In my January 12th post response, I answered Penny’s question: How Do I Know I’m Asking the Right Questions When I Coach? Darlene from Wyoming asked this follow up question: What if questions listed above do not prompt a response that causes teacher introspection? How do you elicit a conversation about a needed change?
And here’s my response:
Thanks for your question, Darlene! It depends…if the teacher is UNWILLING to work or reflect, then the coach needs to talk with the principal and let him/her know that the teacher is resistant to working with the coach and unwilling to reflect or try new techniques. In this case the principal will have to address it and put the teacher on notice that it is a non-negotiable that each teacher work with the coach and there will be consequences if the teacher fails to do so. If the teacher is just UNPRACTICED in reflection (which is common), then maybe looking at a video of a teacher teaching together and joint-critiquing would be a good starting point. If that doesn’t work, then perhaps hooking that teacher up with another teacher who can model reflection (and who is good at it) would be helpful. It’s just like kids: if they don’t know how to do it, we need to teach them.