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

Thank you for all you do! You’re doing a good job!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkDNp4ATCso

 

Vocabulary activities for any age:

https://choiceliteracy.com/article/quick-vocabulary-practice-and-assessment/

This podcast about establishing relationships with students of color:

https://www.bamradionetwork.com/track/the-e-word-what-students-of-color-need-from-every-teacher/

 

A how-to guide for relationship mapping:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b7c56e255b02c683659fe43/t/5bd7aaac419202e5d277e29d/1540860588805/relationship_mapping_strategy.pdf

Rich picture books:

https://choiceliteracy.com/article/detour-texts/

That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

Was this helpful?  Please share!
Want to know about new posts? Click “Follow” (bottom right)
Follow on Facebook at: facebook.com/mycoachescouch or Twitter @vscollet for more coaching and teaching tips!  You can also find me at VickiCollet.com