faulker008

The Gradual Increase of responsibility model leads to ongoing collaboration.  Not working yourself out of a job as a coach, but changing the nature of the work you do from a vertical to a horizontal structure of influence, with joint capacity for partnership and cooperation.  When I first shared the study that resulted in the GIR model, a scholar said the finding about coaching transforming into collaboration was “scintillating.”  I found it normal and natural, which was actually my response to every aspect of the GIR model.  Once I recognized this pattern, it just seemed like a “well….duh” explanation of what good coaches do.  But as simple as it is in concept, in practice the GIR model is quite complex, and moving from coaching to collaboration requires intentional planning and significant effort.  That so many coaches accomplish this, day in and day out, is to me the “scintillating” finding.  Coaching and collaborating share many attributes.  C...

The group of kindergartners were compliant and busy throughout the lesson I observed.  They counted the items in their boxes routinely, dutifully writing in their notebooks.  They came to the carpet when called, sitting in orderly rows.  They did what they had been asked to do.  Is that where the problem lay? As I reflected on the lesson, where kindergartners worked with a partner to count and record their thinking in their math notebooks, I was struck by how incredibly similar the lesson was to one I’d observed in that room months before.  Students were more certain of the routine, to be sure, and that was part of the problem.  They seemed to be going through the motions without much thought. As I pondered the lesson and the debrief conversation I’d soon have with Bethany, several concerns came to mind.  Students didn’t seem challenged.  The lesson didn’t seem differentiated.  The closing discussion seemed unintentional. Overall, the lesson ...

The GIR Model for Coaching is simple in concept, complex in practice!  Coaching includes considerations about teaching, learning, relationships, and the change process.  Even the most scaffolded type of support, modeling, benefits from nuanced preparation.  When the coach is doing the “driving,” the teacher needs a focus during the ride. As I worked with a group of coaches this week, I shared with them the “Verbs for Observation,” listed below.  In preparation for lessons that they would be modelling in teachers’ classrooms, I asked the coaches to think of what they wanted the teacher to learn from the modeling, choose a verb, and write a request.  Here are a few of the requests they came up with: Watch who I call on for what. Notice how I transition between learning activities. Listen and list how I am redirecting specific students. Pay attention to the use of wait time as a strategy for learning. Notice how I respond to inaccurate answers. Keep track of studen...

“If you had been here this afternoon, I would have been able to tell you about my proud coaching moment!”  I read the above line in an email and really wished I had been at the school that afternoon!  Valorie and I had been puzzling for weeks over the how to support Katie, a teacher she was coaching. When we met, Valorie expressed frustration. “My questions aren’t working,” she said.  “They are getting me nowhere!”  Valorie had filled out a GIR conferencing form (see below) in preparation for an upcoming conference with Katie, and she had it in front of her as we talked. “Let’s take a look,” I said.  It turns out, the questions she was asking were probably part of the problem.  After looking at the questions Valorie had drafted, I said, “I wonder if Katie is getting defensive when you ask a question? Let’s see if we can do some question revision.”  We worked together to revise her approach, as captured in the table below: Original Statement or Quest...

“ Conjunction junction , what’s your function?” Remember that line from the old Saturday morning cartoon break,   Schoolhouse Rock?   The train conductor goes on to explain that three little words mostly get the job done: and, but, and or. These little words can pack a powerful punch in coaching, so they’re worth paying attention to. First let’s look at “but.” A teacher says, “I felt like the lesson went very well. The kids were paying attention, so they did well on the quiz.” If the coach responds, “Yes, but   it asked many factual questions,” she immediately puts the teacher on the defensive. This can lead to unproductive conversations.  It feels like a door has been slammed in her face. What happens with   and ? If the teacher says, “I felt like the lesson went very well. The kids were paying attention, so they did well on the quiz,” then the coach responds, “Yes, and it tested many factual questions,” she leaves the door open to conversation. The teacher mig...

There’s a clip from an old TV police series that shows up in my Facebook feed from time to time. It says, “Just the facts, ma’am, just the facts.” As I prepare for a coaching session, I realize that is sometimes good advice for myself. When teachers have a broad repertoire of effective instructional strategies, asking a question often provides just the nudge needed for effective planning or reflection. But sometimes a teacher needs even less than that. All I have to do is state a fact, and the teacher is off on a reflective or planning journey. Drawing a detail to her attention gets her moving in a productive direction. For example, I began a reflective discussion with, “Students took turns sharing the floor during the discussion. Twelve of them participated.” Andi quickly reflected, “I wonder how I could get the other 12 participating?” Her self-reflective question led to effective planning for the discussion the next day. During a planning conversation, when I said, “Six students did...

Although there are lots of benefits to classroom observations, sometimes coaches’ goals are furthered by not being there. Reflective teaching is a powerful tool for teachers. Reflection helps teachers recognize not just what they did, but why they did it. Taking a look at underlying assumptions and beliefs helps teachers be more intentional in their decision-making. This is important, since teachers make hundreds of instructional decisions daily, many of them on the fly , with literally trillions of options to choose from.  Reflection has many benefits, and some teachers seem to be natural reflectors. Those are the easy ones to coach.  For some teachers, however, reflection doesn’t seem to come naturally. For these teachers, questions like, “What did you notice during the lesson,” seem to fall flat. When I am trying to build teachers’ capacity for reflection, I’ve found it is sometimes helpful for us to talk about a lesson for which I wasn’t present. My questions come across a...