The Art of Coaching Read online

  Common Challenges and Helpful Responses

  The biggest challenges in the exploration stage are often how we as coaches respond to the data we discover. There are rare occasions when the things a coach uncovers present such challenges that she needs to request a different coaching assignment. However, most of the time the challenges indicate an area of growth for the coach, and provided there is support for the development of the coach, these can be worked on.

  Challenge: I'm assigned to coach a principal who seems to single out African American boys. The site's suspension data confirm this, performance indicators show that African American males are failing at twice the rate of other students of color, and I've seen the principal respond to the behavior of black boys far more aggressively and severely than any other group. When I see the way this principal behaves, I feel outraged. As the mother of an African American boy, I just don't know if I can coach this client. I don't think I have the patience.

  Lens of Emotional Intelligence. This is a difficult situation, and thinking about it through the lens of the coach's emotional intelligence can help. Each coach brings his personal experience and current realities into the work. While most coaches have emotional responses to the inequities they see in schools, when the children affected by them are this close to home, it's going to be even more painful. The anger that we feel can act in two ways: it can make us ineffective, or it can be fuel for our commitment to transformation. In order for it to serve us, we need to find ways to process and release the emotions that arise. Coaches must have support—from another coach, a team of coaches, or a manager.

  There is a tremendous opportunity here. If you develop a trusting relationship with this client, if he is open and receptive to coaching, then you might be uniquely positioned to work on these challenging areas with him and perhaps improve the experience for African American boys. Everyone is capable of reflection and change when the conditions are right for learning. However, you definitely need to build a support network if one doesn't already exist and explore ways to process these feelings. This won't be an easy assignment. You might consider using the lenses of emotional intelligence to reflect on your own capacity to manage this client.

  That said, I don't believe we have to prioritize our work over our role as a parent and our maternal inclinations. You don't have to be a martyr, and perhaps there's another coach who could work more productively with this client.

  Challenge: I don't think my client should be a teacher. What should I do?

  Lens of Inquiry and Lens of Systems Thinking. Actually, you don't really get to do much of anything. A coach is not positioned to make decisions about what someone should do or engage in a conversation with anyone who does make decisions. In some ways, a coach doesn't get to have opinions or judgments. Who are we to decide what someone should or shouldn't do?

  Using the lens of inquiry can help us manage this situation: Who is defining the problem? Just you? What data do you have on the problem? From what perspective are you seeing this? How is it connected to other things? The lens of inquiry can open up other directions for you to explore your own judgment.

  This scenario also raises a number of systems issues that a coach might be able to play a role in addressing. Applying the lens of systems thinking can surface questions about how teachers are observed and evaluated, how expectations for teaching are communicated, how and when conversations around teaching happen, and how peers give each other feedback. These questions can be raised in conversations with site administrators or leadership teams and can invite a broad inquiry into what happens in classrooms.

  Unfortunately, this situation is not uncommon. I have worked with a number of educators who were very unhappy in their roles and who weren't very effective at meeting the expectations laid out for them. Under their care, students were not thriving. I didn't question whether they “should” be a principal or teacher, but rather, whether the job was a good fit for their interests, skills, personality, and needs. I'd invite them into a conversation on why they went into teaching, how they felt about it now, and what they wanted in their lives. I made sure to have this conversation without overlaying my own judgment and personal desire that they'd just quit (I did have those) so that the client could honestly engage in this reflection. I have coached a handful of teachers and principals who have left the field of education; their conversations with me led them to this decision, which ultimately was the best thing for them and for their students. That was about all I could do.

  Exhibit 6.3. Data-Gathering Tool for a Teacher or a Principal Client

  This information can be gathered from state, district, or site databases, if available, as well as by interviewing and/or surveying staff members.

  Data on Students

  Student enrollment data for previous five to ten years

  How many students were enrolled ten years ago?

  How many students are enrolled this year?

  Have there been any changes in where the student population is coming from?

  What explanations are there for these changes?

  Student enrollment data by ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and language fluency for the previous five to ten years

  Have there been significant changes in any of these areas in the last five to ten years?

  Student attendance data for previous three to five years

  Are there any grades that struggle with chronic absences—less than 90 percent attendance over the year?

  Are absence rates higher for boys or girls? For any racial/ethnic subgroup or other student population?

  Student suspension and expulsion data

  Have there been any significant changes in these data over the last three to five years?

