Coaching Cycle #2: Pre-OBservation & Lesson

First meeting notes.

The Meeting

The above is the product of the pre-observation meeting with with my coachee, Anna. We decided that her focus would be on developing a classroom management style conducive to student safety. In the meeting I attempted to use parts of the strategy described by Jim Knight by adopting and focusing on teacher choice and my explanation of praxis. The images below capture the observation.

Initially, I thought that were were working well together but then I recognized a growing tension in Anna's expectations of me and the conversation. Somehow, she both wanted my advice and wanted to resist. To wit, when I tried to guide her toward making her own final choices and decision, she balked and sought approval and permission. But then, when I explained praxis possibilities available to her, she grew increasingly annoyed and I later found out she felt I was offering unsolicited advice when she didn't want any. Or, more to the point, she felt that my explanation was "talking down" to her. She seemed to want her coaching cake and to eat it too. I am still working on resolving this conflicting perception of what was happening.

The Observation