Empowering Students With Supportive Coaching

I truly believe that students are doing the best they can with the skills they have, in academic, behavioral and social, and emotional areas. When challenges arise, my job as a teacher is to let students know I am there as a support and to help them develop skills and metacognition about themselves as learners and as humans.

A huge part of teaching is the energy I bring to the role. I include excitement and animation in my demonstrations and modelings, and when I offer coaching to students, I take on a warm demeanor. It is important that they know I am there to help them learn, that I believe they can do it, and that I will guide them as needed. In this work, I’ve found ideas from Parenting With ‘Let Them’ helpful, and I’ll share some of those here.

Positive Coaching

When I offer coaching, I meet with a student privately and start with an objective noticing where I provide recent data. I am intentional with my language, to make it concise, clear, and nonjudgmental. The more specific I am, the more strategic we can be on finding solutions.

I strive to have an open-minded, curious stance in order to empower the student and show that we are in partnership. Depending on my relationship with the student, I may begin by asking if they are open to my offering a noticing. For example, with a second-grade student I might say, “Today I noticed something during our partner time. Can I describe what I noticed to see if we can make even better use of our time together?”

Then, I would say something like, “I noticed that today you were looking around while your partner read this section. As a result, you were unable to track the text as they were reading.”

Next, I might ask, “What do you think might be making this tricky?” I listen fully to understand the student’s response and so that they know their thoughts are important to me. It helps to paraphrase what they said, to check my understanding and show that I was listening. (This also models paraphrasing for the student, an important skill.)

If the student is not sure what is making it tricky, I offer some ideas about what might be happening and ask if any resonate with them. When possible, I give examples that are based on what other students have done or said: “Some students say they are building the habit of focusing and they just need practice. Other students say they are not sure why it is important to track the text.”

The third step is to tell why this is an issue: “I care about you and want you to grow as a reader and a partner.” For some students I may ask them, “Why do you think this is something to work on?” to lift their voice and input.

The final step of this conversation is to collaborate to ideate solutions to the challenge. I’ve found that this is an excellent time to start with a celebration and encouragement, to restate my belief that the student can find success with the skill. I often say, “I want you to be successful because I believe in you and have seen you grow so much this year. Here’s an example of a text that you read in September, and compare it to what you read today! This happened because of your hard work on reading through the words and rereading hard passages. Wow! What are some ideas you have about how to track the text when your partner reads?” Again, I am intentional with language such as using the word “and” rather than “but.” Using “but” can feel disempowering and judgmental.

It is important that I provide time for the student to come up with ideas first, to empower them by giving them ownership in the strategies. It also offers reflection, an important skill for a learner. I guide them to find a solution we will attempt: “What do you want to try tomorrow?” I’ve found it helpful to provide an artifact as a reminder: “What would help you remember this goal?” Often this is a bookmark, a sticky-note, or a gesture that we establish. At this time, we may also practice the strategy, to make sure the student understands what it might look like. We may also set a goal—for example, to refocus on the text three or more times. We can keep track of this with smiley faces or tally marks.

The next lesson or day, we test the idea. I check to see if the student has the artifact or remind them of the gesture. After the lesson, I get their feedback, and we adjust if needed: “How do you think the strategy worked today? What did you do to make it successful? Is there anything you want to do differently tomorrow?” This is a great time to celebrate their growth and reflection skills.

Coaching students in this supportive way strengthens our relationship, gives the student room for reflection, builds the student’s strategies, helps a student think through challenges and how to solve them, and accelerates growth. It is one of m favorite things about being a teacher.