Coaches, Ask, “What’s Working?”

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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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One of my favorite questions to ask at the beginning of a coaching conversation is,

“What’s working for you right now?” It’s a question that invites the teacher to reflect on their own practice and share what they’re noticing about what is going well.

Instead of beginning with a problem (“What would you change about that lesson?” or “What do you want to work on?), which can make the conversation feel heavy before it has even gotten underway. asking “What’s working for you right now?” starts the conversation off with a positive tone and creates an opportunity to build on teachers’ strengths, learn more about what’s happening in their classrooms, and find a meaningful focus for coaching work.
 
Asking about what’s working gives the teacher a chance to identify a success, and it gives the coach an authentic starting point for reflection. This question is flexible enough to use in almost any coaching conversation, yet focused enough to lead somewhere useful.
 
Begin With Strengths and Possibility
Asking, “What’s working for you right now?” creates an opportunity to affirm in a way that feels specific and earned. Instead of offering generic praise, such as “You’re doing a great job,” you can respond to something the teacher has identified and help them recognize what makes it effective.
 
When I asked a teacher this question, she began describing a recent lesson in which students were especially engaged in discussion. As we talked through what had happened, she realized that she had asked more open-ended questions and allowed students more time to think before responding. Reflecting on the lesson helped her recognize these strategies she had used successfully as practices she could use again.
 
Another teacher described how he had changed his lesson halfway through because his students weren't understanding the concept. “I just stopped and tried a different example,” he explained. As we talked about that moment, he recognized how responsive he had been to his students' needs. Rather than simply moving on to the next topic, he had noticed a problem and adjusted his instruction. That was worth affirming! It also gave us something concrete to build on.
 
Beginning with what is working builds confidence!
 
Let the Teacher Do the Thinking
Something I appreciate about asking, “What’s working for you right now?” is that it puts the teacher in the driver’s seat. It starts with an observation from the teacher, rather than the coach. That matters because the one doing the thinking is the one doing the learning!
 
In the examples above about a classroom discussion and a changed example, when asked about what is working, teachers can uncover the reasons behind a successful moment. They may recognize a strategy they had not used intentionally or name a decision whose importance they had not fully considered.
 
Asking about what’s working gives teachers an opportunity to identify what matters to them and explain their thinking, inviting them to make sense of their own practice. In making sense of why something worked, teachers often discover what they want to repeat, refine, or extend.
 
In another conversation, a teacher mentioned that exit tickets were working well. As she reflected, she realized just how much the exit tickets were telling her about student understanding. Because the routine was already in place, it became a natural focus for our next steps. We explored how she might look for patterns in students’ responses and use that information to plan the following day’s instruction.
 
Build From What Is Already Working
Asking follow-up questions helps the teacher move from simply reporting a success to understanding it. Together, you can identify why the practice was effective. You might ask:
“What do you think contributed to that?”
“What did you notice students doing?
“How was that different from what usually happens?”
“What part of this would you like to build on?”
"Where else might that approach be useful?”
 
While reflecting on what’s working, teachers often begin generating their own next steps.
 
The conversation may eventually move toward a different topic. That’s fine. The question doesn’t prevent you from addressing something else. It just provides a positive, productive entry point. Even if the focus shifts, you have begun by acknowledging the teacher’s capacity and inviting them to take an active role in the conversation.
 
Coaching conversations often move quickly toward what did not go well or what needs to change. Those conversations certainly have their place, but when problems become our automatic starting point, coaching can feel heavy.
Asking, “What’s working for you right now?” offers another way in. It promotes growth by building from strengths rather than beginning with gaps.
 
This Week's Coaching Challenge
Try asking, “What's working for you right now?” at the beginning of a coaching conversation this week. Give the teacher time to think, listen carefully to the response, and see where the conversation leads.
 
You might discover an instructional strength you hadn't noticed, learn something new about how the teacher approaches their work, or uncover a next step that the teacher is ready to explore.
 
This simple coaching question can help you find a focus, gather meaningful information, and respond in ways that are aligned with the teacher's thinking. It affirms strengths and builds confidence. All of that from one simple, well-placed question. That's a coaching move worth keeping in your toolkit!
 
This week, you might want to take a look at:

The hero’s journey for new teachers (October is a big month for new-teacher burnout!):
 
https://kappanonline.org/with-great-power/
 
 
6 benefits of play:
 
https://thegeniusofplay.org/tgop/benefits/genius/benefits-of-play/benefits-of-play-home.aspx
 
 
6 ways good teachers get better:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-good-teachers-get-even-better
 
 
Improve engagement, recall, and critical thinking of complex non-fiction texts:
 
https://www.middleweb.com/54414/using-key-words-to-build-written-responses/
 
 
This podcast about leveraging multisensory learning:
 
https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/multisensory-learning/
 
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: OCT2026 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!

