Everyone likes to feel valuable, needed, and in-demand, and it’s understandable that coaches may perceive being needed as evidence of their impact of coaching. Too often, however, it may be a sign that teachers are overly dependent on the coach’s advice, judgment, or praise of their teaching. This kind of dependency keeps the coach busy, but it stands in the way of teachers developing a strong sense of self-efficacy and confidence in their ability to understand and meet the needs of all students. It also can result in some teachers monopolizing the coach’s time and attention, leaving other teachers without consistent access to coaching support. Here are three tips to coach in ways that foster teacher’s self-efficacy and support a sustainable coaching practice for a team, grade level or content team, or campus:
- Listen longer. Resist your first, second, and maybe even third urge to interrupt the speaker or jump into problem solving. The more you understand about how the teacher perceives the situation, the more you can tailor your support, verbal or otherwise, to their needs rather than your perception of their needs.
- Slow down the pace of the conversation by pausing before speaking or responding. A slower pace allows more processing time for consideration of ideas and surfacing of new ideas, just as “wait time” allows students to formulate a response to a teacher’s question. A slower pace is also calming to the nervous system, helping to counter the stress of an otherwise hectic day.
- Resist the urge to give advice, problem-solve for the teacher, or recount a similar experience of your own. Instead, ask for more information or ask a question. For example you might try something like, “Tell me about more what you’ve tried so far and what happened,” or “Tell me more about your students who are struggling with this.” The more a teacher talks about an issue, the more likely they are to surface new ideas.
The purpose of coaching is to build teachers’ self-efficacy and to support their ongoing, continuous professional growth. Coaches best support that work when we ensure that we aren’t taking over the thinking and problem-solving (which creates dependency on the coach’s judgment). When we stay in the role of coach rather than stepping into the role of fixer, teachers gain skill and confidence in fostering their own professional growth.
This is what makes coaching truly sustainable and scalable.
Learn more about coaching to support continuous professional growth for teachers:
Did you know that a majority of Learning Forward members list “coaching” as part of their job responsibility? Learning Forward’s coaching resource collection provides a trove of valuable information and insights to educators who lead learning for others.
Learn more about professional service offerings that provide both learning and safe practice opportunities to those who use coaching skills in their support of others. Contact professional coach Sharron Helmke at SharronHelmke@LearningFoward.org to learn more about individual, team, and system-wide learning options.
