Adam Grant said, “The complexity of reality can seem like an inconvenient truth."* In teaching, the reality of teaching complexity may be masked by scripted curricula that expect uniformity. But the real work of teaching is seeing students one-by-one. That’s hard to do when they come 30 at a time, but possible, if teachers are open to the complexity.
The Complexity of Coaching
Because classrooms and schools are complex, coaches can’t provide lessons that can be lifted and used “as is” in the classroom. They can’t provide one-size-fits-all solutions to gnarly problems. Instead, coaches provide guidance for developing best practices and for maintaining a stance of flexibility and responsiveness. Instructional coaching improves the complex and contextual work of teaching through sustained engagement that uses and grows insider expertise. Coaching provides a space for teachers to unpack experiences and think about both the observable and the inner work of teaching.
Coaching includes considerations about teaching, learning, relationships, and the change process. Successful coaches adjust based on the complexity and difficulty of the task, as well as teachers’ experience. The Gradual Increase of Responsibility (GIR) model, pictured below, provides a vision for differentiating coaching work. The GIR model is conceptually simple. In practice, however, each of the five coaching approaches is complex and nuanced.
When coaches model (the most supportive GIR coaching move), teachers observe real students in the complex chemistry of a classroom. They are freed from the ongoing, intensive brainwork of teaching and can give their energy to watching and listening. They can notice the nuances of student and teacher actions and interactions, allowing them the freedom to consider both teacher and student responses in a way that would have been difficult had they been the one teaching the lesson. Coaches and teachers dissect these intricacies together through conversations before and after the observation.
Whether it is the coach or the teacher who has taught a lesson, a post-observation conversation can be anchored in observations that are objective and specific, revealing nuances of practice that enhance teachers’ learning.
To promote learning, coaches model decision-making, elicit teachers’ thinking, encourage inquiry, guide teachers to focus on evidence of student learning, and support reflection. By bringing focus to complex, open-ended pedagogical issues, coaches position teachers to inquire and learn.
Because of the complexity of the learning process, teachers may benefit when coaches make specific recommendations about how instruction should change over time to support students’ development. Our precise questions can invite precise responses and express our genuine curiosity about the complexity of teaching.
Coaches also offer guidance through affirmation and praise. Practices that teachers know are working become polar stars to help them navigate the demands of their classrooms.
Recognizing
complexity, we know there is no quick fix that is true for every classroom or
coaching quandary. No one will every know all there is to know about either. No
one will do it perfectly. But there’s some free-ness I knowing that you’ll
never know it all, that you’ll never do it perfectly. We just jump in and give
it our best go. And then we reflect and learn something from the experience,
and maybe we’ll do it a little better the next time around – or maybe not.
Because teaching and coaching are complex. No two days, no two students, no two
teachers are ever the same. Hopefully, that variability will keep us coming
back for more!
This week, you might want to take a look at:
How poetry can build emotional intelligence (April is National Poetry Month!):
https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-poetry-supports-sel-elementary-school/
https://www.gettingsmart.com/2024/01/09/go-fast-to-go-slow-change-through-focus/
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/learning-vocabulary-in-context-with-english-language-learners/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seUEzVl0nYg
http://www.middleweb.com/33170/why-student-reflection-should-never-be-skipped/
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 still use the code: MAR2024 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!
---------------------------------
Was this helpful? Please share!
Want to know about new posts? Click “Follow” (bottom right)
Follow on Instagram @Vicki_Collet_Educator, on Facebook at: facebook.com/mycoachescouch and Twitter @vscollet for more coaching and teaching tips! You can also find me at VickiCollet.com
