The Coach, The Novice and the Expert
by Barb Everhart
On November 15, 2018, Barb Everhart presented The Coach, The Novice and the Expert at MDE for the MN Math Leaders Meeting. The content of the presentation was based in the coaching ideas from Elena Aguilar and the leadership strategies from Tim Kanold.
The pacing of the presentation flowed between community building, equity, specific math coaching content and reflection. The session started with this quote:
“Expertise lies in the ability and desire to remain a novice.”
@vickiboyd, 2018
As leaders in the math community, each of us has an expertise; as do our teachers, as do our students. The quote was used to remind us that everyone has an expertise to share. It also grounds us in the humbling fact that we are also novices in some aspect of our job.
The initial part of the session had participants meet, congregate, listen to and actively engage in listening and discussion protocols around each individual’s previous coaching/leading experiences and current work. Leaders are rarely given the time to share successes and learn from others. The initial portion of the session was dedicated to the personal strengths and growth of each individual math leader.
The second portion of the day was dedicated to identity. Again, here’s a quote that guided this section:
Teachers’ various identities and experiences shape what they teach, how they teach, why they teach, the amount of time they spend on issues, and why they emphasize what they do.
~ H. Richard Milner, 2010
As leaders, specifically coaches, we are the middle person. We coach teachers and colleagues as well as administrators. Not only do the identities of those that we work with shape the work and professional interactions, but they also guide our ideas and coaching strategies. Identity is what makes us human. How we know ourselves is how we know others and informs how we do the work. Therefore, I had participants unpack individual identities, identifying eight, but reducing to one, and share the process of elimination with colleagues. At this time in the presentation, another voice was introduced to share her experiences and identities.
Here is the link to the podcast episode.
The final portion of the presentation had participants reflect upon their beliefs around effective teaching of mathematics. Here is the quote that was used to begin the process:
When you are surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible.
~ Howard Schultz
Tim Kanold states that change in schools only happens when everyone agrees to work collaboratively and actively work toward a common goal. Therefore, after unpacking identities, participants also needed to reflect upon personal beliefs to better understand the impact of beliefs on teacher and student learning.
NCTM’s book, Principles to Action describes beliefs as, not good and bad, but as productive and unproductive. Unproductive beliefs hinder the implementation of effective instructional practice or limit student access to important mathematics content and practices. Productive beliefs support the implementation of effective instructional practice or promote student access to important mathematics content and practices.
“Beliefs will remain unproductive and continue to impede progress until we collectively confront them and take the actions required for solving and overcoming these challenges.”
(NCTM, 2014, p. 11)
Participants were asked to note where their current personal beliefs and where a majority of their staff were on six continuums between productive and unproductive beliefs. Reflections from the activity were then shared with a partner.
The summary of the session opened with this quote:
“A masterful coach is a leader who by nature is a vision builder and value shaper, not just a technician who manages people to reach their goals and plans through tips and techniques. To be able to do this requires that the coach discover his or her own humanness and humanity, while being a clearing for others to do the same. ”
~Robert Hargrove, 2003
The summary also included Elena Aguilar’s “What a Coach Should Do:”
- Listen,
- Learn,
- Interrupt educational inequities,
- Transform systems and
- Love unconditionally
*Barb Everhart will be submitting proposals to share portions of this day at the MCTM Conference in April, 2019.