  Are suspensions or expulsions higher in any grade level?

  Are rates disproportionate for boys or girls, for any racial and ethnic subgroup, or for any other student population?

  Annual test scores for previous five to ten years

  Annual test scores for previous five to ten years disaggregated by race and ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, language fluency, and special education designation

  Data on Staff

  Teacher assignments and demographics for past five to ten years

  What is the site's annual turnover rate?

  How many teachers have been at the site for over seven years? For over four years? For less than two years?

  How often have those who have been at the site for over four years changed grade level or subject area? Do teachers frequently change positions?

  What is the racial and ethnic composition of the teaching staff? Gender composition? Age breakdown?

  What percentage of the teaching staff has a background similar, in some way, to the student population?

  Administrative—principal, assistant principal, dean, and other—assignments and demographics for the past five to ten years

  How long have the current principal and assistant principal been in their roles?

  What is the site's history with respect to administrators? Do administrators turn over often? Have staff played a role in selecting their administrators?

  What is the racial and ethnic and gender breakdown of the administrators at the site? Do any of them share similar backgrounds with the student population?

  Collaboration

  How do teachers collaborate with each other? How often? In what configurations?

  What happens during collaboration time?

  How often and for what purpose do administrators meet with teachers?

  Documents and Artifacts

  Any of the following will help construct a deeper understanding of the site:

  School's vision and mission statements

  School site plan

  School's goals: student achievement, attendance, culture, and climate

  Instructional areas of focus for year and goals

  School's master schedule and bell schedule

  School's discipline policy and
behavior expectations

  School calendar

  Professional development plan and calendar; professional development providers and partners

  Staff roster or staff roles and responsibilities document

  Staff organization chart

  Descriptions of different teams that exist at the site—leadership teams, parent organizations, and so forth

  Also ask: Are there any other documents that would help me develop a deeper understanding of your school?

  Reflection on Data Gathering: Stage of Exploration

  Observations of Client

  When and where have you observed your client? What did you notice?

  What strengths and positive qualities did you notice?

  What kinds of power dynamics did you notice?

  What questions are coming up for you about your client?

  Observations of Meetings

  What kinds of meetings have you observed?

  What stage of team formation have you observed in different teams?

  Where are the bright spots in teams and meetings?

  Informal Conversations

  Who have you had informal conversations with?

  What kinds of things have you asked and heard?

  Interviews

  Who have you formally interviewed?

  What are some patterns in the comments you have heard?

  What surprised you, what questions came up for you, and what do you want more information about?

  Surveys

  What are some patterns in survey responses?

  What surprised you, what questions came up for you, and what do you want more information about?

  Formal Data

  How does your client feel about data?

  What kinds of data are used at this site? How are they used?

  Documents

  What kinds of documents did you gather? Were they readily available?

  What were you surprised by?

  Were there any notable gaps in documents?

  Does your client seem to use these documents for guidance and decision making?

  Personality and Psychological Assessments

  What did you learn about your client's personality and psychological profile from the suggested tools?

  Which of these learnings might be useful to remember and access during coaching?

  Knowledge, Skills, Passions

  What kinds of knowledge, skills, and passions does your client have outside of his or her professional life?

  What does she or he already know how to do well?

  Coach Reflection: Stage of Exploration

  What am I looking forward to in coaching this client?

  What might be challenging about working with this client?

  Which coaching skills might I need to develop in order to be effective with this client?

  What additional knowledge do I need to bone up on in order to support this client?

  On a scale of 1 to 10, how willing am I to coach this client? What is it that is keeping my motivation below a 10? What could I do to increase my motivation?

  What is it about me—my background, experiences, race/ethnicity, gender, age, or other—that might be an asset in my coaching with this client?

  What is it about me—my background, experiences, race/ethnicity, gender, age, or other—that might present a challenge in my coaching with this client?

  Is this client likely to push any of my buttons?

  Who does this client need me to be? What would that look like, sound like, feel like—to me and the client? Can I visualize being this person? Am I willing to be this person?

  Who does this school-community need me to be? What would that look like, sound like, feel like to me and the school-community? Am I willing to be this person?

  Are there any contradictions between who my client needs me to be and who the school-community needs me to be? How might I deal with these contradictions?

  Coach Self-Reflection

  Complete the Coach Reflection: Stage of Exploration in the next section.

