Crafting Powerful Coaching Questions with Connie Hamilton

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Welcome back to another episode of C3. I'm Courtney Groskin,
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and I'm here with... Sandy Heiser. Sandy, what's going on? What's new?
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Oh, you know, it's busy, busy. School's in full swing.
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You and I are getting ready to facilitate day five of cognitive coaching.
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Yeah, luckily that's a review day, so not a lot of heavy lifting for us to learn new content.
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I know, but we've got to study up. Yes, yes, we do.
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It'll be nice. It'll be nice to see our people again and reconnect with our
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group from that Cognitive Coaching Seminar Foundations.
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Yeah, we had a little bit of a break there. So now we're reconnecting and jumping
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into days five through eight.
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And we have a big cohort. It'll be nice to see them all finish this out.
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Yeah, it's been nice. We've gotten some good feedback from them about that they're
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using some of the principles of coaching in their daily lives, which is so nice to hear.
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Yeah, I'd say that's my favorite part of facilitating is the text messages I
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get from people saying, I tried it.
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We had a reflecting conversation. It was amazing.
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Yeah, I tried it. It works. What about you, Courtney? What is new in your world?
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Busy, busy time for sure. I just yesterday had the opportunity to take one of
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our new teachers out to another site so she could get to see some similar grade
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level classrooms and just get an idea and a feel for St.
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Vrain as a district. And I just love getting out into other people's rooms and
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getting new, fresh ideas.
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Oh, yeah. How fun.
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Well, today we're so lucky to welcome Connie Hamilton to the podcast.
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Connie is an author, speaker, and consultant who specializes in questioning,
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feedback, and instructional leadership.
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Best known for her book, Hacking Questions, Connie equips both new and veteran
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teachers with tools to sharpen their practice and raise the level of student thinking.
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Through her consulting work across the U.S. and Canada, she designs professional
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learning that is practical, research-informed, and teacher-friendly.
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Connie, thank you so much for joining us today on C3.
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Hi there. Thanks for having me. Can you tell us about your background in education
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and how you got your start?
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Well, it's a long story, but I'll keep it short. So I'll start and work backwards.
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So currently, I'm an author consultant. I spend most of my school days during
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the school year boots on the ground in schools when students are in session
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working with small groups of teachers in a coaching cohort.
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I call them SIFs. Prior to that, I was instructional assistant superintendent
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for instruction and curriculum.
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Prior to that, I was a principal at both the elementary and middle school levels.
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I was an assistant principal. I was a teacher at both those levels and an instructional
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coach through title, formerly chapter.
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So I've had a lot of experience in different settings.
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I taught in Texas. I'm originally from Michigan. And now I travel all over the
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country and Canada observing and talking with teachers everywhere and just taking
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in all of the goodness that is happening in our field of education.
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Yeah, I love that. Thank you for highlighting all the good things that are happening.
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And you've got such a rich background. I don't think there's a job in education
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you haven't touched on in some way.
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So you bring so much to the table when meeting with those teachers. Thank you.
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I think that broad perspective really comes in handy to look at that big picture.
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Yeah, especially within systems, working in a system and having that understanding
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of the different roles. I'm not sure that our classroom teachers are always able to grasp that.
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So having someone that can come in and kind of break down, you know,
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this is the thought behind this.
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It's not just coming from the top, but here's the different reasons and rationale behind that.
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It's really valuable to have that view and perspective on things. For sure.
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When we think about the power of a well-crafted coaching question,
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what do you see as the most important element that separates that and effective
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question from one that kind of just falls flat?
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Well, as you know, questioning is my jam. So I feel like coaching and the questioning
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process within coaching is really similar to student questioning in the sense
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that we're looking to create a cognitive journey.
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We're looking to have that aha and to really reveal the thinking process.
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So it's less about how do I get to the right answer?
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How do I get to that end point for this specific lesson?
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And more about how do I embrace instructional moves that work and are likely
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to work again in another lesson?
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And how do I create that metacognitive awareness so that I'm in tune to,
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whoops, this lesson is going sideways and it's time for me to pivot?
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Just being aware of that instead of just following a system or a structure in place.
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And so those well-crafted questions focus more on the journey,
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the thought process. What are you thinking about in the moment?
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What do you want to be noticing in the moment? and less about what is,
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what should be, what should have
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been, but more about how did we get there or how did we not get there?
