Coaching the Reluctant Teacher

1. Coaching the Reluctant Teacher Britt Humphries, EdS. Literacy Instructional Facilitator Fort Smith Public Schools • brittsliteracyworkshops.pbworks.com

2. Objectives • Hear some practical ideas • To learn what professional texts have to say about coaching the reluctant teacher • Discuss how others have handled hard coaching situations • Problem solving time

3. Real life experience • Tough conversations and situations • Using an objective measure • Hard evidence • Video taping • Action plans and timelines

4. What do the professional texts say? • Quality Teaching in a Culture of Coaching by Stephen Barkley • Negative responses represent real fears and concerns • Reflect earlier experiences and circumstances -p.157 • Coaching is not evaluating & trust is paramount -p. 161 • Speedboats, barges, and rocks -p. 157-158

5. What do the professional texts say? • Differentiated Coaching by Jane Kise • Meet the needs of the teacher • Relate or apply the learning to the problems teachers want to solve • Use a common framework for unbiased reflection • Understand the teachers strengths and beliefs about teaching and learning • How tightly are teachers beliefs tied to their own strengths? • What are the teachers beliefs about their role in student success? • What else keeps teachers from trying new practices? (p.11)

6. What do the professional texts say? • Cathy Toll’s The Literacy Coach’s Survival Guide & Surviving But Not Yet Thriving • Are the teachers goals poor goals or just different from yours? • To address poor goals: • Keep eye contact direct but friendly • Use a neutral voice, devoid of judgment, cajoling, or condescension • Turn your shoulders toward the teacher and uncross you arms and legs • State your “concerns,” “options,” or “perspectives,” rather than “criticisms,” “opinions,” or “proof.” -p.115 LCSG

7. What do the professional texts say? • Understand the resistance • When we resist it is because we believe we are right • Not because we are lazy or unmotivated • Remember this about teachers Teacher Coach p. 121 LCSG

8. What do the professional texts say? • Focus on coaching conversations. • Keep the conversations going. • Treat teachers with dignity and respect. • Ask only questions you want to know the answers to; if know the answer don’t ask. • Use information about students to support claims. • Develop a sense of what teaching will be like when goals, interests, or needs are met. • Determine which information will help gauge whether the goals, interests, or needs are met. p. 19-20 SBNYT

9. Other Sources • How to Deal With Teachers Who Are Angry, Troubled, Exhausted, or Just Plain Confused by Elaine McEwan • Results Now by Mike Schmoker • The Best Schools by Thomas Armstrong • Leadership for Learning by Carl Glickman • Instructional Coaching by Jim Knight

10. Your Turn How have you as professionals handled difficult teachers?

11. Problem Solving Time What are some situations that you are currently facing? What are some ideas for helping?

12. Remember: “. . . adult learners like to have some say in the content and format of their learning and like to see immediate applications.” -p.128 LTSG