Appendix A (part 2)
This second part of the appendix was more familiar than the planning conversation because we had already had a chance to practice this style of cognitive coaching.
I was reminded of the importance to ask open-ended questions, summarize and paraphrase what the teacher would say, and probe for more specifics. In this particular example conversation, I liked that the coach was able to refer back to the planning conversation to recall different concerns.
One important thing I would like to note on this reflective conversation is that the coach didn't ever reveal any sort of opinion about how the lesson went. She only presented the facts and when it came time to reveal the facts, she asked the teacher if she wanted to hear them, rather than just "dumping" it on her. This will be important for me to remember during my reflective conversation because I tend to want to share my thoughts and feelings on most things.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Monday, September 24, 2012
Planning Conference
Appendix A
It is important to have the basic skills and vocabulary in
order to master Cognitive Coaching but it is also just as important to be able
to observe it in action. In this appendix, readers have the option to read a transcript
of a planning conference as well as the coaches language skills that were used,
areas of planning and any other comments that would be important for readers to
be able to understand what specifically is intended for each comment.
A lot of the language that the coach used in this conference
was paraphrasing and probing. This is a skill that I have already had a chance
to practice and it is easier than I had originally thought and I am confident
that I will be able to do it again. Another language skill that the coach used
was his use of very specific questions that were intended to allow the teacher
to clarify things for herself and her practice.
The only thing I am wasn’t too sure about was the phrase, “
positive presuppositions.” I will need to clarify this for myself during
tomorrow nights class.
Friday, September 14, 2012
States of Mind
Ch. 6
"One goal of Cognitive Coaching is to develop each individual's capability to accept and then work to realize that he or she is simultaneously a whole and a part" (p. 123). A whole and a part? As a teacher we need to realize that not only that we need to be our whole-selves, someone who continually strives for the betterment of his/herself, and someone who is, in a sense, a team player. This team player works within a community and needs to be a part of this community so that the community can be a success.
There are five states of mind that are important within Cognitive Coaching and they are: efficacy, flexibility, craftsmanship, consciousness and interdependence. I feel as though there are definite areas that I am successful in already and some that I have room to grow in.
First, as I read through the characteristics of efficacy I was able to identify with them. Someone who has efficacy either teaches math or middle school kids, is organized, changes over time, self-assesses, achieves professional development, modifies instruction, creates learning communities, optimistic, less stressed, perseveres through difficulty, high achiever, self-actualizing and self-modifying. Although I am not all of these things, many of these characteristics are ones that I would like to think describe me.
Second, and lastly, I need to improve on my flexibility. Someone who is flexible is able to view situations from different perspectives, change, adapt and expand. As I transition into a new teaching position this year, I struggle with the schedule with the junior high school. I am not longer able to run my day for myself and for my students. I now have to work with other teachers to maintain the switching of classes and not to mention my principal also will through in a couple of curve balls in there to keep things exciting. I need to work on being flexible and rolling with the punches. If I am able to be more flexible here then this will only transfer over to make me a better coach.
"One goal of Cognitive Coaching is to develop each individual's capability to accept and then work to realize that he or she is simultaneously a whole and a part" (p. 123). A whole and a part? As a teacher we need to realize that not only that we need to be our whole-selves, someone who continually strives for the betterment of his/herself, and someone who is, in a sense, a team player. This team player works within a community and needs to be a part of this community so that the community can be a success.
There are five states of mind that are important within Cognitive Coaching and they are: efficacy, flexibility, craftsmanship, consciousness and interdependence. I feel as though there are definite areas that I am successful in already and some that I have room to grow in.
First, as I read through the characteristics of efficacy I was able to identify with them. Someone who has efficacy either teaches math or middle school kids, is organized, changes over time, self-assesses, achieves professional development, modifies instruction, creates learning communities, optimistic, less stressed, perseveres through difficulty, high achiever, self-actualizing and self-modifying. Although I am not all of these things, many of these characteristics are ones that I would like to think describe me.
Second, and lastly, I need to improve on my flexibility. Someone who is flexible is able to view situations from different perspectives, change, adapt and expand. As I transition into a new teaching position this year, I struggle with the schedule with the junior high school. I am not longer able to run my day for myself and for my students. I now have to work with other teachers to maintain the switching of classes and not to mention my principal also will through in a couple of curve balls in there to keep things exciting. I need to work on being flexible and rolling with the punches. If I am able to be more flexible here then this will only transfer over to make me a better coach.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Developing and Maintaing Trust
Ch. 5
Trust. How important is trust in everyone's life and how easily it can be lost with little chance of being restored? In order to be an effective coach there are many levels of trust that are important. First, we need to trust in ourselves. We need to have the confidence that will allow us to step into these mediating conversations. We also need to have trust amongst individuals. We need to be seen as someone who is worth trusting. We will not go far in helping others if we are not credible and show that we are a trustworthy person. We will also need to provide an environment that is safe and allows them to trust it as well as a healthy trusting coaching relationship.
