Build Your Coaching Credibility

Credibility is an important attribute for coaches. If teachers view a coach as credible, they are more likely to be engaged and listening. Credibility helps teachers take a coach seriously and will convince them to consider the information that is being shared. Teachers are also more likely to act on the information when the coach is credible. If the coach is viewed as a credible source, teachers are more likely to engage again.
 
In the insurance world, credibility ratio is calculated using a complicated formula that considers the probability or expectation that something will happen (an auto accident, a disease). The credibility of social influencers is determined using metrics such as engagement rate, reach, reputation, and relevance. It is said to be a measure of trustworthiness, authenticity, and expertise. A fake influencer may have a dishonest communication style, a bad reputation or no reviews at all. Stop and scan this paragraph. What is relevant for your credibility as a coach?
 
How do teachers calculate your credibility? One simple metric is the ratio of your talk to your action. The question, “Do you walk your talk?” is a good yardstick for evaluation. No one is perfect. Mistakes are tolerated, but hypocrisy is not. When your walk and your talk don’t match up, admit it and demonstrate a growth mindset. Make the effort to do what you say you’re going to do. Follow through.
 
Credibility is also evaluated based on knowledge. Experiential knowledge is highly valued. If I’ve done what I’m recommending and had positive results, I’m viewed as credible. In many instances, however, coaches are called on to support at grade levels or in content areas where they don’t have experience. A lot of pedagogical knowledge is transferable, holding true across contexts. Teachers may not believe this until they see it, though, so that’s where modeling comes in. When you ante up and do the strategy yourself, you gain credibility. Although substituting is not the best way for a coach to spend their time, it can provide opportunities for you to actually use the new curriculum or approach. Then you’ll be sharing from a place of experience.
 
Credibility can also be increased by demonstrating that you’ve put in the effort to research best practices. Do you have data to share that is pertinent to your school? Examples of others who have tried it? These can help.
 
A less obvious way to build credibility is to monitor how you communicate. Open body language, a friendly tone, eye contact, and a confident stance all boost credibility. Take your time when speaking; rushing can signal and create doubt. An upbeat attitude and sharing with care can do as much to establish credibility as knowledge and examples.
 
Personalizing – speaking directly to the teacher’s needs – can also boost credibility. When the ideas you bring align with the teacher’s hopes, trust is built. I was once assigned to coach a teacher because of poor evaluation scores – not an ideal situation. But when I asked what she wanted to work on and then brought ideas and resources aligned with that desire, it boosted my credibility.

The Oxford dictionary says credibility is the quality of being trusted and believed in. Credibility not only means believing that what someone says is true, but trusting them as well. How will you demonstrate that you have the knowledge and background to warrant belief? What step can you take now to increase your coaching credibility? Every credible step you take will make your coaching more impactful. 

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

This “Circle of Viewpoints” activity helps participants to explore a text or event from a variety of perspectives:
 
https://pz.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/Circle%20of%20Viewpoints_0.pdf
 
 
Coaches’ book recommendations can broaden perspectives:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/listening-and-learning-from-literature/
 
 
Play is important – and mixing up the kinds of play kids do is important, too:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4kgJSypoCI
 
 
A minimalist approach to conferring with writers:
 
https://www.middleweb.com/49050/writing-conferences-a-minimalist-approach/
 
 
Three tips for richer student discussion:
 
https://www.middleweb.com/38084/learning-the-secrets-of-good-class-discussions/
 
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 and Twitter and Instagram @vscollet for more coaching and teaching tips!  You can also find me at VickiCollet.com
 
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Want more coaching tips? Check out my book, Differentiated Mentoring & Coaching in Education: From Preservice Teacher to Expert Practitioner, available from Teachers College Press!  I’m so excited to share it with you! TODAY you can use the code: SEPT2023 for 15% off plus 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.  I hope you’ll love this book as much as I loved making it for you!

Elements of Respect

This week, I listened to a podcast that included an interview with an emergency room physician.* The doctor described the importance of building a relationship with the patient so that the patient would trust him, give their full history, and walk away satisfied. The kicker was that he saw each patient for about 5 minutes. I thought about our coaching work and the importance of building relationships of mutual respect. If that doctor can do it in 5 minutes, I thought, then we, too, can create those types of relationships, even given the constraints on our schedules and the many facets of our interactions. The podcast went on to describe elements of respect that can be applied in many situations. Here’s my version of the elements as they apply to coaching:

·       Create connections

·       Recognize personal biases and internal motivations

·       Listen deeply

·       Interact empathically

·       Acknowledge concerns

·       Consider context

·       Practice humility

Creating connections means finding something you have in common with the other person. It could be as simple as, you both have kids, or you like the same sports team, or you both favor dark chocolate. Taking a casual minute to make a personal connection gets things off to a comfortable start and increases trust and respect.
 