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And then how are we going to tweak that again the next time that we go to teach a lesson?
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Yeah, you're really providing that space for the thinking to happen on the coachee's part.
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And that's something often, you know, at the busy pace of education,
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we kind of miss. So by asking those intentional questions gives them that space
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and time to be reflective. For sure.
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Many coaches struggle with balancing curiosity and leading a teacher toward
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reflection. How can coaches frame questions that avoid being directive while
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still supporting the instructional growth?
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So as I think about that, I think it's important for the listeners to know that
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my role is both of as a coach and a consultant.
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And so I flip flop with those different mindsets, but I'm really intentional with those mindsets.
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So I definitely see a value of staying in that coaching mindset to support the
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teacher through an awareness process, bringing things forward,
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thinking about their priorities, making tough decisions, and just helping them to think about that.
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There's also a time and a place where it's helpful to contribute and be a thought
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partner with that person to say, would you like some ideas or may I share some perspectives?
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I remember being on the opposite side of a coaching conversation and not really
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understanding what the coach's role was.
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And I don't remember, it felt like a million years into the conversation.
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She said, would you like me to step out of the coaching role and move into the
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consulting role and offer some suggestions? And I was like, well,
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yes, that's what I thought this was all about.
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And so I've always kept that in mind that there are many times that teachers...
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Need more than simply reflection. Sometimes like our toolbox is just exhausted
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and we're interested in some fresh ideas and that is what is helpful.
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So I find that it's easiest to balance that process of staying in the coaching
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mode initially to establish rapport and to connect with the teacher when the
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initial conversation is before the lesson occurs.
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So it's when there is a lesson plan or a lesson is beginning to develop.
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It just feels more like a draft at that point.
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And so teachers are often more open in that moment to exploring opportunities
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and thinking about their choices and rethinking some of their decisions and
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being mindful about options that they have and talking about those options because
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they haven't done it yet.
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And everyone's interested in picking the thing that's most likely to be.
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Support student learning. So that, how you set it up initially is communicating, what is my role?
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I'm going, for me, I'm going to be serving as a coach to help you kind of think through things.
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And then also, everyone will get the benefit of some glows and grows of when
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the lesson is over, we'll look at what worked, what worked well,
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what data supports that, and then what are some opportunities that we can throw
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to fill up your toolbox that you can tinker with and try out.
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So that's the consulting piece of it is that I'm not just here to listen and
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ask a bunch of questions, but also to be that thought partner so that there's
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some credibility established.
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So balancing that when we're trying not to be directive is to be really mindful
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about where your headspace is.
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So if you begin to ask questions that you're thinking, that's not what I was
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hoping that they would say, that's an indication that you're slipping into the
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consulting mode and perhaps without intention.
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So thinking about just your own thought process, are you still curious about
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what it is that they are, how they're making their decisions and helping them to reveal it versus.
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Hmm, I'm curious if I can, like,
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well, do you think that you should put a formative assessment in here?
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Like, right, that's an obvious, not a coaching question. It's a suggestive,
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a suggestion raised as a question. So we want to be really intentional,
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and we want those questions to spark reflections.
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And some of those questions that do that the best are things like,
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how will you know when it's time to pivot?
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Or what will tell you that this is working? Or what?
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How long do you think that it will take for students to, quote unquote, get it?
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Or what might happen when you facilitate this specific instructional move?
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So revealing some of those what ifs helps to highlight the fact that it's not
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a it's not written in stone path of how you get to that end point.
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But it's that's the art. That's the pedagogy of our profession.
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And it highlights that we have lots of decisions and those decisions can differ.
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So really trying to make sure that we're mindful of providing that awareness,
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tapping into the expertise that teachers have, but also knowing when it's time
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to offer your own expertise if the teacher is showing signs of wishing for it or wanting it.
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And I love how you so beautifully said, may I offer.
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It's still honoring that coachee and not just jumping in and seeming like we
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have all the answers as the coach, because we certainly don't.
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But you're still honoring them and saying, hey, let's partner together.
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Can I offer you some suggestions?
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And I like how you say that plural, right? So offering multiple suggestions,
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then it puts that decision back into their hands.
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So if you want to do some kind of a cognitive check for understanding,
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well, some teachers use whiteboards, some teachers use a turn and talk,
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some teachers use a stop and jot, some teachers use a kahoot.
