Choose Your Move

Hooray!!! My new book, Differentiated Mentoring & Coaching in Education: From Preservice Teacher to Expert Practitioner  released last week!   I’m so excited to share it with you! You can order the book now and use the code: TCP2022 for free shipping. Click here and I’ll email you the free Book Group Study Guide that includes questions, prompts, and activities you can use as you share the book with colleagues (click here for a book guide preview).  I hope you’ll love this book as much as I loved making it for you!

 
----------------------------------
 

There is value in being aware of a complete continuum of coaching moves and knowing when and how to use them. Effective coaches assess and address teachers’ changing needs. Think of the five coaching moves (model, recommend, question, affirm, & praise) as tools you can use; you will select the moves you can choose based on the current context – the teacher and the situation.
 
When I was meeting with a group of coaches, one of them, who was new to the position, felt a bit shaky about her skills. We’d talked about the Gradual Increase of Responsibility Model for Coaching (below), and she said, “I want to make sure I’m doing this right! Can you tell me what I should be doing right now?”
 
Coaches from the group who were experienced with the GIR model chimed in. “The thing about it,” one said, “is that every teacher is different.” Another said, “What you do for one may not be what another teacher needs. It’s different every time!” I nodded my head and emphasized, “When we meet as coaches, I make suggestions about what coaching move you might consider based on where you are in the coaching cycle, but it’s always about what your teachers need.” I went on to describe how they might consider each of the five coaching moves and think about which could be most effective at that time. That would be the move they’d emphasize…but not to the complete exclusion of the others.
 
Although in general your coaching will move from more supportive to less supportive during a coaching cycle, the path is not a linear one. When figuring out which moves to use, there are some clues to look for. Modeling is helpful when a teacher lacks experience; the teacher may be a novice or may be trying a new approach. You’ll have the opportunity to make recommendations when a teacher comes to you with questions, or when you’ve asked a question during planning and the teacher comes up empty. Questioning might initially be used to help a teacher slow down and step her way through the planning process; later the questioning can become more refined, opening up possibilities or probing for specificity. Affirming comes naturally as you see good things happening – which occurs throughout the process, but becomes more dominant as the need for other coaching moves drops away. And the shift from affirming to praising is mostly made by the teacher – as she stops looking to you to confirm her practice. As a coach, you’ll discern how to best support the teachers you are working with.  Your insight, observation, and careful listening will help you choose your move.

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

Planning for fun all year:
 
https://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=2036
 
 
This podcast episode has ideas to help teachers start the school year feeling connected and valued:
 
https://nowsparkcreativity.com/2022/07/designing-back-to-school-for-belonging-with-dr-susie-wise.html
 
 
This video about the power of common language (click the second link):
 
http://www.marzanoevaluation.com/evaluation/free_video_resources/
 
 
How collaboration works:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/video/teacher-collaboration-matching-complementary-strengths
 
 
The power of written conversations (good for PD and classrooms!):
 
https://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2014/10/12/written-conversations/
 
 
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
 

 
 

Differentiated Coaching Book Launch Video

This week, instead of a blog post, I’m sharing a link to the book launch video for, Differentiated Mentoring & Coaching in Education: From Preservice Teacher to Expert Practitioner. The book was released yesterday, and I’m so excited to share it with you!  I hope the book will serve you well as a tool in your work as an instructional coach.  It’s my gift to you, and I hope you’ll love it as much as I do!
 
In the book launch video, I talk with friends about the 5 coaching moves in the GIR model. They share their wisdom (and sometimes their follies) so that you can find out more. You can watch or listen to the video here:
 
https://tinyurl.com/DiffCoachLaunch
 
You can request a free Book Group Study Guide here that includes questions, prompts, and activities you might find helpful if you read the book with others (click for a preview).
 
Happy Coaching!

