faulker008

How critical is feedback? Last week’s post talked about definitions of the word critical , especially as crucial and exercising careful judgment . Certainly, teachers benefit from careful judgments about their important work. One way to get that feedback is through Feedback Carousels during PLC time. In Feedback Carousels, each teacher brings a lesson plan that s/he would like some suggestions on. The plan should be printed on regular paper. Teachers then tape or glue their lesson plan in the middle of a piece of chart paper, leaving lots of empty space that welcomes others to chime in through writing. Feedback Carousels work best as silent activities, with pens doing the talking. Having a chance to consider what you will say before committing it to paper makes for more carefully-worded feedback. In round one of Feedback Carousel, teachers visit each other’s lesson plans, making a comment about something they really like – something they feel will be effective. For round two, teachers...

As coaches, we may shy away from being critical. When we think about giving feedback, what does it mean to be critical? I asked Merriam Webster and found the definitions below, which I’ve annotated to reflect appropriate coaching moves. Definitions of   critical: * of, relating to, or being a turning point or especially important juncture   Our coaching should focus on important pivot points: changes that will not only impact the current lesson but will change the arc of instruction. For example, rather than being critical of the closed questions on a specific worksheet, our conversation can support a teacher’s future use of open-ended questions.   * relating to or being a state in which some quality, property, or phenomenon suffers a definite change I don’t like the word suffers , but everything else about this definition fits. The purpose of coaching is to induce a definite change. *crucial, decisive, indispensable, vital As coaches, we have to be decisive about what ou...

When coaching coaches this week, I recommended recommending. That’s a confusing statement!!! Let me explain. I’ve been working with Vanessa for some time. She is a smart, dedicated teacher who is also a committed coach for Kasey, the student teacher in her classroom. She had asked for time to talk because she was concerned about Kasey’s performance. When we sat down together, her frustration was apparent. Her biggest concern was that, because her intern wasn’t passing muster, her students’ learning was suffering. Whereas she had formerly felt confident about her intern’s progress, she now felt things had stalled, and she wasn’t seeing the type of teaching she expected. Vanessa complained that her intern’s pace was off—sometimes belaboring a point and sometimes skimming over it. She was also concerned that there were times when the intern spoke negatively to students. It was supposed to feel like holding high expectations, but her students were feeling deflated by the intern’s comments....

As I confer with teachers in coaching conversations, a few principles guide my work. They influence what I say and do, and they govern the approaches I take. As you review my principles below, you might take note of any of the tenets that resonate for you; these are core beliefs that, when recognized, can serve as an intentional guide in almost any coaching situation. Principle 1: Positioning I see myself as a thinking partner for the teachers with whom I’m working. Although my years of experience or background knowledge may come into play when making recommendations, I position myself on the same plane as those I’m coaching. In fact, I often recognize a teacher’s superiority because of her in-depth knowledge of her students and context. This principle reveals itself in tangible ways. I try to be respectful in my language, and I’m aware of how even my stance should reflect my belief in our co-construction of knowledge. For example, if the teacher is sitting, I’ll pull up a chair before...