Some time back I posted a blog on the “Barkley Model” of coaching. I described that for years I had said there wasn’t a model and then finally understood that in effective that was the model. My focus has been on developing coaching skills that allow the coach to create the approach/application of coaching that best fits the opportunity to create growth for the coachee. Supporting coachees to achieve their goals.
A recent post by Dana Godek and Michael Moore, There are 4 types of coaching. Here’s how to implement them reinforced my approach. They described a spectrum of coaching and suggest choosing the type of coaching based on the person’s experience with a particular challenge or context. Godek and Moore both have school level and district level administration experiences and support educators tackling education challenges. While the focus of their article is on school leaders, I think their elements apply to coaching teachers.
A Spectrum of Coaching
Supportive, inquiry-based – “When the leader has experience with similar context or challenges (or they lean toward introversion) exploring options through supportive questioning and reflection works well. “
When a coachee leans toward introversion, supportive questioning and reflection work well because it aligns with their natural tendency to reflect deeply on past experiences and internal processes. Encouraging them to recall times when they successfully navigated similar challenges helps them tap into their strengths. Giving them the space to trust their own thinking and decision-making can lead to meaningful insights or breakthroughs.
Some of these questions might fit this inquiry approach:
Can you recall a time when you faced a similar challenge? What strategies did you use that worked well?
What did you learn from previous experiences that might be useful in this situation?
Looking back, how did you overcome obstacles or doubts in similar circumstances?
What patterns do you notice when you think about other times you’ve successfully managed a similar issue?
What options feel most aligned with your own way of thinking and problem-solving?
What would success look like in this situation, based on your past experiences?
When you think about your role in this challenge, what aspects do you feel in control of, and how can you build on that?
Expertise-driven- “When the coach or supervisor has experience with similar issues, it can be appropriate to apply that experience to problem analysis and solution generation. If it devolves into “this is what’s worked for me,” then it is really supervision, not coaching. The key is to stay with questioning that deepens understanding, provides additional perspective or generates additional options. The choice of options needs to stay with the person being coached.”
I usually label this type of coaching as mentoring. The coachee is aware of the background, knowledge, and experiences of the coach and wishes to tap into that expertise. I look for the coachee to request my stepping into this role. Godek’s and Moore’s caution on the choice of options staying with the coachee is critical. I describe possibilities as “could do vs should do.” I see this as very important when working with teachers because students’ responses to a teacher’s action vary greatly from classroom to classroom and day to day. Teaching is experimenting.
Perspective coaching- “Often a leader who feels stuck or ineffective is grateful for having a coach ‘in the balcony,’ looking at the challenge from a distance or different perspective. Perspective coaching asks the leader to consider a variety of perspectives other than just their own.”
Consider a teacher who is feeling frustrated because they believe their students are not engaged in lessons, and they’re not sure how to improve student motivation.
With a perspective approach, a coach might ask.
- From the students’ point of view, what might be contributing to their lack of engagement?
- How do you think your teaching style is perceived by your students?
- What do you think your students would say if they were asked what they enjoy most about your lessons? Where might they say they want things to change?
- Imagine you had a colleague observing your class. What feedback would you want them to give you about what they observe concerning students’ engagement?
- If you had a video of yourself and your students from your last lesson, what do you think you’d observe?
- If you were to look at this situation from a year down the road, what would you hope to see in terms of student engagement? What would need to change for you to get there?
Hybrid coaching – “One myth about coaching is, “If I’m your supervisor, I can’t be your coach.” The best supervisors both coach and supervise in most interactions. An uneven power dynamic can be addressed through transparency, trust-building and naming the boundaries between coaching-inquiry and directive-supervision.”
I have described that a school administrator is responsible for evaluating, supervising, mentoring, and coaching staff members. Positions like instructional coach, learning support specialist, district curriculum specialist are all supports for teacher growth. Trust is key as growth requires risk-taking. One element of creating that trust is transparency around the activity that we are engaged in. Administrators can become frustrated when they try to coach the middle of an evaluation. An unlikely time for the teacher to be vulnerable and open to the coaching. Instructional coaches become frustrated when a teacher perceives coaching as more supervisory and thus limits risktaking.
Clarity of the type and purpose of feed back can best set the stage for a future focused…. positive impact dialogue.
