Differentiated Coaching for Educators

"The only thing that kept me motivated in high school was singing in the choir." That statement came from a very successful student who landed a scholarship at a top engineering university. Not the AP classes, not being on the championship math team, not competing for valedictorian. No, motivation came from having a chance to perform, to express himself, to use parts of the brain separate from logic and reasoning. In essence, it was the class that gave him a chance to stretch outside of academics.

If top students need the arts to stay motivated, what about those who struggle with math or reading? In all too many schools these "extras" are being cut in the push to get students "on track" with core skills. However, where is the research and common sense that says that a narrow focus will produce better mathematicians and readers? As one 11-year-old who was struggling told me, "With an extra hour of math and one of reading, I don't get to do anything fun. Not even Spanish."

Here's the THREE reasons to push back on such a narrowing of the courses students take in school:

Time on task ≠ output Check research on productivity in books such as The Pursuit of Perfect or The Way We're Working Isn't Working. Even adults can't work for 60-90 minutes without a substantial break. Why do we think students can? In fact, why do we ignore the evidence of more classroom management problems or even symptoms of ADD and ADHD when we ask them to?

Music, arts, industrial arts, consumer science, physical education, etc., all use other parts of our brains and bodies that allow deductive reasoning and classification areas a chance to rest and get ready for the next round. AND, physical education increases oxygen to the brain, making learning easier. Understanding music improves mathematical ability. These classes allow students with gifts other than logic/reasoning or linguistics to have an hour in the day where they can shine. As Yong Zhao points out in Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization, this has been one of our strengths as a nation. Why are we throwing it away?

It wouldn't have worked for us. Ask any adult to list their favorite classes in junior high and middle school; I've done it with teachers, corporate executives, PTO members, and parent groups. The majority will mention band, electronics, cooking, art, gym--not language arts or social studies. Those breaks from academics were where we got to "breathe out"--having a say in our learning and expression--rather than the "breathe in" atmosphere of the academic classrooms where the teacher set the information and products. We all need to put ourselves in the shoes of today's students and ask, "Would I have been motivated? Could I have excelled with this kind of schedule?"

Or, FOLLOW a student through six hours of math, science, reading and social studies. Are you engaged? Could you do it day after day and absorb what is being taught? It's usually a sobering exercise for those suggesting that the arts be cut.

Idiocy is doing the same thing and expecting different results. Why do we think that doing more of the same will improve student achievement? Yes, if those extra hours went to innovative conveyance of math and reading skills, we might see different results, but when we think a mere schedule change, rather than instructional changes, will fix underachievement, can we really expect different results?

Money is scarce. Yet worse, the students in schools today won't have another chance to be a 5th, 8th, or 10th grader. If we don't allow them the same exploratory opportunities we had, how many will never become who they were meant to be? Who do you know who found their calling in shop class, or learned leadership skills in marching band, or tried a sport in gym class and then joined a team?

It simply can't be academics without the whole child. We can be more creative. We can say "Yes, there is a way," and not give up until we find it.

[From a keynote address to the New Zealand Association for Psychological Type, July 2, 2011]

My favorite definition of coaching comes from the origin of the word “coach”: a vehicle for taking valuable people from where they are to where they want to go. Using psychological type in my coaching practice improves my ability to show those I coach that I value each client, their time, their goals and aspirations, and their unique way of being.

Chances are, if you use type you’re coaching someone. A child? A friend? Clients during teambuilding or conflict resolution? Life coaching clients who are trying to balance priorities or find meaning? All of these are legitimate coaching vehicles for helping valuable people head in a direction that is right for them. To me, that’s coaching for life’s “World Cup.”

World Cup Coaching
Of course, the most common usage of the word “coach” refers to sports. As I prepared this talk, I ran across an article called “Rugby High-Performance Coaching” by Ben Pierce, which described the five key goals that the All-Black coaches have for each player. And, I’d say these are my top goals for every client I coach!

1. Maximizing their full potential. This phrase was part of my company's mission statement long before the All-Black's became "my team." The All-Black coaches work with each player on strengths and weaknesses in ways that maximize motivation and passion on game day. Similarly, I work to balance maximizing client strengths and using type to soften the necessary identification of pitfalls that can kill a career, to motivate them to change. Some coaching philosophies insist on ignoring weaknesses, but just as in rugby, ignoring key blind spots can eventually get you sidelined in your career.

2. Responsibility. In rugby, this means being held accountable for on-field mistakes, yet learning from them rather than being paralyzed by fear of making the same mistake again. I want clients to correctly identify the role they played in mistakes, brainstorm how to avoid it in the future, and move on rather than be handicapped by what happened.

3. Creativity. All-Black coaches emphasize creativity rather than one-dimensional play, striving to be more creative than their opponents in a game that is inherently unpredictable. I know that type is a great tool for helping those I coach tap their unique ways of being creative and capitalizing on those talents.

4. Professionalism. All-Blacks are to be aware of their status as team representatives and role models and act accordingly on and off the field. I hope that my clients, too, see the bigger picture of the influence they can have on others and frame their goals and actions accordingly.

