Finding the Right Match

“Matchmaker, matchmaker look through your book and make me a perfect match!”

Sheldon Harnick, for “Fiddler on the Roof”

As a mentor, have you thought of yourself as a matchmaker?  Sometimes making a recommendation means finding the perfect match. 

This week, a novice teacher I’m working with continued her struggle with classroom management.  I walked into the room as she was trying the latest iteration of her (so-far) unsuccessful approaches to get students to stop and listen.  It was the “wait for silence” strategy.  The problem was, her first-graders didn’t get the message.  Instead of growing more and more silent, they grew more and more restless until finally there were several students actually jumping up and down in their circle on the rug.  It was time to make a recommendation.

I thought about the teacher, her personality and her teaching philosophy.  Megan has a gentle disposition, a timid nature, and an endearing smile.  She has lots of love in her heart and a philosophy that students need a nurturing approach.  What classroom management technique could I recommend that would be a good match?  I decided on the silent signal and sent her the following e-mail:

Hi, Megan -

Hope you are having a great Thursday! I appreciate your gentle approach with the children in your class and know that your love and tenderness will take you far in your career as a teacher. I'd like to offer a tip for classroom management that I hope would feel consistent with your personality and philosophical approach to teaching. Here's a short video clip:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/student-silent-signals

Let me know what you think!

Here’s the e-mail I got in return:

I truly appreciate this! I have been having a difficult time with my classroom management this week and therefore have been trying a variety of different techniques. Today I tried the "I will wait" approach (which you happened to see when you came in the room) and realized by the end of the day that it was not working. I definitely will be implementing the silent signal approach!

Thank you so much,

            Megan

When making a recommendation, it’s important to consider not just what you would do, but what the teacher would do.  Looking for a recommendation that will be a good fit increases the likelihood that the recommendation will be tried, applied, and continued.  If a teacher is requesting help, she’s really asking, “Find me a match of my own!”

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

A video clip from “Fiddler on the Roof” – to remind you of your resolve to be a good matchmaker!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Hj7bp38f8

 

How writing in every class builds connections across academic areas:

http://smartblogs.com/education/2014/09/03/how-writing-in-every-class-helps-build-connections/?utm_source=brief

 

Thoughts about PLCs and teacher learning:

http://smartblogs.com/education/2014/09/12/5-questions-every-plc-should-consider/?utm_source=brief

 

This video showing debrief circles in math:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/students-reflect-on-learning-exl?utm_campaign=digest&utm_medium=email&utm_source=digest

 

This Reading Today article about using music and movement to improve reading comprehension:

http://www.reading.org/reading-today/post/engage/2013/04/30/use-music-and-movement-to-improve-reading-instruction?utm_source=Inspire-0514&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=inspire

 

That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

Are We There Yet?

If you’ve taken road trips with children, you’ve heard the oft-repeated mantra that is the title of this article.  But let’s give it a coaching twist.  Likely, as you’ve been observing a teacher, you’ve had numerous recommendations come to mind – most of them minor, but perhaps some that are really significant.  When you feel the need for a crucial conversation*, ask yourself the question, “Are we there yet?” High-stakes recommendations – those that would require substantial effort or change – need extra consideration.  A high-stakes recommendation is a big deal, not just a little something.  It might be prompted by a concern about something a teacher is currently doing, or it might be a radical change because you see that the teacher is ready for a new challenge.

Think about a “big-ticket” recommendation you’re considering for a teacher you’re currently working with and run it through the following checklist:

·        Will this recommendation give the most bang for the buck right now?  Of all the recommendations you could make, why does this one seem most important at this time? 

·        Will the teacher be able to make sense of the recommendation?  Is she ready to really hear it?  Does she have the background to understand what you’re suggesting?

·         Does the teacher have the prerequisite skills to use this recommendation successfully?  Envision her putting your recommendation into action.  Can you see her utilizing your suggestion with her class?  What stumbling blocks might there be?  Is there another recommendation you should consider first? 

·        Can you work with one of the teacher’s strengths as a way to approach the recommendation?  In other words, could a strength that she has provide a solid foundation from which to launch this recommendation?  Leading with the strength will make the recommendation more hearable.