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You know, are there some of those that you've had success with in the past or
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there's something that you are interested in trying?
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So it just puts them back like, hey, there are still lots of choices and the
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decision ultimately remains in your hands.
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Yeah, and you're building on prior success. We know these things have worked for you before.
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So what one do you want to bring forward? And it's just really building that
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time to think through. And that's why the planning conversation is so important.
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I agree. In your experience, what types of questions tend to open the door for
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deeper teacher reflection versus those that shut it down?
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So as I mentioned, when I go into schools, I work oftentimes with six teachers
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and I see them, typically I see them three days a year.
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And the first time that I see them, like, hello, my name is Connie. Nice to meet you.
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So in my role, I don't have the benefit of knowing people in advance and kind
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of knowing their strengths already or visiting their classroom multiple times.
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So this is particularly an area that I'm really mindful of because I have to
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establish rapport quickly.
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So there are a few ways that I establish rapport,
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create a sense of safety, and then that sense of safety allows teachers to be
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vulnerable, which leads to deeper reflection and doesn't cause them to be defensive or shut down.
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So the first is kind of a consistency in the way that I frame questions.
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So every time I sit down with a teacher, I start off with, what do you want
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students to learn today? Or what is your learning target?
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So we always start with that particular piece and how will you know that they've met that target?
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And then we just kind of work our way through that. So because there's a bit
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of familiarity in the structure of the conversation, there is less surprise
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about some of the initial questions.
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So when the follow-up questions are more specific, there's still some level of comfort.
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So trying to be consistent and a bit predictive in the way that you pose questions,
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when you are predictive in that way,
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then those questions can then transfer to the teacher so they can begin asking
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themselves those questions when you're not there.
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So there's multiple reasons for providing some consistency in the way that the
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questions are formatted. I hadn't thought of it like that.
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With getting teachers to ask themselves those questions, if you are consistent
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in your line of questioning, that's a beautiful gradual release process there. For sure.
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And a lot of times the teachers will say, this is when I know that I'm having
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an impact, is when teachers will say, I could hear you in my head.
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I knew what question you were going to ask me.
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And last night when I was getting ready to see you today, I asked myself all
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those same questions and I'm thinking, jackpot.
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Now we're really building the efficacy. see. So the next is building that deeper
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reflection. And again, that sense of safety is normalizing imperfection.
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So assuming that everything is not going to go perfect.
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So posing questions like, what do you think is going to be the most challenging part of this lesson?
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The most challenging part might be, what's going to be the highest cognitive demand for learners?
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Where are they going to have the challenge? Or it might be an instructional
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move like, okay, I have a lot of parts going at this particular time,
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and I want to make sure that engagement doesn't dip while I'm getting out these
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materials and have these students that are going to take longer.
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And it just may be a facilitation component.
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And so bringing out a conversation about, okay, what's going to be the hardest part?
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Now, when teachers identify that in advance, if the lesson turns out to be challenging
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in that moment, they've pre-identified that as a challenging point.
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And so they don't have to be so defensive or explanatory about why it went wrong
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and what they were thinking because we already talked about it.
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And everyone is expecting that in the beginning.
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And in my sense, in the small group, typically when a teacher is like,
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this part is going to be hard, everybody else in the room is like,
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oh, yeah, that is going to be hard.
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And so there's that.
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Camaraderie. There's that collective efficacy that all comes in together that
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we all have been there and it's fine if things go awry.
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And then that other component is establishing yourself as that thought partner.
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And so when you contribute something that they take away, then it makes them
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want to meet with you again and again and again.
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I really enjoy my time with Connie or Courtney or with whomever,
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because I always walk away with something.
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And if they aren't bringing it out in their own, if that coaching conversation
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is just feeling like I got nothing, then that's the time to sort of shift and
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say, would it be helpful if I shared some of the things that I've observed in other classes?
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And then we can just launch from there. Stop me as soon as something really
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sounds exciting to you. And then we'll explore that piece.
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And then I just sort of list it as a checkbox, not as a suggestion,
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but do you like this? Do you like this? Do you like this? Do you like this?
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More like a menu. And then we can dive in.
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When you bring those things in, consistency in the way you frame questions,
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normalizing that imperfection and serving as a thought partner,
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it creates an atmosphere of we are all here to support one another. And it's not a gotcha.
