Weekly Coaching Roundup, Week 37: September 11, 2020

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Weekly Coaching Roundup - September 2020 (Half) (Seasonal)

This week we learned how ICs can ease back into coaching after an absence, a few classroom discussion tips for engaging students, ideas for developing and maintaining relationships with students remotely, and more. Enjoy! 😀

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Taking a Leave of Absence: Planned, Unplanned, and How to Return

Life happens and sometimes we need to take a step back from our professional lives to focus on our family and health. 👨‍👩‍👦 Lindsay Deacon shares a few tips for ICs who need to take a leave of absence and how to ease back into coaching on their return.

"As coaches, we are natural problem-solvers who spend our time caring for others, but we must remember that our family and health always come first. You don't have to apologize or make excuses for your new priorities in life: at the end of the day, a coach who feels prepared and centered in their own life will be positioned to set others up for success, too!"

6 Classroom Strategies

Kara Newhouse passes along one teacher's classroom discussion tips for engaging students, both in the classroom and virtually.

"Before getting to the discussion, though, Woodard gave students time to think and write down ideas. She would set up the problem with the full group, then set her timer for two minutes. That time allowed students to develop their reasoning and helped eliminate the anxiety caused when speed is prioritized in math. It also gave Woodard insights into student thinking."

Virtual Strategies for the PLC Process

Ashley Taplin walks through a virtual PLC session and provides a few questions you can use to guide the your own from afar.

"The whole time I was reading, I was focused on the screen—on my reflection—making sure the book was in the frame, ensuring that kids would be able to see the stunning illustrations as I engaged in that awkward I-think-I-need-to-go-left-but-really-I-need-to-go-right-because-the-image-is-mirrored-dance. . . . It was very strange, sitting in an empty room, reading aloud to what felt like myself. After the read aloud, I went back to gallery view so that we could talk about the book. Kids had plenty to say—they seemed engaged—but something didn’t feel quite right."

Building Partnerships

Anthony Colannino offers six ways to develop and maintain relationships with students during remote learning.

"Whether learning takes place face-to-face or remotely during this school year, schools and districts may devote intentional plans to restoring, restarting, or building strong relationships, or they may not. . . . For a moment, consider a teacher, coach, or mentor who positively impacted your life—an adult or more experienced colleague who really took an interest in you and your development. As you think of your experience with this person, I gather you have an image in your mind representing them and an emotion that bubbles up along with it. Why? Because meaningful learning does not happen without a meaningful relationship!"

Impacting Student Motivation

Steve Barkley dives into a few of Mark Gould's elements of classroom climate and teacher relationships that both encourages and supports high quality instruction.

" Conscious practice with our language can create a desired unconscious execution. Teachers promote student motivation when a meaningful rationale is provided when asking students to do something and feedback is perceived as informational, not judgmental. Specific and clear positive feedback about what was done well tends to enhance autonomous motivation."

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