  Judging by the self-reflection you did during and after gathering data, what will be the most important things for you to remain aware of as you proceed with coaching?

  What are your two biggest take-aways from this reflection?

  Chapter 7

  Developing a Work Plan: How Do I Determine What to Do?

  Read this when:

  You've completed many, if not all, of the suggested inventories and activities in Chapter Six, which helped you understand your client and his site

  You're a little overwhelmed by what you've heard, observed, and learned and are unsure how to proceed

  You're an administrator guiding others in focusing work assignments

  What Role Does a Work Plan Play?

  What distinguishes effective coaching from other kinds of professional development activities is that coaching is an ongoing effort focused on developing a specific and agreed-on set of skills or practices. Though a client might experience coaching as a series of meaningful conversations, the coach is consciously working within a structure and toward an end. The work plan is the structure that holds the conversations, questions, and actions that make up coaching. It is a foundational element of the intentional and directed nature of professional development. Without a work plan, a coach can feel lost and overwhelmed.

  I've occasionally heard teachers reflecting on previous experiences with coaches: “We just sat around and talked,” or “Every time we met, we talked about something different. I got feedback on every area of teaching.” When coaching is unfocused, or when the purpose for coaching is unclear, both the coach and client can feel unsatisfied.

  When a teacher or principal agrees to receive coaching, she expects growth or change in her practice. Some clients might be clear about what they want to work on—such as classroom management, authentic assessment, or communication skills—but many will know only that they want to improve. The coach's task is to listen carefully and engage in a process of exploration and assessment, so that together with the new client you can create a learning or work plan.

  A good work plan makes both the coach and the client feel excited, energized, and focused. It includes a vision—a compelling picture of the success and accomplishment that can become a reality in the near future, as well as an action plan—the specific steps that they anticipate will get them there. This document brings the coach and client together: it is the project they embark on through their partnership. It allows each of them to identify her specific roles and contributions. This plan becomes the external entity to which they are both accountable. Above all, a good work plan makes coach and client eager to dive in and begin coaching.

  Throughout the stage of exploration we engaged in exercises and activities to better understand the client we'll be working with and the site he is connected to. Although the coach should come to discussions about a work plan having analyzed and reflected on qualitative and quantitative data that might indicate areas for the client's development, we don't determine the work plan alone. It should be co-constructed with the client.

  The plan is developed through a number of conversations exploring the gaps in the client's will, skill, knowledge, and capacity. As we engage in this process, we are still enrolling the client and getting him to buy in to coaching. Creating the work plan is a vehicle to do this and therefore shouldn't be rushed. This chapter will describe the components of a good work plan and the steps to create it, then will offer examples of coaching conversations at this stage. There is a sample work plan in Exhibit 7.1 at the end of this chapter.

  Coaching Journal, 9/17/08

  Teresa seems thrilled to have a coach. She's invited me into her class to observe several times, and she says she's in this profession for the long haul. I'm excited to work with her. But when I go into her class, I have no idea where to start. She's good with the kids, but she's all over the place. Her lessons are disjointed, she doesn't have materials prepared,
she does direct instruction and then releases the kids without checking their understanding, she crams way too much into a lesson, she does little formative assessment, she diverges into speeches that keep the kids' attention but take her way off her plans. Last week I saw two kids dozing in the back rows, and she never noticed. Her desk is a disaster zone. The office staff are frustrated because she never does attendance on time. She grossly mispronounces the Arab students' names. She's teaching a novel that's not even recommended for this grade level; in fact, it's used with next year's curriculum and that teacher is going to be irritated that the kids already read it. I have no idea where to start coaching her.

  Useful Lenses for This Stage

  When we exercise the courage to set and act on goals that are connected to principles and conscience, we tend to achieve positive results. Over time, we create an upward spiral of confidence and courage. Our commitment becomes stronger than our moods. We build the courage to set increasingly challenging, even heroic goals.

  O'Neill and Conzemius (2006, p. 152)

  At this stage of coaching, there are three specific lenses that are worth taking a long look through. The first is the lens of change management. We use the questions for this lens to guide our own thinking and to guide our clients toward goal areas. While it can be tempting for clients to take on a massive challenge, and while we want to encourage them to push themselves, we also need to be mindful of the conditions for change. We're responsible for making sure we can guide our clients to meet their goals. The lens of change management helps us ensure that the goals are realistic and attainable.