I presented a session for instructional coaches looking to sharpen their questioning skills for conferencing and facilitating along with the deepening an understanding for coaching teachers on their use of questions. Here is the session description:

There is a strong connection between questioning and learning. Teachers’ questions can engage and model thinking processes that students develop to promote their own learning. Those coaching teachers need to practice the same questioning processes. Explore a questioning protocol that you can use to guide your work facilitating learning. The model examines questions for gathering information, working with information and taking action. Consider the complexity of questions rather than higher and lower order.

I used the Questions for Learning format to plan the purpose of questions and to have cue words for forming questions. (Download: Questions for Life.)

Questions from perception, induction, analysis, and same/different work together to help gather information. When approaching or experiencing something new, these questions set the stage for exploring deeper.

In a Coaching Conference

• As you planned this learning activity, how did you picture students responding initially to the task? Perception
• How similar was that to their response? Same/Different
• Which students persevered less than the majority of the class? Analysis
• What generalization would you make about student perseverance? Induction

In a PLC Facilitation

• What do you see as you look at the writing samples from the advanced students? Perception
• How does their writing differ from students performing at the standard level? Same/Different
• What generalizations can you make when observing the advanced students during in-class writing time? Induction
• What are the next skills for advanced students to acquire? Analysis

Often in the midst of asking these gathering information questions, insights emerge. Frequently without even asking an insight question. Appraisal, summary and evaluation questions provide ways to work with information, in ways that increase meaning and understanding.

In a Coaching Conference

• What connections do you find among student perseverance and mindset? Insight
• In a nutshell, what builds perseverance? Summary
• What is most important in creating a classroom environment for promoting perseverance? Appraisal
• How much of an investment would you want to make in impacting student mindsets? Why? Evaluation

In a PLC Facilitation

• What insight emerges from comparing the advanced writers across the grade level? Insight
• Should we explore ways to provide some direct instruction specially for the advanced writers? Why? Evaluation
• How would you rate the feedback that advanced writers are currently receiving? Appraisal
• What should be our focus with the advanced writers? Summary

I find that I can often use evaluation questions to judge if it is appropriate to explore ideas, prediction and action. Note how the two evaluation questions above identify whether or not a commitment or desire exists to move toward action. Moving toward action too soon can lead to frustration because agreement or group consensus isn’t present for investment in action. If your evaluation question uncovers unreadiness, it’s best to consider uncovering more information and meaning which may lead to redefining a concern or selecting a different area for action.

In a Coaching Conference

• What ideas do you have for increasing student perseverance/effort in problem-solving? Ideas
• What problems might arise from investing time in this effort? Prediction
• How would you start? Action
• What is the first indicator you’d see or hear that would encourage you to continue? Perception

In Facilitating a PLC

• What options are there for arranging time to pull advanced writers for direct instruction? Ideas
• How can collaborating benefit each teacher? Prediction
• Who should plan and provide the first sessions? How should we follow up with our own students? Action
• What should we look for as changes in their writing? Perception

Notice that part of taking action is planning for the information to be gathered as action starts and develops. Often this builds in a continuous coaching element. What might a coach observe to assist the teacher(s) in reflecting on the decisions they have made?

I consciously turn to the Questions for Learning framework to preplan some of the questions I will use in an upcoming coaching session, facilitation, or PD workshop. Having a few anchor questions prepared allows me to be a better listener and thus increase the personalization of the process.

[PS. This workshop was delivered as a skyped-in, facilitated session for a coaches’ PD (about 90 minutes). If you’d be interested in such a possibility, reach me at sbarkley@plsweb.com]

 I recently was a guest participant on a Twitter chat with #educoach where the topic was exploring instructional coaches’ work with Professional Learning Communities (PLCs).The facilitators offered a series of questions to spark the sharing. Here are the questions, some of the tweets I shared and my reflections on the responses. The entire chat is archived and accessible to you here.

In what ways are you as an IC currently interacting with PLCs?

When you read the participant comments, they range from being available when invited to attend ….. to helping the PLC leaders arrange the agenda for the meetings…. to being the facilitators of the PLC meetings. Some ICs reported that they were in the beginning stages of forming PLCs at their school while others had PLCs as the “way we do business.”

I shared that effective PLCs can allow coaches to multiply the impact of their time. In schools where ICs are working with larger numbers of teachers, it is extremely difficult for coaches meeting with individual teachers to have a measureable impact on overall student achievement. By being a participant in PLCs, an IC can generate shared exploration of student work, collegial critical thinking, creative ideas, and supportive risk taking, applying new approaches in classrooms.

A PLC conversation can serve as a pre- observation conference with all the team members readying the coach to do observations in each of their classrooms. Observation feedback can then be shared either individually with teachers or collectively in the next PLC. While discussing data or student work, questions will likely emerge that can be explored in coaching observations. I believe that PLC conversations present natural opportunities for coaching observations. This may be the best way for coaches in schools where the coaching process is new to find entry points into previously “closed” classrooms.

How do you get PLC conversations to focus on student achievement results?

‏Participant @LauraKJasso suggested that PLCs spend the 1st sessions designing a shared vision based on student achievement.