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Whenever it feels like a gotcha or a judgment, that's when people get defensive
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and they tend to just say, I've had enough of this and they shut down.
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Yeah, it's really about that collective efficacy and how we can tap everyone
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and all the resources to bring together that ideal lesson or to improve our lesson.
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For sure. So you touched on it earlier, but especially working with new teachers,
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how can we adapt our questioning or maybe thinking about their emotional state
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when we're going into a coaching session?
00:17:55.991 --> 00:17:59.531
What are some of your tips and tricks with that? You know,
00:17:59.851 --> 00:18:08.971
I first tried to really read the person less on the experience because in my
00:18:08.971 --> 00:18:13.131
own experience, I've had brand new teachers who are overconfident.
00:18:13.391 --> 00:18:17.511
They think they know it all already and, you know, I'm ready to do this and
00:18:17.511 --> 00:18:20.431
I've had great teachers before and I got this teaching thing down.
00:18:20.611 --> 00:18:25.271
And then I've had veteran teachers who are dynamic, but they still question
00:18:25.271 --> 00:18:30.211
their effectiveness. So I really look to see, like, where is their level of confidence?
00:18:30.811 --> 00:18:35.711
Do they present themselves more as what we would typically think as a new teacher?
00:18:35.831 --> 00:18:39.491
Or do they present themselves more as somebody who's really kind of perfecting
00:18:39.491 --> 00:18:41.371
this? And then I go from that perspective.
00:18:42.211 --> 00:18:47.591
So teachers that are a bit more guarded, I tend to, well, I always focus on
00:18:47.591 --> 00:18:52.231
strengths, but I really lead hard on the strengths. You're doing this really
00:18:52.231 --> 00:18:54.591
well. This is definitely a strength of yours.
00:18:54.791 --> 00:19:00.891
And so in this moment, how do you decide when it's time to.
00:19:01.607 --> 00:19:07.587
And the independent work? How do you decide when you're going to throw in a think-pair-share?
00:19:07.667 --> 00:19:11.527
What is it that you notice that says, okay, this is the time?
00:19:11.887 --> 00:19:17.147
Or what are you thinking about as you're framing those on-the-fly questions?
00:19:17.147 --> 00:19:18.527
What's going through your mind?
00:19:18.707 --> 00:19:23.967
So it's still this curiosity component. It's building on their strengths,
00:19:23.967 --> 00:19:29.467
and yet it's still revealing their thought process, And it allows them to shine
00:19:29.467 --> 00:19:33.007
and really share where they perceive their expertise.
00:19:33.427 --> 00:19:36.787
And then I watch for some of their nonverbals.
00:19:36.947 --> 00:19:42.027
Are they jotting down some notes when other people are sharing ideas or,
00:19:42.027 --> 00:19:48.967
I don't know, offering small little tweaks? Or when we are sharing raw data,
00:19:49.387 --> 00:19:51.727
do they really lean in on the data?
00:19:51.967 --> 00:19:58.447
Or are they saying, well, this doesn't happen all the time, or that was an anomaly?
00:19:58.787 --> 00:20:01.947
Or, you know, how are they responding to those data points?
00:20:02.207 --> 00:20:07.627
And then I try to lean into that wherever they are leaning.
00:20:07.787 --> 00:20:11.187
I try to flip it a bit. So if they're leaning into being defensive,
00:20:11.487 --> 00:20:14.627
then I come in on this is what is working well, heavy, heavy.
00:20:14.627 --> 00:20:20.307
If they are focusing on what's working well and everything is dynamo,
00:20:20.447 --> 00:20:25.307
then I come into where do you think that students had this,
00:20:25.567 --> 00:20:28.767
where would you make a tweak or where do you think students struggle the most
00:20:28.767 --> 00:20:31.767
and how can we provide in that perspective?
00:20:32.067 --> 00:20:34.687
For teachers who are already more reflective of.
00:20:35.429 --> 00:20:39.629
And maybe kind of think of them as sponges and just gimme, gimme, gimme.
00:20:40.489 --> 00:20:45.989
In my experience, those teachers often tend to be a bit harder on themselves than they ought to be.
00:20:46.229 --> 00:20:51.489
They often verge on the edge of perfectionism.
00:20:51.729 --> 00:20:57.809
And so for them, it's important to me to make sure that they have a mental plan
00:20:57.809 --> 00:21:04.469
B and plan C so that we're normalizing that plan A doesn't always have to work.
