A post by Sarah Cottinghatt and Adam Kohlbeck from Cognitive Coaching, “AVOID the Vague Opener,” reinforced an ongoing recommendation I’ve made to instructional coaches to avoid opening a post conference conversation with ”How do you think that went?” This question might be translated in the coachee’s mind as, “Guess what the coach is thinking.” The authors share that while the question might sound friendly and reflective, it gives the teacher an impossible task. You’re asking a teacher to scan across an entire lesson and select a specific insight or do a summary evaluation. But even more importantly, they add, “They know they might end up saying they thought something went well that you think didn’t! And because of this, we often find coachees just list off a lot of things they think went wrong.”
Teacher voice is key in generating the reflection that leads to a “what’s the next step?” decision. Consider that the coaching post conference should be a conversation, not a report delivered by the coach. I suggest that a minimum goal is to have a 50/50 coach-teacher voice with a goal of getting to a 75% teacher voice in post conferences. Reflection that leads to conscious future action on the teacher’s part is the desired outcome of post conferencing. When coaches begin the post conference with that evaluation question, “How do you think that went?” the conversation often stalls.
When the teacher hasn’t had sufficient time to reflect on the learning activity and hasn’t heard what information the coach has collected, they could envision being blindsided by information they don’t have. A teacher might respond with, “I think okay,” or, “the students seemed engaged” or “I’m not sure.” This response can mistakenly be read by the coach as resistance, when the teacher is being protective rather than reflective. The conversation can also be stranded further when the teacher having given that safe response, asks, “What do you think?” That question can push the coach into an evaluative response before having the opportunity to hear what the teacher saw and heard and to share the coach’s observations.
My approach to the post conference is based on using questions that help me understand what the teacher is thinking and maybe even more importantly what the teacher observed while teaching that is influencing their thinking. These sample questions can encourage the teacher to re-enter the lesson rather than judge it.
- Was there a spot during the lesson that made you smile?
- How did the movie you imagined, when you planned the lesson compare to how things unfolded?
- How much of what you did was planned and where did you modify, or adlib based on what you observed?
- Were there surprises?
- You asked me to record the questions you asked as you moved among the cooperative groups. What do you think you’ll find as you review the list I collected?
- You asked me to focus on the two new students during the lesson. What did you notice?
If in the pre-conference, the teacher’s focus was set and how the coach would collect the observational data was established, the coach can now use the data to reinforce or extend the teacher’s reflections.
Here is an example of an opening post conference.
Coach: When you planned this lesson, you had a picture in your mind of how the group discussions would sound and feel. As you think back, how did that “movie” compare to what actually unfolded?
Teacher: I think the opening went pretty close to what I imagined. Most of the groups jumped right in. Some of the other groups needed more prompting than I expected.
Coach: What were you noticing that told you some groups needed more prompting from you?
Teacher: They were offering options quickly but not really building on each other’s ideas. I found myself stepping in more than I planned.
Coach: You mentioned in the pre-conference that you were curious about the kinds of questions you asked as you moved between groups. Before we look at the list I collected, what do you think you’ll notice when you review it?
Teacher: I’m guessing I asked a lot of clarifying questions—maybe more than probing ones.
Coach: What makes you think that?
Teacher: Because I was trying to get them unstuck instead of pushing their thinking.
Coach: Let’s look at what I collected. I tried to record as many as I could, but I know sometimes I got interested in the learning interaction and missed your next question. As you scan them, what stands out to you?
(Coach shares the data side-by-side)
Teacher: Yeah… there are more “What do you mean by that?” questions than I expected. And fewer follow-ups like, “Can someone build on that?”
Coach: What do you make of that in relation to what you were hoping students would do during the discussion?
This conversation sets the stage for reading a coachee’s readiness to explore future action.
Christine Miles, the author of, “What’s it Costing You to Not Listen,”shared in a podcast with me that “we listen to get the other person’s story and to be able to communicate what we understand before we dare to do other stuff.” Storytelling is not a natural skill, just as listening is not a natural skill. Therefore, our job while listening is to help organize the speaker to tell their story in a way we can understand.
I like Miles’ description of helping the speaker organize the story. I question and paraphrase, with curious and interested non-verbal communication as the coachee helps build my clarity of understanding their story. This supports their own reflection and likely highlights their emotions and insights. They understand more as I understand more. Coaching is a human experience.