Instructional Coaches, Be a Multiplier

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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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Author Liz Wiseman urges leaders to be multipliers. While some leaders diminish, multipliers amplify the capabilities and contributions of the people around them. As instructional coaches, some of our most valuable contributions come not from knowing the answer, but from being multipliers – discovering each teacher’s genius and helping them recognize it and put it to use.
 
As a multiplier, coaches create conditions where teachers can contribute their best thinking and develop their abilities. When we’re sitting side-by-side with a teacher, thinking together about an instructional challenge, we use our own capabilities to bring out the teacher’s capacity. Recognizing a teacher’s talent and finding ways to help that native genius grow increases the impact on student learning.
 
Here’s an example: Ellie’s coach noticed her knack for drawing students into meaningful discussions. Ellie encourages students to build on one another’s ideas instead of simply stating their own thoughts. During their coaching conversation, Ellie’s coach described and praised this approach. Then they explored how to extend this strength by nudging students to ask each other follow-up questions. Ellie’s strength was magnified as her students shared the responsibility for creating meaningful conversations.
 
Another example: Samuel’s coach recognized his ability to identify patterns in his students’ assessment results. After the next round of formative assessments, the coach asked Samuel to share his insights about his class’s data with the PLC and explain his process for examining the data. His think-aloud benefited everyone on the team.
 
What one teacher finds challenging may come easily to another.  Because it comes easily, teachers may not recognize their superpowers as something special. As coaches, we can be on the lookout for strengths and help teachers recognize their own genius by naming the specific things they do well and expanding the impact those abilities have on student learning. Rather than offering general praise, we can help teachers see what they're doing and why it matters,  Shining this light helps them put their talent to good use more consistently. When we help teachers extend their strengths beyond what they're already doing, we expand the possibilities for their professional growth and their students' learning.
 
This week, I invite you to look for ways to be a multiplier. As you work with teachers, notice what they do exceptionally well.  How might you help them build on that ability in a way that expands their impact? Name a strength. Help the teacher see its value. Then explore where that ability might take them next.
 
As we help teachers discover new ways to apply what they already do well, they multiply what they can accomplish with strengths they already possess.
 

This week, you might want to take a look at:
Make the closing conversation count: 
 
https://www.smartbrief.com/original/the-last-20-minutes-of-your-offsite-are-the-ones-that-matter-most
 
 
Authors read their (PK-3) picture books aloud:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/read-aloud-picture-books-author-videos
 
 
4 things educators gain from professional conversation:
 
https://www.teachingchannel.com/k12-hub/blog/conversation-deepens-professional-learning/
 
 
How acting boosts learning:
 
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-acting-out-in-school-boosts-learning/
 
 
A podcast about substantive conversation in the classroom:
 
http://www.idra.org/images/stories/CN-130.mp3
 
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: OCT2026 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!

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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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“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.”

                                                                                     ~C.S. Lewis
 
Coaches are usually hired because they have extensive knowledge and experience. The trust that is necessary for coaching includes both relational trust and experiential trust. The teachers you are working with need to feel seen and safe in your presence, and they also need to feel that you are credible and that you believe they are, too. Credibility comes from knowing that you are drawing from your own experience and from your knowledge in the field. Teachers need to know they can trust any guidance you might provide. So they have to know you know some things! However, your confidence will be best received if it is quiet confidence paired with curiosity and humility.
 
“Wait,” you might be wondering, “Can confidence and humility co-exist?” The answer is, “Yes!” and they should. The trick here is recognizing that confidence and humility are not two ends of the same continuum, but rather the hoped-for ends of different continuums.*
 
Confidence and Humility
Yes, we can aim for confidence and humility at the same time. What we are avoiding is shame and pride.

Confidence is the opposite of shame. Shame is negative self-judgment. It is embarrassment, guilt, and humiliation. Don’t go there! Confidence, on the other hand, is a recognition of one’s own capability. It is self-efficacy, knowing that we can make a difference. Let’s lean away from shame and toward confidence!

Confidence, however, does not equal pride. They are not even on the same spectrum! Pride is ego and conceit. It is an ostentatious display and puffed-up-edness. It will not serve us well as coaches. The truly wise coach will recognize that keeping her ego in check is necessary for developing and sustaining coaching relationships. Be a humble servant-leader.
 
Side-by-Side
Coaches are sometimes cautioned against spending time as the “helper” – the runner of copies, the orderer of supplies. While it’s true that coaches must guard their time and that direct work with teachers is most impactful, the quickest way I ever earned trust was stapling a border on a bulletin board.
 
