Planning for a Difficult Conversation with a Teacher

(Originally titled “Planning Productive Talk”)

In this helpful 2011 Educational Leadership article, author/consultant Jennifer Abrams describes a 9^th-grade social studies class taught by Terry, a rookie teacher. Before class, students chatted about homecoming and clubs as Terry wrote on the board. When the bell rang, she unsmilingly had students write down the homework, take notes on a 30-minute PowerPoint, and do small-group work. At the end of the class, Terry collected papers, reminded students of the homework, and had them push in their chairs. 

Terry’s coach complimented her on a competent class and asked why she didn’t ask students about homecoming. Defensive, Terry said, “With so much content to cover, I don’t have time to chat.” 

How to deal with situations like this? Abrams suggests an “outcome map” framed by six questions:

• What’s the presenting problem? Terry’s lack of personal connection with students is producing a cold classroom environment. 

• What’s a tentative outcome? Terry connects with students and creates a positive classroom climate.

• What specifically would the outcome look like? Terry would smile at students, make eye contact, laugh with them, kneel to be on the same level as students when checking in with groups, share appropriate details about her life outside school, comment on students’ sports and plays, attend school events, ask students about their backgrounds and use information in lessons, connect content to students’ lives, and acknowledge feelings. 

• What knowledge, skills, or dispositions are needed? This requires walking in Terry’s moccasins and anticipating obstacles. Does Terry see herself only as a content provider? Does she understand the role of emotional climate in learning? Is pressure from above preventing her from being herself in class? Does she need icebreaker activities? Advice on how to share more about herself? Insights about nonverbal behavior and how it affects climate?

• What strategies might promote the outcome? A workshop on creating a positive classroom climate? A list of prompts to build relationships? Videotaping a lesson and watching it? A socio-gram of classroom interactions? Observing a colleague who is strong in this area? 

• What supports does the coach need? Perhaps funding to attend a workshop on positive classroom climate, a video camera, and a list of teachers to observe. 

 With this outcome map in mind, here’s how the coach spoke to Terry: “I noticed you didn’t smile much in class, and you didn’t bring up next week’s homecoming events. The kids may feel you’re a little disconnected. They might want a little more ‘you’ to come through in your teaching. Can you see how they might feel that way?” Terry sighed and said, “With so much content to cover, I just don’t have time to bond with students.” 

The coach acknowledged the pressure but suggested that connecting with students needn’t take much time. “Are you open to a quick suggestion or two?” she asked. Terry shrugged and said, “Sure.” The coach made several suggestions and Terry added a couple more. The next day, she finished her board work early and chatted with students before the bell. At the start of the class, she smiled, looked at the class, and said enthusiastically, “Hello 2^nd period!” and the students responded in unison with her name. Terry was on her way.

“Planning Productive Talk” by Jennifer Abrams in Educational Leadership, October 2011 (Vol. 69, #2), www.ascd.org 

From the Marshall Memo #471