Expecting Progress and Challenges

After learning about coaching, I (Sarah) realised that standing at the front of my classroom and asking a question such as "Do you understand?" was not helpful. Students don't want to expose themselves if they don't understand something. It's far easier for them to not say anything and just ignore their uncertainty.

Furthermore, the unspoken classroom contract is that saying yes to a teacher is the desired action--and so students are not incentivised to answer no, that they don't understand.

And it's actually quite hard for a young person (or any of us) to answer a question such as "Do you understand?" They might think they do understand, then later discover their understanding was not as secure as they thought.

I know my students' learning is non-linear. I expect both progress and challenge. So I have changed the question to "Tell your partner what you understand so far."

When I stand at the front of the room and say, "Tell your partner what you understand so far," I can overhear many conversations in which students recap to each other what has made sense to them so far. Everyone gets to speak, I get valuable information, and I usually follow up with "What questions do you have?"

When I kneel next to a student's desk, I ask them, "Tell me what you understand so far." I get to hear their thinking so far and work with them from there. Their current understanding is validated, trust is built, and they are ready to discuss more.

How might you adapt what you say in the classroom to show that you expect both progress and challenges?

This slide is part of our workshop "Coaching Skills in the Classroom." We led the workshop this week at Tanglin Trust School for our colleagues. Talk to us to hear more about this workshop!

Have a look at the participants’ takeaways here.