5 Ways Coaching Can Support Growth
“Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their growth.” — John Whittmore
Coaching provides teachers with a level of support that historically has not been part of the profession. Here are five areas that will help teachers learn to be reflective and develop a growth mindset.
- Build trust and strong relationships with each other.
Growth and change can be hard even in the best of circumstances. It is often difficult and requires hard work. In order for coaching to be most effective, it is important that a strong, trusting relationship is forged. It can feel very personal and uncomfortable to discuss areas that a person doesn’t feel confident in. When a person is vulnerable and willing to expose their insecurities in a setting that feels safe and supportive, that is the place where the biggest impact and opportunity for growth can occur.
2. Weekly 1:1 meetings
Lasting change and growth makes the most impact if done in small increments over time. During the weekly 1:1 meetings this is a time to review data and goals set from previous week and make necessary adjustments for the next week to improve student outcomes. This is also a time to troubleshoot any issues that may of surfaced in the classroom. To extend the power of these 1:1 meetings, this is a time that the teacher can set a personal growth goal to work on.
3. Collaboratively plan units (work) in advance
As a coach, you provide teachers with the necessary state standards to plan curriculum and lessons for the month and year. Using backward planning, start at the end of the year and map out what needs to be accomplished each month for the year based on the state standards. These plans are reviewed and adjusted weekly based on student data.
4. Review lesson plans each week
Support can be provided around lesson planning and possible new teaching strategies to incorporate. During the 1:1 meeting, coaches should provide constructive feedback and necessary adjustments made to next weeks lesson planning. Critical components to hone in on are rigor, differentiation and alignment to the backwards planning document, state standards and learning objectives. If a teacher’s manual is being used, make sure it is used ONLY as a guide to instruction not used mindlessly turning the pages day after day and following what ever is on each page. Our job as teachers is to determine if what is presented in a teacher manual actually aligns with the state standards and what needs to be taught to students. That teacher manual does not know your students and the specific needs in your classroom.
Let’s drill down a little further in the three critical components. Rigor: are students doing the appropriate amount of cognitive and critical thinking work? Remember our job as educators is to develop students that are problem solvers and thinkers. Differentiation: are adaptations and learning supports included to meet the needs of all students in the classroom? Make sure to provide necessary supports for English learners, students with specialized needs as well as advanced students that need extension ideas. Alignment: Make sure the lesson is necessary and aligns to state standards and grade level objectives.
5. Role play or model lessons or new learning
Weekly 1:1 coaching sessions should ultimately provide opportunities for teachers to garner new skills and strategies. This can be accomplished through several ways. Role play can be used to help build confidence before using a new strategy in a classroom lesson. This is when specific language used is discussed. Remember for English learners it is important to use what I call, economy of language. Economy of language is being cognisant to use the fewest words possible to convey a clear, concise message for easier understanding for ALL learners. The coach can model a lesson and then debrief it afterward. During model lessons it is an opportunity to switch roles and have the teacher be the coach. This allows the teacher to observe a master teacher modeling a specific skill or strategy that the teacher may not be comfortable with. Finally, we want to make sure to discuss any new learning that the teacher may want to have support with. Maybe it is something from a professional development training that they would like support launching and implementing.
These five areas will support teacher growth and ultimately student growth through coaching. Remember small incremental learning over time will have the biggest impact on both the teacher and students.
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“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”
― Frederick Douglass
The joy is in the journey!
Blessings and Peace,,
Mary