5. Preparation. Graham Henry tells his players, “If all the little things are taken care of, the rest will take care of itself.” This is true in life as well. Using type helps clients understand the importance of Action (E) and reflection (I), being grounded in reality (S) and pondering possibilities (N), objectivity (T) and subjectivity (F), coming to a conclusion (J) and exploring more information or options (P). The more they practice using tools that work for them, the more these skills with each preference surface naturally as needed.

World Cup coaching, then, blends a client’s goals and individual needs with key factors that add up to success in any field. Whether I'm coaching teachers, other coaches, business leaders or colleagues, these five principles help me differentiate coaching to meet the needs of each individual in the high-stakes game of pursuing a meaningful life.

One of just a handful of early risers using a hotel health club, I was "in the zone" on a treadmill, my attention glued to one of my favorite movies on the television screen above the row of machines. Suddenly the image disappeared, replaced by a news station, and...I tripped and skidded off the treadmill. Ouch! A newcomer had changed channels without even asking whether any of us minded. As I brushed off my scraped elbow, I thought, How rude can you be? If she'd asked, I wouldn't have minded changing channels, and I would have had enough warning to avoid taking a tumble.

Teachers get "in the zone" in their classroom, too. Granted, they can be in a rut, teaching in their favorite ways just as I stuck on watching my favorite movie. But how often do we force change on them without enough preparation, causing them to trip? We say, "Make it so" and expect them to implement something foreign--without considering how each teacher must adjust in order to make the change. Here are three anti-tripping tips.

Discern the focus of their attention. A few of you, reading my opening paragraph, probably thought, Doesn't she know enough to keep her mind on the treadmill, not the movie? Well, yes, but it was one of my favorite scenes! Similarly, school leadership often assumes teachers "should" be paying attention to something when another equally important topic or concern has them riveted. Just yesterday, I asked the PLC teams at a school to look at their October mathematics curriculum and determine where the strategy I'd just introduced could be used. However, when I stopped by one team, they were focused on student work they'd collected from that day's assessment. They asked me, "Was this developmentally appropriate? Our students did so poorly on it, yet we thought we'd given them plenty of tools to succeed." I changed my focus instead of asking them to change theirs. We identified the building blocks of knowledge their students were most likely missing and discussed how these might be retaught during intervention sessions. Coincidentally, the strategy I'd introduced was a perfect fit for their intervention needs. Seeing how it matched their current focus got them very excited about making the effort it will take to master that new strategy. If I'd ignored their concern, I'd probably have met with resistance instead.

Map their needs. On that treadmill, all I needed was a warning that my movie was about to disappear (or better yet, a request to change at the end of that beloved scene...) Just like students, teachers have different needs. Take a look at the free download on this site's Case Study page, "Coaching Styles Descriptions" to see just how differently they want to be coached! One thing I've learned to do is ask--yesterday, we let the teachers know that they would need to bring student work to illustrate how they were using the new strategy to their next PLC meeting. They would be held accountable for implementation of what they were learning in professional development time. However, their PLC team discussion questions included, "What else do you need before implementing this strategy? Sample problems? Modeling? More information? Let us know!" And, several groups did just that!!

Remember that with great power comes great responsibility, according to Spiderman's uncle. That person with the remote had all the power--and a responsibility to ensure her wishes didn't hurt others (no she didn't even ask if I was okay...she obviously needs to watch the movies I watch to learn some manners!) When we hold teachers accountable, we need to hold ourselves accountable to make our expectations realistic. Yesterday, I emphasized that teachers might need to try the strategy at least six times before students would be comfortable enough to use it well. I provided examples of "baby steps" one could take in trying it, rather than insisting they try the full-blown version I modeled. We gave three suggestions for collecting student work that would not involve extra preparation time for the teachers. In other words, it was our responsibility to set the teachers up for success in using a strategy we consider essential.

Come to think of it, school leadership can feel like trying to motivate everyone to stay on a treadmill. If you think through focus, needs, and your responsibilities for helping teachers succeed, everyone can have that great "in the zone" experience that educators feel when students succeed.

True story:

A school board decided that middle school students weren't paying attention in class because they were looking out the windows. Their solution? Build a windowless school. Honest. They did just that. Four wings with white walls. Students couldn't tell where they were so they added grey, brown, and other neutral-colored panels to identify the wings. Sounds more like a prison than a school, doesn't it?

Of course, this design failed to rivet student attention to teacher instruction. Why? Students were gazing out windows because they were bored with what and how they were being taught--instruction, not construction, was the root cause of the problem!

Each time we solve problems without identifying the root cause we risk spending millions, as did this school district, on something that won't further student learning.

A recent study laments "Early Achievers Falling Behind" (http://tinyurl.com/6xn29kv). In the article, The Fordham Institute wonders whether in the effort to help struggling students, "top" students are losing out. Could be.

