Funneling or Focusing: Using Questions to Support Thinking

Asking questions is the fulcrum of the GIR model, the coaching moves that gives the bulk of the decision-making to the teacher.  If you have been working with a teacher on something that was new for them, like differentiation or technology integration, you probably offered a lot of support initially, modeling and making recommendations. When teachers have more experience with the approach, you want them to take ownership for it. You do this by asking questions – but be careful what you ask.

Math teachers sometimes talk about two types of questions: funneling and focusing. Funneling questions start broad and get narrow, leading the learner to your answer – the idea or approach you had in your head.  Focusing questions support the learner’s responses and guide them based on their own problem-solving pattern. Although there are times when funneling is the right approach, when you are ready to tip the balance and shift responsibility to the teacher, focusing questions will be your friend.

A focusing pattern of questioning will center on the teacher’s contributions. You listen to the teacher and consider her responses, asking follow-up questions that center on these ideas.  The result is a conversation built on your expectation that the teacher now has the experience to think strategically about how to use the new approach.  Focusing questions demonstrate your respect for the teacher’s ideas.

Focusing questions are more open-ended and thought-provoking than funneling ones. Compare the two coaching conversations below:

Funneling

Teacher:I’m planning the final project for the unit and wanted to think of some ways to differentiate.

Coach:We’ve talked about differentiating the process, product, and content. Do you want to try differentiating all three for this project?

Teacher: Sure.

Coach:Have you considered using the RAFT format?

Teacher:I don’t think I’ve heard of that.

Coach:RAFT is an acronym that stands for Role of the writer, audience, format, and topic. You make a chart to give students choices about each.

This is an extreme example, but you get the idea. It is the coach’s thinking that is at the center of this conversation.  Here’s another example:

Focusing

Teacher:I’m planning the final project for the unit and wanted to think of some ways to differentiate.

Coach:What are some of the ideas you’ve been thinking about for the project?

Teacher:I really don’t have any solid ideas yet, but I want students to really be able to demonstrate that they understand different perspectives about immigration.

Coach: You want each student’s project to represent multiple perspectives?

Teacher:Maybe. Or maybe they could choose which perspective they want to represent. And then when they present, everyone would experience those multiple perspectives.

Coach:Hmmmm.  Either way could be valuable. Do you think students could be successful with either type of project – taking multiple perspectives or choosing one to focus on?

Teacher:Some could handle a multiple perspectives project, but I’m feeling like we’d get to the same purpose, and maybe go deeper, if each student chose a perspective they wanted to represent.

Coach:So, what are those perspectives? Do you want to give students a list to choose from?

In this conversation, the coach guides the teacher to examine her own ideas. Although funneling might be a helpful form of questioning when there is one right answer or when a teacher gets stuck, a focusing conversation supports teacher exploration and problem-solving, giving the teacher ownership for solutions. Focusing tips the scale, giving the teacher the problem-solving power.

This week, you might want to take a look at:

Advice for new coaches:

https://yourinstructionalcoach.com/2018/08/13/qa-what-is-the-most-important-piece-of-advice-you-would-give-to-a-new-instructional-coach/

Ways students can use Pinterest in the classroom:

https://rossieronline.usc.edu/blog/pinterest-for-students/

A well-balanced diet – choice and parameters in reading and writing:

https://ccira.blog/2018/08/28/a-well-balanced-diet/

As the new year gets underway, you might consider: Is balance the right goal for life?

https://choiceliteracy.com/article/the-big-fresh-january-23-2016no-balance/

If you still want to strive for more balance, consider the acronym SPREAD:

https://choiceliteracy.com/article/spread-teaching-and-a-balanced-life/

That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

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Wait Time

There’s a wise Quaker saying that applies to coaching: “Never miss an opportunity to keep your mouth shut.”

You know about wait time – you’re a pro at it with kids. The next time you’re coaching, do a self-check on how you do with teachers.

After asking a question, give teachers the gift of time and receptivity. Sit down. Make eye contact.  Don’t appear rushedor make the teacher feel rushed. When they pause, don’t be quick to give a response.  Instead, ask them to, “Say more about that.” Or say, “Yes, go on.”  Or just pause and offer silence.

