Coaching cut #2: 'When wouldn't you...'

Coaching cuts: bite-sized tips for better coaching

Today’s tip: use ‘when wouldn’t you’ questions to sensitise your coachee to the importance of applying techniques at the right time…

Today’s cut: Coach Olly is working with coachee Tayla on her excellent use of the ‘cold calling’ routine. Cold call is where a teacher poses a question, gives wait time and then asks a student to answer (and then perhaps other students). Teachers use it to increase the likelihood of every student thinking hard about the question because students don’t know who will be chosen to share their answer. (It works best when the teacher explains the purpose to the class and does it supportively as part of a culture of error (Lemov, 2021)).

Watch how coach Olly pushes coachee Tayla to think about when cold call wouldn’t be the right technique to use and what would be more appropriate in such a context.

Why might ‘when wouldn’t you’ questions be powerful?

• ‘When wouldn’t you’ questions help your coachee to consider the limitations of a technique. It kick starts the conversation about how to use it at the right time for the right reasons. This helps sensitise their mental model of teaching - situation-sensitive mental models may well underpin adaptive expertise!

• Linked to the first point, it helps prevent oversimplification and performative practice: “I’m using cold call because we did a CPD session on it the other day/ Adam likes to see me using it/ it’s the best way to get answers from students”. Oversimplification just doesn’t fly in complex environments like lessons.

• Coaching is about changing the future by reflecting on the past. ‘When wouldn’t you’ questions remind the coachee to prepare for the future.

When would and wouldn’t you use this type of question?

Use ‘When wouldn’t you’ questions if your coachee has really secured a routine and is able to use it with automaticity.

Don’t use them if your coachee is still learning to execute a technique with fidelity. At this point, they need to stay focused on high quality execution by learning and practicing the ‘rules’ of the technique.

Don’t use them without pushing your coachee to explain why they wouldn’t use the technique in a certain situation. Remember: right time and right reason. You might assume that they understand the limitations of the technique really accurately when in fact, they don’t share your understanding. Pushing for an explanation is super important to check their understanding.

Now try ‘When wouldn’t you’ questions this week in your coaching!

With huge thanks to Adam Kohlbeck (@mradamkohlbeck on socials) for creating this post and his colleagues Tayla Roostan and Olly Cakebread for their permission to use this clip.