Coaching Strategies to Help Connect with Resistant Teachers

Adapted from these two sources…

As coaches, we’ve all encountered resistant teachers. Resistance to coaching can take many forms. You might encounter a teacher who is direct, making it clear they don’t want your help. Or a teacher who is passive, putting off your meetings and recommendations, or acting like they’re open to coaching but never actually changing their behavior. While this can be frustrating, you shouldn’t assume the teacher is to blame.

There are often many factors that can lead to a teacher becoming resistant to coaching. Maybe they don’t understand the professional development tool(s) that are being used in their program and how it can help them improve their teaching practices. Other teachers may have had bad experiences with past coaches and are hesitant to trust someone else.

No matter the reason, here are seven coaching strategies to get to the bottom of what’s going on, and help every teacher you work with get excited about being coached.

1. Form a Relationship

Forming a relationship with a teacher is the basis for every coach. This can be more challenging in an online platform, but not impossible. Getting to know the teacher you’re working with shows them that you care about them as a person. It also opens them up to sharing their teaching struggles with you.

You can begin by selecting a resource that speaks to you, such as a professional development video or article. Recommend the resource to the teacher and the reasons why it drew you in. This is where you can talk about struggles you encountered as a teacher or struggles you’ve seen other teachers deal with. If you expect vulnerability from them and an openness to communicate, you must also show them that you’re willing to do the same. At this stage, don’t worry about talking too much about their own practice. Remember, you’re simply trying to build a relationship with them.

2. Understand the Resistance

It’s easy to assume a resistant teacher is irrational or difficult. But there is typically a logical explanation for why the teacher is behaving the way they are. Perhaps they don’t trust you yet, or they feel like you don’t appreciate all the effort they make. It could also be that they haven’t had a good experience with coaching in the past. You might also see resistance if the teacher hasn’t bought into the process.

At this point, keep working on the relationship building. You can ask them to share more of their personal experiences with you. You can also recommend another resource to help assure them that they’re not alone.

3. Ask Questions

It’s not enough to contemplate the reasons why a teacher might be hesitant to coaching. You should ask them!

Start by asking questions that will advance the dialogue. For example, “How can we work together?” Or, “What do you feel is holding you back at this moment?” You can mention the resistant behavior you are observing so long as it’s in a non-critical way. Asking questions will help you figure out where your work needs to begin.  

4. Be Transparent

If you have not explained the purpose of your coaching, be explicit. Acknowledge what you are trying to do and why. This might include explaining the professional development tool you’re using and how it can help them improve their teaching practices. It can be hard to buy-in to coaching if the teacher doesn’t understand what it is you’re doing and how it benefits them.

Let them know that the work you’re doing with them is a collaboration. Use a strengths-based approach to coaching and acknowledge that they are already doing many things well. You can recommend another resource and ask them to share what stood out for them.

5. Acknowledge Efforts and Build Trust

To accept coaching is to make oneself vulnerable. Coaches need to show teachers that they are worthy of trust.  

Acknowledge the teacher’s efforts. Coaching can feel like a punishment, especially for those teachers who think they’ve got it figured out. State specifically what you value about their practice and why. Emphasize confidentiality and keep your word. If a teacher finds out that you are talking about their performance in another setting, they’ll question the relationship. Make sure you stay committed throughout the coaching process. Don’t get fired up about how you’re going to help and then get distracted.

6.  Make the Conversation Student Centered  

Reluctant teachers may feel that an instructional coach is there to judge their teaching capability and that may be nerve racking for a teacher.  Coaches are there to be a support system to the teacher, but reluctant teachers may not view coaches in that manner. Begin your before session by making your conversations with reluctant teachers student centered.  For example, how do you think the students will react to this new teaching method?  Have your students used this method before?  What skills will your students need in order to accomplish this task?  By making the conversation about the students, the teacher may feel less pressure on them and their practice.  In addition, when you visit the classroom for the During session you can now look for what the students are doing rather than what the teacher is doing, and that will take some pressure off of the teacher.

7.  Use Data to Drive the Conversation

Some teachers may not believe they can benefit from working with an instructional coach.  They may believe their classroom runs efficiently and there is not room for growth within their practice. However, you may want to ask those teachers if they use data to drive their instruction. By looking at data, instructional coaches can help teachers that feel they will not benefit from working with a coach see areas where they can grow.  For example, just because your lesson was free of behavioral issues, does not mean all students are engaged.  By allowing a coach to collect data in a during session, you may find that only 75% of your students are engaged in your lesson even though you did not see any egregious behavioral issues.  Once a teacher reviews this data, they are able to determine where they can grow.  The use of data will allow the teacher to reflect on their practice when you meet for your After session, and it allows the instructional coach to act as a support system for the teacher.

Wrapping things up

Remember that the timeline when working with teachers is much slower than the timeline when working with students. With students, we have 45 minutes to make sure the student understands the lesson. Or we have three weeks to make sure the student understands the math concept being taught. Or a semester to make sure the student has every opportunity to earn a passing grade. Our student timeframe is minutes, or weeks, or a semester. Working with teachers, however, the timeline is measured in YEARS! As a coach, be patient…play the long game. Measure your success in years…not minutes or weeks.

Connecting with resistant teachers is all about taking time to build a relationship and coming from a place of understanding and transparency. Make sure teachers understand how coaching can help and why you’re excited to be working with them. Coaching teachers is incredibly rewarding, especially when you get to see them blossom as teachers and as people. It’s hard work but it’s all worth it when the feedback and strategies you’re giving them improve their teaching practices.

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