The Power of a Conversation

Tina Oberbroeckling and Kyle Becker during a  recent Coaching Conference.

Classroom teachers across the globe find ways to improve what they do in the classroom.  As they look for ways to reflect and find solutions to obstacles in learning, they often have only their content knowledge, personal experiences, and classroom data to analyze.  While all of that information is powerful, it is lacking one element:  another viewpoint.  As Linn-Mar continues down the path of Teacher Leadership, some of the most influential components of the program are our strategists and coaches who find time to meet with teachers and listen to their needs and help coach them to find a strategy to improve what is happening in classrooms each day.  This short term goal leads to a long term goal of improving student performance.

Just how powerful IS a coaching conversation?  Just ask Tina Oberbroeckling, an Instructional Strategist, at Linn-Mar High School.  She recently worked with Kyle Becker, a US History I teacher who was looking to improve a looming end of the semester unit that he tended to dread.  Kyle and Tina met to discuss the unit in question.  Kyle felt like the era did not have the same “oomph” that the previous eras exhibited. He wanted to make changes that would increase student engagement and learning during the unit.

The conversation began with Tina exploring Kyle’s concerns about the lessons in the unit, and what he envisioned in each lesson, as well as what he successfully taught in his classroom during previous eras.  By using a series of paraphrasing, and mediative questions from Cognitive Coaching training, Tina was able to listen to all that Kyle had to share, ask questions, and help provoke thinking.  This conversation helped Kyle discover the missing pieces he needed to ignite his teaching of this unit.

When Tina asked if there was anything else that she could do to support Kyle he smiled and replied, “No, I think I got what I needed.”

Not only was this conversation successful for Kyle, Tina also claimed a victory.  She walked away from this conversation with a sense of purpose and a clearer vision of her role as a Teacher Leader and how she can impact student learning in the Linn-Mar School District.

This quote from Kyle Becker says it best, “As I was struggling with a particular lesson, Tina helped me take a step back and look at the big picture.  I was getting too bogged down in the minutiae of teaching that I lost sight of what is most important – student learning.  With Tina’s help, I was able to construct a history lesson that allows students to make connections between eras while also remaining relevant to their lives today. The sense of perspective that Tina helped me find is most appreciated.”