After making a personal connection, the ER doctor asked the simple question, “How can I help you today?” With the 5-minute timer ticking, he cut to the chase. “What’s on your mind?” “What have you been wondering about?” or “What would you like to think about with me today?” could serve a similar purpose.
 
Once we know where the conversation is headed, we can do an internal check for our own related biases and motivations. We need to be introspective about our intentions. Recognizing these can help us set them aside, at least temporarily. For example, I recognize that I have a huge bias right now against the media’s portrayal of the science of reading, so when a teacher brings up a recent training experience, I have to figuratively take my bias out of my brain and set it on the shelf so that I can truly listen.
 
Listening deeply means seeking first to understand. What is at the heart of the teacher’s concern or question? Listen and find out more. Asking authentic questions helps us peel back the layers to increase our understanding.
 
Active listening is necessary for interacting empathically. Empathy is different from sympathy (feeling sorry for someone). Empathy is feeling with someone, acknowledging their experience and the feelings that they are having along with that experience. We can interact empathically by reflecting back to the teacher what we are hearing and validating those feelings. We can thank them for sharing. As we interact empathically, we acknowledge concerns. It might sound like, “Wow, this is a big challenge that you’re facing. I hear you saying that you want to include more authentic reading and writing experiences for your students, but the curriculum is so packed and the schedule is so tight that you feel limited. I want to commend you for that desire and everything that you are doing to support your students. It sounds like you are really working and having a hard time figuring out how to fit in your priorities.” Expressing empathy shows the teacher that you care.
 
As we respond to teachers, we consider the context. What is framing this situation? It’s like Russian Matryoshka dolls – the situation is nested within the context of the class, the school, the district, and broader societal expectations. Individual experiences are encased in larger structures and systems. It gets complicated, but considering both micro- and macro-contexts will help us respond in more helpful ways.
 
Practicing humility is at the core of a respectful response. We have to have a sense of profound self-reflection, recognizing what we do not know and do not understand. As we listen deeply and interact empathically, we gain a better understanding of the teacher’s wisdom. We need the teacher to educate us about their own experience and the experiences of their students.
 
As coaches create connections, set aside biases, listen deeply and empathically, and practice humility, our responses will be more considered and productive. Teachers will feel more trusted and satisfied. By responding respectfully, coaches earn respect.
 
*Science of Happiness Podcast, Sept. 14, 2023
 
This week, you might want to take a look at:

Evidence-backed ways to scaffold student learning:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/6-foundational-ways-to-scaffold-student-learning/
 

Moving to an “all in” coaching model:
 
https://www.dianesweeney.com/moving-from-an-opt-in-to-all-in-coaching-model/
 
 
A video reminder that getting students’ names right matters:
 
https://www.edweek.org/leadership/mispronouncing-students-names-a-slight-that-can-cut-deep/2016/05
 
 
Make students’ writing braver with Sara Bareilles:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/supporting-brave-writers/
 
How to talk about race in your classroom (recorded webinar):
 
http://players.brightcove.net/1740322051001/S1b3Eta2_default/index.html?videoId=5253097075001
 
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 and Twitter and Instagram @vscollet for more coaching and teaching tips!  You can also find me at VickiCollet.com
 
---------------------------------
Want more coaching tips? Check out my book, Differentiated Mentoring & Coaching in Education: From Preservice Teacher to Expert Practitioner, available from Teachers College Press!  I’m so excited to share it with you! You can use the code: SEPT2023 for 15% off plus 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.  I hope you’ll love this book as much as I loved making it for you!

Coaches’ Time: What Matters Most?

Emily is a school-based coach who makes morning announcements, helps with fundraisers, creates Instagram reels with her principal, runs the readathon, and represents her school at district literacy meetings. Although Emily is happy to be viewed as part of the leadership team, responsibilities like these pull Emily away from what matters most in instructional coaching: Time spent talking with teachers about instruction.
 
Coaches are often overwhelmed by the variety of tasks on their plate. Some of these they take on themselves, and others are assigned duties. When coaches have so many items on their to-do list, they can’t put their best effort into any task, and they may find it challenging to engage in ongoing coaching cycles focused on instruction and student learning.
 
Research suggests that student learning improves when coaching includes: conferring with teachers, modeling, observing, and assessment-related activities (such as reviewing formative assessments to guide instruction).* When these activities are embedded in coaching cycles, constructive collaboration with teachers is prioritized. Partnering with teachers enhances reflection on students, pedagogy, and the curriculum and improves instructional decision-making.
 