Tools. We will need trust and rapport. Rapport can only come from a place of genuine concern and motivation to help this person. If we are insincere in our efforts, it will be apparent and therefore trust is out the window. We will need response behaviors, such as acknowledging, paraphrasing, clarifying, providing data and resources, and structuring. By allowing these things to exist in these conversations our mentess will feel a sense of peace knowing that we care and these tools will help us reach that point. For me and perhaps you as well, it will be another challenge to be patient with ourselves so that our mentees will problem solve effectively.
Trust. How important is trust in everyone's life and how easily it can be lost with little chance of being restored? In order to be an effective coach there are many levels of trust that are important. First, we need to trust in ourselves. We need to have the confidence that will allow us to step into these mediating conversations. We also need to have trust amongst individuals. We need to be seen as someone who is worth trusting. We will not go far in helping others if we are not credible and show that we are a trustworthy person. We will also need to provide an environment that is safe and allows them to trust it as well as a healthy trusting coaching relationship.
Tools. We will need trust and rapport. Rapport can only come from a place of genuine concern and motivation to help this person. If we are insincere in our efforts, it will be apparent and therefore trust is out the window. We will need response behaviors, such as acknowledging, paraphrasing, clarifying, providing data and resources, and structuring. By allowing these things to exist in these conversations our mentess will feel a sense of peace knowing that we care and these tools will help us reach that point. For me and perhaps you as well, it will be another challenge to be patient with ourselves so that our mentees will problem solve effectively.
Mediator's Toolbox
Ch. 4
Paralanguage: I find that this concept is most intriguing. I feel as though I somehow knew about this concept before but was never given the essential tools to know how to use it. Paralanguage involves being able to mirror the same body language and spoken language back to the person. These things include: posture, gesture, inflection, pitch, volume, rate a speech, language choices and breathing. I would have thought before that if a person was frantic about a problem they were having it would be better to respond with calmness rather than matching their frantic behaviors. I am interested to see if I will be able to respond to my mentees in this way.
I am finding the mediative questioning section to be very insightful and practical. The questions in which we are suggested to try will help the mentees get to that place where they can draw their own conclusions. It will be important to ask in plurals (ex. goalS, ideaS, outcomeS, and alternativeS), words that express tentativeness (might, may, or hunch) as well as using invitational stems that will encourage your mentee to continue to think about a solution (As you think about..., as you consider...).
"Mediators are clear about their purposes and intentionally employ certain verbal and nonverbal tools with others to help transform and empower their cognitive functioning" (p. 91). The smallest tool in the tool box is the most important. While we need the power drill and the the hammer, the stud finder will be the most helpful in hanging the shelf on the wall. We need to be attentive to our mentees needs and not our own. We will need to be able to step outside of ourselves and be a reflecting mirror so that they can see the solutions without anyone telling them to do so.
Paralanguage: I find that this concept is most intriguing. I feel as though I somehow knew about this concept before but was never given the essential tools to know how to use it. Paralanguage involves being able to mirror the same body language and spoken language back to the person. These things include: posture, gesture, inflection, pitch, volume, rate a speech, language choices and breathing. I would have thought before that if a person was frantic about a problem they were having it would be better to respond with calmness rather than matching their frantic behaviors. I am interested to see if I will be able to respond to my mentees in this way.
I am finding the mediative questioning section to be very insightful and practical. The questions in which we are suggested to try will help the mentees get to that place where they can draw their own conclusions. It will be important to ask in plurals (ex. goalS, ideaS, outcomeS, and alternativeS), words that express tentativeness (might, may, or hunch) as well as using invitational stems that will encourage your mentee to continue to think about a solution (As you think about..., as you consider...).
"Mediators are clear about their purposes and intentionally employ certain verbal and nonverbal tools with others to help transform and empower their cognitive functioning" (p. 91). The smallest tool in the tool box is the most important. While we need the power drill and the the hammer, the stud finder will be the most helpful in hanging the shelf on the wall. We need to be attentive to our mentees needs and not our own. We will need to be able to step outside of ourselves and be a reflecting mirror so that they can see the solutions without anyone telling them to do so.
Coaching as Mediation
Ch. 3
"Rather than give advice to or solve problems for another person, a mediator helps he colleague to analyze a problem and develop her own problem-solving strategies" (p. 58). What a challenge this will be for me! I have been mentoring the new 5th grade teacher for about a month now and while many of her questions and concerns are logistical, I have found myself telling her straight out how to do things and what I used to do in the past. I think that this will be a great tool to have so that she will be able to then problem solve on her own and become a more reflective and self sufficient teacher.
