Coaching Conversation 1

Title of Scenario: Elementary Educator in Need of Feedback and/or Professional Development

Setting of Conversation: Teachers’ lounge, lunch time
Conversation:
Me (cheerfully): Hi Miss Trudy, how’s your day going so far?
Miss Trudy (relaxed): It’s good, how about yours?
Me: It’s been a little busy, but overall good, thanks for asking. Mind if I sit with you? I’ve got
something I want to talk with you about.
Miss Trudy (cautiously): Sure, what’s on your mind?
Me: I passed by kindergarten on the way to the bathroom earlier today, and I saw you working
with Susie-
Miss Trudy (excitedly): Oh I just adore her! She is so sweet and is the highlight of my day! I
know we’re not supposed to have favorites...but she sure is one of mine!
Me: I love that you have that relationship with her! I can tell she’s very comfortable with you!
So I assume she works really well with you?
Miss Trudy (cautiously): Not exactly... When I sit with her on the carpet, she likes to crawl in my
lap-which I don’t mind-but doesn’t really pay attention all that much... To be honest, I’m not
really sure what to do to help her work more...
Me: Totally understandable. Mind if I offer a few suggestions?
Miss Trudy: Absolutely!
Me (cautiously): Well, I noticed you both are sitting in the back of the group during the lesson.
What if you sat closer to the front, maybe on the side of the teacher? Do you think Susie would
participate more?
Miss Trudy (reluctantly: Maybe...but I’m not sure how much it’ll help with her getting comfy in
my lap when I’m there...
Me: That’s a good point. I think with that, maybe you’ve just got to set some boundaries. I
know you have a special relationship with her, and she’s obviously very comfortable with you,
but I think sitting in her lap is maybe a little too comfortable for her. What if she sat next to you
with your legs touching? That way she could be off your lap and maybe pay attention more, but
she would still be close to you in a more appropriate way. How does that sound?
Miss Trudy: I think that should work, so sounds good to me.
Me (excitedly): Great! Would you feel comfortable if I came to check on you later on this week
to see how the new changes are going with Susie?
Miss Trudy: I would really appreciate that, thank you!
Me (reassuringly): You’re welcome! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to come
find me and ask! Have a great rest of your day! Thanks for talking!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coaching Conversation 2
Title of Scenario: General Educator’s Physical Classroom Environment
Setting of Conversation: Empty 4th grade classroom, before school
Conversation:
Me (cheerfully): Good morning, Mrs. Hartmann, how are you today?
Mrs. Hartmann (calmly): Good morning. I’m good, how are you?
Me: I’m good, thanks. Do you have a few minutes to chat this morning? I’ve got something I
want to talk with you about Fred.
Mrs. Hartmann: Sure, I have time.
Me: Great! So I want to talk about how Fred is doing in your class. I noticed he sits in the back
of the class at a table by himself, and Ms. Madison joins him there when she comes in to work
with him. How does that seating arrangement seem to be working for him?
Mrs. Hartmann (cautiously): Overall, I think Fred does okay. He struggles a little bit with staying
on task during whole-group time, and sometimes he has a hard time staying with the class. Ms.
Madison does help with that a bit during her time in here. However, during turn-and-talks, Fred
doesn’t seem to interact with other students, and I usually have to go back to his table to talk to
him myself or get him to talk with one of his classmates. Fred is a hard worker though, and
usually gets his work done.
Me: I’m glad to hear that Fred is able to get his work done, and especially that he continues to
be a hard worker. I know I see that whenever I work with him in my room, so I’m happy that
that comes through in here too. I do have a couple of concerns though, specifically with Fred
staying on task and interacting with his classmates. Let’s start with Fred staying on task. Can
you maybe explain a little bit more of what it looks like when Fred is distracted?
Mrs. Hartmann: Sure. When I’m teaching at the board at the front of the room, I’ve usually got
the majority of everyone’s attention-they're facing forward, they’re looking at me, and I can tell
they’re paying attention. With Fred, I’ll catch him looking around the room instead of looking at
me, and he’s usually messing with something on his desk instead of following along with the
class. It’s not until Ms. Madison comes in to help him that Fred follows along with the class and
pays attention more.
Me: I see. After hearing that, I’ve got a few follow-up questions. First, do you think the lesson
pacing is good? Like fast enough to keep the class engaged, but not too fast that struggling
students can’t keep up?
Mrs. Hartmann: The pacing is fine. The majority of the class pays attention, and the ones who
aren’t are the ones who aren’t on grade level.
Me: Okay. What about the content? Obviously you’re covering grade-level material, which Fred
absolutely needs to be exposed to, but how exactly do you teach? What’s your style?
Mrs. Hartmann: I typically stand up at the board at the front. That’s where I’ve got my anchor
charts, and I even conduct my read alouds from the front. Students take notes in their
interactive notebooks while I teach. Then when I’m done upfront, I sit at my desk and keep an
eye on everyone while they do their assigned independent work. Isn’t that how everyone
teaches?
Me: While that is the more traditional way, I wouldn’t say that’s how everyone does it. Some
like to move around or set up their charts in a different place than the board so students are
always looking at different things around the room. I think it just depends on what the teacher
is most comfortable with and whatever help the students learn best. (cautiously) Would you be
open to trying some of those things? It might help Fred stay focused if looking around the room
meant following you or following along with the class if information was placed in different
spots.
Mrs. Hartmann (reluctantly): I guess I could try those things, maybe it could help the other
distracted students along with Fred...
Me: Exactly. Do you have any questions before we move on?
Mrs. Hartmann: No, we can keep going.
Me: Sounds good. So you said earlier that Fred doesn’t really talk much with his classmates
during class. Do you feel like he has friends? Does he talk and play with other students during
lunch and recess?
Mrs. Hartmann: Fred has a few friends that he likes to talk about, but I never really see them
interact together in class. Usually when we do turn-and-talks, they find each other before Fred
has a chance to, so he usually doesn’t talk with them. He will sit with them if we do
independent reading around the room.
Me: I’m happy to hear that Fred has friends, but it is a little concerning that those friendships
don’t really seem to carry over to the classroom, especially during turn-and-talks. I couldn’t
help but notice that you’ve got everyone in individual desks in rows facing forward, with their
backs to Fred’s table. Do you think that might be a part of why Fred doesn’t seem to interact
with his classmates?
Mrs. Hartmann: I guess I hadn’t noticed they all had their backs to him... Now that you say it,
that might be a reason why Fred doesn’t talk to his peers. Do you think he feels left out?
Me (reassuringly): He might, yes. He does have friends though, so it’s not like he feels totally
separate from everyone. What if we arranged the desks into groups of 3 of 4? We can have
Fred at a group of 3, and Ms. Madison can be the fourth when she comes in to help. He can
even have a friend at his table to help him stay on task and talk with.
Mrs. Hartmann (excitedly): That’s a great idea! I think Fred might even get more work done if I
don’t have to be the only one to help him besides Ms. Madison.
Me: Great! I can help you arrange the desks now if you’d like! I’ll also make sure to talk with
Ms. Madison before she comes in to let her know of the changes.
Mrs. Hartmann: That would be great, thank you for your help!