Managing the many roles and responsibilities of instructional coaching requires both scheduling and flexibility. A weekly agenda that allots the majority of your time to potent coaching practices ensures your commitment to these priorities. But educators understand the value of flexibility, too. Assigned tasks may change, and surprises pop up during the course of the day. Coaches must also be opportunistic.
 
Spending your time on what matters most is important, so I’ve made a gift for you! If you’d like a free form that will track how you spend your time, click HERE and I’ll send you links to the form and to a video tutorial. Using this tool, you’ll end up with a nice pie chart of how your time is being used.
 
Teachers are eager to work with a coach when they see the impact on student learning. Student learning improves when coaches spend the majority of their time working with teachers (and planning for that work). If your schedule is overloaded with other activities, consider one change you might make next week to make teacher interactions a bigger piece of your pie.
 
*Elish-Piper, L., & L’Allier, S. K. (2011). Examining the relationship between literacy coaching and student reading gains in grades K–3. The Elementary School Journal, 112(1), 83-106.

Walpole, S. McKenna, .C., Uribe-Zorain, X., & Lamitina, D. (2010). The relatinoships between coaching and instruction in theh primary grades: Evidence from igh-poverty schools. The Elementary School Journal, 111(1), 115-140. 

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

How the circle practice can support writing:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/deepening-discussion-with-a-circle-process/
 
 
For 1^st-year teachers: How to prepare for a roller coaster year:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/new-teachers-6-principles-remember-year/
 
 
Advice from 2^nd year teachers:
 
https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/video-second-year-teachers-share-some-advice-for-rookies-1/2017/09
 
 
A podcast on mentoring new teachers on social-emotional  learning:
 
http://blog.stenhouse.com/archives/2018/03/30/mentoring-new-teachers-podcast-episode-ii-social-emotional-learning/
 
 
Avoiding isolation as an instructional coach:
 
https://blog.teachboost.com/instructional-coaching-plcs-in-action
 
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 and Twitter and Instagram @vscollet for more coaching and teaching tips!  You can also find me at VickiCollet.com
 
---------------------------------
Want more coaching tips? Check out my book, Differentiated Mentoring & Coaching in Education: From Preservice Teacher to Expert Practitioner, available from Teachers College Press!  I’m so excited to share it with you! You can use the code: SEPT2023 for 15% off plus 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.  I hope you’ll love this book as much as I loved making it for you!
 

Coaching through Messes and Successes

My K-12 teaching career spans that whole continuum, and some of my proudest moments happened with my youngest students. When a kindergartner, Ellen, wrote about her time in the “Zoo Box” play center, saying that the “trdl” is “vare sic” and the “zeba” has “nomony” I was impressed with her audacity, her willingness to take risks. I’d had high school seniors who would write their way around a situation rather than risk the word, “pneumonia.”
 
But learning is about risk-taking, isn’t it? If we’re not willing to venture beyond the known, whatever is outside that circle remains beyond our reach. This is true during coaching, too. Sticking with the tried-and-true is safe, but unproductive, territory.
 
When a coach told a novice teacher who was frustrated with classroom management to move the desks into rows, she was asking this teacher to retreat into the circle, even though the teacher embraced an inquiry philosophy for teaching. Instead, the coach could have said something like, “It sounds like you’re feeling frustrated because students are off-task, and you really want them to be more engaged. Let’s think of some ideas for making that happen.” Instead of withdrawing to safety, they could have brainstormed together and leaned into the productive struggle of inquiry-based learning.

If teachers are afraid to make mistakes, they miss the opportunity to be innovative. Coaches create risk-friendly environments when we say, “I wonder why that happened?” and “What are your hunches?” when a new approach goes differently than planned.  Coaches create risk-averse environments if attention to “mistakes” is heavy-laden.

I’m beginning to feel uncomfortable with the word mistakes. I worry that it promotes the idea that there is one right way. Of course, that’s never true in a classroom full of individual learners. Ambiguity and risk-taking are part of effective teaching. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again! Taking risks means experiencing the unexpected. Sometimes we don’t get what we hoped for, and that’s okay! Learning isn’t quick and easy, and coaching is an opportunity to work through this process together.   

When a lesson goes differently than planned, we can demonstrate how reflection supports revision. We reexamine and modify. We edit our plan. Each lesson is an update on the last when reflection, analysis, and action are part of the process. Teachers rebound and come back stronger.

