Digging into Details during Post-Modeling Coaching Conversations

Modeling is the most-supportive coaching move in the GIR Model, one that creates opportunities for reflection and growth. The 3-part process of effective modeling includes;
1) A pre-observation discussion to set the stage and determine a focus;
2) The coach teaching a lesson while the teacher observes and takes notes related to that focus; and
3) A post-modeling conversation.
 
Let’s dig into the details of that post-modeling conversation.
 
What happens after an observed lesson is critical for making modeling worthwhile. In post-modeling conversations, staying focused on a single dimension of instruction will increase the impact of your modeling. The focus that was determined in a conversation with the teacher before the lesson should be the primary topic. Modeling that is preceded and followed by conversations that draw attention to a specific aspect of instruction make this coaching move more effective. Both teacher and coach should avoid tempting tangents.
 
As a coach, your job is to keep the conversation specific. if the teacher makes comments that are vague, ask a probing question like, “What makes you say so?” Instead of saying, “I liked how twelve students asked questions,” encourage the sharing of judgement-free data, such as, “I counted twelve students who asked questions.” Non-judgmental data that is grounded in what was seen and heard will lead to rich discussions.
 
Encourage teachers to give specifics about what they saw and heard. Offering the sentence frame, “I noticed that when you _______, students ________” can support specific statements that lead to cause-and-effect thinking and generalizable best practices. Making links between instruction and student learning can lead to ongoing improvement.
 
As a coach, you can maintain a clear focus when you respond to teachers’ comments by making connections to the learning target they identified as the focus for their observation. For example, if the teacher selected higher-order thinking questions as their focus, keep this topic central to the conversation, perhaps labeling a question you asked as evaluation or analysis.
 
Coaches can encourage teachers to observe closely and look for patterns, noticing and naming what they see. This practice invites teachers to make sense of what they saw during the observation.
 
As the teachers you are supporting use language that is focused, name what they see, and recognizes patterns, their learning will be sharpened and they’ll gain insights they can put into practice. 
 
This week, you might want to take a look at:

Coaching veteran teachers with respect:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/coaching-veteran-teacher
 
 
Teaching students to be skeptical but not dismissive of media:
 
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov17/vol75/num03/The-Real-Problem-with-Fake-News.aspx
 
 
Graphic novels are real reading:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/a-case-for-graphic-novels-as-real-reading/
 
 
Teaching Writers Craft with micro-mentor texts:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/micro-mentor-texts-to-teach-writing/
 
 
An administrator’s view on why coaches are important:
 
https://dennissparks.wordpress.com/2018/09/19/using-instructional-coaches-effectively/
 
 
That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching!
 
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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: NOV2023 for 20% off. 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!

Piling on Praise

Last week, I met with a coach, Amber, who talked about her work with both frustration and compassion. There is a teacher she really wants to work with, but, she said, “I don’t even know what her students’ writing looks like. I can’t get in there to model. We schedule something, and then when I show up, she says she forgot or she’s got something else planned.”  She paused. Then, as Amber continued talking about this teacher, I saw her stance shift. “She’s just got so much going on,” she said. “There’s so much being asked of her. It’s a mess.” As Amber thought compassionately about the teacher, Elise, her desire to help was obvious.
 
Since Elise had seemed reluctant to have her coach model in her classroom, I talked with Amber about other ways she could get to know students’ abilities and needs. She could review the recent writing assessment. She could ask to observe. I suggested that Amber let Elise decide when and what she could observe so that Elise felt in control of this aspect of her teaching life. “Say, ‘Let me know when you’ll be doing something you think I’d be interested in seeing – or something you’d like me to see.”* That idea seemed to resonate with Amber, so I suggested a next step. “Then, when you’re in her room, just look for things to affirm and praise. It sounds like that’s what Elise really needs right now.” Leave a sticky note with a few positives, and then layer on the praise when you talk to her,” I suggested.
 
Of course, to be effective, the praise would need to be sincere and specific. When praise is general, it doesn’t have power. As you look for things to praise, here are a few questions you can ask yourself:*

·       Do students take risks and seem comfortable asking for help?

