COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE 5: AVOID GIVING DIRECT ADVICE This does not say never give direct advice, just wait a while. Let teachers analyze and in- terpret. Often the decisions they reach will be very similar to yours. For most teachers, having their ideas for change reinforced by someone they respect is more likely to produce results than having to carry out someone else’s idea. On the other hand, there are times when it is better to say what we think rather than let indirectness become manipulative. Some people are naturally compliant, submissive, and obedient; perhaps they enjoy being told what to do. Nevertheless, our experience with teachers indicates that most of them prefer to feel responsible for their own actions. People who choose teaching as a career expect to be in charge of their classes; they expect to make professional decisions about goals, subject matter, materials, methodology, evaluation, and other aspécts of the educational process. _—s ~~ The line between “guided discovery” and “manipulation” is a fine one. The observer must decide when “‘Here’s the way it looks to me” is preferable to making the teacher feel that guessing games are being played.

If I accept you as you are, L will make you worse; however, if I treat you as though you are what you are capable of becom- ing, I help you become that.

Sara also underscored how social interaction, such as that in this less has the additional advantage of “making content relevant” to the students She explained that she and Kim “always try to have the purpose for wh : we're doing connected to [students’] lives.” Asking students to tell ee own stories not only validates students’ life experiences, but it also re thong amn nev writing skills by applying those skills to content (Le., experiences) in which they are experts.

Table 3.5 Practices of Teachers Who Are Effective Classroom Managers . . Ra een ly analyzes the rules and procedures that need to be in place so that i full 1. Analysis. The teacher caretult) : students can learn effectively in the classroom setting, = se clear language vo tha et 2. Description. The teacher states the rules and procedures in simple, cle: ts can understand them easily. ee 3 Toadies The teacher systematically teaches the rules and procedures at the start 0 inni i tudents. beginning a new course with new s ee ine The : sly monitors students’ compliance with the rules and proce dures, and also careful record keeping of students’ academic work. i d Supplies hysical Arrangement of Classroom ani . shaves i 7 ‘bility, Students should be able to see the instructional displays. The teacher no TE ind " te ie of instruction areas students’ work areas, and learmng centers to fa clear viev ’ __ of students. . b. Accessibility, High-traffic areas (areas for group work, pencil sharpener, = E , >. . . ility. eme: q wi seatin: s Di tr ctib ili Arrang ments hat can compete ith the teacher for students attention ( zg . Lstra . tude: ts facin, the windows to the la TOU id doo! oO et e Wit eac other but d Ty g p gz nd, rt the hall, fac oO fac 1 h h stu: y - ai mized. from the teacher) should be minimize as torll 4 ‘Supplies The teacher takes care to secure an adequate supply of textbooks and materia the students in the classroom. D.C., & Rosen door to the hail) should Source: Evertson, c. M. (198 7) Managing classrooms: A framework for teachers. In Ber liner, shine, B. V. (Eds.). Talks to teachers (pp. 52-74). New York: Random House. Effective Planning and Decision Making 75 Table 3.6 Classroom Tasks and Situations for Which a Teacher Needs Rules and Procedures . Seat assignment in the classroom . Start and end of class (e.g., “Be in your seat and ready to work when the bell rings.”) . Handing in of assignments, materials, etc. . Permissible activities if a student completes seatwork early . Leaving the room while class is in session . Standards for the form and neatness of one’s desk, notebooks, assignments, etc. . Supplies and materials to be brought to class . Signals for seeking help or indicating a willingness to answer a teacher question addressed to the class as a whole 9. Acceptable noise level in the room 10. Acceptability of verbal and physical aggression 11. Moving around the room to sharpen pencils, get materials, etc. 12. Storage of materials, hats, boots, etc., in the classroom 13. Consumption of food and gum 14. Selection of classroom helpers 15. Late assignments and make-up work ONAN BR wWN Source: Doyle, W. (1986). Classroom organization and management. In M. C. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of re- search on teaching (3d ed., pp. 392-431). New York: Macmillan. instruction. Eye contact, physical proximity to the misbehaving student, or “the look” are examples of such interventions. In the words of Walter Doyle, “successful interventions tend to have a private and fleeting quality that does not interrupt the flow of events.”°? Other techniques are also effective in managing student misbehavior. Discussion of these techniques, as well as comprehensive models of classroom discipline, is available in various sources.

When a new teacher needs emotional support, a mentor can implement the following strategies. e Engage in active and supportive listening. e Conduct daily check-ins. e Validate the teacher’s feelings.

Communicate via Double-Entry Journal One way to engage in an ongoing, written conversation with your mentee is to use a double-entry journal. To create a double-entry journal, create two columns on each page of a notebook or shared digital document (such as on Google Drive). The beginning teacher uses the left column to record his or her concerns, questions, triumphs, and feelings, and the mentor responds in the right column with advice and suggestions.

As beginning teachers seek to expand their connections within the school, district, or education system, mentors can offer institutional support. This type of support helps a teacher find his or her place in the profession and may involve helping a beginning teacher learn more about school and district cul- ture, explore the intricacies of the evaluation process, join local school and district initiatives, or become involved in various local, district, and national organizations. As a mentor, providing institutional sup- port to a mentee who has begun to thrive can be extremely rewarding. New teachers typically require some school-level institutional support—such as help in understand- ing the school’s teacher evaluation process and the subtleties of the school culture—as soon as they begin teaching, particularly during the initial anticipation and survival phases of first-year teaching (Moir, 1999; see figure 1.2 on page 9). Birkeland and Johnson (2002) summarized the importance of providing institutional support as early as possible: Achieving a “sense of success” depends largely on the conditions new teachers encounter at their schools—their roles on the faculty, their rela- tionships with colleagues, the availability of curricula and resources, and the presence of supportive structures that focus the life of the school on teaching and learning. (p. 1)

Co-teaching requires the coach and teacher to reach fundamental agreements about their collaborative work so they are both comfortable. They might discuss how they will handle unexpected student misbehaviors, situ- ations in which one feels the other misspoke, questions from students, needed adjustments in their plan, and their physical location while the other is leading a part of the lesson. They may want to reach agreements on whether each is comfortable adding comments while the other is leading his portion of the lessons or sharing observations about students’ learning with each other during the lesson. They might also want to agree about some shared values each wants to model: Each teacher is equal as a professional; each student is a learner and capable of learning; no one adult is better than the other; all students will receive the same high-quality opportunity to learn.