00:21:04.469 --> 00:21:11.769
And empowering them in the moment to be noticing when is it time to shift to
00:21:11.769 --> 00:21:18.789
plan B or C and what am I seeing that tells me that C is better than B but I know A isn't working.
00:21:19.109 --> 00:21:24.189
And so that feels super empowering when you're like, I got a plan for that, I'm ready.
00:21:24.589 --> 00:21:30.429
And so I try to just kind of lean into where is that level of confidence.
00:21:31.029 --> 00:21:34.069
And then the last piece that you kind of talked about, emotions,
00:21:34.709 --> 00:21:39.649
sometimes people cry, you know, even especially after the lesson.
00:21:40.529 --> 00:21:44.129
Sometimes it's because the lesson just really actually did flop.
00:21:44.269 --> 00:21:50.529
And everybody, anybody who saw it would be like, yep, that happens to all of us and no biggie.
00:21:50.649 --> 00:21:54.149
But of course, to the host teacher, it is a big deal.
00:21:54.309 --> 00:21:59.509
We take our profession so personally that it means a lot to us.
00:21:59.609 --> 00:22:02.689
And so when I see tears, I learned this through therapy.
00:22:03.579 --> 00:22:07.459
Cognitive behavior therapy. When you see tears, you acknowledge it,
00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:10.059
but we don't dwell on it. We're not trying to fix the tears.
00:22:10.539 --> 00:22:17.999
And so what I have observed from evaluators, other coaches, fear observers,
00:22:17.999 --> 00:22:22.979
when we see tears, we want to fix it. We want the teacher to feel good in that moment.
00:22:23.539 --> 00:22:27.599
And my take is, let's just lean into it. Like, it's okay to be emotional.
00:22:27.599 --> 00:22:34.679
What that tells me is that you care, but I'm not going to provide excuses like, oh, that happened.
00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:37.699
It's Friday afternoon. And of course they were this.
00:22:37.799 --> 00:22:42.659
And it was after lunch. And we had a fire drill this morning.
00:22:42.679 --> 00:22:44.919
I'm not going to offer excuses because you know what?
00:22:44.959 --> 00:22:48.539
We have Friday afternoon every week. We have lunch every day.
00:22:48.659 --> 00:22:53.579
We have fire drills multiple times a year. And so when those things happen,
00:22:53.739 --> 00:22:59.439
because they will, we want teachers to be armed with, okay, let's be mindful.
00:22:59.799 --> 00:23:04.659
This is a moment when I'm going to need to shift because all of my go-to default
00:23:04.659 --> 00:23:07.179
strategies are not working right now.
00:23:07.259 --> 00:23:12.179
And so now we have to embrace the failure to.
00:23:12.887 --> 00:23:18.207
Dig into an analysis of why didn't it work when it usually does?
00:23:18.407 --> 00:23:20.127
And then what can we do differently?
00:23:20.407 --> 00:23:25.527
I find it a bit comical sometimes that you walk into a classroom and they have
00:23:25.527 --> 00:23:29.747
the bulletin board, F-A-I-L, right? First attempt in learning.
00:23:29.987 --> 00:23:34.147
And yet we don't practice what we teach. and so
00:23:34.147 --> 00:23:41.667
re-normalizing that teaching is not perfection and that we measure success of
00:23:41.667 --> 00:23:46.567
teaching of did students learn what they were supposed to learn or do we have
00:23:46.567 --> 00:23:51.367
more information about where students are in the learning journey so we can
00:23:51.367 --> 00:23:53.527
meet them where they are tomorrow.
00:23:54.047 --> 00:23:57.447
Yeah, thank you for so beautifully highlighting all the cognition that's happening
00:23:57.447 --> 00:24:01.807
on the coach's part and then how you get your coachee to think through all the
00:24:01.807 --> 00:24:04.187
A, B, and C. If this doesn't work, how do we shift?
00:24:04.427 --> 00:24:07.467
And that really just highlights all the decisions teachers are making.
00:24:07.487 --> 00:24:11.767
And then when coaches are coaching, all of the things that they're processing
00:24:11.767 --> 00:24:15.747
and taking in when they go to ask those intentional questions. Uh-huh.
