Reflection

"Sometimes, you have to look back in order to understand the things that lie ahead."

~Yvonne Woon

One of the ways that coaches use questions is to prompt reflection.  Reflection is the habit of looking back on an experience so that you can learn from it.  Some people seem to be natural reflectors – their mind turns a situation over and over again, examining it from different angles.  For them, the drive home from work might be filled with instant replays that provide opportunities to learn from practice.  But even for these natural reflectors, a conversation with a trusted coach can take reflection to a deeper level, to a level that is likely to lead to more effective instruction. 

Asking questions that inquire, probe, and challenge assumptions encourages reflection.  Reflection increases awareness of self, others, and the classroom context.  When reflection focuses on monitoring decisions and the resulting effects, instructional decision-making is enhanced.  Coaches can ask questions that encourage the teacher to revisit instruction, such as:

           “How do you think it went?” and

           “What did you notice….?”

Or questions that lead to analysis, like: 

“What stands out in students’ work?” and

            “What are your hunches about what may have caused….?”

To solidify discoveries and build bridges to future practice, the coach might ask:

            “What insights can you take from this?” or

             “So what do you want to stay mindful of as you’re planning?”

These questions push teachers to consider implications of their instruction and how they might move forward. 

You may find it useful to keep a list of reflective questions available during a coaching session until these questioning practices become comfortable and instinctive.

Coaches’ questions should encourage teachers to reflect on students’ needs and how their practice is supporting those needs, to analyze their own assumptions about learning, and to consider options for how to move forward.  Reflective questioning can lead to deeper, richer, and more thoughtful coaching conversations.  Whether instruction has been a frustrating failure or an inspiring success, reflection serves a useful purpose, as is illustrated by this quote from Peter Drucker:

"Follow effective action with quiet reflection.  From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action."

This week, you might want to take a look at some resources related to using technology during instruction (plus a bonus on how coaching changes teaching):

A lesson plan for teaching internet researching skills from Read Write Think:

http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/wading-through-teaching-internet-983.html

“Comic Creator” software helps students create comic strips and focus on dialogue and word choice.  You might also consider “Comic Creator” as a way for students to demonstrate their new content knowledge.  Check out this software at:

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/comic/

Ideas for using the iPad to teach traditional literacy:

http://www.ernweb.com/public/How_one_4thgrade_teacher_uses_the_iPad_to_teach_traditional_literacy_skills.cfm?utm_source=March+Current+articles+2013&utm_campaign=current+articles+March&utm_medium=email

To create online slideshows with narration, use

www.empressr.com

(In addition to sharing this tool for students to use, you might consider it as an option for professional development.)

And if you want to read more about how coaching changes classroom practice, check out the article at:

http://www.ernweb.com/public/The_dance_of_teachers_and_coaches.cfm?utm_source=March+Current+articles+2013&utm_campaign=current+articles+March&utm_medium=email

That’s it for this week!  Happy Coaching!