When I was working as a district literacy coordinator, I was assigned to support teachers at a school that had just been labeled, “Turnaround,” meaning that if they didn’t turn things around, they’d be taken over. Needless to say, it was a tense environment!  When I showed up for the first meeting, Elana, the instructional coach, welcomed me from atop a folding chair, where she was putting up a bulletin board. “What can I do to help?” I asked, knowing, like she did, that the superintendent would be making a “surprise” visit in about an hour.  Between the two of us, we quickly finished the bulletin board, stapling up statements of district and school goals to greet school visitors.  I noticed several teachers pause in their treks down the hall and look up at me, questioning.  Later, Elana told me, “You won a lot of trust that way.”  Rolling up my sleeves and stapling a few papers before the superintendent’s visit helped teachers feel that I was on their side, working with them, not on them.
 
Like my stance on the chair in the hall, coaching with confidence is a tenuous position: from confidence, we can too easily teeter to pride. If we go into conversations with our minds made up or with the idea that we need to impart wisdom, the door for dialogue and trust is shut. Instead, we can cultivate humility.
 
Sustaining Humility
Humility is a mindset about how we approach those we are working with. Are we stand-and-deliver directors or side-by-side partners? Humility establishes a productive horizontal stance with teachers, rather than a vertical, authoritative stance over them. We can acknowledge and draw on teachers’ expertise and experience while sharing our own.
 
In effective teacher-coach relationships, ideas flow easily both ways. Rather than jumping in to share our ideas first, though, in order to overcome biases about vertical leadership, as coaches, we may need to hold our ideas and talk later, so that teachers are encouraged to lead out with their own thoughts.
 
To move forward in a coaching cycle, I have to shift the focus from me and what I know to the teacher and what she knows. It’s not hard to make a recommendation when a teacher asks for support. It’s much harder to hold my tongue and instead of sharing my ideas, ask a question that allows a teacher to share hers. She doesn’t need to know how smart I am; she needs to know how smart she is. My questions can help her realize that she really does have answers.
 
If I ask, “What else have you been considering?” my question affirms the teacher as one who thoughtfully deliberates her decisions.
 
If I ask, “What did you notice about students’ thinking?” my question recognizes her thoughtful observations.
 
Questions like these that hold positive assumptions about teachers’ actions and abilities build teachers’ confidence and encourage ongoing use of the attributes that have been noted. This coaching move also sustains my humility as I see and acknowledge the wisdom of others.
 
Nurturing humility requires profound self-reflection, recognizing what we do not know and do not understand. We need the teacher to educate us about their own experience and the experiences of their students. As we listen deeply and interact empathically, we gain a better understanding of the teacher’s wisdom.
 
Sustaining Confidence
Beginning coaches, especially, might experience Imposter syndrome. We feel elevated responsibility because of our new role. Sometimes we want to demonstrate our authority or ability. But confidence in the coaching role doesn’t mean knowing everything; it means offering your knowledge with humility and genuine curiosity. When teachers feel both seen and respected, coaching partnerships flourish.
 
It can sometimes be hard to pull away from our own knowledge and experience. We have to mentally set aside the answer we would give so that we can care more about the teacher’s response.
 
A friend recently told me about her own child’s elementary school art teacher.  Let’s call the child Emily and the art teacher Mrs. Bard.  Emily was working on a drawing during art class, sketching it out with a pencil before applying paint.  Mrs. Bart, wanting to teach about perspective, erased a line and redrew it at a different angle.  The drawing was certainly improved in the process.  When Emily brought the finished painting home, her mother praised the outcome.  Emily responded, “It’s not my drawing, it Mrs. Bard’s.”  Emily lost ownership of her own work through that erased and redrawn line. 
 
I’ve cautioned against a similar practice during writing workshop.  “Make sure the pen stays in the child’s hand,” I’ve said, wanting writing conferences to be meaningful for students.  But I have sometimes been guilty of “stealing the pen” during a coaching conversation.  Sometimes my comment erases a teacher’s valuable perspective, replacing it with my own view. Instead, we can grow confident in our role as coaches by seeing the fruits of our labors: improvement in practice growing from teachers’ own insights.
 
As coaches, it’s important to be confident about what we bring to the table, We can be confident that we are fulfilling our coaching role when we also acknowledge that others bring valid and valuable knowledge and experience. Coaching is a learning journey we undertake together.
 