As an individual and as a teacher, I have developed a mindset that I know best. The way I have mastered things is the way others should master the same thing. In this chapter, I was reminded that we all work differently and that our way a coming to an answer will most likely be from a very different approach. "Conscious of these differences, Cognitive Coaches strive to be flexible communicators. They recognize their own style preferences and seek to overcome these habits when interacting with someone who operates from a different style" (p. 66). This will also be a challenge for me but I am convinced that this will be the better way to go.
"The shift is from teaching other to helping others learn from situations; from holding power to empowering others; from telling to inquiring; and from holding on to finding strength in letting go. Changing one's identity requires patience, stamina, and courage" (p. 71). While this chapter is full of challenges for me to face, it also is motivating to think that after mediating for others they will have learned so much more than me telling them what to do.
"Rather than give advice to or solve problems for another person, a mediator helps he colleague to analyze a problem and develop her own problem-solving strategies" (p. 58). What a challenge this will be for me! I have been mentoring the new 5th grade teacher for about a month now and while many of her questions and concerns are logistical, I have found myself telling her straight out how to do things and what I used to do in the past. I think that this will be a great tool to have so that she will be able to then problem solve on her own and become a more reflective and self sufficient teacher.
As an individual and as a teacher, I have developed a mindset that I know best. The way I have mastered things is the way others should master the same thing. In this chapter, I was reminded that we all work differently and that our way a coming to an answer will most likely be from a very different approach. "Conscious of these differences, Cognitive Coaches strive to be flexible communicators. They recognize their own style preferences and seek to overcome these habits when interacting with someone who operates from a different style" (p. 66). This will also be a challenge for me but I am convinced that this will be the better way to go.
"The shift is from teaching other to helping others learn from situations; from holding power to empowering others; from telling to inquiring; and from holding on to finding strength in letting go. Changing one's identity requires patience, stamina, and courage" (p. 71). While this chapter is full of challenges for me to face, it also is motivating to think that after mediating for others they will have learned so much more than me telling them what to do.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
The Basics
Ch. 2
"Self-discovery is a process of reflection that is built into coaching as a learning habit... It is designed around a set of questions that the person must think through and react to with concrete responses" (p. 39). As a coach, I will need to be able to make this process of reflecting in my own daily life so that I will be able to easily create that same environment for those whom I will coach in the future.
I was not surprised when I read that coaching others requires trust and focus on the teacher's goals but I found it to be interesting when the chapter mentioned that coaching requires "detailed mental rehearsal of the lesson." I thought I was the only one who rehearsed conversations in my head. This means that when I go into coaching in the future, that it cannot be blind sided. I need to go into the conversation prepared.
"Self-discovery is a process of reflection that is built into coaching as a learning habit... It is designed around a set of questions that the person must think through and react to with concrete responses" (p. 39). As a coach, I will need to be able to make this process of reflecting in my own daily life so that I will be able to easily create that same environment for those whom I will coach in the future.
I was not surprised when I read that coaching others requires trust and focus on the teacher's goals but I found it to be interesting when the chapter mentioned that coaching requires "detailed mental rehearsal of the lesson." I thought I was the only one who rehearsed conversations in my head. This means that when I go into coaching in the future, that it cannot be blind sided. I need to go into the conversation prepared.
Exploring the Meanings of CC
Ch. 1
What is Cognitive Coaching all about? At its root, Cognitive Coaching's goal is to allow those whom we are mentoring to arrive at their own conclusions and solutions to their problems and situations by allowing them the space to share their thoughts and feelings. As a mentor, using this strategy, you would then reflect back to them, using the same body language and tone, what they are stating. In this way the mentee will see their situation in a new light and be able to problem solve independently. Using this strategy, will give mentees the skills they will need to become self-directed.
In this chapter, I felt motivated to become a mentor who uses this strategy because the author wrote, "Few educational innovations achieve their full impact with out a coaching component" (p. 24). Teachers need other teachers to be there to listen and understand the struggles everyone goes through within their first years of teaching and even when they make a grade switch. I am currently going through a transition and if it wasn't for the patient and listening ears of a few of my fellow teachers, I would not be going to work with the right mindset.
What is Cognitive Coaching all about? At its root, Cognitive Coaching's goal is to allow those whom we are mentoring to arrive at their own conclusions and solutions to their problems and situations by allowing them the space to share their thoughts and feelings. As a mentor, using this strategy, you would then reflect back to them, using the same body language and tone, what they are stating. In this way the mentee will see their situation in a new light and be able to problem solve independently. Using this strategy, will give mentees the skills they will need to become self-directed.
In this chapter, I felt motivated to become a mentor who uses this strategy because the author wrote, "Few educational innovations achieve their full impact with out a coaching component" (p. 24). Teachers need other teachers to be there to listen and understand the struggles everyone goes through within their first years of teaching and even when they make a grade switch. I am currently going through a transition and if it wasn't for the patient and listening ears of a few of my fellow teachers, I would not be going to work with the right mindset.
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