Coaching Notebooks during Modeling

Did you gift your teachers a coaching notebook at the start of the year? An impactful time for a teacher to use the notebook is when you’re modeling a lesson. Modeling can sharpen teachers’ attention to student learning and broaden their instructional repertoire.
 
Taking note. Before the lesson, meet with the teacher and talk with her about what she’s interested in noticing. If you haven’t co-planned the lesson, give her a lesson plan and time to look over it. What will she want to pay attention to during the lesson?
 
A simple T-chart in the coaching notebook, with steps of the lesson listed on the left (before the entering the classroom), and observations (what is seen and heard) added on the right during the lesson can be an effective structure to keep notes organized. Some teachers like to use 2-column notes when observing: What the teacher says/does in one column and what the students say/do in another. Others just write as fast as they can, trying to get exact words and notice actions. You might share with the teacher how you take notes during an observation.
 
The note-taking structure could be tied to a pre-determined focus for observation: A blank sheet of paper could be sufficient for jotting down higher-level questions; two column notes could capture students’ behaviors and teachers’ responses; a class roster could be used to check off participation. Having a note-taking method decided in advance makes observations more effective. The details matter, and careful notes will provide evidence for productive reflection and follow-up conversations.
 
Taking a non-evaluative stance. A note of caution: Modeling that could be a springboard for change can validate or even justify a teacher’s current practice if the teacher takes an evaluative stance. The best learning happens when observers write down what they see and hear during an observation, devoid of evaluative statements. When you meet with the teacher beforehand to review what she’ll see, encourage this kind of note-taking.
 
After an observation, one teacher said, “I noticed that you had smooth transitions.”  Although she used the language of noticing, this was, in reality, an evaluative statement that did little to enhance her understanding. So I pushed a bit. “What was it that made the transitions smooth?” After a thoughtful pause while she reviewed her notes, she said, “I noticed that you used student comments to transition from one part of the activity to another.” Now there was an observation she could grow from!
 
Comments like these are possible because of careful notetaking. Encourage the teacher to lean in to listen and capture what she sees and hears. Remind her to frequently shift her focus – between teachers and students and among different students. These careful notes will offer opportunities for an impactful debrief.
 
Watch for next week’s post, where we’ll consider ideas for using these noticings in follow-up conversations. (See previous posts about using coaching notebooks to reflect on teaching, record celebrations, consider challenges, plan next steps, and jot down resources.)
 
This week, you might want to take a look at:

I often use the book, I Have a Little Problem to remind coaches to listen before recommending.  I love the suggestions here for using the book to remind students to listen:
 
http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/booknook/bn_problem.pdf
 
 
Cheerleading each other to build classroom culture:
 
https://www.teachingchannel.com/free-videos
 
 
Relevant classroom libraries:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/adding-energy-to-the-classroom-library/
 
 
Ideas for holding Mock Newberry Awards:
 
http://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2016/08/hosting-mock-newbery-book-club/
 
 
Play is important – and mixing up the kinds of play kids do is important, too:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4kgJSypoCI
 
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! You can use the code: SEPT2024 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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