Be a Co-Learner
You were hired as a coach because you have knowledge of content and pedagogy.  You know how to teach effectively.  Your job is to help others in their pursuits of improvement, and you have a lot to give.  You know a lot, but you don’t know everything.  Look to the teachers you are working with to find out what they know.  They know about their students.  They know about their class’s history.  They know about themselves as teachers.  That is a lot of knowing!
 
Coaching trust is built through a steady presence grounded in both experience and inquiry. When teachers sense that you truly see them, that you honor their work, and also that you bring hard-earned knowledge to your conversations, trust grows. It’s not about showcasing expertise; it’s about offering it with curiosity. Quiet confidence, paired with genuine curiosity, invites collaboration and deepens the coaching partnership.
 
How can you acknowledge that you are a learner, too?  Your stance as co-learner is evident in your language: in how you make recommendations, in the types of questions you ask, and in the authenticity of your praise.  We can say, “I wonder what would happen if…..” and truly wonder.  We can ask, “Have you tried…..” because we want to know how past practice is informing present decisions.  We can say, “That’s such a smart idea!” when it is!
 
Attributes like humility and confidence can make or break a coach’s work, even if she has all the right procedures in place.  I’m working to grow these attributes myself, and I hope sharing these ideas will support you on your own personal journey. Humility and confidence are important attributes as we forge relationships and continue to develop our coaching identity.

*Thanks to life coach Jody Moore for these ideas. 

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

Do you have meeting overload?
 
https://www.smartbrief.com/original/a-guide-to-escaping-meeting-overload
 
 
Ideas for supporting students in the “fight-flight-freeze” zone:
 
https://www.teachingchannel.com/blog/fight-flight-freeze
 
 
Sponsoring intergenerational reading buddies:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/adult-reading-buddies-elementary-school
 
 
Multisensory learning and movement = learning that sticks (3 min. video):
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9RH8rVBglg&feature=youtu.be
 
Using kilo -- the traditional Hawaiian practice of intentional observation -- to boost focus, writing skills and environmental awareness:
 
https://www.smartbrief.com/original/kilo-learning-from-a-living-textbook
 
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 from Causes to Possible Solutions

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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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Last week’s post offers a protocol for diving into assessment data and determining possible root causes. Now, it’s time to think about making a plan to address those causes.
 
Assessment data has the potential to guide purposeful instruction and intervention. But data doesn’t make decisions. People do. As instructional coaches, we can support the work of moving from data to decision to action.
 
After teachers have spent time understanding what the data is telling them, digging beneath the surface, and narrowing the focus, there’s an important question to answer: What are we going to do about it?
 
It can be tempting to answer that question quickly. Someone suggests a familiar strategy, another person remembers a resource that worked last year, and before long, the team has a plan. But just like getting to root causes, taking our time to get to solutions pays off. Because there are no quick fixes. When we move from data to decision, I try to slow down everyone’s thinking so we can make a plan that matters. Here are a few ideas to help teachers generate possibilities, consider them carefully, and choose a productive path forward.
 
Generate Possibilities
 
The first suggestion works best with a larger group – at least 6 people – and is a great one for the full faculty, especially if you’ve just spent a meeting or a PD day looking at data. When you’re ready for action, try a Snowball fight. 😊
 
The snowball fight stays on-topic but lightens the mood. And it generates lots of possible solutions. Here’s how it works:
 
Give everyone a full sheet of paper and ask them to write down one possible response to something the team has noticed in the data. What might we try? What change in instruction, intervention, grouping, practice, or support could address the need we’ve identified? They should write this potential answer (just one) in large print on their sheet of paper. If they have another idea they really want to suggest, they can grab another sheet of paper. One per page.
 
Once everyone has completed this task, we go to a large open space, paper in hand, and line up in two groups facing each other. Then I ask everyone to wad their paper up into a ball—and we have a snowball fight! After throwing your “snowball,” pick up one that has been lobbed your way, unwad it, read it, wad it, and throw it again. Call a truce to the blizzard when you start getting repeat snowballs. The snowball fight will get the thinking going, giving everyone the chance to consider multiple possible solutions.
 
Have everyone gather snowballs and bring them to the table. Teachers then call them out and we generate a list that includes all of the ideas (there will likely be repeats on the snowballs, shortening our list). If you want to skip the snowball fight, you can go straight to brainstorming and get your list that way. The next step is to see which ideas rise to the surface.
 
Narrow the List
 
After all the ideas are on the table, it’s time to narrow the list. Affinity mapping and dot voting are two of my favorite ways to do that.
 
