Collegial Coaching Conversations: Having Alliance Coaching Conversations by Martin Richards
This blog is the final piece in a three-part series that follows two coach trainers, Martin and Alexandra, as they train college teachers to adopt a coaching approach to holding collegial coaching conversations following lesson observations. This is different to Instructional Coaching, where an external education expert coaches’ teacher. With Collegial Coaching Conversations, it is the teachers who will observe and coach each other. Thus, they are being trained in a meta-method that does not rely on their expertise in education.
In the first blog, we looked at why some training missions in education feel nearly ‘impossible’. We got a sense of the delicate balance of ‘doing coaching’ vs ‘being a coach’ and took a brief look inside the hearts and minds of instructional leaders as they deliberated on why the training course was important. In the second blog, we shared how we designed out workshops with a coaching approach and role-modelled what collaborative leadership looks like for the teacher to draw their own insights and learning with useful models to support them as they applied how they held their collegial coaching conversations.
In the second blog we saw how the trainers introduced AFORM, a structure that supports the long-term working relationship. The first step in AFORM is Alliance, where two teachers form a new working relationship. Here we see the trainers demonstrate how to form the alliance.
Martin and Alexandra are both experienced teachers, trainers and certified coaches. They have worked together on assignments coaching teachers, on and off, for several years.
The aims of this blog are to:
The importance of an alliance coaching conversation and confidentiality agreement
Demonstrate the effects of a coaching process
The Confidentiality Agreement
Experiencing what an Alliance Coaching Conversation sounds like, and looks like as a written process, is important in embedding the importance of building from the start of respecting your peer’s approach and agreeing on acceptable moments of observation for feedback and development.
The Alliance Coaching Conversation answers key questions
Coachee’s goals and ambitions
Driving force behind being observed
Working relationship during observation and feedback
Alliance Coaching Guidelines
Confidentiality Agreement.
Say “What we say in here, stays in here.” That’s it really. Less is more.
Ask “Can we agree that… What we say in here, stays in here?” and raise your hands to show that you agree.
Finding volunteers
After the Course leaders have coached each other a little, say “We will soon need someone else to come up here and be coached.”
Hint at this several times during the day so that the question comes as no surprise. Say things like, “Later on today, there is an opportunity to experience what being coached feels like...”
Keep it simple. Ask, “Who would like to volunteer to be coached, here, at the front of the room, in front of everyone?”
The Alliance Coaching Steps
Ask their name
Ask for permission to coach
Get some background
Find out which lessons to observe
Find out why the observation is needed
ENJOY their WHY
Get practical details about observation
The Coaching Demonstration
When we asked “Who would like to volunteer …”, we waited, in silent anticipation. There is always someone who steps up.
The volunteer is called June. Her name is invented.
Martin was the one who had eye contact with June. Alexandra moved to one side to observe and note what happened, and was prepared to facilitate the rest of the group if needed.
Martin Hello June. Thanks for coming up.
June Sure
Martin I need to check a few things before we start with the coaching… is it ok with you that I ask some questions about your teaching?
June Sure, yes.
Martin And is it OK if I ask questions about you as a human being too?
June OK? (Curious but unsure)
Martin You don’t have to answer out loud. I need your permission to ask though.
June Ohm, that’s OK. Ask what you like.
Martin What do you teach? How many years?
June Social studies. Five years here at this school. Two years at another school previously.
Martin Which of your lessons could be observed this term?
June Any of them really
Martin What would you want to get out of that?
June I want to get a perspective on what I could do better
Martin How would that affect you?
June I’d be a better teacher
Martin And how would knowing that you are a better teacher, affect you?
June I’d feel proud.
Martin And what does it look like when you are a proud teacher?
June (Stands proud, smiles)
Martin You look proud. What is happening in you right now?
June A kind of bubbling up inside (waves hands from stomach to breast)
Martin How do you like this feeling?
June It’s wonderful
Martin How often would you like to have this feeling?
