Dr. Shelly Arneson Author and Consultant
  • Home
  • Blogs and News
  • Workshops
  • Consultation
  • Shop
  • Links
  • Contact Information
  • Dissertation
Picture

Happy Communicating
​

It takes two, baby!

3/26/2017

1 Comment

 
Marvin Gaye said it right in his song, "It takes two".
One person can certainly do many things, but there are some things that simply take two people. Conversations are a perfect example.  In order to have a conversation, there  is a necessity for two or more people to be engaged in it. One person talking simply does not make for a conversation.  Then, how do we explain the practice of administrators and observers giving feedback to teachers in which it is simply one-sided?  The synonym of "conversation" in French is "head to head". That certainly implies two heads.
​con·ver·sa·tion
ˌkänvərˈsāSH(ə)n/
noun
  1. the informal exchange of ideas by spoken words.
    "the two men were deep in conversation"
    synonyms:discussion, talk, chat, gossip, tête-à-tête, heart-to-heart, exchange, dialogue​
I had the distinct pleasure of consulting in the Virgin Islands this week. After teaching administrators some solid observation practices a few weeks ago, this week was spent on pairing up with administrators, going in and conducting observations, then coming back and deciding how best to coach the teacher on his/her practice.  What a treat! Throughout the week, I watched a Kinder class reading a story, a small engine repair class working on their individual engines, high school algebra, adult education algebra, 4th grade science, 1st grade science, and so many more.  The one common theme was working with administrators who were used to calling the teacher in, after the observation, to tell them what they had observed (I like the way you asked questions; You should have made a copy of the Venn diagram; You did a good job.....). This week, I got the chance to model for the administrators some new ways to conduct post-observation conferences, to include many questions that would get the teacher thinking about their practice.
Here is a sampling of some questions I asked:
1.  Looking at the data we collected for Questioning and Discussion Techniques, what are some patterns you are noticing?  
2.  Based on the questions asked, what types of student responses might be typical?
3.  Given the importance of student responsibility for their own thinking, what might be some strategies to increase student-to-student responses?

Throughout the week, we got to watch teachers do some pretty heavy lifting about their own teaching.  Were they frustrated by this? On the contrary. We continually heard remarks like, "This has helped me understand my own teaching so much better." "I never realized I shushed the kids so much! I can't wait to work on this" "Working on this is not that hard because it is what I do."

Truly, the results are every education leader's dream: teachers are doing the work themselves, comparing/contrasting lesson successes, seeing plans to improve certain strategies, and being grateful for the help.

Conferencing with the administrators, afterwards, was where the real change was evident.  After all, they needed to be able to watch someone else model what they knew was the right thing for teachers but still felt tentative about their own skill.
After modeling the post-observation conferences (10 different ones, this week), the comments from administrators included:
"Thank you kindly for your professional coaching and feedback to  my teacher, Ms. ________ and I.  Your assistance has been greatly appreciated. It has helped me to be more focus on my feedback approach. It also reminded me to allow the teacher to do some self-diagnosis. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and experience with us."

After having group training on the process, one administrator said of the coaching sessions: " follow-up training is in an important component. I believe that deep learning occurs when individuals have multiple opportunities to engage in an experience. "

"We thought it was so worthwhile and truly forces us to look at the evidence closely to support instruction."

What an amazing process observations can be if they are channeled the right direction----towards teacher improvement and growth rather than towards punitive appraisal.  In addition, this process becomes a mirror for what we want teaching to look like in every classroom we visit: helping students to grow, one lesson at a time.

If we continue to work toward collaborative inquiry, we will very likely see the same thing I saw this week:  deep satisfaction from teachers and instructional leaders, alike, as we work together to improve education!


Happy Communicating!

​Shelly 





1 Comment
Yvette McMahon-Arnold
3/26/2017 07:48:42 am

Thanks for a rewarding, fulfilling educational experience, Shelly. I learned so much.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Shelly Arneson

    Picture

    Archives

    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
Photos used under Creative Commons from Tjeerd, Johnragai-Moment Catcher, UnknownNet Photography, Mr. Bombdiggity, wuestenigel, quinn.anya, Chocolate Geek, Jorbasa, Leonard J Matthews, JefferyTurner, Golf Resort Achental, fabola, www.ilmicrofono.it, m01229, Heinrich Plum, Titanic Belfast, Strocchi, Cultural viewpoints from around the world, katrienberckmoes, fabola, susivinh, fourcroft, Sweet Dreamz Design, usarjnco, Eldriva, symphony of love, cordalth, boellstiftung, David Holt London, maryjohum, Tony Webster, Rich.S., ZK-OJQ, davidmulder61, garryknight, ChrisPerriman, mrkrndvs, goatling, YellowstoneNPS, Frederick Homes for Sale, Mary_on_Flickr, yourbestdigs, Dean Hochman, guillenperez, Janitors, rachaelvoorhees
  • Home
  • Blogs and News
  • Workshops
  • Consultation
  • Shop
  • Links
  • Contact Information
  • Dissertation