However, there are other possibilities. For example the Center for Applications of Psychological Type is just finishing up a longitudinal study of student type preferences, attitudes toward school, and success. They're finding that students who prefer Extraversion (i.e. get their energy from action and interaction) are often stars in elementary school. Perhaps teachers notice their energy and call on them more; there may be other reasons as well, such more readily asking for help. However, Introverted students catch up and often surpass Extraverted students by the middle school years.

Now, assuming that all students' inherent ability to succeed remains equal, could it be that middle school is better suited for those Introverted students, who prefer to reflect before speaking or writing and may naturally think deeply about subjects that are interesting to them, rather than enjoying quick changes in topics for a breadth of information, like many Extraverts?

I'm not sure, but think of the implications. Reforms designed to help those "Early Achievers" identified in the Fordham study might be biased in favor of Extraverts, leaving Introverted students further behind. This kind of bias robs children of education as surely as biases grounded in race, socio-economic status, gender, or any other source. Slowly, we're gathering evidence to illustrate how children with these inborn preferences can be left behind.

Or, there may be another cause for "falling star" students--one not related to type or to No Child Left Behind initiatives. Has some other demographic changed in the makeup of who becomes an early achiever from those so identified a decade ago? And is middle school somehow less attractive to this new cohort of stars? Have we examined enough options?

It's high time we learn to agree on actual problems before solving them. Or, we'll keep building windowless schools...

Besides, “That was practical,” people who attend my daylong workshops also tell me, “You kept us awake all day. What did you do?” Well, I differentiated.

I do my best to model what I hope teachers will do for students: “teach around” the learning styles so that the day's activities are varied and everyone's needs are met at least some of the time. While my article, “Let Me Learn My Own Way” for this summer's issue of Educational Leadership, http://tinyurl.com/3cgdvpl describes learning styles in students, they also apply to teachers. Try planning your next professional development session with something for each style.

“Let me master it!” Teachers with this learning style often appreciate receiving detailed instructions for new strategies or lessons. Provide time for reading those instructions and asking detailed questions. Give a demonstration or show a film clip of a teacher using the new strategy.

“Let me do something!” These teachers do not want to sit still all day! Design a purposeful learning activity that is hands-on or involves movement––even card sorts or writing important conclusions their small group reached on strips of paper to be organized on the wall into a thinking map can meet the needs of this group.

“Let me think!” In truth, this group would rather read books or articles on their own, draw some conclusions, and then collaborate with others to determine what the new learning means for their classrooms. This is how I learn best! Incorporate time for reflection, ensure that they know where to find more information on the theories you are using, and suggest further reading.

“Let me brainstorm!” This group needs to talk, move, and collaborate, and often gravitates toward a leadership role. They actually form their best ideas while speaking with others. Create a collaborative activity which, while it may have a specific goal, can be carried out in many ways.

If one of the above suggested activities sounds horrible to you, it just may be the opposite of your preferred learning style. And it may just appeal most to that teacher who doesn't seem to engage no matter what you do during professional development. Try differentiating professional development––it's a great way to model what we hope teachers are doing for their students.

For the past three years, I've had the privilege of being part of the faculty for the Hormel Symposium on Gifted Education in Austin, MN. Yes, home to the SPAM Museum, an incredible hands-on exploratorium with Epicurean delights such as SPAM enchiladas (trust me on that one, truly delicious!) And, the Hormel Foundation has committed to funding this 4-day event through 2012!!!

As I taught on "Making Math Time Work for Gifted Students," the most frequent feedback was, "This is so practical," "This is great--I'm so concerned that the rush to get these kids through calculus is somehow depriving them," "Why, these techniques are great for every student yet truly enrich learning for the gifted!"

What are these techniques? (more…)

One of the things I love about coaching different content areas is that it gives me an excuse to read just about anything (as if I needed an excuse!) Math teachers, and anyone interested in understanding the "particularity of knowledge" math teachers need (search Deborah Ball to see all she has to say on that subject), might pick these up over the summer.

Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics. (Ma) While this probably doesn't qualify as a beach read, the differences in what the Chinese view as essential knowledge for teachers compared to the US is a compelling read. If not the entire book, read the chapter on division of fractions and you'll join the crusade against teaching children, "Ours is not to reason why, just invert and multiply..."

Number Talks (Parrish). Complete with a DVD of how these work in K-5 Classrooms, this is a great tool for teaching problem solving AND discourse. For older students, read the experiences of real teachers increasing student-led discussions in Promoting Purposeful Discourse (NCTM).

Good Questions for Math Teaching (Schuster and Anderson, Grades 5-8; Sullivan and Lilburn, Grades K-6). This is the #1 curriculum supplement for increasing critical thinking about math. Chock-full of problems, grouped by content and grade level, just choose a subject, browse the section, and plan how to engage students in a great discussion!

Catalyst (Anderson). Math teachers deserve some fun reads, too! Check out Anderson's tale of a girl who placed all her bets on her 800 in math SAT score to get her into MIT. What she learns after receiving the rejection letter is something to convey to students and parents who are only thinking Ivy League...

What should I add to my summer reading list?