Coaching with Powerful Interactions: It All Begins with You! by Judy Jablon

How you are and what you say and do matters in your work to support teachers. This webinar on Coaching with Powerful Interactions is an opportunity for you to pause and consider yourself and your practice. Why take time to focus on you? Whether you are a master teacher or coach, coach supervisor, program director, or principal, you are your own best resource and it can be easy to lose sight of this in the busyness of daily life,

When you interact in ways that allow teachers to feel supported and appreciated, they more open to change and growth. Your interactions create ripples of positive change that ultimately touch the lives and learning of children and families.

Every interaction you have is shaped by your attitude and perspective, and how you perceive and understand interactions. We call this your coaching stance. In today’s conversation we will explore five principals that describe the stance of a Powerful Interactions coach:

1. A strengths-based perspective searches for and highlights competence. Coaches observe teachers with the intent of finding teachers’ moments of effectiveness.

2. Articulation—sharing observations and describing why they are important—allows the person to repeat the action with greater intentionality. Coaches observe teachers’ practice, clearly and accurately describe it and the impact it has on children’s learning so teachers can use the information to improve their practice.

3. Individualizing supports the development of respectful, trusting relationships needed for learning. Coaches tailor what they say and do to find the “just right fit” in their work with teachers.

4. A mutual learning partnership promotes shared responsibility and accountability. Coaches and teachers develop a shared plan for change that is meaningful and sustainable.

5. Modeling matters: what you say and do influences all outcomes. Coaches model attitudes and behaviors that support relationships and learning in everything they do and say in their partnerships with teachers hoping teachers will apply these attitudes and behaviors in their work with children and families.

The three steps of a Powerful Interaction serve as a frame for the coaching relationship. Step One, Be Present, means having an “inner quiet,” allowing you to think and make decisions about what to say and do with maximum clarity and effectiveness. This is the core of intentionality. Step Two, Connect, is about deepening the relationship between you. You convey to the person you are coaching, “I notice you, I’m interested in you, and I want to get to know you even better. This moment of personal connection deepens the trusting relationship growing between you. Step Three, Extend Learning, means that the coach has thought carefully about the best way to scaffold the teacher’s learning. This includes helping a teacher put goals into words and breaking goals into clear and achievable steps. It means pointing out moments of effectiveness, describing to a teacher why her actions and words matter to children and inviting her to see herself as an intentional decision-maker.

Coaching with Powerful Interactions identifies and builds on the teacher’s strengths to promote that teacher’s learning and create positive change in practice. It all begins with you.

All sessions are 1.5 hours long, and include a brief announcement from our sponsor.

2:oo PM – 3:30 PM Eastern Time.

Can’t participate in our webinars at the appointed time? Never fear! All of the webinars are recorded. To view the recording, simply register now and you will receive an email with a link to the recording when it is ready to be viewed. You can still download the certificate by watching the recording to the end when the certificate link is announced and displayed on the screen.

*Please be advised that you will only be eligible for the great door prizes if you participate in the live session.

See the schedule of upcoming webinars.

NAEYC does not in any way endorse Engagement Strategies, Inc., or any of its products.