Reflective Affirmations

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The final coaching conversations of the school year are all about closure and celebration. For me, this week’s lesson observations led to reflective conversations that were full of affirmation. It was glorious to think back on goals we’ve had throughout the school year that have come to fruition, and the evidence was in these final observations.
 
After watching a lesson in Naomi’s classroom, we sat down together and I asked, “Thinking back on the math lesson, what stands out to you?”  She launched into a description of how she used their morning work to transition into the lesson; she started the description by saying, “Something that I really liked was…” She said she was able to “prime their minds” for the upcoming lesson. I loved that phrase and used it in my follow-up comment. “Yes, it primed them for it – they were ready to think about fractions.”
 
Because Naomi started our conversation with a discussion of the beginning of the lesson, I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to talk about another positive aspect of the start. After affirming the smooth transition from morning work to math lesson, I asked her to talk about her decision to start the lesson by “hooking them on the why.” Before launching into the math content, Naomi had asked students, “Why are we even talking about fractions? When do we use fractions?” Naomi wanted students to recognize that what they were learning was actually relevant to their lives. Responding to Naomi’s question, students launched into a long list of ways fractions could show up in their lives: cooking, measuring, construction, cutting up bread, making video games, and even middle-school science class.
 
I tied Naomi’s description back to a topic we’d talked about together many times: class discussion. The goal had been for students to take more ownership for whole-class discussions, rather than ping-ponging back and forth between teacher and student – and it happened during this discussion, as students affirmed and built off of one-another’s ideas about the relevance of fractions. That was something to celebrate!
 
During this final coaching conversation, even the one recommendation I made was wrapped up in an affirmation. Something I’d noticed as Naomi listed students’ ideas about fraction use on the board was that many of the comments were morphed into something for future job use; when students talked about cooking, Naomi mentioned a job as a cook or baker; when they talked about measuring, Naomi mentioned a job in construction. When they talked about measuring in middle-school science, she talked about a career as a scientist. While career insights were worth highlighting, I wanted to make sure Naomi recognized the value of the more-immediate applications students were bringing up. So as our discussion of the discussion continued, I said, “That makes me think about…” and I brought up the middle-school science lab example mentioned by a student. Naomi nodding, remembering. Then I said, “I thought that comment was especially interesting, because it wasn’t about the long-term future, it was about something they’d been thinking a lot about – that transition to middle school. That seemed like a really authentic, important connection.” Naomi brightened up, “It was a point of excitement!” she said, launching into a description of their enthusiasm about both science and middle school and saying, “I definitely think that was an authentic connection.”
 
I picked up the conversation, saying, “One thing I was thinking about is, some of the things on the list are pretty long-term.” I then emphasized the value of students making connections with their lives now – as they had done during this lesson. I hope that lingering a bit on that “authentic connection” moment becomes a reminder to pay attention to such connections in future lessons.
 
Our conversation continued as Naomi and I took turns bringing up positive parts of the lesson: Her effective modeling, giving students classroom responsibilities, using all-respond techniques (and expecting all to respond!). We talked about her probing questions (“How do you know?”) and even the specific words she used, as I commented: “I loved the way you framed the practice by saying, ‘You’re about to get a chance to show what you know as far as ordering fractions goes.” This led to a thought-filled exchange about the power of teachers’ words.
 
There were so many things to affirm during this final observation of the school year. Coaching is not about intervention or remediation; it is about finding the right level of support based on specific needs and contexts. When the need for other types of support falls away, commenting on the good things that are happening highlights and celebrates them. I find that affirming not only benefits the teacher, it lifts me, too. I am more buoyant when my efforts are focused on helping teachers recognize their strengths.
 
This week, you might want to take a look at:

As the school year draws to a close, I wish you more:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hti6bGm4664
 
 
Tips for transitioning from teacher to coach:
 
https://www.teachingchannel.com/blog/transition-teacher-coach
 
 
What data counts for student growth:
 
https://ccira.blog/2022/05/17/creating-a-narrative-of-progress-broadening-the-definition-of-reading-growth/
 
 
TEDx Talk: Collaboration starts with you:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euPrdRGSEpY
 
 
Characteristics of an effective PLC (beyond Solution Tree):
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/fostering-effective-professional-learning-community-your-school
 
That’s it for this week. Happy coaching!
 
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