Support Struggling Teachers, Rooted in Relationships Not Control
One of the biggest challenges of coaching is seeing a classroom where a teacher needs a lot of development and just not knowing where to start. But one of the things I love most about instructional coaching is that I’ve seen hundreds of classrooms grow from chaotic and harmful to productive and welcoming learning spaces in even a few months with the support of a coach. The extent of the transformation feels nearly miraculous at times, but with effective coaching, it's the norm rather than the exception.
When coaches support new teachers, they either tend to do too many things at once and be overly broad, or teach “classroom management” strategies to help teachers get control of their class. Both are problematic. When we are too broad (“you need to work on your lesson structure”) or work on too many things at once, teachers can struggle to implement any real change that sticks. On the other hand, when we share strategies that are rooted in controlling the class, they may lead to short-term fixes for a calmer classroom, but then working towards a student-centered classroom becomes more challenging.
Are you feeling a little overwhelmed with where to begin with a teacher who needs a lot of support? Then try out these 5 tips to get yourself grounded and support your teacher’s growth!
5 Tips for Supporting New or Struggling Teachers
Determine the Goal. The first question to ask yourself is, “What is the goal or outcome you are aiming for with supporting new or struggling teachers?” Actually take a moment and write this down. Think about the goal in terms of what you desire to see both in terms of teacher and student outcomes.
Relationships-First Coaching Mindset. When coaches support new or struggling teachers, we approach the work from helping the teacher get classroom management skills or get control of their class. However, when we approach the work from a “classroom management” mindset, we are rooting our work in a control-based view of teaching which is a problematic way to view students. I recommend using “building class community” instead of “classroom management” as a coaching mindset and language to use with your struggling teacher. This helps root their work of creating a calm, respectful and engaging learning space in relationships rather than control. Reflect for a moment to consider if there are other mindsets that you’d like to embrace when approaching this coaching partnership.
The WHAT of Coaching a Struggling Teacher. If you don’t already have this in your context, make sure you have a “map” of bite-sized, actionable strategies to support your struggling teacher. Make an ordered list of 8 - 10 powerful teacher actions that can help your teacher achieve their goals around building class community. Dig into the instructional framework used by your school or district to create this list. Check out the EdConnective Thrive Framework that I co-created with my colleague Rashaida Melvin for a good example of this, as found in the first domain “Class Community.” Having a clear path forward is a powerful tool for helping you know what to focus on in coaching.
The HOW of Coaching a Struggling Teacher. In our work with struggling teachers, we have to remember to work on just one small thing at a time, allowing the teacher to master the new skill before moving on. It’s important to remember that a positive class community won’t form instantly. Often, even when teachers are trying a new skill correctly, it falls flat because they are still working on developing relationships with and between students, and there are several skills around class community that need to work together in tandem in order to be successful. For a teacher who is really struggling, ideally a coach would be able to support them with coaching in the classroom on a daily basis and meet 2 - 3 times a week for a coaching meeting to build the teacher’s skills.
Developing the Teacher’s Mindset. In parallel to supporting teachers in building their skills, coaches support teachers in developing their mindset around teaching. We do this through purposeful questions in the coaching meeting and engaging in uncomfortable conversations when we need to. It’s important to help teachers see the link between their actions and the corresponding impact on students, and to shift away from blaming students. Coaches should directly call out negative talk about students, which I addressed in an earlier post, How to respond when teachers complain about students. Consider if there are other mindset issues coming up for a particular teacher that hinder their ability to grow as an educator, and plan a way to address these together.
While a challenging task, working to support new or struggling teachers with building a class community rooted in relationships rather than control will serve the teacher and their students for years to come.