This week we learned how a positive mindset can improve our communication with teachers, some insights into coaching resistance, the how collaboration can promote a culture of learning, how one coach preps for coaching cycles, and more. Enjoy!

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How We Talk About Teachers Matters

Amy Ellerman explores how an asset-based mindset can help you recognize the value and uniqueness of everyone you work with.

"I quickly realized that how I choose to talk about my learners—whether it's kids or adults—communicates a great deal about my beliefs about learning and coaching. The use of deficit-based language reveals a belief that we might not expect all learners to be as capable or as ready for new learning. . . . When we do this, we're only noticing the ways their actions make our jobs more difficult, rather than the ways they might be contributing in an essential way to the professional dialogue."

Rethinking Resistance

Elena Aguilar shares some insights into coaching resistance and the importance in shifting how we see the problem to overcome it.

"When we perceive someone's unwillingness to do something, we're picking up on their emotions. Resistance is often a mask for a range of feelings including anger, sadness, fear, confusion, exhaustion, and distrust. . . . The reason that we find it so hard to coach resistance is because we don't know how to respond to emotions when they surface in ourselves, nor do we have many strategies to respond to the emotions that other people express."

Teaching Practices That Influence Student Outcomes

Ellen Eisenberg says that recognizing the power of collaboration is important to promote a culture of social learning.

"Professional development does not influence teaching and learning unless and until the 'stuff' we share with our teaching colleagues transfers into professional learning which can only be accomplished when there is ongoing, consistent follow up to the PD. . . . When schools and districts recognize the strength of teaching colleagues thinking, planning, and working together, that's when there will be a change in teaching practices that will influence student outcomes."

Why Teacher Autonomy Is Central to Coaching Success

Matthew Kelly and Jim Knight compare "responsible" vs. "irresponsible" accountability as they offer some ways to give teachers more control (and better results) through instructional coaching.

"Rather than prescribing practices to teachers, instructional coaches need to present information in a way that allows the teacher to do the thinking. After presenting the research and practices, coaches might ask what the teacher thinks about the approach and if they will need to adapt it so it will work better for them and their students. To ensure that coaching remains a goal-oriented process, coaches should engage teachers in reflective conversations about what they think might work in their classrooms."

Focus on Coaching Cycles

Stephanie Affinito offers her own checklist to prepare for coaching cycles and help make them more effective.

"Just as coaching can look unique from building to building, our coaching cycles are often unique to our coaching context, our purpose for partnering and the goals and needs of each individual teacher: 1:1 coaching cycles, small group coaching cycles, student-centered coaching cycles and more."

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