Today is the first day of spring – that time of newness and
growth, of birth and planting. As tree buds begin to burst, I’ve been thinking
of how coaching is like planting seeds. We seed recommendations, questions, and
opportunities. We provide starting points.
For teachers to be invested in the work of change, they
have to want it. Change is an inside job. If we simply state what the change
should be and how it should occur, there may be little investment on the part
of the teacher. To become engaged, there needs to be investment. Once there is
investment, the teacher will want to see return on that investment. Planting
seeds of ideas is better than transplanting fully-developed plans.
Seeding
Recommendations
When we seed ideas by recommending, it helps to drop a few
seeds in the ground and see which ones take root. When I talked this week with
a teacher who wants to improve classroom management, I asked her to list some
of the things that work for her students. Since we were having a standing-up
conversation in her room, I stepped toward the whiteboard and quickly jotted
down her ideas as she spoke, occasionally prompting, “And what else?” Once she
had a pretty good list, I added a few more ideas that I thought might be
useful. Then I asked, “Which of these do you think would be most helpful to
focus on?” She selected one, and it is already beginning to take root.
Seeding ideas and then seeing which will grow can be a valuable
coaching approach. The process of exploration and discovery sparks curiosity
and the teacher begins to develop the will and the energy for the challenge. Rather
than pointing out a gap, the space between the now and the new creates a
stretch that initiates intrigue and draws the teacher in.
Seeding
Questions
When we seed ideas, we provide a starting point but not a
complete solution. We generate more questions than answers. Because answers
aren’t yet clear, there is work for the teacher to do, and the work creates
buy-in. Teachers feel motivated to take up the challenge. My recent
conversation with Angela about student engagement was seeded with the question,
“What might be some of the reasons why students seemed less enthusiastic by the
end of the lesson?” Angela generated several ideas and decided to focus on
pacing, especially paying attention to how much modelling or explanation is
needed before moving on. Planting one question and then opening space for
thinking and response encouraged Angela to stretch her intellectual muscles and
take up the challenge.
Questions create a vacuum between the known and the
needs-to-be-known, a motivating tension that needs resolution. The weight of
the thinking is on the teacher, as she is expected to fill in the blanks. By
asking, “Why?” and “What would it take…” coaches ask questions that let
teachers take ownership, find answers, and become intellectually engaged. Questions
generate possibilities. As teachers develop a serious case of curiosity, they
build energy and will for the task.
Seeding
Opportunities
Whether through recommendations or questions, coaches seed
opportunities for instructional growth. Recommendations
and questions may shine a light that illuminates a need. Full effort comes when
teachers see a need, discover an opportunity, and challenge themselves.
When coaches provide a starting point but not a complete
solution, teachers create their own openings and define their plans for growth.
When coaches provoke thinking, teachers see the opportunity for themselves. The
process of discovery creates a forward pull. Seeding ideas nurtures
instructional growth.
That’s
it for this week. Happy Coaching!
