Cheryl Jones and Mary Vreeman, who lead the Reading Coach Project in Hillsborough County, FL, have published Instructional Coaches and Classroom Teachers: Sharing the Road to Success. I have had the opportunity to work with Mary and Cheryl for the past seven years and have seen the results of their work with elementary reading coaches. In addition to training their new coaches each summer, I have worked with coaches and administrators to plan for building implementation with faculty. [click here to read about their program]
Instructional Coaches and Classroom Teachers: Sharing the Road to Success will be helpful to principals and coaches planning to maximize the value of coaching. But the strongest payoff is that the book is written for teachers. In my comments that I wrote for the book’s cover, I noted that most teacher training programs, new teacher orientations, and professional development activities, do not prepare teachers to “make the most” of an instructional coach resource.
Here are a few quotes that will give you a sense of Mary’s and Cheryl’s message.
“Coaching is a two way street for inspiration—you will find you receive inspiration from and provide inspiration for, those you partner with in coaching activities. Coaching does not entertain any notions of perfection, performance, or evaluation.”
“Coaching builds upon the power of collaboration and provides opportunities to explore and examine our beliefs in the company of others.”
“Relationships are at the heart of coaching”
“Coaching offers something to every teacher—from the beginner to the seasoned veteran.”
Throughout the book you will hear Cheryl’s and Mary’s personal experiences as teachers, coaches, and school leaders. You’ll hear the voices of teachers. You’ll find opportunities for your own reflection, plus research and appendices of resources that support coaching activities.
Those of you working with Quality Teaching in a Culture of Coaching will find Instructional Coaches and Classroom Teachers a valuable complementary text.
This week, I had the opportunity to spend two days, coaching coaches. Visiting instructional coaches in Salem-Keizer Public Schools in Salem Oregon, I had the opportunity to observe instructional coaches conducting pre and post observation conferences, as well as, conduct observations of classrooms. In some cases after the observation, I role-played with the coaches how I would conduct the conference and then they conducted the actual conference with the teacher with my observation. As we debriefed, many of the coaches shared with me a renewed understanding of the importance of the questions that a coach uses.
For example, a coach who was concerned how to mention the off task student behaviors that she observed found that when she asked the teacher, "what she saw during the lesson that made her feel most comfortable and most uncomfortable”, the teacher shared the off task behaviors and opened the door for conversation. When I stopped a coach in the middle of a pre-conference after the teacher said for the second time that she wanted the lesson to go smoothly and asked “what is smoothly”, the coach gained a much clearer picture into the teacher’s agenda.
Performance Learning Systems is preparing an updated version of our three day coaches’ training (for more information email me at sbarkley@plsweb.com). It includes an extensive review of the research on coaching. What follows is the research summary of the role of questioning.
Research shows learning comes not from having experiences, but from reflecting on those experiences (Knight, 2007; Rodgers, 2002). Supportive yet challenging questions can encourage reflection (Barkley & Bianco, 2005; Gimbel, 2008). Wang and Odell (2002) suggested, “Mentors need to know how to question and help novices pose questions about prevailing practice and identify the assumptions underlying one another’s teaching” (p. 521). Dunne and Villani (2007) stressed the importance of asking questions that focus on student learning and student work and that encourage the novices reflect on their practices.
Helping professionals have long realized the potential of active listening as a crucial skill for nurturing growth and learning (Tate & Dunklee, 2005). While little research has been conducted on the use of questions in a coaching/mentoring relationship, a substantial body of knowledge concerning the use of questions in the educational process does exist (Buehler, 2005; Schroeder et al., 2007). It is likely much of this information can be extended to peer coaching situations. Udelhofen and Larson (2003) concluded dialogue and discussion are the primary tools of effective mentoring. Browne and Kelley (2007) suggested the ability to ask the right questions is a crucial to creating effective dialogue
Research shows how a question is asked influences its effectiveness (Bell & Smith, 2004; Dillon, 1997; Wang, 2006). Clarity of educators’ questions correlates positively with student achievement (Jarolimek & Foster, 2008). Bowman and McCormick (2000) found that with effective coaching, teachers could improve their level of clarity in asking questions.
Through the use of carefully framed open- and closed-ended (yes/no) questions, mentors can increase the probability of eliciting the kinds of responses desired (Dunne & Villani, 2007). Certain topics require close-ended questions to elicit factual or specific answers, while open-ended questions are more useful for encouraging evaluation and interpretation. Wang (2006) cautioned close-ended questions “…cannot be used to extend the scope of a conversation because a questioner restricts information, which is introduced” (p. 544). Listening carefully to the answers will enhance mentors’ knowledge of new teachers’needs and concerns (Dunne & Villani, 2007).
Research shows employing pauses and probes to obtain more complete answers is beneficial (Davenport, 2003). “Silence following a question can make a coach feel uncomfortable, but that may be time in which the teacher reflects” (Feger, Woleck, & Hickman, 2004, p. 16).
Research shows when questions stimulate novices’ thinking, rather than leads them to an expected answer, they are more likely to understand on a deeper level (Jarolimek & Foster, 2008; Knight,2007). Follow-up questions that refocus or redirect students’ incorrect or incomplete responses enhance student achievement (Dantonio, 1990). It is likely the same tactic aids learning in a coaching/mentoring environment.
