Listening is critical for responsive coaching. Responsive coaching is a two-way street, however. It also requires a responsive teacher. To sponsor a thoughtful response, we may need to allow for silence – wait time that provides a pause, leaving room for the teacher to consider. The pace of a coaching conversation affects both the emotional and the intellectual climate, and a thoughtful pause is important when asking questions. Silence grants the teacher the opportunity to process both your question and her answer. This means not rushing in to fill the quiet with words of your own. A pause f ..read more

In last week’s post, I talked abouthow to coach veteran teachers, which is usually a more vexing topic for coaches than the one we’re tackling here: How to coach novice teachers. Supporting novice teachers is important, both for them and for their students. As coaches, we can help to fill in the gap between what early-career teachers may be able to do and what students need. There is a steep learning curve for novice teachers – even those who have been well-prepared in traditional teacher-education programs. The reality of having full-responsibility for a classroom doesn’t hit home until you ..read more

In my first year as an instructional coach, I remember my anxiety about working with two veteran teachers. Both had taught for many more years than I had. One was confident and competent, with peers looking to her for advice. The other was referred to me by the principal, who felt that significant improvement in her instruction was needed. Although these two teachers spanned the spectrum of instructional expertise, they had something in common: Both needed their experience to be validated and built upon during our coaching cycles.   For Karen, the confident teacher, I affirmed the asset ..read more

Supporting reflection is one of the most impactful instructional coaching practices. In their busy days, with their many roles and responsibilities, teachers benefit from time specifically set aside for reflection.   To make the most of reflective conversations, it’s helpful to have a clear understanding of what reflection is. I like this equation:   Reflecting = Remembering + Learning   Remembering is pulling something out of memory. Reminiscing is nostalgic recollection – it is thinking back. Reflection is purposeful recalling – it is thinking forward. Reflection supports ac ..read more

Teaching and coaching are complex acts. That’s because our work is with humans, and each is unique. Some professionals work with computers or other equipment, which tend to respond in consistent and predictable ways. Humans, however, are inconsistent and unpredictable. We are spontaneous, whimsical, and variable. That makes teaching and coaching both joyful and challenging! Adam Grant said, “The complexity of reality can seem like an inconvenient truth."* In teaching, the reality of teaching complexity may be masked by scripted curricula that expect uniformity. But the real work of teaching ..read more

It’s important for coaches to be fully present in coaching interactions, but we must take care not to be predominant. Predominant, according to Webster, means exerting the most-marked influence. Predominance means being the most important or leading factor. When a coach is predominant, she has an air of authority and exerts undue power over the teacher she is working with. A predominant coach is leading, in the sense that they are guiding someone to a predetermined location, maneuvering them to their own point of view.   Coaches can be a different, more effective kind of leader by being ..read more

Musical augmentation changes a melody by increasing the value of each note. Lengthening the notes opens the music to “add dignity and impressiveness.” Augmentation creates a sense of majesty or expansion. Collaboration, like musical augmentation, can increase the value of each contribution and expand ideas.   Coaches are not always collaborators. At times, they best serve as mirrors or sounding boards. But it’s important to understand elements of collaboration for those times when you do act as a collaborative partner and for when you support the collaboration of others.   What is ..read more

“I took out the earbuds, and I started having ideas again!”   When I read that sentence, it hit me with force. I’ve become a bit of a podcast junky, and I often listen to articles and audio books as I get other things done. I realized my mind was usually crowded with other people’s ideas, leaving little space for my own. I started wondering whether that was also true for the teachers I coached. Were other people’s ideas – in the form of curricula, TPT, and even my own recommendations to them – smothering their own creativity?   Creativity is a teacher attribute worth nurturing. So ..read more

This week, I listened to an episode* where the podcasters described the experiences of their daughter Lily, a teenager with Down Syndrome, who won two gold medals recently at their state swim meet. Even though she was the last one still in the water in both of her heats, when it came time to announce the medals, they found out that Lily was in her own division – and she won first place both times. They described Lily’s joy as she stood in the top spot on the podium and waved, Olympic style, at the cheering crowd. Even though she was competing only against herself in the state meet, Lily had ..read more

Pain Points   On a recent hike, I felt a pain in my heel each time I stepped forward. I was with a group and didn’t want to step off the trail, so for a while, I just kept going. But the pain was persistent and worsening, so I eventually stopped, sat on a rock, and took off my shoe to investigate. Unsurprisingly, there was a tiny thorn in my shoe. When I dumped my shoe and put it back on, there was no more stabbing in my heel.   Like finding the thorn in my shoe, getting to the root of a teaching pain point can offer relief. It can also be a springboard for growth. Pain is an opport ..read more