Questioning to Pivot

In the last coaching blog post, I provided an acronym to guide the process of pivoting: Probe, Investigate, Veer, Observe, and Tarry. In today’s post, I’ll apply that acronym to our coaching cycles. 
 
Coaching is an uncertain enterprise. You have to be fast on your feet, because you can’t always anticipate what teachers might need. Your coaching will be most effective when you are flexible and responsive, able to adjust in the midst of a conversation.
 
To be flexible but still feel solidly planted, it helps to identify a pivot point. A pivot point is “the central point, pin, or shaft on which a mechanism turns or oscillates.” The needle on a compass is gently moored in the center, allowing the needle to swing freely. I have begun thinking that coaching conversations, too, have a pivot point, and that asking questions might be that central mechanism on which we turn.
 
When I was talking recently with Angela, an experienced coach, we discussed how the GIR model (see below) guided and portrayed her work. “Honestly,” she said, “I really lean on questioning. I think it’s the move I used the most.”
 
We then talked about how, after asking a question, we might pivot to a more supportive move, like recommending or questioning, if it seems warranted. However, if the teacher’s response to our question solidly demonstrates a teacher’s strength, affirmations or praise may be our next step. Asking a question can be a pivot point or a temperature check for where a teacher is with a particular practice.
 
Let’s see how that played out in a conversation I had last week with a novice teacher, Adriana. I had observed her fourth-grade lesson linking grammar to reading comprehension – how recognizing the structure of a sentence can enhance understanding. As I observed, I wondered why she consistently used the terms “subject” and “predicate” without reference to nouns and verbs. I hypothesized several valid reasons for doing so, but I was curious about what Adriana was thinking, so I asked.
 
Adrianna’s response was that she wanted to use language that students were familiar with, and she didn’t think they knew “noun” and “verb.” Her response seemed to reflect lack of knowledge of standards from previous grades and didn’t reveal the more nuanced hypotheses I’d formed to justify her lack of these terms. After mentioning grammar standards that would have been previously addressed, I shared information from a podcast I’d listened to, where a well-known author shared his writing goal of keeping the noun and verb close together in every sentence. He said that even in complex sentences, this noun-verb structure made the ideas easier to understand. I wondered how this might apply for Adrianna’s students. Would having them identify the noun and the verb increase reading comprehension? Since she would be continuing with her lessons connecting grammar and reading comprehension, I recommended trying this practice.
 
In this conversation, my initial question provided a pivot point, helping me recognize the need for recommending, which was the high-yield coaching move for Adrianna during our conversation. My question let me feel around a bit for what was needed. In the PIVOT acronym, it was my probe to test the water. As I listened to her response, I was investigating to figure out what Adrianna knew and what she needed. My recommendation veered from the coaching move of asking questions. I changed because I felt Adrianna would benefit from more support. I then observed how Adrianna responded to the recommendation. She seemed open, so I felt comfortable talking with her more about the idea. In the language of the acronym, we tarried there to flesh out what might happen next.
 
Because responsiveness is important for effective coaching, you’ll need to be able to pivot based on teachers’ needs. Asking questions can be the pivot point for adjusting support in a coaching conversation.

This week, you might want to take a look at:
 
This video about setting the stage for classroom discussions:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/video/how-set-stage-challenging-classroom-discussions
 
 
Ideas for indoor recess:
 
https://www.learnersedge.com/blog/fresh-ideas-for-indoor-recess
 
 
Conversations after finishing a read aloud:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/whole-class-conversations-for-read-aloud-closure/
 
 
Ways to say “Thank You” to teachers:
 
https://www.mshouser.com/instructional-coaching/a-few-ways-to-say-thank-you-to-teachers
 
 
Key ways to build trusting relationships:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/6-simple-ways-build-trusting-relationships-staff
 
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