·       Does the teacher have a good sense for when students need more examples?

·       Are they good at giving instructions?

·       Do they ask challenging questions?

·       Do they have good wait time after asking a question?

·       Do they include interesting activities in the lesson?

Questions like these could uncover positive aspects of teachers’ coaching, both small and large, that are worthy of praise.
 
When teachers perceive criticism (overt or implied), they are sapped of the energy needed for success in our challenging profession. When teachers don’t get feedback about what they are doing right, they feel discouraged and undervalued.

In situations of stress and overwhelm, praise provides a positive push to keep going. Piling on praise in a coaching conversation builds the teacher’s confidence and reduces her anxiety. It strengthens the teacher-coach relationship and opens the door for ongoing collaboration.

* https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/your-teachers-need-a-win/

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

Carol Dweck on the value of struggle:

https://www.teachingchannel.com/free-videos/

Slow down student writing during the drafting process:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/story-maps-for-reflection-in-the-midst-of-drafting/


Suggestions for making grades more meaningful:
 
https://pernillesripp.com/2017/06/23/tools-for-changing-the-grading-conversation/

Classroom arrangements and the social brain:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/video/social-classroom


Ways to support the development of executive functions:
 
https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/partnering-with-childs-school/instructional-strategies/at-a-glance-classroom-accommodations-for-executive-functioning-issues

That’s it for this week. Happy Coaching (and Happy Thanksgiving)!

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! TODAY you can use the code: NOV2023 for 20% off. 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!

Sharing “Noticings:” A Post-Modeling Coaching Conversation

When coaches model, they demonstrate techniques and instructional practices to scaffold implementation. Modeling, the most supportive coaching move in the GIR model, is recognized by teachers, researchers, and professional organizations as a valuable practice.
 
According to Reeves, “Observing professional practice in action has been a missing link in professional development,”* and it is a link that can sharpen teachers’ attention to student learning and broaden their instructional repertoire.  Modeling provides this link. Modeling should not stand alone, however. The post-modeling coaching conversation holds the power to support lasting change.
 
Time to Reflect
 
Schedules may pose constraints, but it’s helpful to have a debrief conversation as soon as possible after the lesson is taught. Immediacy keeps reflections more grounded in details rather than in latent memories of the lesson. Whenever the conversation occurs, however, starting with a few quiet moments to review notes and highlight things that seem important will help the teacher who observed recall what he saw and reflect on aspects of the lesson that address his personal learning target. Although teachers are often encouraged to reflect, they are seldom given the time to do so within their workday, so guard these uninterrupted moments!
 
The quiet time before beginning the conversation is also a good time for the teacher who observed to write down any questions he has about the planning, on-the-spot decision making, and instruction. While the teacher reviews and makes notes, I usually make a few for myself so that I can capture fleeting ideas and noticings that crossed my mind during the hustle of the lesson.
 
Sharing Noticings
 
After this quiet think-time, invite your observer to share a “noticing” (something he saw or heard) and the “so what” (why he feels that this is important). Your primary job is to listen while the observer unfolds his thinking. Once the initial noticing has borne fruit, encourage another “noticing” or two, probing as needed to make sure the “so what” is fleshed out in a way that enables the teacher to apply this new learning in his classroom. This process works equally well when a small group of teachers has observed; they take turns sharing their noticings.
 
Using the sentence stem, “I saw” or “I heard” can keep the conversation focused on evidence of student learning.  Connecting these noticings to statements of importance (What did I notice and why does this matter?) helps us link our noticings to practice. For example, we might notice, “I saw that when students were standing up around their table during the small group work, they moved the manipulatives more.”  Our “Why does this matter?” might be: “Students are more interactive when they are standing.” These statements of importance require us to make inferences. Our noticings about student learning usually signal aspects of effective instruction that transcend the specific lesson – generalizable take-aways that the teacher can use again and again.
 
*Reeves, D. (2010) Transforming professional development into student results. ASCD, p. 81.
 
