Coaching Data Conversations: Getting to the Why

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You can find My Coaches Couch, the podcast (with different content) in your favorite podcast app or at MyCoachesCouch.podbean.com.
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Sometimes the first answer feels like the right answer—until you ask “Why?” again. And again. And maybe a couple more times. Our first explanation may only scratch the surface.
 
When teams are trying to make sense of assessment data and figure out why students aren’t achieving as expected, stopping with the first plausible cause can lead us toward solutions that miss the root cause.
 
As a coach, you can help teachers resist the temptation to jump too quickly from identifying a problem to deciding what to do about it. Instead, invite them to get curious about what might be the cause.
 
Discussion protocols give teams a way to keep digging, moving beyond the first answer that comes to mind and toward potential instructional changes, interventions or other solutions. Here are some questions to facilitate team data dives:
 
1.    What is the problem? After teachers have reviewed the data, give them the chance to think individually, jotting down ideas about what the problem actually is. What does the data show? Suggest that they be as clear and specific as they can. Then have teachers share their thinking and come to consensus about what the problem is. But be careful not to define the problem in terms of a solution! This is only step one.
 
2.    What might be the major categories of causes of the problem? (for example, materials, policy factors, people/staff factors, etc.). Chart these together. Think big picture. These can be  headings across the top of chart paper or a Google doc.
 
3.    Brainstorm possible causes for each category. Now we are getting to details, but this is still an exploration phase. We’re just mapping possible causes.
 
4. Narrow to a few most-plausible causes. With the team, quickly go through the list you’ve created, narrowing from possible to plausible. Ask for a thumbs up or down. Cross out the causes that don’t seem plausible. Circle the ones that do. Discuss the ones where you’re not sure, and come to consensus.
 
5.    For each plausible cause, ask, “Why does this happen?” Asking, “Why?” can further narrow the list and move you from plausible to probable.
 
Now it’s time for the 5 Whys Protocol.
 
Asking “Why?” multiple times ensures deep causal thinking rather than surface-level solutions that get too-easily tagged. It is fine-grained analysis.
 
The 5 Why’s Protocol starts with stating a probable cause. Here’s a non-data example that shows the process: If I ask someone why my friend didn’t bring their lunch to work, they might answer, “I didn’t bring my lunch to work because I left my house without it.” Asking, “Why did you leave your house without it?” reveals yet another layer to the problem: “I left my house without it because I was running late.” “Why were you running late?” you might ask. “Because I couldn’t find my keys!” might be the response. “Why?” “Because I left them in the back door when I came home last night.” “Why did you leave them in the back door?” ”Because I was carrying a lot of stuff.”
 
Aha!  Now we have revealed that the root cause of no lunch at work is because my friend was carrying a lot of stuff when she came home!  Without the 5 Whys protocol, we would never have known! Of course, 5 is not a magic number. The point is, go deep enough to get at real answers to the question. The final “Why” should lead to a root-cause statement that helps the team take action.
 
Beginning-of-year assessment data can feel overwhelming, but a structured protocol can help teams slow down, give everyone a chance to contribute ideas, and dig beneath obvious explanations. When teachers examine causes together and keep asking “Why?” they can uncover better solutions for supporting students.
 
This week, you might want to take a look at:

This simple animated video about how coaching works:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY75MQte4RU
 
 
Supporting participation of quieter students:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/supporting-quiet-students-participation
 
 
This podcast about leading in the space you are given:
 
https://www.teachingchannel.com/blog/podcast-59
 
 
Picture books about worries and other emotions:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/reassuring-worried-children-with-picture-books/
 
 
A Calendar of “National Days” (both serious and silly) to celebrate throughout the year:
 
https://nationaldaycalendar.com/calendar-at-a-glance/
 
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: SEP2026 for 15% 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!

Coaching Helps Teachers Stretch, Not Sprint

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You can find My Coaches Couch, the podcast (with different content) in your favorite podcast app or at MyCoachesCouch.podbean.com.
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When it comes it exercise, sprints work. They burn calories! When it comes to coaching for growth, though, we don’t want teachers sprinting. Sprinting leaves us exhausted, and it’s not sustainable for the long haul.  So, when it comes to coaching for growth, let’s ask teachers to stretch, not sprint.
 