·         Then, ask yourself, “Have I thought this through enough so that I can articulate the recommendation well?  If yes, then…..

·         Find the right time to make the recommendation.  A “big-deal” recommendation requires good timing – a thoughtful space where she can be open to the conversation. 

Of course, all of this should be preceded by a self-check – making sure that the recommendation you’re considering is founded in evidence-based best practice.  Since you’re not trying to create a “mini-me,” you’ll want to evaluate whether the potential change is more than just your way of doing things.  Teaching styles can differ, but tried-and-true instructional practices are the recommendations worthy of our attention.  In your quest to help a teacher become the best she can possibly be, giving big-ticket recommendations some extra consideration will make these crucial conversations productive and keep the teacher moving in the right direction. 

The flowchart below might be helpful as you think through high-stakes recommendations.

*Patterson, K. Grenny, J., McMillan, R. & Switzler, A. (2002).  Crucial conversations: Tools for talking when stakes are high. NY: McGraw-Hill.

 

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

Coaches are some of the busiest people I know!  To shore up your resolve to say “no” the next time a new project gets tossed your way, consider the ideas in the blog post: “Beat the Shiny Objects Syndrome”:

http://www.positivelypositive.com/2014/08/27/beat-the-shiny-object-syndrome/

 

An interactive timeline creator:

http://www.capzles.com/

 

File-folder organizers to keep students focused and organized (the description is for read-alouds, but could easily be adapted:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1348

 

Evidence that active learning helps close the achievement gap:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/03/education/active-learning-study.html?_r=0

 

Silent signals to promote active listening:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/student-silent-signals

That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

Geronimo! Two Jumps Not to Take

My oldest son likes to jump….. off of things, into things, out of things!  He has jumped off of cliffs and bridges, into glacier-fed lakes and gullies, and even out of airplanes (despite my pleadings otherwise!).  He says jumping gives him a thrill.  I’ve noticed that coaches and the teachers they work with sometimes do a lot of jumping, too – of a type that is best avoided! 

Sometimes we as coaches jump to judgment when we make recommendations.  That is a jump that can be avoided by trying to see the situation from multiple positions.  How did that situation look to the students?  If you walk into a classroom and wonder what’s going on, you might ask a student: “What is the class doing right now?  Why?”  Then listen and learn.  And ask another student, who likely sees things a bit differently.  Looking at the situation from the teacher’s position can also be useful.  Why might the teacher have chosen that activity?  What might he have been trying to accomplish or avoid?  Considering what we see and hear from multiple perspectives helps us avoid a jump to judgment and gain additional insight before making recommendations. 

Making recommendation (even well-considered ones!) sometimes elicits a jump from the teacher we are working with – a jump to justification.  Before the recommendation is fully out of our mouths, the teacher we are working with might begin telling us how it’s usually not that way, or it had to be that way because, or we really missed something important (which could be true!).  But as soon as a teacher takes the jump to justification, our recommendations fly out the window.  They go unheard and unrealized.  So how to avoid that perilous jump?  I propose a conversation like the following:

Dear Teacher,

Warning - I’m about to give you a recommendation!  And it’s really likely that your inclination will be to justify your actions. Justification seems to be human nature, so of course your mind will go there sometimes!  Your mind might want to push away the recommendation, because hearing it – really hearing it – can be hard!  Call it an explanation, a reason, a rationale, or an excuse – call it whatever you want to, but when you do it, you probably stop listening.  And that makes my job really hard. 

So let’s make a deal.  Before I make any judgments about your work – before I even think of making a recommendation – I’ll try to see things from your point of view.  I’ll stop and try to figure out what’s really going on.  That’s my part of the bargain.  Now here’s what I’ll ask of you:  When I make a recommendation, will you stop and try to see things from my point of view?  Why might I be making that suggestion?  Try to figure out what might have gotten me thinking that way.

What do you think?  If I can avoid jumps to judgment and you can avoid jumps to justification, we might really make some headway!  I hope we can give it a try.

