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This week, I was talking with a group of teachers about the constraining practices they are being asked to use – scripted, whole-class phonics instruction that doesn’t account for the individual differences of their first graders – some of whom read abundantly and others who cannot yet name all of the letters.  I heard myself whispering the words, “Close your door and teach.”  While this seemed, in some ways, to be an appropriate response to the situation, I realized at once how hypocritical I was being.  Isn’t coaching, after all, about opening our doors? There is so much value in going public with our practice.  When we open our doors, we see teaching as a professional interaction, not a solitary exercise.  Sharing our practice can have an immediate, productive impact on pedagogy.  As we open our doors and teach, and then reflect with others, we learn through the complexity and messiness of our real context.  As we talk with another, we think about w...

As Roland Barth, author of Improving Schools from Within , has said, “ There is no more powerful way of learning and improving on the job than by observing others and having others observe us” (Barth, 2006, p. 11).   Modelling a lesson in a teacher’s classroom provides the opportunity for observation.   Whether only one teacher observes or you invite the whole team, observations are an experience ripe with prospects for instructional improvement. Pre-Observation: Laying the Foundation for Teacher Learning Effective observation starts with wondering.   As you prepare for the lesson, ask about not just teacher needs, but also student needs.   Get together before the observation lesson and elevate the questions that guided your planning.   Tell the teacher(s) what you are wondering about now. Will students grasp the concepts as intended?   Will they have success with the mini-steps leading up to that concept?   Will they find the work interesting?   ...

This week, I am writing about mindful observation – observing with increased awareness and presence.   Let’s start by being present in this moment , wherever you are, while you are reading this blog.   Breathe in slowly.   Breathe out slowly.   Pause.   Center yourself.   Now notice.   What do you see? Look around.   Pause.   What do you hear? Any subtle smells?   Do you feel your back against the chair? Your feet on the floor?   Intentionally raise your awareness of your senses and pause before reading on.   How do you feel? When teaching, the onslaught of sounds, movement, and decisions bombards us, with little time available to process.   Observing, however, provides an opportunity to mindfully attend to what is going on in the classroom.   Jon Kabat-Zinn* defines mindfulness as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of an exper...

For many of us, the start of a new school year is nipping at our heals, bringing questions to coaches’ minds about what to do with assessment data , whether we need coaching agreements, and how to use various face-to-face and online platforms .   With so much on our plates, it’s important that we don’t wear a badge of busy-ness that prevents others from approaching us with questions and requests.   How do we replenish and center ourselves so that we can help to fill others?   This question was on my mind this week as I had a FaceTime meeting with a teacher-leader (I’ll call her Jerri) who seemed burned out and dragged down – not a good spot for August 10, with the school year about to get underway. As I coached this woman who is an amazing coach herself, my mind was racing for what she might do to re-energize.   I hope the questions I asked and the thoughts I shared were helpful to her, and I hope they might be helpful to you, too, as the year gets underway. Do Wha...

As you think about the school year that is about to get underway, you may want to consider how asynchronous coaching could make your work more effective.   Coaching using email or other forms of digital communication allows for conversations that can happen at the convenience of the coach and teacher.   Because schedules are often hard to align, this can be a real advantage, giving everyone the chance for unhurried dialogue.   Below are tips and cautions for using this mode of interaction as a coaching tool. Establish Relationships First I’ve found that email is not a good first encounter for coaching.   Face-to-face conversations allow me to read the situation and the teacher’s reactions so that I can respond in ways that build trust.   If I’m well into a coaching cycle, or have a previously-established relationship with a teacher, email can be an efficient way to move some parts of the coaching process along.   Set an Informal Tone Because an email may no...

Have you read Choice Words by Peter Johnston?   Peter is one of my idols, and I got to meet him and hear him speak at a conference recently.   When I first read his book, Choice Words, more than a decade ago, it raised my awareness of the power of the words I was using with children.   Now, as I reflect on Peter’s wisdom, I apply it to the work I am doing with teachers.   The same principles apply. One of my lasting take-aways from Choice Words is the practice of noticing and naming.   Noticing and naming raises awareness; it involves an explicitness, an intentionality, and an opportunity to articulate developing understandings.   Noticing draws to consciousness something that otherwise would have slipped away. Pausing to Notice When we notice, we recognize when something is present so we can decide what to do with it.   Initially, the coach may be the noticer and namer.   We sense there is something going on that we need to pay attention to. We ...

Feedback is a gift. Ideas are the currency of our next success.  Jim Trinka and Les Wallace When we give feedback , we are hoping to provide “information about an action, event, or process to the original or controlling source” (merriam-webster.com).  But I wonder how often feedback feels like another definition of this word: “a rumbling, whining, or whistling sound,” an annoying signal that has been returned and retransmitted.  Hopefully the suggestions below will ensure that coaching feedback is of the helpful, not the whiny, kind.   Timeliness The closer to the observed event, the better.  Teachers are prepared for and expecting feedback soon after sharing a lesson plan or being observed.  They’re more likely to be primed for and open to ideas. It takes no more time to respond sooner rather than later.  Remind yourself of that as you prioritize your busy schedule. Be Prepared Although you don’t want the conversation to be scripted, it’s best t...