A second, more common method of arranging observations involves visits to other classrooms in the building. These in-person observations—similar to instructional rounds (Marzano, 2012)—allow beginning teachers to visit classrooms of professional-status, mentor-status, or master-status teachers. In other words, the mentee observes the most effective teachers in the building—teachers who have proven their ability to enhance student achievement. Join the mentee during an observation, and lead a follow-up discussion. Guide the beginning teacher’s reflection on the observation by asking about posi- tive events or outcomes he or she observed, as well as what teacher practices or strategies might have led to those events or outcomes. Next, ask the beginning teacher to share questions or concerns about how the observed teacher used different strategies in the classroom. Finally, help beginning teachers identify strategies and instructional practices in three categories (Marzano, 2012), 1. Strategies that they already use and saw the observed teacher use effectively 2. Strategies that they already use but would like to re-examine or modify based on their observations 3. Strategies that they don’t use but want to try based on their observations

Applying a shared and agreed upon structure to our conversations maximizes time, and also serves to focus attention by providing a scaffold for supporting and challenging thinking within a specified context.

Listen without interruption

For beginning teachers, the benefits of a mentoring experience include: * Increased efficacy as problem-solvers and decision-makers * Higher engagement in collaborative exchanges * Increased likelihood of remaining in teaching

ns ovens ion with Mr. Fox with the idea t i best way to weak ee eee through and we would be able to come tos ecient on the students. However, I came to the meeting with some als oeeutione - e assumptions: " ew the best way to work with middle school students _ Mr. Fox didn’t care about the students. . ¢ I could enter anew system and on the basis of relationships before trying to collaborate y credentials pass over the need to build By entering an adjoini : adjoining classroom f into a social discou : m for a day (and other classroom & l : s on ot fell ee one another . with which Mr. Fox could relate. From that point net days) I entered , even though that listening took place in team meetin : inh i om gs, in hallway con- versations, a , and over lunch. Those i : . Those interacti conve ions open rsations about teaching and learning pened the door to more genuine collegial

Acknowledging that mistakes are an essential part of learning, coaches encourage new teachers to anticipate problems and con- sider solutions in advance so they are prepared and confident when problems occur.

TransformationalLearning.ForsomewhoquestionwhethereitherandragogyorSDLtheory representalearning theorythatisuniquelyadult,transformativelearningtheory—proposedandrevisedmostprominentlybyJackMezirowow’sresearch(2000)—offersanappealingalternative. ThistheorygrewoutofMezirhefollowingdefinitionwith reentrywomeninhighereducation. Hehasofferedtoftransformativelearning:ferstotheprocessbywhichwetransformourtakerTransformativelearningrehabitsofmind, mind-for-granted framesofreference(meaningperspectives,em moreinclusive,discriminating, open,emotionallycapable©sets)tomakethchange, andreflectivesothat theymaygeneratebeliefsand opinionsthatwiprovemoretrueorjustifiedtoguide action.(pP-7-8)P uli Pp hool 5cha ter 4 Ad and Teacher Develo ent within the Context of the Sc 5Kegan (2000 c .eonssive }) contrasts transformative learning (changes in how we k itentially important ki ds of« in what we know), adding that we all e now)

Wehaveto“careaboutthepeople weare-it-alling,”Lynntoldme.“Wecan’tgoinliketheknowexpert.Coacheshavetofindawaytoharnessthehopeandmakeitworkforbothteachersandstudents.”

niceties some a perceived shortness of timeced for order to get through,From is experience inre . From his experience inaden ve Monty Roberts (1997) has observed thea 7 act like you only have a few minutes” it5 vou ha y to gecomplish a change, whereas “if you actve all day,” it may take only a few minutes. Incounseling, this most ofnN, ten takes iyour client’s readiness.

Inthesummerafterherprincipalretiredandbefore@newprincipalwasputinplace,adistrictsupervisoraskedJanetomeet withhimforaconversation.Thisistheconversation Janedescribedwhenshepracticed Habit8,ControllingToxicEmotions,aspartofour globalcommuni-cation study.Onher reflection form, Janedescribedtheconversation:IbelievedthatJwas “imvited”tohavealearningconversationtoassistmetoapplyforprincipalpositions, butIdiscoveredthesupervisor had adif-ferent agenda. His purposeforinviting me wastoCHAPTER 2. THE BETTER CONVERSATIONS BELIEFS = 28place blame for m y school’s standardizedscores inectly on my shoulders. For 90 vainutes heoa need my competence, professionalism, andmostly he just treated me with disdain

can learn to pronounce each colleague’s name correctly. No one should feel the need to shorten orchange her or his name in order to make it easier for me to pronounce it

This would be true regardless of the background of the students who attend the school. Specifically, these schools provide interventions that are designed to overcome student background characteristics that might impede learning. These interven- tions are detailed in Section III of this book. For now, it is-sufficient to say that this is a remarkable possibility—one that provides great hope for public education.