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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

  1. 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.

  2. 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?”

  3. 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.