In coaching, sprinting looks like going for it all in one shot. Stretching means inching a little closer to the goal. I’ve noticed that, if I’m consistent about stretching physically, I bend a little deeper and reach a little farther as time passes. A stretch feels good, and I can see the results, so I’m motivated to keep it up.
 
Coaching for Stretch
 
As coaches, we support growth. We hope to see new strategies, refined practice, more-responsive interactions with students – ultimately, more effective teaching and learning. But it’s a gradual process. That’s why, in coaching, we should go for stretch, not sprint. Physically, stretching is sustainable; similarly, coaching for stretch helps teachers keep up the good work.
 
Stretching is a just-right kind of challenge: we feel stretch with just a little extra press. Coaches can offer the just-right press that generates growth. If a teacher wants to improve classroom discussion, instead of offering multiple fixes, we might say, “I’m wondering whether giving students a little more think time might help.” It’s offering a gentle shift, a little stretch.
 
Teachers deepen their learning over time through adjustment and reflection. It’s not about one big push – it’s about repeated opportunities to lean in and learn. Coaches help teachers to find the right stretch.
 
Find the Right Stretch
 
Stretch does not mean ease. Stretching that induces progress takes a steady press. It’s not just doing what we’ve always done – it’s doing that, plus a little more. For a teacher, the stretch might be thinking differently, reconsidering a practice, or trying something unfamiliar. But it needs to be reachable when the teacher sinks in to give it a try. It’s the difference between restructuring class discussions and asking, “What if you tried a discussion routine with this small group?” The first could leave a teacher wondering how to begin. The second creates a way to begin.
 
Choosing the right coaching move can also create a just-right stretch. Asking the teacher to generate possible solutions is sometimes a sprint; if questioning is too much, we can recommend or offer to model a new routine. The right level of support creates a stretch, and as we revisit and reflect, we can go a little deeper. This coaching rhythm creates momentum without exhaustion.
 
Think Progress, Not Pace
 
Learning isn’t about visible speed. A teacher who spends three weeks thoughtfully experimenting with one new discussion strategy may be making more meaningful progress than a teacher who implements five strategies in three weeks without really examining whether any of them made a difference.
 
The goal isn’t to get teachers through a coaching cycle as quickly as possible. It’s to help them develop the knowledge, skills, confidence, and judgment to continue growing. Then we can help them identify the next stretch. Sustainable growth has a rhythm: try, notice, reflect, adjust, and try again.
 
So as you work with teachers this week, ask yourself, “What could be a meaningful stretch for this teacher? How can we avoid a sprint?” And ask the teacher, “What feels like a stretch you’re ready to try?”
 
Creating a stretch instead of a sprint helps teachers make meaningful progress that they can own, sustain, and build on.
 
 
This week, you might want to take a look at:

Time management tips for novice educators:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/time-task-management-tips-new-teachers
 
 
Book-choosing strategies for middle schoolers:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/dont-judge-a-book-by-its-cover-teaching-book-choice-strategies-to-middle-schoolers/
 
 
Trust – the invisible coaching element:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/supporting-teacher-growth-trusting-relationships
 
 
Learning grammar through discovery:
 
https://www.middleweb.com/54264/its-time-for-teachers-to-put-grammar-in-its-place/
 
 
Ideas for making anchor charts more student-centered:
 
https://twowritingteachers.org/2018/10/10/co-constructing/
 
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: SEP2026 for 15% 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!

The Third “E” for Coaching: Equipped

 
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You can find My Coaches Couch, the podcast (with different content) in your favorite podcast app or at MyCoachesCouch.podbean.com.
*******************************************************************************************************************

Last week, I wrote about two qualities of effective coaching: empathy and empowerment. Empathy strengthens the coaching relationship and empowerment strengthens the teacher’s sense of agency. But there’s a third “E” that is a prerequisite for authentic empowerment: making sure the teacher is “equipped.” No matter how empowering our pep talks feel, unless the teacher is well-stocked with effective instructional strategies, the encouragement will fall flat. Giving someone responsibility without ensuring they have the needed knowledge, skills, and resources isn’t really empowerment. It’s setting them up for frustration.
 
Teachers need opportunities to make decisions and exercise their professional judgment, but they’ve got to have enough to draw on as they make those decisions. They need a well-stocked instructional toolkit.
 