Tools for the Work

---------------------------------
 
I’m so excited that my book, Differentiated Mentoring & Coaching in Education: From Preservice Teacher to Expert Practitioner will be released IN JUST 1 WEEK!!! You can order it now and use the code: TCP2022 for free shipping. Plus, if you buy the book before August 6 and send me a screenshot of the purchase HERE, I’ll email you the free Book Group Study Guide (click for a preview) that you can use as you share the book with your colleagues.  I hope you’ll love this book as much as I loved making it for you!
----------------------------------
 
Instructional coaches have many job titles: Your role might be labelled as a coach – a literacy coach or a math coach or a technology coach – but you also might be in a role with a different title that includes a lot of coaching: Instructional facilitator, mentor (for a teacher new to the profession), department head, principal or assistant principal, cooperating/supervising teacher or university supervisor/liaison (working with a pre-service teacher) – and the list could go on. If your day-to-day includes supporting teachers’ instruction, you are playing a coaching role. Whether you are working with early-career teachers or veterans, the way you interact with them – the characteristics of your interactions – differ. I call these “coaching moves.” Here’s a quick list of the 5 main coaching moves and when they might be called for:
 
 

Move	When to Use
Model	Teacher lacks experience with content or practice
Recommend	Teacher comes with requests or questions, or has a limited teaching repertoire
Question	To Prompt planning, problem-solving, and reflection
Affirm	Good things are happening, but teacher is looking for confirmation
Praise	Teacher no longer looks to coach for confirmation

 
 
These coaching moves are used by coaches and mentors working with teachers at any point along the continuum of experience and expertise. The need for these moves differs among teachers and across time. For example, modeling (the most supportive move) occurs when a preservice teacher has her first practicum experience, visiting a school to observe a teacher in action. Even a very experienced teacher, however, may benefit from modeling; for example, a new technology application could be demonstrated, or an approach to whole-class discussion might be modeled if that is the focus area for a coaching cycle. If you are mentoring a first-year teacher into the profession, recommendations about available resources might be warranted. For some, asking questions to support reflection about potential changes will provide sufficient support. An elementary school teacher might request recommendations for improving her math instruction but benefit from simply hearing affirmations about her already-solid instruction during guided reading.
 
When I talked to a mentor who was working with a student-teaching intern, she described how the GIR model (below) guided her. “She really needed the modeling,” she said, “and at first even that wasn’t working. She didn’t know what to pay attention to. Modeling started working better once I gave her very specific things to watch for.” Then they moved into recommending – a phase that lasted a long, long time! Questioning became the dominant move (even though recommending lingered) much later. And the mentor felt they never made it to praising when she commended the intern’s work; it still felt more like affirming, because the intern seemed to be looking for validation.
 
A coach who was working with an experienced teacher to implement close reading said, “She really didn’t need the modeling, or the recommending, either. I jumped right in with questioning. That helped support her thinking and reflection.”  But later, when the same teacher was working on differentiation – a complex teaching skill – modeling and recommending were included before moving to less-supportive coaching approaches.
 
Successful coaches and mentors adjust based on the complexity and difficulty of the task, as well as teachers’ experience. The five coaching moves in the GIR model can be selected, as appropriate as tools for the work.
 

My husband has a garage full of tools, so it amazes me when he “needs” to buy a new one. He explains, however, that having the right tool for the job means it gets done more efficiently and effectively. Similarly, using the right tool at the right time makes the coaching process more productive and profitable. As you think ahead to the upcoming school year, having these 5 moves in your toolbelt will support your coaching work.

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

A getting-to-know-you activity: Students create their ideal bookshelf:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/my-ideal-bookshelf-books-that-educate-us/
 
 
Using “Reading Selfies” to progress monitor:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/may-20-2022-end-with-a-bang/
 
 
This podcast episode about what it’s like to be an instructional coach:
 
https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/instructional-coach/
 
 
Back to school checklists for teachers:
 
https://www.teachingchannel.org/back-to-school-teacher-resources/?utm_source=newsletter20180818/
 
 
This video with 5 key roles of an instructional coach:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtlVavxZBrk&t=196s
 
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

 

 

Why Increase Teachers’ Responsibility?