It sounds easy, but listening and waiting can be hard work!  As we give our attention to teachers’ thinking, we give them space to reflect. We give them space to wonder. We give them space to generate new ideas.

After the teacher has had a chance to think things through, enter in and reflect back what you heard.  Paraphrase those new ideas. Restate what they seem interested in or excited about.

It can be hard work to keep your mouth shut – but the coaching rewards are worth it!

This week, you might want to take a look at:

A 10-minute podcast about creating meaningful learning experiences (for teachers and students):

https://www.jackstreet.com/jackstreet/WECM.CourosGDuet13.cfm

Questions worth considering about coaching ethics:

https://newbycoachlive.wordpress.com/2018/08/06/why-think-about-ethics-in-coaching/

When reading response becomes a task:

https://pernillesripp.com/2017/07/22/on-reading-tasks/

Giving students checklists to keep them focused:

https://choiceliteracy.com/article/using-student-checklists-in-literacy-intervention/

Ways students can use Pinterest in the classroom:

https://rossieronline.usc.edu/blog/pinterest-for-students/

That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

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Asking Questions as a Support for Resolution-Setting

With 2019 just a few days away, thoughts turn to resolutions or goals for the new year. January is a good time to help teachers pause and ponder their professional goals.  Asking questions can support reflection and encourage next steps in pursuing improvement efforts.  The series of questions below supports teachers’ self-initiated resolutions.

“What changes have you made to your practices so far this year?”

This question asks the teacher to mine her memory for successes, recognizing improvements that have already been made.

“How might these changes have affected student learning?”

This question moves the focus from teacher to learners, appropriately calling for evidence.

“How have these changes affected you?”

Asking this question encourages the teacher to consider which practices are sustainable.

“Where do you want students to be by the end of the year?”

This forward-thinking question asks teachers to take past successes and project their outcomes into the future.

“What might you have to do to get your students there?”

Building on the previous question, teachers are asked to brainstorm additional approaches that may be needed.

Make opportunities to meet one-on-one with teachers in January.  When you ask questions that encourage teachers to take stock of where they are and think about their goals, you help them recognize and prepare for success as the new year gets underway.

This week, you might want to take a look at:

Offers of wisdom from fictional characters that can inspire students’ New Year’s goal-setting:

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/work_in_progress/2016/12/10_offers_of_wisdom_from_ficti.html?cmp=eml-eb-popweek+12092016&M=57696637&U=

Asking students to self-assess their engagement:

https://studysites.corwin.com/highimpactinstruction/videos/vp2.1.htm

A podcast on mentoring new teachers to have effective guided-reading groups:

http://blog.stenhouse.com/archives/2018/05/10/mentoring-new-teachers-podcast-episode-iii-effective-guided-reading-groups/

Using design thinking in coaching:

https://blog.teachboost.com/design-thinking-approach-to-coaching

Supports for student-led discussions:

https://choiceliteracy.com/article/better-student-led-literature-discussions/

That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

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Conversational Volley in Coaching

Asking questions is a valuable coaching move, the centerpiece of the GIR model.  Questions can provide just enough support to push a novice teacher to consider new approaches or to nudge an experienced teacher forward in her thinking. But if questions are our first communication during a conference, they may put the brakes on the conversation rather than inviting contemplation.  To encourage productive discussion, listen and then “take up” a teachers’ story. 

Tom Newkirk describes this “taking up” as a contingent response and says uptake is “a demonstration of connectiveness” (Newkirk, 2017, p. 83).  A coach who is skilled at uptake makes a teacher feel attended to; the teacher feels like her comments matter.

There may be a tendency for coaches to say, “That reminds me of…..”  Such a response, however, shifts attention away from the teller.  Instead, we want to make a teller-focused comment.  We might say, “It sounds like you…..” or “You must have…..”  Uptake means we acknowledge that we’ve heard the teacher’s “story.” We show that we understand her excitement or frustration. We comment or empathize before moving to analysis.  We receive the information. 

