Responsive Coaching: Provide a Pause

Listening is critical for responsive coaching. Responsive coaching is a two-way street, however. It also requires a responsive teacher. To sponsor a thoughtful response, we may need to allow for silence – wait time that provides a pause, leaving room for the teacher to consider. The pace of a coaching conversation affects both the emotional and the intellectual climate, and a thoughtful pause is important when asking questions. Silence grants the teacher the opportunity to process both your question and her answer. This means not rushing in to fill the quiet with words of your own. A pause for uninterrupted thinking is a courtesy in teachers’ overfull days.
 
Because our fast-paced world seems to equate speed with intelligence, both coaches and teachers may be uncomfortable with silence. But the wait is worth it! Teachers become more comfortable with wait time as they realize that your wait is a gesture of respect. Wait time leads to genuine thinking and understanding; it increases the length and complexity of a teacher’s response. It shows that you value the teacher’s thinking. As wait time becomes a natural part of coach-teacher conversations, talk that leads to meaningful change is more likely. 
 
After asking a question, give teachers the gift of time and receptivity. Sit down. Make eye contact. Don’t appear rushed or make the teacher feel rushed. When they pause, don’t be quick to give a response. Instead, ask them to “Say more about that.” Or say, “Yes, go on.” Or just pause and offer silence. There’s a wise Quaker saying that applies to coaching: “Never miss a chance to keep your mouth shut.”
 
This lack of action sounds like it should be easy, but listening and waiting can be hard work! As we give our full attention to teachers’ thinking, we give them space to reflect. We give them space to wonder. We give them space to generate new ideas. It can be difficult to keep your mouth shut, to offer a silent, thought-filled pause – but the coaching rewards are worth it!
 
This week, you might want to take a look at:

Maximizing coaching in the month of May:

https://dianesweeney.com/maximizing-coaching-month-may/

Books can be a bridge to connect and restore us (read past the first few sentences):

https://ccira.blog/2024/04/16/conversation-with-john-schu/ 
 

Pool noodle fractions (great dollar-store manipulatives!):
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASCXwetA9Ik
 
 
Doing a “write aloud” to model expectations:
 
https://www.middleweb.com/50505/how-teacher-notebooks-can-help-students-learn/
 
 
Do you hold meetings or gatherings?  I love the implications of this article:
 
https://www.mindful.org/the-art-of-gathering/
 
That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!
 
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: APR2024 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!
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