June All the time, (laughs)
Martin We can stay in this feeling for a while
(Waits until it fades)
Martin So, if I summarise. You would like to feel like this (waves hands in the same way ) more often, all the time.
June Yes. Can you arrange that? (laughs again)
Martin That’s up to you.
(Pauses)
Martin How many lessons could I observe in a term?
June You could come every week!
Martin How many is realistic?
June I guess three or four
Martin So, you would like me to come to three or four lessons to observe, during this term.
June Yes please.
Martin We need to look at the time for the feedback. How many extra hours could you add to your workload this term?
June Ah. None (laugh). No, I guess I could add an hour a month, maybe two
Martin How many feedback sessions are practical this term?
June In that case, two or three. After the observations
Martin If I have the numbers right, you would like me to observe three or four lessons and give feedback two or three times afterwards.
June Yes, that’s about all the time I want to put into this.
Martin It works for me too.
June That was easy.
Martin I’m sure we can make it work. Now we need to look at our working relationship. How shall we be together in the room when I observe?
June What do you mean?
Martin What roles do we play when we are in front of the children?
June I’m the teacher and you are the observer.
Martin What does that mean in practice?
June You don’t teach, or help the children with their work, or their behaviour. Leave that to me.
Martin OK. so I will observe, and otherwise not be available for the children.
(Writes that down)
Martin Where shall I be in the room?
June You can sit at the back, so you can see me. They won’t bother about you at all.
Martin What would be OK to tell your students about being observed?
June Sure. They won’t be so interested. I will tell them, the lesson before, that you are coming in to observe.
Martin What shall I observe?
June Everything!
Martin That’s too much. What would help you be more of the teacher you are proud of?
June I’m not sure.
Martin What makes you proud?
June When they get into a discussion, a good one.
Martin What would I see, if I observe a good discussion?
June They are excited, engaged, almost getting out of their seats.
Martin What else?
June Even the quiet ones are involved. And I am quiet. I don’t have to pull their thoughts and comments out of them (Standing proud)
Martin (Waves hands from belly to breast) How’s that going?
June Yeah. I love this feeling. It’s why I teach. When they own their learning, I know I have done a good job.
Martin When you are doing a good job, what else will I observe?
June I am standing to one side. Not in front of the board. And I am silent. Except I maybe ask certain children to wait their turn, or something.
Martin What else are you not doing?
June I’m not giving them a long lecture. Although sometimes I have to, but that’s not a lesson I’m proud of. (Pauses)
Martin If I understand you right, you would like me to note where you stand, how excited and engaged the students are, how silent you are.
June I have never thought about that before, but yes, where I stand has an effect on how engaged the children are… (pauses)
Martin It seems the observations have already begun.
June It seems so.
Martin Just one more area for us to get aligned on, the feedback.
June OK
Martin What kind of feedback suits you best?
June Just tell me what I could do better
Martin How direct shall I be with my feedback?
June Very direct. I hate it when people pussy-foot around
Martin If I have suggestions, what shall I do with them?
June Tell me.
Martin So. After the observations you would like me to give you direct feedback on where you stood, how excited and engaged the children were and how silent you were.
June Yes, and if you have any tips…
Martin We can talk about that after the course today.
June Right
Martin I would like to thank you for being open and sharing with everyone here
Reflections and Insights:
Demonstrations of coaching are the best explanations of what coaching is
Finding the right balance between leading the coachee and following the coachee takes training and experience
Forming clear alliances is a new way to collaborate at work
Not knowing in advance what the coachee wants is great preparation for finding out
That confidentiality (considering the coachee was in front of their peers) is supportive for revealing truths
A person's body language is sometimes clearer than their spoken language
Thank you for reading our three-part series in Collegial Conversations. I hope this has inspired you in finding ways to make coaching a more clearly-defined part of everything you do as an educator. And if you’d like to also be available and provide coaching to teachers, please reach out to me at “Coaching for Educators” for more details.
Connect with Martin Richards and read his other posts published on the good coach.