“Receiving” might sound like referencing ideas that were shared or generously summarizing the information. It might sound like, “Let me see if I got this right” (Johnston, 2004).  We reflect back the message in a way that conveys its significance.  We send the message, “I get it.”  A teacher then feels attended to.  Her comment matters – it is not lost.  It is the basis for the conversation.

Through the social give-and-take of coaching talk, ideas are explained and extended.  Once a teacher feels understood, we ask teller-centered questions that lead to analysis.  Follow-up questions help a teacher test her ideas, “What did you notice…..?  “Why do you think…..?”  As the teacher volleys back the conversation, she feels not only understood, but validated.  She feels smart. 

Through repeated uptake, teachers strengthen and internalize their analysis process. This happens through authentic questions. Authentic questions are those we are genuinely curious about.  Such question are gratifying; someone is curious about our experiences and insights.  Authentic questions are focused on the “story” and ask for elaboration.  They don’t feel formulaic.  The opposite is a “display question,” one to which the coach already has an answer. Display questions feel like a pointed finger; like a “let’s see if you are as smart as I am.”  They don’t empower.  So much is in the tone and the follow-up.  A “Why do you think….” could be either a genuine or a display question, depending on the coach’s intent.  If the coach is using the question to drag a teacher to a specific response, the teacher is not likely to feel valued.  If the “Why do you think….” is asked with curiosity, useful analysis follows as ideas are explained, challenged, and defended.  Uptake supports the development of an idea; it supports analysis. 

And good listening invites good listening. A teacher who feels heard is more likely to respond thoughtfully herself when a question is posed. 

When we are in a hurry, we may skip the “uptake” step and jump to questions or recommendations before a teacher is convinced she’s been understood. Taking the time to acknowledge what was heard lays the groundwork for a deeper conversation.

Newkirk suggests that, in the “serve and volley” of conversation, linking the volley to the serve is what’s important.  When we take up a comment by echoing or extending it, we strengthen the coherence and depth of the conversation, building capacity for analysis and change.

Johnston, P. H. (2004). Choice words: How our language affects children's learning. Stenhouse.

Newkirk, T. (2017). Embarrassment: And the Emotional Underlife of Learning. Heinemann.

This week, you might want to take a look at:

Using student-led conferences to bridge perspectives:

https://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=3000

I often use the book, I Have a Little Problem to remind coaches to listen before recommending.  I love the suggestions here for using the book to remind students to listen:

http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/booknook/bn_problem.pdf


Considering coaching roles:

https://cailinminor.wordpress.com/2018/05/23/considering-coaching-roles-consulting-collaborating-coaching-facilitating/3/

This “Circle of Viewpoints” activity helps participants to explore a text or event from a variety of perspectives:

http://www.pz.harvard.edu/resources/circle-of-viewpoints-0

Three tips for richer student discussion:

https://www.middleweb.com/38084/learning-the-secrets-of-good-class-discussions/

That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

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Sidebar Modeling

Modeling is a powerful coaching tool, and we can get even more bang for our buck when we are intentional about it.  If possible, take the opportunity to observe a bit as you begin a coaching cycle.  Watching the teaching and learning in a classroom usually reveals aspects of instruction that can be improved, even if the teacher is an experienced expert.  There is just so much going on that it’s handy to have an extra pair of eyes and ears on the job!

As you launch a coaching cycle, you’ll probably sit down with the teacher and select a learning target for your work together. That will be the main focus, and your initial modeling will center around that goal.  However, you may also be able to incorporate other instructional features as sidebars.

I talked this week with Sherri, an experienced coach who is working with first-grade-teacher Sarah on pacing. Sarah’s internal teaching clock is not yet well-developed, so she often ends up with too much or not enough time available as a lesson draws to a close. Last week she gave all the instructions for a hands-on math activity only to realize that it was time to line up for lunch!  So Sherri and Sarah have chosen pacing as an appropriate coaching goal, and Sherri will be modeling a lesson.  She’ll ask Sarah to notice the choices she makes that affect the lesson’s pacing. For example she’ll ask her to pay attention to how she guides and manages student discussion so that the time is productive.  But Sherri told me she’ll also be doing some sidebar modelling.