Sincerely,

Your Coach

Although I’ve never actually sent a letter like that, I have had conversations that included those elements.  I’ve found that being proactive – talking about what both of our brains might want to do – can head off some problems and create more productive conversations.  When I take a light-hearted approach to our mutual human frailties, it seems to bring a little more joy to our work and make it more effective, too.  Judgment and justification can stop us in our tracks.  Stay safe in coaching by avoiding these fateful jumps!

 

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

A blog post about speaking & listening skills:  “Speaking of the Common Core……Give Students Time to Talk:

http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2013/06/25/tln_pillars_communication.html

How-To’s for or those of you who will soon be holding student-led parent teacher conferences:

http://pernillesripp.com/2013/08/03/how-to-do-student-led-conferences/

An article about helping students see their classmates as peer tutors for writing:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=266

 

Pass along for parents:  How to help kids write poetry (includes some tips teachers might try, too!):

http://www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources/tips-howtos/help-child-write-poem-30317.html

 

It’s not too late to work with teachers on creating a positive classroom culture; share ideas from this video:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/establish-classroom-culture/?utm_source=newsletter20140823

 

That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!
 

Infectious Attitudes

Unfortunately, new requirements for beginning-of-the-year testing in my state have gotten the school year off to a grumpy start.  Both teachers and students are ready to put the testing aside and slip into routines that will become – routine!  If attitudes at your school need a tune-up, or if you just plain like to focus on the positive, find a way to slip the ideas below into your school community.  Two minutes at a staff meeting, a note in mailboxes, or even informal hall conversations can get the corners of teachers’ mouths pointing in the right direction.  J

Attitudes improve and confidence increases when you:

*Box up your worries and take the lid off your dreams!

*Know where you’re going.  Have a goal and take the path that leads to it.

*Frame your day with gratitude.

*Step out of your comfort zone.  You’ll find that it expands!

*Spend time with positive people.

*Sleep.

*Exercise.

*Breathe - deep, oxygen-gathering breaths!

*Ask for help.  It’s good for you, and people are usually flattered when asked for advice and support. 

Attitudes are contagious!  Coaches can take the lead and make sure the epidemic that’s spreading in their school is a positive one.

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

Ways to cultivate a classroom culture for learning:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2012/09/10/14-ways-to-cultivate-classroom-chemistry/

Lots of ideas for “greetings” during morning meetings:

http://www.responsiveclassroom.org/article/keeping-morning-meeting-greetings-fresh-and-fun

Pinterest Board to share with parents (ideas for learning):

http://www.pinterest.com/mrsmere/parent-pages/

A podcast about creating anchor charts:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1847

A new estimation problem every day of the week:

http://www.estimation180.com/

Short videos about the alphabet:

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/film-festival-alphabet-early-literacy-activities

That's it for this week.  Happy Coaching! 

To Give and to Receive

If you have new teachers in your building, you are likely busy giving them the information they’ll need to be successful in your school.  Among the things you might be giving are:

*The details of the building schedule: Who goes where when.

*Information about supplies: What is available through the school and district, what funds are available for them to purchase additional materials

*Guidance with technology:  What technology do they need to access (for attendance, testing, instruction, e-mail) and how do they access it (navigating, setting up accounts, passwords)

*Reminders about duties:  When are they expected to be on the playground?  In the lunchroom?  In the hallways?  Do they need to pick students up from special classes and programs, or will someone else bring them back?

*Share building rituals: Do teachers wear jeans on Friday?  School t-shirts?  Is there a monthly birthday celebration? Designated pot-luck or snack days? How are holidays celebrated – in the classroom and by the staff?

There’s a plethora of details that keep a school functioning, and for veteran teachers these details have become an invisible part of the routine.  As a coach or mentor, you can uncover those specifics and help the new teacher learn the ropes in her new home.  She’ll be grateful for these gifts.

But while you’re busy giving, open yourself up to what you can receive from these new teachers – the gifts they have to give:

Energy:  New teachers bring vitality, unfettered by burnout that sometimes occurs after multiple repetitions of the school-year routine.  Be careful not to squelch their energy with, “just you wait!”  Instead, allow yourself to be buoyed up and refueled by their momentum. 

