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.
