“The important
thing is not to stop questioning.” –Albert Einstein
Asking
questions is a powerful coaching tool for gathering information, engaging
others in discussion, clarifying perspectives, and facilitating
self-discovery. By asking questions,
coaches encourage the teachers they are working with to flesh out their own
objectives and search for answers.
An
important attribute of powerful questions is curiosity. When coaches ask with genuine curiosity, we
communicate respect and show faith in the teacher because we demonstrate that
we value what she has to say. It can be
hard to pull away from our own knowledge and experience enough to ask an
authentic question. We have to mentally
set aside the answer we would give enough to care about the teacher’s
response. We don’t just care because it
tells us what the teacher knows or doesn’t know. We care because we recognize that the teacher
knows her students and her objectives better than we possibly could, and
because of this, she will offer insights that we might not have
considered.
So,
we offer up questions and wait patiently for authentic answers. This takes faith on the part of the teacher,
too. Faith that we are not just fishing
for the answer we want to hear, and faith that she does have something to
offer to the conversation. It also takes
silence, leaving room for the teacher to say her part. Silence allows time for the teacher to process
both our question and her answer. It means not rushing in to fill the quiet
with speech of our own, and not leading the teacher to the answer we want to
hear. You’ve seen teachers do this with
students. Check yourself to make sure
you are not falling into this bated trap.
Listening
is critical. Often the next question is
provided by the teacher’s answer, if one listens closely. We will probably find a follow-up question If
we listen carefully to a teacher’s responses when we ask:
·
What
does that look like to you…..(after a teacher says she wants students to be
able to show their thinking, for example)
·
Has
there been a time when….(a student has clearly described their problem-solving
process?).
·
What
about “X” is important to you? (when reviewing the exit tickets from a lesson,
for example).
Asking
with genuine curiosity encourages a teacher to offer sincere responses and
communicates that the teacher’s words matter.
We demonstrate that their words count.
Asking with curiosity raises the quality of the conversation and the
learning that takes place during a coaching conversation.
This week, you might want to
take a look at:
Aim
high! If your students will be setting
New Year’s goals, you might want to inspire them with this:
Resources for fighting fake news:
3 Strategies to make note-taking
interactive:
Ideas for talking about math (share
with parents or use yourself!). Ages 1-9
or so; age filters on the right. Lots to explore here!
Start a lesson or reclaim students’
attention with the Stand Up Game:
That’s it for this week. Happy Holidays!
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