Determination:  Similarly, new teachers are often tenacious.  They haven’t been worn down by change after change, innovation and innovation, and piles of administrative red tape.  New teachers often have a vision for things as the could be and a will to make that happen.  Take a lesson from their firm resolve, and be the change you want to see.

Innovative Ideas:  Whether it is a different pedagogical approach, a new use of technology, or different ideas about classroom management, the new teachers in your school can bring freshness to routines that have become commonplace.  Encourage new teachers to share their ideas during staff meetings, and make a space for their ideas to be heard, rather than shut down, by building bridges between their ideas and those of veteran teachers. 

Having new teachers in a school definitely requires time, effort, and sharing on the part of the coach.  By letting yourself be on the receiving end as well, you’ll build relationships and likely feel renewed by the process.

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

A video sharing strategies for teaching the whole child:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/meet-melissa-porfirio-2014-ntoy-finalist?utm_campaign=digest&utm_medium=email&utm_source=digest

This article is about teaching in kindergarten, but the thoughts about supporting students in developing social and life skills are equally relevant to teachers of other grades:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/28163257-452/teaching-kindergarten-we-work-to-find-joy.html#.U6StiY1dXtg?utm_source=19619952&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=High+Road

This video with ideas about helping kids develop a growth mindset:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/growth-mindset-eed?utm_campaign=digest&utm_medium=email&utm_source=digest

Suggestions for using advertising to teach critical thinking:

http://www.middleweb.com/16528/close-reading-advertising/

11 tips to turn every reader into a close reader:

https://fs24.formsite.com/edweek/images/WP-Great-Books-11-Tips-to-Turn-Every-Student-Into-a-Close-Reader.pdf

That's it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

You Don't Know What You Don't Know

Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.

­~Maya Angelou

I will always remember one of the most confident novice teachers I have ever worked with (we’ll call her Christine).  During PLC meetings, Christine was always the first to offer a comment, and it was typically lengthy and full of detail.  Her colleagues were patient, but I sensed they were controlling a strong urge to roll their eyes and sigh --- here she goes, again.  Christine's confident attitude also permeated our post-observation conversations and most exchanges she had with her mentor.  But here’s the catch: she was not doing a good job with teaching.  From her perspective, she was delivering great lessons, but unfortunately, the students weren’t on board.  She didn’t notice, however, that her instruction was missing the mark.  Christine is a good example of the adage, “You don’t know what you don’t know.”

Although Christine is an extreme example, all novices go through a stage of blissfully blind ignorance, unaware of the multitude of factors influencing instruction.  Thirty years ago, Noel Birch* developed a model describing four stages of learning that has become known as “Gordon’s Ladder.”  With modification, the model can be a useful guide for thinking about how teachers’ move beyond the “not knowing what they’re not knowing” phase.  Here are the modified stages:

Stage 1:  Unconsciously Unskilled

We don’t know what we don’t know.  We are unskilled and unaware of it.  We see a version of this stage in the armchair expert.  No one is more certain about how to teach well than someone who has never had a class of their own students. This stage of being unconsciously unskilled, unfortunately, is a very comfortable stage, because, “Ignorance is bliss.” Although it seemed implausible to me and her mentor, Christine felt very happy with her teaching. 

Stage 2:  Consciously Unskilled

We know what we don’t know.  We somehow become aware of our shortcomings, and this recognition convinces us that we have much to learn.   In contrast to the earlier blissful stage, this stage can be overwhelming.  The teacher’s awareness of her own practice and its impact on students increases.  There may be some feelings of guilt for the effects of past practice.  The support of a coach or mentor makes a big difference in this stage.  For Christine, a lesson that was undeniably ineffective opened the door for Christine’s mentor to help her see what she needed to focus on, and she started making progress to being skilled, the next stage on the ladder.

Stage 3: Becoming Skilled

This phase is characterized by increasing competence.  We are trying the skills out, experimenting, practicing, and becoming more proficient.  The skills become easier.  As Christine worked to design instruction that was more student-centered, she noticed her students’ increased learning and she grew in confidence as a teacher.