Affinity Mapping
To begin narrowing options, each participant picks their favorite ideas that have surfaced from previous protocols and writes them down, one per post-it note. Everyone sticks their post-its on a wall and works to group similar ideas together and then label each group. You could talk this through or use the Affinity Mapping protocol for a silent version of this activity (groups should be 8 or smaller). In the silent version, you give the instructions, and then the “no talking” rule begins. Participants move the sticky notes around, forming groups that they think go together. If someone disagrees, they can move a note to another location. Once the notes settle, with no more movement, the “no talking” rule is revoked. Teachers then decide on a label for each group, write it on a sticky note, and use it as the heading. Those headings are action ideas you take to the next step.
 
Dot Voting
Another approach if you’ve got a long list and a lot of teachers (whole faculty or a team) is dot voting. I give everyone 3-4 small stickers (I use the blank garage-sale price tag kind); the longer the list, the more stickers you should give each teacher). Teachers place their dots next to the solutions they think are most worth exploring. They can load up their favorite with all their stickers or spread the wealth among ideas. The goal isn’t to choose a winner. It’s to identify the ideas that deserve a closer look.
 
Look Closely
 
Once you have a short list, you’re getting closer to action, but you’re not there yet! Instead of asking, “Which one are we going to do?”, create space for teachers to consider these most-promising options. One way to do this is with a fishbowl interview. With this protocol, you “interview” a volunteer teacher about a potential solution while everyone else silently listens in, taking notes about interesting ideas that are shared. Your questions can uncover what needs to be considered before making a decision. You might ask:
 
*  What intrigues you about this possibility?
*  What might this look like in actual classroom practice?
*  What makes you think this could address the need we identified?
*  What questions or concerns do you have?
*  What would teachers need in order to try this successfully?
*  What might get in the way?
*  What are your hunches about this option?
 
If you’re in a large group, you can follow this initial fishbowl by asking groups of 3 to discuss the remaining possible solutions, with one interviewer, one interviewee, and one note-taker. The note-taker from each interview trio then shares out to the whole group.

 

Choose an Action

Now that the narrowed list of solutions has been thoroughly considered, it’s time to make a choice about what course of action to take. Open dialogue should precede decision-making. Be sure to talk about any necessary funding (and whether you could get it) and the time that might be required. This part of the process is especially important because an idea can sound wonderful in the abstract but become more complicated when we start considering what it would actually require:

*  Does it fit the need we identified?

*  Do teachers have the time and resources to implement it?

*  Is professional learning needed?

*  Is there a cost involved?

More broadly, is this something teachers can realistically translate into instruction that benefits students?

Those questions aren’t meant to shoot down ideas. They help the team choose with its eyes open.

Once you’ve reached a decision about which solution to move forward with (or if you’re having trouble deciding between two), it could be helpful to have a second fishbowl interview, especially one that might offer a different point of view. The final call can be made with dot voting, gradients of agreement, or a consensus discussion,

Make Commitments

Making a decision is an important step, but it only matters if teachers consider their own roles and commit to moving forward. Ask participants to write about the difference they believe they can make and what they will do, individually. Then share. Identify what happens next. What will teachers try? What support will they need? What evidence will the team pay attention to? Before wrapping up the meeting, set a date to reconvene and report back.

Protocols in Action

Of course, you won’t need to use all of these protocols with all groups, but you’ll probably use more than one to help you get to the best options for instruction and intervention. Pick and choose those protocols that best fit your context. A grade-level team might need only a quick round of possibilities and a short consensus conversation. A faculty making a larger instructional decision may benefit from several opportunities to generate, investigate, narrow, and discuss ideas. The purpose is to offer just enough structure to help teachers do their best thinking. Which of these protocols could help the group turn data into meaningful action?

Yes, these data analysis processes take time – but you’ll be sticking with the solution for weeks and impacting many students. Time you invest up front in determining the best solutions reduces time wasted in unfruitful change. Choosing the best solutions from the start is more efficient and effective than chasing changes without results.

When the chosen path has been conscientiously selected, everyone feels more-confident about it.  And, since teachers have invested in the process, they’ll be more-invested in the solution.

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

This “Circle of Viewpoints” activity helps participants to explore a text or event from a variety of perspectives:
 
https://pz.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/Circle%20of%20Viewpoints_0.pdf
 
 
Setting up a symposium to differentiate PD:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/back-to-school-professional-learning-empowers-teachers
 
 
Having trusted adult relationships at school matters:
 
https://www.k12dive.com/news/trusting-relationships-in-schools-support-student-outcomes-study-says/831184/ 
 
 
Does classroom arrangement align with teaching beliefs?
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/room-for-beliefs-linking-classroom-design-and-what-we-value/
 
 
Keys to productive struggle:
 
https://www.smartbrief.com/original/2019/09/productive-struggle-elementary-mathematics
 
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 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!