“When I’m making my lesson plans, if I see something they aren’t doing, then I try to make sure I include that,” she said. Sherri then talked about the element of silliness, fun, and energy on the teacher’s part that enhances students’ participation.  An engaging teacher can increase the odds of students’ participation and cognitive engagement.  Sherri believes this element enhances the culture of the classroom, too, and she felt Sarah and her students would both enjoy their learning more if they were having more fun together.  So she planned to make this element clear in her modeling and then “pull out things where I discuss that energy piece” during the debrief conversation.

Through purposeful planning and intentional modeling, Sherri, and coaches like her, increase the impact of a coaching cycle.

This week, you might want to take a look at:

A podcast on listening (my favorite quote: “Listening—to loved ones, strangers, faraway places—is an act of generosity and a source of discovery.”)

 https://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/411697251/the-act-of-listening

 March madness with a book twist: 

http://marchbookmadness.weebly.com/

It’s not too late to join the Slice-of-Life Story Challenge for teachers:

https://twowritingteachers.org/2018/01/22/11thsolsc/

Differences between collaboration and cooperation:

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/collaboration-vs-cooperative-learning-nea

Picture book biographies with older students in mind (introduce scientists, artists, and historical figures in a friendly way!):

https://www.middleweb.com/36313/picture-book-biographies-for-the-middle-grades/

That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

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Questions as Invitations

As you’ve no doubt noticed, the title for this post is, “Questions as Invitations.”  Full disclosure: The subtitle should be “Coaching for Word Nerds.”

As a literacy teacher, I’ve taught lessons about the importance of word choice.  One right word is better than ten almost-right ones, or, as Mark Twain said, “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter – ‘tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”

Leave out the adverbs and choose the right verb. Leave out the adjectives and choose the right noun.  When writing, words matter. When coaching, words matter, too.

Take the word “celebrate.”  I agree with Ruth Ayersthat celebration is a good thing.  Even the word celebration sounds celebratory!  You can take advantage of that word power when coaching.  After an observation, you can jump right in with “What do you want to celebrate about that lesson?”  I promise, you’re going to get a better response than if you ask, “What was successful about today’s lesson?”  Don’t you feel happier just thinking about it?

Instead of asking, “What frustrated (or confused) you during the lesson?” ask, “What were you puzzled by?”  Being puzzled positions the teacher as a problem-solver rather than someone overwrought by the situation.

And don’t ask for evidence unless you want the teacher to feel she is on trial.  Ask what clues the teacher noticed during a lesson that indicated students’ understanding (or lack of it).  Being a detective is more fun than being a lawyer (that’s true in the movies, anyway!).

Even the form of the word we choose can make a difference.  Asking, “What challenged you?” positions the teacher as someone boldly facing challenges. Asking, “What challenges did you have?” gives an image of an uncontrollable avalanche. 

And if a lesson flopped, and you and the teacher both know it, sometimes it can work to overstate the situation.  A little trouble calls for revision, but a big problem calls for an overhaul.  This out-of-context word can take the edge off of a difficult situation rather than the typical, “What would you do differently.”

Some questions feel like invitations, welcoming participation.  The words we choose can urge and encourage, suggest and prompt.  In situations where we’ve already established relationships, or where teaching is sailing smoothly along, careful attention to words isn’t quite as important.  But in less-ideal situations, if we want our teacher-guests to whole-heartedly participate in the coaching conversation we’ve invited them to, we must be careful wielders of the word.  What are your favorite coaching words? How will you wield them? Here’s to coaching word nerds!

This week, you might want to take a look at:

Vocab review using “Word Sneak” (with a digital twist):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW8o--S3wQI&index=7&list=PLYmYDLb2oJqGQOvjZHPhO4ulIuiUvNYNS

Sign up for news about the 2018 Global Read Aloud:

https://theglobalreadaloud.com/2017/12/23/global-read-aloud-2018-sign-up-is-open-and-news-gra17-gra18/

Books with resilient characters:

http://www2.ncte.org/blog/2017/10/finding-mentor-books-inspire-resiliency/

Spread positivity – morale boosts for teachers:

https://www.edutopia.org/article/weekly-morale-boost-teachers

Reminder to talk “with” students, not “at” them:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nyr1OizVo0

That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

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