Stage 4:  Consciously Skilled

This stage represents a competent, reflective practitioner.  The skill has become more automatic and can be explained to others.  A teacher in this stage makes a great coach or mentor, because she can examine her own practice, share it, and support others in their journey through the stages.  Because Christine’s mentor could accurately reflect on both her own and Christine’s practice, she was a valuable guide as Christine developed expertise.

An understanding of Gordon’s Ladder can be helpful as a mentor applies the GIR Mentoring Model when working with teachers.  The first three phases (modeling, recommending, and questioning) are most effective when considered in the context of the teacher’s skills and her awareness of that skill level.  For Christine, modeling wasn’t effective until she recognized she had room for improvement herself.  Until then, she had a “that’s not the way I would do it,” attitude as she watched, which only served to confirm her ineffective practices in her own mind.  Once she became consciously unskilled, modeling took on new importance, as did the recommendations, which were now more readily received.  Similarly, mentor’s questions that had previously been met with textbook answers took on new importance when Christine became conscious of what she did not know.  Considering teachers' level of consciousness of their skill can be a helpful guide as you use the GIR model.

*see http://www.gordontraining.com/free-workplace-articles/learning-a-new-skill-is-easier-said-than-done/.

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

Video resources to raise awareness about effective teaching:

http://www.marzanoevaluation.com/evaluation/free_video_resources/

Are you working with teachers to create units?  This white paper provides an overview of Understanding by Design:

https://fs24.formsite.com/edweek/images/WP_ASCD_Improve-Curriculum-with-Understanding-by-Design.pdf

An article about creating a community of writers:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1510

Ideas for igniting a sense of wonder with informational text:

https://fs24.formsite.com/edweek/images/WP-Heinemann-Helping-Students-Find-Joy.pdf

This video highlights the value of small group work and partner talk – in this case for checking scientific data:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/analyze-data-with-groups?utm_campaign=digest&utm_medium=email&utm_source=digest

Coaching Great Teachers

The title of someone else’s blog post recently caught my attention:  “If You Thought I Was Perfect, You Weren’t Paying Attention.”  I thought of this sentiment in the context of coaching teachers who are already very good.  As it turns out, these very good teachers often seek out feedback that will make them even better – it’s probably that characteristic that made them so good in the first place.

So how do you coach a really good teacher?  A pre-observation conference is a good opportunity to have her tell you what she’s wondering about.  Then you can support her in an investigation.  What data should you each collect during the lesson?  Then ground your observations in specifics: what you see and hear.  Get right in the center of the learning.  Lean in to hear student conversations and student-teacher interactions.  Look closely at student work.  What does that work tell you about student understanding?  Be another set of eyes and ears, figuring out what learning is (and isn’t) happening. 

When you talk with the teacher afterward, ask good questions and listen hard to the answers.  The conversations that ensue will offer the opportunity for rich professional discourse.  Discussions that are grounded in insightful observation and careful analysis of student-teacher interactions are likely to be rich and meaningful for both you and the teacher you are coaching. 

As the school year gets underway, you’ll have the opportunity to work with effective teachers.  Although offering specific praise will be appreciated, telling a very good teacher how great the lesson was will not help her grow.  She doesn’t want you to tell her she’s perfect.  She wants you to be so insightful in your observations that you can figure out together how to make her teaching even better.  Growth is what she really wants, for both herself and her students. 

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

Tips for helping teachers work together:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2014/07/18/power-of-teacher-collaboration-nea/

A video about establishing a positive classroom culture:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/establish-classroom-culture?utm_campaign=digest&utm_medium=email&utm_source=digest

Ralph Fletcher shares his writing habits in this three-minute video. This might be a good conversation starter for a beginning-of-the-year discussion on establishing classroom routines:

                                                          

http://asuonline.wistia.com/medias/8edcvoppew

What’s an infographic and how can they encourage students’ writing across content areas?

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/infographics-visual-literacy-written-content-brett-vogelsinger

Books for launching the school year (and ideas for using them):

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1032

That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!