I believe that definitely is key. PLC’s need to be results focused and student achievement is the result. Too often PLCs become focused on products: pacing guidelines, common assessments, instructional activities. While all this work may occur in PLCs it is crucial that our assessment of what we accomplished not be measured in tasks done or deadlines met but in student learning.

I think that sharing specific learning goals for individual students can provide the ongoing focus on achievement. As assessment information becomes available we identify which students are ahead of target, on target, off target. Then strategize a team response.

Participant @Jyoung1219 noted, Pre-assessments help set goals, track progress, & promote reflective thinking at the end.

Here is a resource I shared: Blog on learning goals and strategies

How do you get PLC work to be more focused on learning than teaching

Participant @mlewiswa suggested: peer observations where there is emphasis on looking at what students are doing and saying, not just teachers

The first suggestion I offered created a greater number of “retweets” than any other I ever posted: When looking at student work or data ask, ”What do the students need us to learn?” This thought really helps me keep clarity on why I am in a PLC. I’d like to get a greater learning outcome than I currently am. If I knew what to do to get it I would. Therefore I need to learn something. My PLC is an ideal place for me to learn and thus impact my students’ learning.

I also suggested that coaches can ask, “What will learners do to cause the learning?” . This question focuses the conversation onto learning behaviors when many teachers want to skip right to teaching behaviors. Coaches can offer to observe in classrooms gathering data on student behaviors. Currently, “What are struggling students doing in class?” as we implement different strategies, “How have these students changed learning behaviors?”

When coaches model in classrooms they can ask teachers to focus on what students are doing. Getting a clear picture of the desired student learning behavior is crucial to the teacher understanding why the particular teacher behavior is important.

What do you do to move PLCs from being a franchise meeting to being a team meeting?

When teachers function more as franchises they might create common assessments, but they take individual responsibility for student success rather than team responsibility. I tweeted: “Key is everyone owning the goal… moving students from here to there…which classroom they are in doesn’t matter”

Here are two resources on teaming vs sharing: a blog and video

As coaches cause more teachers to spend coaching time in each other’s classrooms, the quality of teacher critical thinking and learning in PLCs will increase and the greater pay-offs of student success will be achieved.

I am a strong advocate for the Principal Coach Partnership  (see earlier blog).

Agreement defining student learning outcomes (vision) builds trust and focus among the leadership team at a school. An administrator can build increased shared leadership knowing that time the coach spends with teachers and decisions made in PLCs will focus on the shared, desired result. As a teacher I can make myself more vulnerable and open to my coach when I am aware that she wants the same outcomes for my students as I do. A frequent re-examination of crucial student achievement goals and the student and teacher behaviors likely to achieve them keep the coach and administrative team connected. Steve Barkley

It is critical that coach and principal function as a team and are seen by staff as being “on the same page.” A teacher should discover that as she implements changes discussed with a coach, a principal notices and reinforces those efforts. It should be obvious to the staff that issues addressed in their faculty meetings align with topics of PLC and coaching conversations sparked by the coach. This does not mean there isn’t confidentiality in coaching conversations. It means the common focus on student achievement and the thoughts about the necessary student behaviors to produce that achievement are in place.

Scheduling the time, especially uninterrupted, for the necessary coach/principal conversations is often presented to me as a difficulty. The summer schedule may provide the perfect opportunity for the instructional coach to call the principal and request a coffee hour to catch up and/or establish a plan for the start of the new year. Here are some questions that a coach might use in such a dialogue with consideration to varying partnership situations. (Mix and match as appropriate)

Coach and principal both returning, having worked together last year.

• What do you identify as our greatest success last year in student learning?
• What did you notice in classroom observations that would have led you to predict the success?
• What do you see as our focus for student growth this year?
• What changes will teachers need to make to gain the student behaviors we need?
• What would you see and hear students doing that would tell you the teacher changes are in place?
• How would my work support the changes we need?
• What do you believe you will need to do?
• How should we plan to communicate the plan to the staff?

Principal returning and coach is new to the school

• What are some of the strongest student achievement results the school is getting?
• What do you believe are the staff efforts that are getting those results?
• Where are you envisioning the next desired increase in student achievement?
• What will you need to get students to do to reach that result?
• What will that require teachers to do?
• How should I begin my work to support those efforts?

Coach returning and the principal is new

• What have your experiences been coaching, being coached and working with school based coaches?
• How does the role of a coach fit into promoting the school culture you will want to develop?
• What questions do you have for me?
• How can my work assist you as you begin knowing and guiding student achievement success?

Coach and principal are new to the school

• What have your experiences been coaching, being coached and working with school based coaches?
• How does the role of a coach fit into promoting the school culture you will want to develop?
• What do you know about the school that will focus our beginning work? What do we need to find out?
• What are some of the initial impressions and messages you want the staff to receive?
• How can I best support the start of that work?

If you are a principal and your coach doesn’t request a summer conversation, consider sending an invitation. Then forward this blog. I believe there is real value in the coaching hearing your responses. I’d love to hear the experiences of anyone experimenting with these questions. Good luck in building your partnerships.