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Modeling is a powerful coaching tool, and we can get even more bang for our buck when we are intentional about it.   If possible, take the opportunity to observe a bit as you begin a coaching cycle.   Watching the teaching and learning in a classroom usually reveals aspects of instruction that can be improved, even if the teacher is an experienced expert.   There is just so much going on that it’s handy to have an extra pair of eyes and ears on the job! As you launch a coaching cycle, you’ll probably sit down with the teacher and select a learning target for your work together. That will be the main focus, and your initial modeling will center around that goal.   However, you may also be able to incorporate other instructional features as sidebars. I talked this week with Sherri, an experienced coach who is working with first-grade-teacher Sarah on pacing. Sarah’s internal teaching clock is not yet well-developed, so she often ends up with too much or not enough tim...

As you’ve no doubt noticed, the title for this post is, “Questions as Invitations.”  Full disclosure: The subtitle should be “Coaching for Word Nerds.” As a literacy teacher, I’ve taught lessons about the importance of word choice.  One right word is better than ten almost-right ones, or, as Mark Twain said, “The difference between the  almost right  word and the  right  word is really a large matter – ‘tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” Leave out the adverbs and choose the right verb. Leave out the adjectives and choose the right noun.  When writing, words matter. When coaching, words matter, too. Take the word “ celebrate .”  I agree with Ruth Ayers that celebration is a good thing.  Even the word celebration sounds celebratory!  You can take advantage of that word power when coaching.  After an observation, you can jump right in with “What do you want to celebrate about that lesson?”  I promise,...

Over the years, I have collected stacks of GIR conferencing guides . This week, I went through one pile with a particular purpose: I was looking for some bad questions to use as illustrations.  It delighted me that I didn’t find any negative examples in the stack from the group of coaches I’ve been working with recently.  Digging a little deeper though, I found some examples from an old stack that I hope will be illustrative. As we look at questions that don’t work, we become clearer about what makes a good coaching question. Here are a few questions that seem ineffective and why I think they wouldn’t work: Question: “How are you able to check for understanding if you are lecturing?”  This is code for: You are lecturing too much.  You need to stop lecturing and check for understanding. Possible solution: Make a recommendation.  It might also be possible to help the teacher get to the same point through a series of questions, if s/he has the background and self-...

When I was a kindergarten teacher, an interesting conundrum at the beginning of the year was that students didn’t know the difference between a statement and a question.  I remember after one child, Katie, read her story about a cat to the class, I asked, “Does anyone have any questions for Katie?” Many hands shot up, and as I coached Katie to call on her friends, they “asked” things like: “I had a cat, but she ran away.” “My grandma has a cat.” “My cat’s name is Tiger.”  We had some work to do in understanding the difference between a question and a statement! After a while, though, students got good at asking questions.  Not only did students’ authentic questions show their interest in their peers’ work, they also supported revision. Similarly, authentic questions during a coaching conversation show our interest in a teacher’s work and support revisions in her practice.  Here are a few questions I collected from coaches recently: ·      ...