Friends, I am so excited that the release of Differentiated Mentoring and Coaching is just 13 days away!  If you’ve been with me for a while, you know that my work is based on my research-developed Gradual Increase of Responsibility (GIR) Model.  Someone suggested that the name of the GIR model was unfortunate because teachers already have too much on their plates. He asked, “Why would we want to increase teachers’ responsibility? I actually think this word shift is an important one.  Let me explain…
 
You are probably familiar with the Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR) Model – it’s been around since 1983, when it was proposed by Pearson and Gallagher as a way for teaching reading comprehension, moving from explicit instruction through guided practice to independent strategy use.*  Like the GRR instructional model, the GIR model for coaching depicts a gradual change in responsibility. Pearson’s GRR model describes the shift from the instructor’s perspective, as he or she releases, or gives up, responsibility. The GIR coaching model also describes this shift, but from the perspective of the learner. From this view, there is an increase of responsibility: a shift to greater power on the part of the learner.
 
My use of the phrase “Gradual Increase of Responsibility” rather than “Gradual Release of Responsibility” is intentional. My hope is that this wording keeps our focus on the perspective of the learner (the teacher) throughout the coaching process. When coaches keep the teachers’ perspective firmly in view, it influences the support they provide. It influences how they provide that support. It influences how they position themselves and the teachers with whom they are working. This positioning impacts teachers’ feelings of agency and efficacy, both of which are important to their own and their students’ learning.
 
I believe (and my experience and research verify) that teachers want to be responsible for their own learning, and they want to be responsible for their teaching and their students’ learning. They want to take an agentive role, making decisions guided by their professional knowledge and their knowledge of their students. While it is true that the responsibilities teachers shoulder can be overwhelming at times, it is often the responsibilities for which they feel no agency that overwhelm them (testing practices, paperwork, extra duties, etc.).
 
When teachers have agency (power and choice) over pedagogy, they have more energy and grit for this important work. Cogitating over how to best support learning – using all they know about content, pedagogy, and their students – is demanding but empowering. It is life-giving work.  Increasing teachers’ responsibility, while positioning them as their own agents for change, acknowledges teachers’ professional status.
 
Coaches who work intentionally to position teachers as agentive will be more successful in their work.  When coaches purposefully increase teachers’ pedagogical decision-making by using coaching moves that shift responsibility to teachers, they are empowering teachers, rather than hanging onto a position of power for themselves. Choosing coaching moves that acknowledge and extend teachers’ capacity means constantly adjusting our approach as teachers’ needs change.  For example, effective coaches won’t make recommendations when they aren’t needed. They may, instead, ask questions that prompt teachers to use their pedagogical knowledge and their knowledge of their students to problem-solve or extend instruction.  They may simply offer affirmation when teachers need someone to bounce ideas off of.  I hope that changing one word (from release to increase) creates a focus that keeps coaches’ minds attuned to teachers’ need for increased agency.

* Pearson, P. D., & Gallagher, M. C. (1983). The instruction of reading comprehension. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 8(3), 317-344.

---------------------------------------------

I’m so excited that my book, Differentiated Mentoring & Coaching in Education: From Preservice Teacher to Expert Practitioner will be released this month! You can pre-order it now and it will show up on your doorstep as soon as it’s printed! Use the code: for free shipping. I hope you’ll love this book as much as I loved making it for you!

---------------------------------------------

This week, you might want to take a look at:
 
How to effectively coach new initiatives:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/5-step-coaching-model-instructional-innovation
 
 
This podcast about addressing the underlying causes of teacher burnout:
 
https://www.ascd.org/podcasts/chase-mielke-on-addressing-the-underlying-causes-of-teacher-burnout
 
 
Quotes about the value of discussion:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/discussion-quote-collection/
 
 
Coaching for student agency:
 
https://barkleypd.com/blog/coaching-teachers-for-increased-student-agency/
 
 
Books that foster resilience:
 
https://padlet.com/LiteracyDocent/rjkn4spgysey
 
 
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
 

Differentiated Mentoring & Coaching

If you’re new around here, welcome! This blog focuses on the important processes of mentoring and coaching, from preservice teacher to expert practitioner using the Gradual Increase of Responsibility (GIR) Model pictured below. We explore how supports provided by mentors and coaches vary as those they work with gain experience and expertise, one step at a time.     

