Leading, learning and coaching - it's all about mistakes

Steps to a Coaching Classroom: Newsletter 12 Extra

To all the educators who lead, teach and coach. THANK YOU.

"I might not be able to pay teachers more money, or give them the public recognition they deserve for the amazing work that they do, but I can teach them about a coaching approach. And that will be my contribution to a better world.", Martin Richards

This newsletter further explores the idea that mistakes are good entry points for learning. The Connection between leading, learning and coaching is mistakes. By mistakes I mean, getting the answer wrong, or doing something that is deemed to be wrong in some way.

Teachers lead their students to better understanding of the world around them. Coaches lead their coachees to better understanding of the world within them - their thoughts and feelings.

Educators navigate between the two roles, sometimes focusing on the world around the students; at other times focusing on the world inside the students. As they change roles, they change stance, teaching from in front, coaching from behind. When teaching, the educator knows what the student will see in the world. When coaching, the educator knows less about what is going on for the student. In both cases, curiosity and non-judgement will serve them well.

Teaching is Leading - pointing the way ahead, from in front

Learning often requires stepping outside what we think we know to explore what we don’t know (yet). Teachers act as guides, leading students on their learning journey.

In a Chemistry lesson, Mrs.Su?the teacher, puts a glass beaker on the table and fills it with water. She uses a small camera to zoom in to the edge of the beaker, so all the students can clearly see that the glass is full. They can see the water level at the top edge of the beaker. Then Mrs.Su?picks up a bottle of another clear liquid and drips small amounts into the water - without raising the level. The students can clearly see that more liquid has been added, yet the level has not risen. She asks them to talk in pairs to come up with the reason why it’s happening.

When the discussions settle, Mrs.Su puts a plastic bucket on the table and fills it with tennis balls, so that the bucket is full. The students are invited up to add more tennis balls, until they say it’s not possible to add any more. Then she picks up a sack of sand, and gently pours the sand over the tennis balls until they are covered. The students are invited to say if the bucket is full or not. Finally, Mrs.Su?slowly pours water into the bucket until it almost runs over.

Based on what they have seen, the students are invited to come up with a description of what was going on in the first experiment with the water in the beaker, and what they can say about the other colourless liquid.

Comment: In the above story, you can see how Mrs.Su leads her students to a deeper understanding of the composition of water, and other substances, by being slightly ahead of her students. She knows in advance what will happen in her demonstration, she also knows the reason why she could pour the colourless liquid into the water in the beaker, despite it seeming to be full.

Giving students the experience of what’s possible, and a model for comparison, they will be able to come to the right conclusions about what is happening. Science subjects are great for examples of Show, don’t Tell.

Coaching is Leading - looking inside, being behind

In coaching, we explore what is possible when you believe that you can, when you know that you can’t.?

Applying? the coaching approach is saying, “I know that I can’t do this, so I will allow myself to make a mistake and imagine that I can, and see where that choice takes me.”

Coaching begins when we choose for a moment to leave behind what we think is true, let go of our past experiences, inspect our beliefs (limiting ones) and check in on our habits. Then we become a little freer to explore what we have not experienced yet. We can adjust our beliefs and create new habits so we can experience the world we want in a way that works for us.

Example 1 Often, students are afraid of failing when attempting to do something they have not done before. (They may also be afraid of succeeding.) The coach encourages them to look beyond those fears.

Mrs.Su also teaches Mathematics. When presented with a new concept, one of her students says, “I can’t do that.” Mrs.Su uses a coaching approach, she agrees, “Yes, you can’t do that,” and then adds the magical component, “yet.”?

She knows that other students are able to understand this concept so she invites the student to explore, she asks, “How important is it to you to be able to do it?” and - listening for information about the student’s beliefs - asks, “What if you could, how would that be?” and “If you imagine it was a year from now, and you had learned how to do that, what would you tell yourself now?”

Example 2 It is also common that students have culturally fixed ideas about the sort of thing that is right for them to do.

When another student refuses to try something different and says something like, “That sort of thing is only for men / older people / the rich… etc” Mrs.Su will agree, “Yes, it can appear that way.” and then explores, “What would it mean to you to be able to do that sort of thing?”, “What if, in another time or another place, it was OK for you to do that sort of thing, how would you feel about that?”, If you were the exception to the rule, how would that make you feel?”, If that was no longer true, what would you do?”, “How would you like to be the first?”

Note: It is not possible to show you the whole dialogue because every coaching conversation is unique. The students’ thoughts and beliefs are the basis of the questions the coach asks in between the questions I have shown in the dialogue.

Comment: In the dialogues, you can see how the coach stands behind the student, not telling them how to think, but inviting them to think differently, and explore how that feels. It is the student who decides whether or not they will let go of their belief that they cannot or should not do that sort of thing. The coach’s main question is WHY, although they seldom use that word. When students know why they want to do something, they begin to work out how.

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In later editions of this newsletter, I will explore coaching in other subjects, using know examples of sports and science breakthroughs.

Coaching in Sports

Imagine the conversations, the day before it happened, between the coach and… the first person to run a mile in under 4 minutes, the first person to throw a javelin past the then World record, the first person to pole vault over 5 metres, etc.. Did they accept those feats as impossible, or did they challenge that thought?

Coaching in Science

What was going on in the mind of the person who discovered radioactivity, discovered penicillin, invented the hot filament light, invented rubber tyres. Did they accept that things are the way they are, or did they challenge that thought?