Is This Teacher Still with Me?
In previous posts on teacher “resistance,” I addressed the coach mindset related to challenging partnerships and 5 practical strategies for building teacher buy in. Check those out if you are interested in addressing the broader topic of teacher “resistance.” Here I will focus on ways to face teacher disengagement or hesitation right in the moment during the coaching meeting.
In my role as a coach of coaches and school leaders, I often observe coaching meetings. The far majority of the meetings I observe are positive, engaging and productive. However, every once in a while, I witness teachers who are disengaged, frustrated or down-right hostile. This looks like everything from teachers just “yessing” their way through the meeting, nodding just enough to feign engagement, all the way to teachers saying, “I don’t see the point of this” or “This is a waste of my time.”
Coaching meetings like these are challenging. And most coaches’ natural inclination, like mine, is to just push through it.
However, ignoring the negativity or disengagement typically means that it will continue into a downward spiral.
Instead, facing the difficult situation head on interrupts the negative cycle and produces space to meet teachers where they are at in order to promote growth.
Here are five strategies that I use during coaching meetings to directly address teachers who are distracted, disengaged, or frustrated.
5 Strategies for Confronting Disengagement:
Dig & Reframe
What it is: Use a prompt or a question like “Tell me more” or “Can you help me to understand what makes you hesitant in this process?” to unearth the frustration or hesitation. Then, reframe the challenge or partnership in a positive and trust-building way.
Why to use it: The goal is to help the teacher release their frustration, make their voice and concerns heard, and also help them see a different possibility or purpose for the coaching partnership.
What it sounds like: If after asking the question above, a teacher expresses that they felt like strategies were crammed down their throat last year, your reframing may be: “My job is to individualize this support to you: some teachers may need support with writing an objective and creating the big blocks; you may have those down pat, and we can just do some tweaking to push it to the next level.”
Ask for an Attempt
What it is: When teachers are hesitant about practicing in the coaching meeting or trying a new strategy in their class, simply ask teachers to give it a shot.
Why to use it: The goal with this strategy is to help teachers see that there isn't much to lose and there’s a whole lot to possibly gain, and to just make an attempt.
What it sounds like: “We just have 20 more minutes together today. Since our goal is to make the best possible lesson for the sake of your students, and since it's such a short time, will you give this process your best shot today?”
Name Disengagement
What it is: Using direct but kind language, simply state that you notice the teacher’s disengagement or hesitation.
Why to use it: This strategy is helpful to bring teachers back to the present moment in the coaching meeting, and to notice that their behavior impacts you and the coaching process. By calling out the disengagement, teachers can voice what’s going on for them and be more intentional about engaging in the process.
What it sounds like: “I notice you seem hesitant/like your mind is somewhere, what do you need to make this helpful for you?”
Students First
What it is: Find a way to connect your purpose back to being about helping every kid thrive in the teacher’s class
Why to use it: This connects the coach and teacher around a common purpose: students thriving in their class. Once a common purpose is reestablished, it helps teachers and coaches to agree on a process to reach the common goal.
What it sounds like: “I know making time for student dialogue didn’t go as well as you would have liked the first time, but what would be the impact on student learning if we could make a discussion protocol really work in your class?” or “I know it’s the end of the day, but let’s take the next 15 minutes to go all in with our practice session because our students deserve it!”
Connect to Teacher’s Interests
What it is: Look for an analogy for the teacher’s growth or engagement in coaching that connects to their personal interests: sports, writing, music, cooking, traveling, etc.
Why to use it: If coaching is feeling low-energy or that it’s not connecting with the teacher, this strategy helps make a way to “translate” the coaching process to a way of thinking that the teacher already has a framework for.
What it sounds like: “Tell me more about your story of how you came to be a musician… Let’s think about this coaching partnership like learning an instrument. It can feel challenging and awkward at first, but the more you practice, the stronger you’ll get.”
As a note, I want to be clear that coaches should not have to take verbal abuse from teachers in coaching partnerships. In situations where teachers are cursing at or directly mean to the coach, a supervisor should certainly intervene. Sometimes, these partnerships can be reconciled by the supervisor, but I’ve occasionally seen a partnership that needed to be disbanded because of the teacher’s behavior. This is very rare, but should be taken seriously.
Coaching partnerships that move from hostile or disengaged to meaningful and change-producing are some of the most powerful experiences in a coach’s career. Don’t shy away from addressing a challenging partnership. Instead, with kindness, grace and curiosity, face it head on and see what growth can come of it.