00:24:16.650 --> 00:24:19.910
So if coaches were just beginning to refine their questioning practice,
00:24:20.110 --> 00:24:22.850
I know a lot of them after listening to this are going to dive in.
00:24:23.050 --> 00:24:26.750
What's one habit or strategy you'd recommend they start with tomorrow to become
00:24:26.750 --> 00:24:29.290
more intentional and how they frame their questions?
00:24:30.150 --> 00:24:35.070
I think the power in coaching and the ahas really come in the follow-up questions.
00:24:35.630 --> 00:24:42.250
And so staying with a specific topic, it's more of an inch wide and a mile deep.
00:24:42.250 --> 00:24:48.130
Sometimes when it comes to having an impact, we can touch on all the facets of a lesson.
00:24:48.650 --> 00:24:52.110
And then we feel like, yeah, we touched everything, but what did we actually accomplish?
00:24:52.350 --> 00:24:58.410
What are we walking away with? And so if we can just hone in on a specific aspect
00:24:58.410 --> 00:25:01.950
that the teacher is interested in growing their practice,
00:25:02.410 --> 00:25:06.930
then if that's differentiation or it's engagement or it's formative assessment,
00:25:06.930 --> 00:25:13.970
then we can feel okay to kind of ease off of two out of three of those things
00:25:13.970 --> 00:25:20.310
and just hone in on that one and allow the teacher to also focus in on that one.
00:25:20.450 --> 00:25:24.410
So the next time you come in for a session, we're still focused on that one
00:25:24.410 --> 00:25:30.670
area of instruction that we collaboratively agreed is going to be our focus.
00:25:30.910 --> 00:25:33.410
So if a teacher says, hey, I want to work on my questioning,
00:25:33.410 --> 00:25:37.210
I'm not going to come in and say, so what do you think about your formative assessment process?
00:25:37.230 --> 00:25:40.910
Or what do you think about engagement? Or how is your time management?
00:25:41.770 --> 00:25:48.110
That's a gotcha. And so we have to be clear about what it is that we're focusing on.
00:25:48.210 --> 00:25:50.270
And then those follow up questions.
00:25:50.530 --> 00:25:56.150
And a lot of times, it's really the metacognitive questions. How will you know?
00:25:56.450 --> 00:25:59.010
What will you see? What will.
00:26:01.581 --> 00:26:06.001
If you have this choice and this choice and this choice, and you don't know
00:26:06.001 --> 00:26:10.741
which one that you're going to make in the moment, what will cause you to pick A?
00:26:10.881 --> 00:26:13.861
What will cause you to pick B? What will cause you to pick C?
00:26:14.221 --> 00:26:20.121
Those conversations flow into so many more lessons than the single lesson that
00:26:20.121 --> 00:26:23.181
they're about to teach with the plan that you're creating now,
00:26:23.281 --> 00:26:28.681
because now they have articulated, when do I do A? When do I do B? When do I do C?
00:26:28.821 --> 00:26:31.861
And those things are likely to occur over and over and over and over.
00:26:31.981 --> 00:26:37.201
So we're developing that transfer of the metacognitive process of thinking about that.
00:26:37.381 --> 00:26:42.061
So diving deep on those follow-up questions about just being thoughtful,
00:26:42.061 --> 00:26:45.741
what kind of data would be helpful for you?
00:26:45.741 --> 00:26:53.081
That's another way that coaches can establish a value in the process of it's
00:26:53.081 --> 00:26:58.321
impossible for teachers to chart their questions, tally their questions,
00:26:58.641 --> 00:27:03.201
and categorize their questions unless they videotape themselves.
00:27:03.201 --> 00:27:07.581
So as an observer, as a coach or a consultant, I can serve that role.
00:27:07.761 --> 00:27:10.701
Would you like me to come in? And since we're working on questionings,
00:27:10.761 --> 00:27:12.741
I could just gather some data and just share it with you.
00:27:13.261 --> 00:27:17.521
And then here it is. It's just raw data. Now my questions become,
00:27:17.661 --> 00:27:20.581
what do you notice? What stands out to you? What do you like?
00:27:21.301 --> 00:27:29.701
What surprises you? So those then shift into really cool and valuable conversations.
00:27:31.198 --> 00:27:35.218
Are not part of my agenda. They're just part of the process.
