Here is a slide that I frequently display at the start of facilitating a learning opportunity for school leaders, instructional coaches, and teachers. I personalize the statement with a look at myself. “There is no mountaintop in learning mastery as an educator. One needs not worry about reaching mastery prior to retirement. Having passed the “retirement opportunity age,” I have too much to learn to retire.
Michael Nelson & Peter DeWitt in an Education Week Opinion Piece, “Calling Yourself a ‘Lead Learner’ Doesn’t Make It So : The illusion of mastery can have unintended consequences,” provided additional insights for my continued learning. They pointed out that the term “lead learner,” often used by school leaders in describing their role might suggest that the leader learns something and then teaches others. That might miss the image of leaders learning from those they are leading.
That thought connects with a suggestion I’ve provided when asked, “What should we look for in interviewing candidates for instructional coaching roles?” My response is that one thing to look for is excitement about what they will be able to learn as they engage with teachers in coaching conversations. Jim Knight’s partnership approach to coaching provides a foundation for seeing instructional coaches and teachers as co-learners engaged in a shared inquiry process. Rather than positioning the coach as the expert who delivers answers, the partnership model emphasizes equality, choice, dialogue, reflection, and reciprocity. In this stance, coaches enter classrooms with curiosity, seeking to understand a teacher’s goals, beliefs, and context, and then collaborating to explore strategies that might support the desired student outcomes. Both coach and teacher contribute knowledge, co-constructing ideas, trying them, gathering evidence, and refining practice together.
Nelson and Witt introduced me to the Japanese term Shoshin, often translated as “beginner’s mind.” It is a concept in Zen Buddhism that describes approaching any task, relationship, or problem with the openness, curiosity, and humility of a true beginner, even when one is experienced. Expertise is not abandoned, but it is held lightly. The goal is to see situations freshly, without assumptions, preconceptions, or the defensiveness that can come with expertise. The beginner’s mindset expands learning because it keeps us receptive to new insights and willing to explore rather than protect what we already know.
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind there are few.”
(Zen Teacher, Shunryu Suzuki)
These elements of Shoshin create an environment for a learners mindset.
- Openness: A willingness to consider unfamiliar ideas and perspectives.
- Curiosity: A stance of wondering, questioning, and exploring rather than judging.
- Humility: An understanding that no matter how much we know, we are always learners.
- Presence: Attending fully to the moment, which allows for deeper noticing and insight.
- Non-attachment: Letting go of fixed outcomes or proving oneself “right.”
As I look at this list, I think about how often coaches talk about the enjoyment they find working with beginning teachers who are often so “open” to engaging with the coach. As coaches, we need to model those same beginner behaviors which have us enter conversations without assumptions as to what the teacher should do, asking authentic rather than leading questions. By modelling intellectual humility and continuous learning, coaches create psychological safety, so teachers are more willing to experiment.
“There’s comfort in being good at your job. It builds trust, credibility, and often, influence. But comfort can dull our curiosity and limit our growth.”
(Nelson and Witt)
A Shoshin approach can also play a powerful role in the work of Professional Learning Communities. That mindset helps teams stay open, curious, and growth oriented as they examine student learning and shape instructional approaches. In a PLC operating with a beginner’s mind, members approach data, student work, and each other’s perspectives without defensiveness or preconceived explanations. Instead of assuming they already know why students performed a certain way or which strategy will work best, they enter conversations with curiosity: What might we be missing? What else could be true? What new possibilities haven’t we explored? That mindset encourages deeper listening, more authentic collaboration, and a willingness to test ideas through collective inquiry rather than relying on past practice. Shoshin reduces ego and expertise-protection that can hinder a team’s learning. Instead, PLC members model humility and openness by wondering aloud, experimenting, and learning from colleagues. Shoshin can support PLCs being dynamic learning communities where continuous discovery drives better outcomes for students.
