Coaching cut #13 Make modelling clean but close

Coaching cuts: bite-sized tips for better coaching

Can we codify great coaching so coaches like you can learn specific techniques? We think so and we’re doing it for our upcoming book, written with the brilliant Dr Haili Hughes, Coaching for Adaptive Expertise.

In this post we share a technique for the modelling stage of coaching: ‘clean but close’.

Today’s tip: when deciding on a model to show your teacher, make sure it is -

• Clean: uncluttered by additional detail so the technique’s success criteria shine through.

• Close: realistic enough so the teacher can imagine themselves doing it and imagine it working.

Watch how coach Adam models how to do an exit routine for coachee Sarah. Adam’s model is clean because it clearly displays the success criteria and it’s close because he models as if the students are there – keeping it realistic!

Here’s the action step they agreed upon earlier in the conversation:

Ensure the exit routine is slick by using clear instructions that include what pupils need to do, the noise level and the time limit. Hold pupils accountable by monitoring how they do it. This will mean there’s more time for learning.

Here are the success criteria:

Clear signal: instructions state a clear signal for when pupils should start to pack away, so they don’t start as the teacher is talking.

Concrete and positive: instructions tell pupils what actions to take, e.g. ‘books into bags’ and are positive, e.g. ‘books into bags’ NOT ‘I don’t want to see any books lying around’.

Concise: use as few words as possible.

Sequential and manageable: state a short set of instructions in the order they should be taken.

Scan and narrate: deliberately and obviously looks around the room to check pupils are doing what you’ve asked. Narrate the positive things you see to encourage them.

Appropriate time: give pupils a fair but ambitious time limit, e.g. ‘Fully packed away behind your chairs in 2 minutes.’

Why might clean but close be a good way to model?

Teachers literally see differently depending on their expertise in an area (Berliner, 1988) and so, it’s most likely your coachee will struggle to spot all of the success criteria in your model. Keeping it clean supports them to see better.

However, ‘clean’ doesn’t mean unrealistic. Adam used real instructions and acted as if the students were there (scanning and narrating the positive). He kept it close to the real thing.

When would and wouldn’t you use clean but close?

You might add a messy model - with more distracting features - if your teacher can also handle learning the technique in more complex circumstances. For example, Adam could also model a version (or show Sarah a video clip) where students aren’t following his instructions and he has to reset the class and start again. This might also be useful if it’s something Sarah is likely to encounter with her class and will therefore go on to rehearse.

With HUGE thanks to the easygoing, Evian-drinking coach Adam Kohlbeck!

Let’s work together to make coaching better in your school! Contact sarahcottinghatt@outlook.com

References

Berliner, D.C., 1988. The development of expertise in pedagogy. AACTE Publications, One Dupont Circle, Suite 610, Washington, DC 20036-2412.