Strong evidence supports the value of instructional coaching and mentoring for teachers’ professional learning, and many models have been suggested for guiding coaching work. Most models, however, do no account for the differences among teachers in experience and expertise and how these factors change over time. But the GIR Model supports differentiated coaching that helps you match the coaching to the need. 

When mentoring and coaching, one size does not fit all!  The GIR model suggests differing levels of support and increasing responsibility for teacher-learners. As teachers gain experience and expertise, effective coaches and mentors adjust their approach. Increasing responsibility generates increased agency for teachers as the lead learners in their classrooms, a stance that is empowering and energizing, sustaining teachers in their professional roles. 

In the GIR process, coaches model, make recommendations, ask guiding questions, affirm teachers’ appropriate decisions, and offer praise in order to provide decreasing scaffolding that moves teachers toward more skillful use of effective instructional practices (see the model below). Of course, this progression is idiosyncratic and nonlinear. The coaching path (shown by the curving line in the model) starts at a point above the origin on the vertical axes as an indication of the prior knowledge that teachers bring with them to a learning situation. Similarly, by having the line end below the upper corner, the model implies that teachers will continue to learn and grow in their profession. Rather than being perfectly linear, the line’s upward trajectory is shown as sinuous, indicating the iterative and recursive nature of change as these coaching moves are used. The path is flexible, and there is interplay among these practices; however, the GIR model describes a trend towards decreased support from coaches and increased responsibility for teachers.

 

If you are thinking ahead about the support you’ll provide when the school year gets underway, you know there will be plenty for you to do!  I have worked with many experienced, masterful teachers who are interested in improvement. As Charlotte Danielson has said, “Because teaching is so demanding and complex, all teaching can be improved; no matter how brilliant a lesson is, it can always be even better.”*  Many effective teachers are on a continual professional improvement quest; coaches can offer support in that crusade. And for experienced teachers whose energy is waning, you can be the needed boost.

 

And those brand-new teachers who will be joining your team may come in full of confidence ready to change the world!  However, the world holds harsh realities: piles of paperwork, extra duties, behavior problems, parent concerns. The light in their eyes may begin to dim. As a coach you can help them keep the fire burning.

 

Evelyn was a novice first-grade teacher who was feeling this weight. She had a heart and mind for the work, but she was drowning in classroom management issues that kept her brilliant lesson plans from becoming a reality. I wish I could say that this was an easy fix. But it wasn’t. It was a slow, difficult process of becoming. It was experimentation and adding routines.  It meant changing her posture, her tone of voice, and even the way she moved around the room. It meant changing the way she responded to both acceptable and unacceptable behavior. None of these changes came easily, but Evelyn and I held onto the vision of what she would become. Eventually, the learning she visualized as she created those expert lesson plans became a reality. What a celebration it was when Evelyn was able to stop worrying about classroom management!  She became the teacher she had always had the capacity to be.  Over time, coaches have the fulfilling opportunity to see the teachers we work with becoming who they envisioned themselves to be.

 

* Danielson, C. (2012). Observing Classroom Practice. Educational Leadership, 70(3), p. 32

 

----------------------------------------

 

The Gradual Increase of Responsibility Model for Coaching & Mentoring

---------------------------------

It’s July, and I’m so excited that my book, Differentiated Mentoring & Coaching in Education: From Preservice Teacher to Expert Practitioner will be released this month! You can pre-order it now and it will show up on your doorstep as soon as it’s printed! Use the code: for free shipping. I hope you’ll love this book as much as I loved making it for you!

----------------------------------

This week, you might want to take a look at:
 
5 Considerations before becoming an instructional coach:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/instructional-coach-job-consider-elena-aguilar
 
 
A framework for supporting new teachers:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/framework-supporting-new-teachers
 
 
This podcast episode about the 40-hour workweek is for teachers who love their job and want to do it without burning out:
 
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nothing-short-of-a-revolution-whats-happening-in/id954139712?i=1000566390880
 
 
Developing teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching:
 
https://www.hmhco.com/blog/mathematical-knowledge-for-teaching
 
 
Beyond explicit instruction for striving readers:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/beyond-explicit-instruction-what-do-struggling-readers-need/
 

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