Saturday, October 31, 2020

Looking for Beautiful Things

My husband recently bought two new cameras, reinvigorating his interest in amateur photography. While on our walk, he paused and looked down the nearby street, grabbed a camera from his pocket, and framed a photo of colorful fall trees. He wore a smile as he tucked his camera back into his pocket, and I thought to myself, “It’s good to be looking for beautiful things in this world.”

Coaches, too, can be looking for beautiful things.  During observations and subsequent debriefs, a strengths-based approach can go a long way.  Sometimes teachers dread coaching and even come to dislike reflection because there is a “fix-it” mentality. A fix-it approach focuses on what went wrong and brainstorms ways to correct it. In contrast, a strengths-based approach focuses on what went right and looks for ways to increase it.

Positive psychology suggests this is a helpful approach. Positivity boosts creativity. Building on strengths, rather than focusing on deficiencies, promotes confidence and resilience.

Unfortunately, humans tend to have a negativity bias, remembering unfavorable experiences more than positive ones. This has some disadvantages, Negative emotions consume energy and can lead to worrying, uncertainty, and a narrowed view of options.

In today’s educational climate, we need practices that increase energy and creativity. Decision fatigue and all the extra to-do’s because of the pandemic are weighing teachers down.  So it seems the right time for a strengths-based coaching focus. 

I had this on my mind as I met with Andrea last week.  I had spent some time in her classroom and seen so many positive things!  Even though technology failed, she didn’t miss a beat!  But when I asked what stood out for her with the lesson, she said, “It was a disaster!” It took some doing to pull her back to talking about things that went well. But we ended up focusing our conversation on the open-ended questions she asked her students throughout the lesson and how students responded to them.  I had specific examples in my notes, and reflecting on the higher-level thinking students were doing was encouraging.  A focus on this positive outcome brought enthusiasm as she thought of specific questions to include in an upcoming lesson.

At a time in world history when it feels there is much to drag us down, a strengths-based coaching approach can renew energy and optimism. By understanding their strengths, teachers can more easily create successful learning experiences for their students.

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

The role of skillful noticing:

http://www.growthcoaching.com.au/articles-new/noticing-a-key-coaching-skill


Problems and solutions when teaching with a mask:

https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-connecticut-archive-52b44eed118bc03579c41795637e9b86


Instant mood-boosters:

https://aestheticsofjoy.com/2020/10/17/8-quick-things-you-can-do-right-now-to-boost-your-mood/

 

How to set up virtual book clubs:

https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-set-virtual-book-club-students


This podcast episode about the classroom as a place of joy:

http://talkswithteachers.com/


That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

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