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March: Posing Questions with Positivity
March: Posing Questions with Positivity
by Sarah Logan
Imagine yourself in a collaborative meeting with your colleagues. Your purpose is to plan for an upcoming showcase for students to share projects from this semester. After a few moments of small talk and reconnection, someone asks, “So does anyone have any ideas for this thing?” The group falls silent.
Contrast that with this scenario: you’re in the same meeting with the same colleagues for the same purpose. However, this time after the small talk and reconnection wanes, someone asks, “What are some of the creative ideas you’ve brought for the team today?”
It’s not hard to imagine which scenario will lead to productive results. The key question is why?
Both questions carry within them subtle presuppositions--tacit assumptions or beliefs. Carefully consider what assumptions are conveyed by each. In the first scenario, one could infer that having ideas to share is a maybe/maybe not situation. In the second, not only is it implied that the team has ideas, it is also framed with an expectation that these will be creative.
As an educator interested in being an engaged citizen who supports others’ thinking, you may find these tips* from Results Coaching Global helpful when crafting questions:
Presume positive intent. Communicate your belief that your colleagues are working towards noble goals.
Focus on solution. Direct attention towards goal achievement.
Invite vision thinking. Encourage several lines of thinking.
Focus on positive connections. Presume cooperation.
Incorporate specific actions. Choose precise verbs.
Consider resources. Who or what might provide key information?
Hold able. Maintain belief in each individual’s capabilities.
With these tips in mind, how might you contribute positively to your next collaborative meeting?
February: Cultivating Curiosity
February: Cultivating Curiosity
by Brandon Messner
How wonderful would our classrooms be if students were curious and unafraid to answer questions? The power of curiosity can be the secret ingredient to academic success. When students are curious, they crave knowledge and engagement skyrockets. But how do we increase that skill in our students? Amy L. Eva (2018), the associate education director at the Greater Good Science Center, has some helpful ways teachers can frame learning to cultivate curiosity in the classroom.
Model and encourage academic risk-taking - If we want our students to be risk-takers, we must model that behavior. We must also be transparent with our students when we are stepping outside of our comfort zone.
Normalize fear and anxiety - The fear of being wrong can paralyze students. We need to acknowledge that fear exists, but the classroom is a place where our peers are on our side, not against us. We need to be alright sharing our fears and discomforts with our students and modeling how we can overcome them.
We as teachers drive the bus in our classrooms. It is the way we carry ourselves and display those positive attributes that show our students it is perfectly fine to try, fail, and grow.
January: Beyond Just Words
January: Beyond Just Words
by Nicole Holt
Have you heard the old refrain, “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it”? Did you ever wonder where that came from?
The graphic below might provide some insight. It summarizes the research conducted by Professor Albert Mehrabian on the importance of verbal and non-verbal messaging in personal communication.
According to Professor Mehrabian, we derive the most meaning not from the actual words that someone says but from their body language and their tone of voice. Powerful stuff.
So why does all this matter?
As we work to become more skillful group members, being mindful of our “total communication package” increases our ability to have meaningful dialogue and discussion with our colleagues.
Garmston and Wellman, authors of Adaptive Schools (2016), suggest that there are several verbal and non-verbal cues to pay attention to in yourself as you work to become a better communicator.
Verbal cues include pitch, pace, volume, inflection, and voice.
Non-verbal cues include posture, gesture, proximity, facial expression, and eye contact.
As we start a new year, reflect on yourself as a communicator. Viewing the lists above, which cues come easy for you when you communicate with others? Which might need your attention? How do others receive and respond to your communication?
Remember: 93% of your message is in how you say it. Make your message count.
December: Dialogue or Discussion
December: Dialogue or Discussion
by Amanda Montileone
Dialogue or Discussion--which way of talking fits your goal?
It can be tricky to navigate the ways members of a group talk with one another. Knowing the difference between dialogue and discussion and naming the intent of your collaboration can be helpful.
Dialogue is defined by Merriam Webster as “conversation between two persons.” Dialogue seeks to gather and understand ideas. Judgment is suspended in an effort to truly understand the thoughts of the participants.
On the other hand, discussion is defined as “consideration of a question in open and usually informal debate.” In other words, when discussion occurs, groups are seeking a decision. Judgments are made in an effort to reach a consensus.
Garmston and Wellman, founders of Adaptive Schools (2016), suggest paying attention to self and process is important in both dialogue and discussion. While in dialogue, individuals should also be cognizant of the group as a whole; in discussion, it is important to pay attention to the details of the conversation.
Try naming the goal of your collaboration to ensure all group members are on the same page. You can clearly navigate dialogue and discussion when you understand your intent to understand or make a decision.
November: 7 Norms of Collaboration
November: 7 Norms of Collaboration
by Alicia Moore
Collaboration: basic life skill or endlessly complex capability?
Like many of the attributes of a learner, being an expert collaborator is a lifelong pursuit. And, like all fields of knowledge, it’s easiest to grow when we have specific criteria against which to measure ourselves.
Wherever you are on the journey, Thinking Collaborative’s 7 Norms of Collaboration will undoubtedly spur you on to the next level:
Pausing
Paraphrasing
Posing questions
Putting ideas on the table
Providing data
Paying attention to self & others
Presuming positive intentions
Click here for an inventory to self-assess your use of the 7 Norms.
October: Introduction
October: Introduction
by Alicia Moore
When you dreamed of becoming a teacher, what did you picture? Most of us probably dreamed about bright students spurred on to new heights, reluctant students uncovering a newfound love for learning, and all kinds of acts of instructional heroism.
And that image is, indeed, the core of our work. All those tear-jerker teacher movies (cue Dangerous Minds & Dead Poets’ Society) portray a lone hero venturing into the uncharted territory of pedagogy with nothing but some grit and gumption. But what we all learn early in our careers is that the magic only happens with a lot of behind-the-curtains, we’re-all-in-this-together collaboration, reflection, and planning.
The work of teaching requires teamwork--aka collaboration--and an endless drive to ask the right questions--aka inquiry. So in this column, expect to find tools, tips, and protocols to power the work done behind the scenes--where the raw footage of our love for learning gets developed into a beautiful finished product.
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