10-Minute Professional Learning Experiences

My colleague Kate @mineo_katherine and I had a quick conversation at lunch last Friday. She had just settled in after meeting with her middle-school reading group. We talked about engagement, time, materials, and her goals. One of those goals was to get the students interacting with each other digitally and publicly. Our students are 1:1 with iPads and this goal along with the challenges of time and engagement presented a great opportunity for professional learning.

I asked if she had time at the end of the day to meet. She  agreed to the meeting, but mentioned that she would only have about 10-15 minutes. I then went through some ideas and tech tools while considering the limited time we'd have for the session. Padlet came to mind and seemed match her goals.

Next, I began thinking of just how I'd present the tool and offer sound professional learning. I knew I would have to present this tool to her and I wanted to learn more about how the tool fit her thinking and goals.

We met at 4:00pm. I had Kate watch as I logged on and created a board. I demonstrated how to access the link and share it with students, how to change the background, how to name her board(s), and quick options for viewing the board. Then, I had her join the board using the iPad so she could experience what her students will. She was hooked! We wrapped the session by creating her account and an agreement to keep me in the loop about her progress with this new tool.

The keys to the 10 minute-ish PD for me were:

1. Clear understanding of the teaching and learning goals
2. Strong knowledge of the tool being shared
3. Demonstration
4. Active participation
5. Providing possibilities
6. Asking for feedback
7. Plan for the future

Early that following Tuesday provided me with all that I needed to know. Kate was sharing the tool with another one of our colleagues and conducting a 10 minute-ish PD of her own. She shared how she used it on Monday and the enthusiasm she and the students had when launching the tool for the first time. The motivation to share and learn was clear.

Professional learning needs to be ubiquitous and we're all responsible for sharing within our PLN. Ideas spread quickly, think about where you can jump in and provide a quick learning experience for someone in your building. Take something you know; make it informal, make it clear, make it engaging and you will make a difference!

Coaching New Teachers

Coaching is truly one of the great joys in my life! It is an opportunity to learn and grow alongside talented educators each day and observe the benefits of this relationship through the work of the children in front of us.

Instructional Coaching is an opportunity to be a "thought-partner" in a challenging and rewarding profession. The majority of educators that I connect with on a daily basis understand my role and how I intend to work alongside them all year. However, this year we have taken on several new staff members and I've had to retool my approach in order for these interactions to be successful. So, after the first month of school, here's what I learned about myself as a coach and what may be necessary for a coaching relationship with new educators.

Getting the Story:
When starting any relationship, it's important to find out where they've been and what they've done. Regardless if the experience is in an after-school setting, student teaching, or years in another district, it is important to find out about their successes and challenges in these former settings. My questions are truly basic when it comes to finding out about prior experience; "tell me a little about your most successful experience in teaching...tell me about some of your challenges and how you've overcome those obstacles."

Listening Carefully:
Do more listening than talking when getting to know your new educators. There is a trap early on in a new teacher-coach relationship, the tendency to talk about yourself and all the successes and challenges you've encountered with your teachers. Before I ramble on about my work, I listen to the entire story the teacher is sharing listening for entry points into future work by focusing on successful experiences and successful responses to adverse experiences. Highlighting these experiences in the future can serve as a valuable catalyst for the work ahead.

Empathy:
Teaching and learning is challenging and as I've said before, we all need a "thought-partner." Being empathetic is a key ingredient for an effective teacher-coach relationship. There are times that I walk into a room and I can tell that the day is not going according to plan and yet there are other days where the teacher jumps right into sharing all that the students have done.  I need to first understand the situation before forging ahead with an agenda.  I've experienced the highs and lows of teaching and I use these experiences to guide the conversation. By understanding the challenges and successes of teaching, coaching can gain equal footing in a complex profession.

Shaping the Path:
This is an area that I strive to get better in and am currently working through this goal. The coach- teacher relationship is about reciprocity. There are times, especially when starting new work, that a teacher can't quite put their finger on what it is they want to work on or just what areas of their teaching to establish goals. The coach can support the acceleration of goal setting and reflecting on goals with careful observations in the room. Then, collaborate with the teacher to carve new territories for their practice and shape the path ahead.

Reflecting Often:
One of the  most critical elements in any coaching/mentorship relationship is the ability to push reflection. Not just reflection when things go awry, rather capturing those bright moments and reflecting as to why they are occurring. As a new teacher, it's easy to dwell on the moments that are NOT working, however, a coach/mentor should encourage reflection during the most successful moments in the classroom. It's always so gratifying to watch a teachers face as you pull them back from the action, highlight the bright spots, and get them to voice-over the action and encourage them to keep pushing to replicate what they've done to get here.

Teaching is challenging and rewarding, coaching is too! Operating with the above tenets for new teachers helps me to gain deeper insight into those challenges and rewards. As tactful observers in a teacher's room, our conversations need to focus on mentoring "people" in a complex profession.