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!

 
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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!
 
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