Two of the coaching moves in my Gradual Increase of Responsibility (GIR) Model are important for equipping teachers: modeling and making recommendations. Both provide teachers with tools they may need to move forward.
 
Modeling: Providing a Blueprint
 
Observing a lesson in action can sharpen teachers’ attention to student learning and broaden their instructional repertoires. Because the teacher isn’t busy thinking about providing the instruction, she can give energy to watching and listening. Because she doesn’t have to be worrying about the kid rolling around on the carpet or what’s happening on the other side of the room, she can decide what she will pay attention to and when. That gives her the opportunity to think deeply about instruction.
 
When the coach is modeling, the teacher can look at the big picture. how the lesson is arranged and how the choreography of instruction plays out, and then lean in to examine the work of one group or one student. Rather than simply hearing about a strategy, the teacher gets to see it in action. Modeling can help a teacher notice possibilities that might otherwise be difficult to imagine. A teacher may have heard about open-ended questioning, collaborative learning, conferring, or graphic organizers, but seeing those practices in action makes them more concrete. The teacher can begin to envision what those approaches might look and sound like in her own practice. Modeling provides a blueprint.
 
When a teacher needs something more than her own experience in order to successfully meet student needs, modeling can provide that “something more.” Whether the modeling is live or recorded, with students or without them, it can open doors for communication and provide a shared experience for the coaching conversation that follows.
 
Recommendations: Adding to the Toolbox
 
Another way to add tools to a teacher’s instructional toolbox is to make recommendations. When coaches make recommendations, they take a consulting stance. They draw on research and experience, advocating for particular choices and actions. They might offer information about instructional strategies, content or skills, developmental processes of learning, standards, curriculum, or resources. Recommendations can be helpful when teachers are trying something new or wrestling with a tricky instructional question.
 
When a teacher poses a specific question, her question itself provides important information about what she is focused on and ready to consider. If she asks, “How would you approach this?” or “What would you do with this group of students?” her question is an invitation for the coach to share insights. Recommendations might be the best response if the situation is urgent and important. Coaches should consider how the recommendations they offer build on teachers’ existing strengths. And, instead of offering a single path forward, we can offer several ideas and invite the teacher to consider her students’ needs and her own preferences to determine a path forward.
 
Be judicious about when and how to offer recommendations – only when necessary, and with deference to teacher judgment. This approach honors teachers’ agency, empowering them as instructional decision-makers.
 
Three E’s for Coaching
 
Modeling and recommending are coaching moves for increasing teachers’ instructional repertoire so that they are equipped with knowledge, skills, and resources.

Let’s think about how adding “equipped” as an essential “E” for coaching works with the two “E’s” considered last week. Empathy helps coaches understand where teachers are. Empowerment gives teachers ownership of where they want to go. Equipping helps provide what they need to get there.

These three E’s work together. A coach who empathizes without equipping may understand a teacher’s frustration but leave her without new possibilities. A coach who equips without empathy may provide excellent strategies that don't fit the teacher's immediate concerns. And a coach who empowers without equipping may hand over responsibility before the teacher has the tools to act on it. But when empathy, equipping, and empowerment work together, the coach listens to understand the teacher’s concerns and provides support that expands the teacher’s options; then the teacher has the opportunity to make meaningful decisions about her practice.

The goal is for teachers to become increasingly-equipped to make instructional decisions. That's the purpose of the Gradual Increase of Responsibility Coaching Model: we support teachers generously as needed and gradually step back as their knowledge, skills, confidence, and independence grow.

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

Giving and receiving feedback (reading the bolded text offers some good reminders!):
 
https://learningforward.org/2026/08/24/giving-and-accepting-feedback-is-a-professional-capacity-that-can-be-improved/
 
 
Tech tools to support neurodivergent learners:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/tools-support-neurodivergent-learners
 
 
5 Design principles for effective PD (scroll down to this heading):
 
https://pce.sandiego.edu/practicing-what-we-teach/
 
 
Expand inclusion while students “Meet Someone New” through picture book biographies:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/meet-someone-new-monday-using-picture-book-biographies-to-bring-marginalized-voices-into-the-classroom/
 
 
Mentors need new teachers (not just vise versa):
 
https://ncte.org/blog/2020/01/mentors-need-new-teachers/
 
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: AUG2026 for 15% 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!