Research shows good mentoring sessions allow novices to ask questions of the coach/mentor. This is best accomplished in an accepting and noncritical working relationship (Knight, 2007). In addition to questions that assess knowledge and understanding, other questions help coaches to explore values, promote creative thinking, and help evaluate situations (Morgan & Saxton, 1991). The most crucial point is that successful questions must be planned, not improvised (Dillon, 1997). Barkley and Bianco (2005) suggested effective listening is more than passively hearing another; active listening requires asking questions and paraphrasing the speaker’s content. As Katch (2003) suggested, asking effective open-ended questions sometimes requires teachers to give up their need to control the discussion and instead listen, for understanding. Active listening, in contrast to passive listening, involves an interactive dialogue in which the listener not only hears the speaker, but also paraphrases, summarizes, clarifies, or otherwise elaborates on the content and feelings revealed by the speaker (Ivey & Ivey, 2006).
I recently received the note below from Tammy O’Donnell regarding her plan to train reading coaches. Having worked with Tammy on several projects, I was sure that she’d have some insights that would be helpful when training instructional coaches.
My questions and Tammy’s answers follow.
Dear Steve:
Today I have been working on a professional development piece to use with our district's eight reading coaches in January and was reminded that I have been meaning to let you know how I have been using a couple of products with your name on them. Coaching Skills for Successful Teaching, 1996, along with the 2005 product published by the School Improvement Network, Instructional Coaching: School-Based Staff Development for Improved Teacher and Student Learning, are working very well in tandem and the sessions have been extremely well received by my coaches here in DeSoto.
Thanks again for your vision and leadership in the area of instructional coaching.
Tammy O'Donnell
Director of Instructional Services
School District of DeSoto County, Florida
What do you see as the most important “understandings” to be shared with new coaches?
It took a couple of years (and I have the scars to show on my hard noggin) to "allow" myself to give permission for the coaches to work on trust for one semester or longer. I have to assure them that it's OK not to expect to do a lot of formal coaching until January (January- if they are known quantity from the faculty or a school across town. If they come from Missouri or Alaska, I really do allow a year for the trust to develop).
Initially, when we won a Just Read grant in 2003, we felt the pressure to hurry into the coaching model due to the pressure of achieving results -- or else. This just did not work well, so we have applied "lessons learned" including: Go slowly now, so you can go fast later.
What are the first skills for new coaches to be practicing and internalizing?
We work really hard on the open and closed-ended questions with new coaches. For a long time we do this. I use many of your materials from the coaching manual. I build a transition from the open-ended questions to the reflective prompts that I draw from Teachscape's CWT (Classroom Walkthrough) training, also. We are attempting to build reflective practice into the culture of our schools, so I use the training with principals and assistant principals, then coaches and new teachers' mentors.
I have found a great way to use one of your articles from the manuals: "Empowering Questions for Teacher Conference." I have them take the article out of their binders and use a color-coding system as they read it, marking the questions as follows:
Green: I am willing to begin using this question with no hesitation. It fits my personality and leadership style.
Yellow: Haven't used it but I am willing to try with caution or some modification to fit my style.
Pink (red): This is so not me that I would not use this question in any format.
Lavender: Marks any other points of interest.
I find that the group of new coaches have a useful "product" to take away from the training. The "green lights" are validated for them, and they have some yellow ones to add to their bag of tricks. Some of our personal favorites are the "magic wand" and "hiring your replacement."
What are the indicators that coaches have the initial skills and are ready for more complex strategies? What kind of training do you see as most appropriate for your more experienced coaches?
This year I have tried to organize the materials from the video series and sort them by "new coach" and "veteran coach" and maybe another category for principals to experience. I am very pleased to find pockets of common topics to be used with all the coaches within the SIN/Video Journal program. Having you, Joellen and Jim Knight--plus the capacity to see real coaches in action on the DVDs is just what the doctor ordered. What I hope to develop over the next few months is a package including something like a five-year professional development component that provides differentiated experiences for the various "ages and stages" of our coaches. I just believe that this should be in place for those who are entrusted with developing the coaches in future. Hopefully, I will have something to share with you within a few months.
I was so excited when the video materials came out that I shared with the coaches at their first meeting an overview of the program and asked that the whole group select the topics they would most likely want to learn about. The two topics that topped the list were Facets of Developing Coaches, Seeing Effective Coaches at Work, and Working with the Principal. So I am presenting these topics at our monthly meetings for all the coaches. Then I use some different segments with the beginners--that is a work in progress but I find that the two series work well together. Then there are portions of the training that the coaches insisted that I use with their principals. So I will plan to do that after the dreaded FCAT because life as we know it revolves around the testing season.
I often find that the relationship and teamwork of coaches and principals can greatly increase the impact of coaches on teaching and learning at a school? What have you experienced? How do you build that into the training of coaches?
I am really struggling with that--see answer above. The one thing that cannot be negotiated is the triangle of trust (first session with new coaches every year).
I am learning so much from using the series this year--and nor surprisingly, when they share around the circle, the one "prominent/most promising/successful" school has the greatest amount of effective practice to share. And it is so obvious that they work as a team with administration in the building. The others are benefitting from hearing their reports, and hopefully the exchange of information across schools will impact the schools where the relationship and teamwork with administration is not as fully developed. So much, as you know, depends on the instructional leadership at the school. And from a district level, it is such a delicate matter to support but not intervene. I have a long way to go on that one!
Is there an email that reader could use to contact you directly?
Yes, please use: odonnell3215@earthlink.net