It’s okay if there’s imprecision and wiggliness in the process. Learning is a little wishy-washy. When I taught kindergarten, one of my students’ favorite Big Books was Mrs. Wishy Washy. Mrs. Wishy-Washy scrubs all the animals clean, but they don’t stay that way. My students’ favorite line was, “Oh, lovely mud!” Like the animals in the mud puddle, we can embrace messiness as part of the learning experience.

Learning is a positive stretch. When kindergartners make up their own spellings, it’s sometimes called invented spelling or constructed spelling. Inventing and constructing are positive and productive!  When 6-year-old Ellen spelled turtle, “trdl,” I could have labelled it as a mistake. But I applauded her success in getting her ideas on paper. I cheered her on!  Similarly, coaches can cheer teachers through their messes and successes – it’s all part of learning.

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

Ways to honor teachers’ needs this year:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/9-ways-for-schools-to-honor-teacher-needs-this-year/
 
 
11 secrets of irresistible people (build relationships for coaching!): 
 
https://www3.forbes.com/business/11-secrets-of-irresistible-people-v3/13/
 
 
Creating class books to build community:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/we-have-pets/
 
 
Tips for starting the new year as a coach:
 
https://blog.teachboost.com/starting-the-school-year-strong-5-tips-for-new-instructional-coaches
 
“Naughty” behaviors that are developmentally appropriate:
 
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/joyful-parenting/201705/not-naughty-10-ways-kids-appear-be-acting-bad-arent
 
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 and Twitter and Instagram @vscollet for more coaching and teaching tips!  You can also find me at VickiCollet.com
 
---------------------------------
Want more coaching tips? Check out my book, Differentiated Mentoring & Coaching in Education: From Preservice Teacher to Expert Practitioner, available from Teachers College Press!  I’m so excited to share it with you! You can use the code: SEPT2023 for 15% off plus 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.  I hope you’ll love this book as much as I loved making it for you!
 

Coaches & Teachers: The Intersection of Greatness

When the Mighty Mississippi and the Ohio River converge, the intersection is obvious: the brown Ohio and the green Mississippi swirl together. There is a change in energy and flow. Confluences are important to the ecology of rivers because they mark where changes in river current, chemistry, and habitat take place.

Like the confluence of strong rivers, coaching can be the intersection of greatness. When coach and teacher join together to form a single channel of thought, there is symmetry in the relationship, with discovery on both sides. They are co-learners. This merging is not the overlap of common traits like the intersection in a Venn diagram. At its best, coaching is just the opposite: the coming together of the distinctly different knowledge sets of teacher and coach.
 
When coaches and teachers effectively collaborate, they work together in positive and trusting ways despite their different roles. There is mutual sharing – flow between the coach and teacher that acknowledges that each has relevant knowledge and experience. They inquire together, using shared questions to guide their learning.
 
Effective coaches establish a horizontal stance with teachers, rather than a vertical stance above them. In coaching conversations, they are a guide-by-the-side. We can acknowledge and draw on teachers’ expertise and experience while sharing our own.
 
Teachers are usually best equipped to understand the specific needs of their own students. They often have deep understanding of the content they are teaching and the resources they are using. Coaches bring another skillset. They stay current on evidence-based practices. They are good listeners and keen observers. They recognize patterns. They communicate clearly, productively paraphrasing and summarizing. Effective coaches ask open-ended questions that foster reflective thinking. Bringing these skillsets and knowledge-bases alongside one another results in improved student learning.
 
There is powerful energy at the convergence of coaches’ and teachers’ knowledge and skills. Ongoing collaboration leads to interdependence and increasing teacher responsibility, as shown in the GIR model. In this view, the coach becomes a tributary as the relationship flows on. 

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

How to make the most of mistakes:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/mistake-friendly-classroom/
 
 
Benefits of teaching expectations:
 
https://studysites.corwin.com/highimpactinstruction/videos/v13.1.htm
 
 
The value of “just reading”:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/just-reading/
 
Pinterest board for building classroom community:
 
https://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=classroom%20community&rs=typed&term_meta[]=classroom%7Ctyped&term_meta[]=community%7Ctyped
 
 
A Calendar of “National Days” (both serious and silly) to celebrate throughout the year:
 
https://nationaldaycalendar.com/calendar-at-a-glance/
 
 
 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 and Twitter and Instagram @vscollet for more coaching and teaching tips!  You can also find me at VickiCollet.com
 
---------------------------------
Want more coaching tips? Check out my book, Differentiated Mentoring & Coaching in Education: From Preservice Teacher to Expert Practitioner, available from Teachers College Press!  I’m so excited to share it with you! You can use the code: AUG2023 for 15% off plus 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.  I hope you’ll love this book as much as I loved making it for you!