00:27:36.238 --> 00:27:40.898
Well, that's great coaching, right? Yes, exactly. Well, I could talk to you
00:27:40.898 --> 00:27:44.338
all day about coaching and about crafting great questions.
00:27:44.358 --> 00:27:47.178
How can our listeners learn more from you and with you?
00:27:47.738 --> 00:27:52.418
My website is ConnieHamilton.org. Don't go to ConnieHamilton.com.
00:27:52.518 --> 00:27:54.738
That's a real estate agent in the Midwest somewhere.
00:27:55.018 --> 00:27:59.838
So ConnieHamilton.org. And I think what your coaches might find most valuable
00:27:59.838 --> 00:28:02.338
there is I have a page that's full of free resources.
00:28:02.598 --> 00:28:07.058
Everything is free. And one of them is called SIFT Data Descriptions.
00:28:07.278 --> 00:28:12.498
And it's pages and pages of different data points that observers can collect
00:28:12.498 --> 00:28:15.958
and a description of how you might collect that data.
00:28:16.178 --> 00:28:19.698
It's a great tool that you can download and bring to a coaching conversation
00:28:19.698 --> 00:28:26.378
to say, would any of these be helpful for you if I were to gather this evidence and data for you?
00:28:26.498 --> 00:28:30.978
So it's a good way to bring in data and then put that ownership in the hands
00:28:30.978 --> 00:28:33.438
of the teacher that you're having your conversation with.
00:28:34.038 --> 00:28:36.738
So ConnieHamilton.org is the easiest way to get in touch with me.
00:28:37.298 --> 00:28:41.138
We're going to see those clicks go up. I know a lot of coaches listening are
00:28:41.138 --> 00:28:44.738
going to be downloading that document and diving into collecting some data.
00:28:45.358 --> 00:28:48.738
We're going to move into the rapid fire portion of our interview.
00:28:49.758 --> 00:28:54.338
Roughly 10 seconds or less. What's one strategy every coach should have in their back pocket?
00:28:55.098 --> 00:28:59.478
Well, I mentioned in the pre-brief, what's part of the lesson is most challenging,
00:28:59.858 --> 00:29:02.158
either for student learning or for facilitation.
00:29:02.378 --> 00:29:06.638
And then in the debrief, it's if you could run this lesson again tomorrow,
00:29:06.638 --> 00:29:10.498
what's one thing that you would keep and one thing that you would adjust.
00:29:10.978 --> 00:29:17.038
It normalizes that teaching is iterative and that it shifts from the focus from judgment to growth.
00:29:17.731 --> 00:29:21.891
What a powerful question. If you had 60 seconds with a new teacher,
00:29:22.091 --> 00:29:23.251
what's one thing you'd tell them?
00:29:23.771 --> 00:29:27.991
I'm really big on strength-based coaching, so I would try to make it as personal
00:29:27.991 --> 00:29:31.631
as possible. This is your gift. This is your talent. This is your jam.
00:29:31.851 --> 00:29:35.731
But in the absence of knowing that ahead of time, if I had a room full of first-year
00:29:35.731 --> 00:29:37.991
teachers, I'd say, keep your eye on learning.
00:29:38.351 --> 00:29:42.251
Focus your measurement of success on a lesson with whether or not students learned,
00:29:42.471 --> 00:29:46.771
not whether or not they were busy, or if your lesson went the way that it says
00:29:46.771 --> 00:29:51.391
in the textbook, or in the podcast or on the website that you saw,
00:29:51.531 --> 00:29:53.991
but just focus on did students learn?
00:29:54.251 --> 00:29:57.551
If they did, your lesson is a success. Hopefully we have some new teachers or
00:29:57.551 --> 00:29:59.651
some coaches passing on that information.
00:30:00.051 --> 00:30:04.431
Well, I appreciate so much you joining me today and I can't wait to dive into
00:30:04.431 --> 00:30:07.631
more of your work. Thank you so much. I really enjoyed being here today.
00:30:08.371 --> 00:30:11.591
Connie shared so many insights and great tips on elevating your questions.
00:30:11.931 --> 00:30:15.631
How might you adjust some of the questions you ask your coaches and how might
00:30:15.631 --> 00:30:19.591
you build space and capacity to get them doing the heavy lifting and thinking.
00:30:19.831 --> 00:30:22.011
Thanks for listening to another episode of C3.
00:30:22.351 --> 00:30:24.131
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