This week, you might want to take a look at:

Sometimes doing better means doing less:
 
https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/do-less/
 
 
Supporting students on independent writing projects:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/independent-project-hiccups/
 
 
Do you ever feel lonely as a coach?  Here are some ideas for combatting that loneliness:
 
https://blog.teachboost.com/the-loneliness-of-coaching
 
 
Science and poetry that celebrates skin tone:
 
https://www.rethinkingschools.org/articles/celebrating-skin-tone
 
 
A stance of confident humility:
 
https://barkleypd.com/blog/confident-humility-and-coaching/
 
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! TODAY you can use the code: NOV2023 for 20% off. 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!
 

Change is Gradual

This week, it was beautifully autumn. I walked among trees in various stages of change: some with their branches bare and their leaves crackling underfoot; some ablaze with red or yellow; some whose green leaves were tinged with color on the fringes, and some still stubbornly green. I pulled a leave from a low-hanging branch to take a closer look. It was already mostly red, but some green hung on, tinged with yellow. Change is like that – partial, gradual.
 
Purposeful change for educators is gradual, too.
 
My Gradual Increase of Responsibility model for instructional coaching is a visual for that gradual change, representing an ongoing increase of teachers’ agency and efficacy. Keeping that upward-trending, squiggly line in mind moves change forward. It helps coaches purposefully adjust their approach over time to increase teacher autonomy. Effective mentors and coaches draw on all five coaching moves throughout the coaching cycle, intentionally shifting responsibility to the teacher. To determine the level of support, they ask: “What will the teacher be needing most?”
 
When coaching with the GIR model, we are always thinking about what the teacher needs. We’ll offer to model if that might be helpful. But if I model beyond the time that it is needed, I’m doing too much and inhibiting the teacher’s growth. Instead, recommendations might be a useful nudge.
 
Shifting from recommending to questioning when the time is ripe encourages teachers to draw from their own well of knowledge and experience; asking questions shifts the thinking to teachers. Then asking, “What else?” or saying, “Tell me more about that,” changes the talk ratio, creating space for the teacher to explore what she knows. We affirm and praise all along the way, but these coaching moves dominate as the need for more-supportive moves drops away. The important thing to keep in mind is the movement implied by the GIR model – always shifting toward increased responsibility for the teacher you are working with as she needs less and less support from you. The five moves described in the GIR model are things many coaches do automatically. But there’s a benefit to being intentional about the shift.
 
Knowing when to shift is a matter of paying careful attention to context. What could the teacher now be carrying? How much support is needed for students’ learning to move smoothly forward? Keeping these factors in mind will help you have the right timing for shifting coaching moves.
 
Consider the varying needs of the teachers you are supporting. Then consider the level of support provided by each coaching move. Finding the right match, and shifting when appropriate, will keep everyone moving forward. When one move doesn’t bear fruit, we can lean back and try an approach that provides more scaffolding. Being intentional about our shifts adds efficiency and effectiveness to the coaching process.
 
The image of the GIR model nudges us to keep moving, choosing and using less-supportive moves as coaching continues. As we decrease support, we empower teachers and help them see the impact of their contributions, increasing their confidence. When teachers feel confident, they are willing to continue taking risks and making change.
 
Just like the leaves in autumn, teachers are not all in the same place, and change is gradual.  

 
This week, you might want to take a look at:
 
How to eliminate overwhelm (in this 25 second video!):
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPNb7pemWfs
 
 
Creating belonging in a school community:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/belonging-in-a-school-community/
 
 
Engaging students through play-based learning (not just for the little ones!):
 
http://www.thegeniusofplay.org/genius/expert-advice/articles/the-best-way-to-engage-students-today-introduce-play-based-learning-into-your-school.aspx
 
 
A podcast on dealing with student grammar errors:
 
https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/grammar-spelling-errors/
 
 
Teaching children to fail well:
 
http://time.com/4025350/brene-brown-on-teaching-kids-to-fail-well/
 
 
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! TODAY you can use the code: NOV2023 for 20% off. 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!