COACHING CONVERSATIONS Ideas from the Ulearn Conference for COACHING CONVERSATIONS

“On one level conversations begin from a common place” You both want solutions You both want to be able to move forward You both want to be teaching successfully You both want successful outcomes for your students

Tawa Intermediate School Principal Clearly conversations can go haywire Coaching for Change Carolyn Stuart Tawa Intermediate School Principal She was speaking from the point of view of shifting staff engagement And finding ways of improving the learning outcomes of the students at the school. What I found useful was her ingredients for coaching conversations.

IF WE DON'T HELP EACH OTHER WHO WILL? But IF WE DON'T HELP EACH OTHER WHO WILL? Barbara Mandrell b 1948 We are all important in the learning community and we all need Each other to succeed. Without the human community one single human being cannot survive. The Dalai Lama b.1935.

How often did they build on a teacher's So on with the job A DIALOGUE COVENANT - An agreed set of speaking and listening behaviours For teachers and teachers and teachers and parents She drew attention to teachers speaking to each other in meetings. How often did they build on a teacher's idea? Or how often did they just interrupt each other? Who never talks at all? Who talks all the time?

Glasser Questions for coaching conversations Source: Ksenija Napan What do you want? What are you doing? (about it to get there) Is it working? What kind of teacher person do you want to be? (qualities/abilities) Make a plan

Active listening is cool and can lead to... Shifting the level of thought up, Down or sideways! Expanding or simplifying As a means of clarification Summarising and organising ideas Acknowledging and clarifying ideas

So you're concerned about ... You would like to see … Acknowledging Clarifying THE MIRROR TECHNIQUE Ways to start sentences which capture the essence of a problem or idea being shared with you as a coach. REFLECTING BACK So you're concerned about ... You would like to see … You're feeling badly about … Source: Bob Garmston

THE CASE FOR THE BASKET APPROACH Summarising and organising Thoughts and ideas THE CASE FOR THE BASKET APPROACH Ways to start sentences which tries to capture the essence of key problems or ideas being shared with you as a coach. You seem to have two main goals here … On one hand you _______________ and on the other hand you ________________.

THE PLACE FOR AN ELEVATOR RIDE Shifting the direction of thought up for a birds-eye view of what is going on rather than being in it down to simplify parts for clarification or sideways to expand by imagining including factors. THE PLACE FOR AN ELEVATOR RIDE Sentence starters: So you value .....So your goal is ..... You believe that … (Takes the teacher you are coaching/listening to, to a higher place so that they get to see a broader view of their problems or ideas)

The Solution-Focused School Counselor Ideas for conversations adapted from The Solution-Focused School Counselor Deficit thinking conversations compared with constructive conversations Focus is on the teacher's perceived deficits, weaknesses, Limitations and problem Focuses on and reminds the teachers of their competencies,strengths, possibilities, and attempted solutions. Teacher is “stuck” Teacher is a problem Talk is focused on: The teacher's problems, past and present. Stuck in the moment. Talk is focused on: possible solutions, visualising the teacher in the future and change. Talk is focused enduring traits Causes for everything Talk is focused on exceptions and possible solutions Solutions are outside the teacher Solutions are within the teacher Goals are set for the teacher Goals are agreed jointly by the teacher and the Coach. They are measurable, action-oriented, Descriptive and form solutions to problems or Actions for ideas.

Ideas for coaching conversations taken from Leading with Questions The case for closed questions Closed questions are useful at the beginning and end of conversations. As you start a conversation, asking a simple closed question makes it easy for people to answer and doesn't force them to reveal too much about themselves. : eg “Is this a good time to talk?”. Closed questions are good at the end of a conversation to help clarify or seek further understanding of the results of the discussion and reach closure on a decision or course of action. - setting that goal.

confuses the responder. Unhelpful questions Disempowering, leading or multiple questions that string heaps of questions together to meet the need of the questioner but confuses the responder.

their story”. They establish an understanding between The case for open questions Open-ended questions invite others to “tell their story”. They establish an understanding between teachers coaching teachers. What do you think about ...? What possibilities come to mind? What might happen if ...? What other options can we think of? What is stopping you/us? What happens if ...?

DIFFERENT QUESTIONS TYPES – for DIFFERENT PURPOSES Explorative questions open up new avenues and insights and lead to new explorations: Have you explored or thought of?

Effective questions invite people to share feelings about an issue: How do you feel about ...?

Reflective questions encourage more exploration and elaboration: You think there are some difficulties with ..., what do you think is causing these difficulties?

Probing Questions invite the person or group to go more deeply into a particular issue. This is useful, not only for getting more information, but for getting people to be more open and expansive in their thinking. Words like: describe, explain, clarify, elaborate or expand get into more depth or breadth on a topic.

Fresh questions challenge basic assumptions: Why must it be that way? What hasn't been tried before?

Questions that create connections establish a wider perspective. What are the consequences of these actions? What would be the consequences of these actions?

Analytical questions examine causes and not just symptoms. Why ...?

Clarifying questions help free us from ambiguity, but such questions are sometimes difficult to ask. When we hear a question, we tend to think we should know what the other person means, and that it is some fault of ours that we are not able to understand. Possible questions to ask: What specifically did you mean by that? How exactly could that be done? Could you explain more about the situation?

“Words are not innocent” LEARNING TALK BUILDS UNDERSTANDING by Joan Dalton The ways we talk together have a profound impact on: 1. Relationships. 2. The amount and quality of collaboration between teachers 3. The quality of the collective intelligence that emerges 4. And consequently on student learning improvement.

“The answers are in the room” or within the teacher that you are having a coaching conversation with. Once the person you are coaching can explain their ideas for their Future goals and actions – they own them.

So, cheese then?