Increased Traction

“That think-pair-share was quick and focused – so effective!”

“The photos that you showed got students so excited for their project!”

“That Venn diagram really worked as a pre-writing strategy today!”

Giving praise has been identified as an effective approach for helping teachers reflect on their professional practice (Blasé & Blasé, 2000).  When coaches are specific with their praise, the reflection that is fostered has an ongoing impact.  Praise that is focused on specific, concrete instructional actions enhances teachers’ motivation, self-esteem, and efficacy.  And that is not just “feel good” stuff – when teachers are motivated and believe that they can make a difference, student achievement increases.

“Labeled praise” has been part of the parenting literature for decades, and it also deserves a place in your coaching repertoire.  Like positive parenting, specific praise identifies exactly what was said or done that you want to applaud.   Giving attention to the positive increases the positive!  You know that from classroom management, but it also applies to coaching. 

Specific praise reinforces the use of effective teaching strategies, risk taking, and creativity.  A teacher who hears, “The way you focused students on the learning objective and included self-assessment was outstanding,” is likely to intentionally include these practices as an ongoing part of his instruction.  He’ll probably also be a more resourceful problem-solver who looks for creative solutions to help his students grow.  As one teacher explained, “Praise gets me searching for new and innovative things on my own.” 

“Great job,” might produce a momentary happy high, but, “Great job – those open-ended questions really got students thinking!” has a lasting impact.  As we’ve seen in recent posts: specificity pays off!  Whether you are making recommendations, asking questions, providing affirmation, or giving spontaneous praise, being precise gives your coaching more traction.  

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

Tips for getting kids to talk about books:

http://blog.stenhouse.com/archives/2014/03/26/in-the-classroom-with-jen-engaging-our-youngest-readers/

So you think you want to tweet chat?  Information for teachers:

http://christopherlehman.wordpress.com/2012/09/05/so-you-think-you-want-to-tweet-chat-from-lurker-to-chatter-101/

Math manipulatives in the primary classroom:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/teaching-math-to-kinesthetic-learners?utm_campaign=digest&utm_medium=email&utm_source=digest

Here’s a Pinterest Board with series books for intermediate readers:

http://www.pinterest.com/choiceliteracy/if-you-like-the-magic-treehouse-more-sophisticated/

An article about research strategies for primary students:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1536

Education Week’s “Spotlight on Blended Learning” is a free download that contains 7 articles on including online components in face-to-face teaching:

https://fs24.formsite.com/edweek/images/spotlight-on-blended-learning-sponsored-v2.pdf

That's it for this week.  Happy Coaching!