Culture of Growth
In the world of education, creating a culture of growth is an essential element in fostering student success. However, this culture of growth is not just limited to students; it is equally important for all educators. The blog post describes a scenario where a teacher joined a walkthrough, unprompted, because he was interested in learning and growing.
This example illustrates the power of a culture of growth. When teachers are provided with consistent care, coaching meetings, clear goals, and opportunities to celebrate growth, they are empowered to continue to improve and grow their practice. Teaching is tremendously difficult, now more than ever. Most of us are trying to survive, creating a culture of growth helps us all move from survive → thrive.
Consistent coaching meetings provide a forum for teachers to receive feedback, discuss their progress, and receive support and guidance from their coach or mentor. It also provides a space for them to express what they need. Often what is lost in many of our school-based coaching models is empathy and care. We stress the importance of empathy and care towards our students, but we often forget about our teachers.
Regularly scheduled coaching sessions provide space for us all to grow; teacher and coach. Here is my consistent standing agenda with the educators I support:
Agenda
Check-in: What’s going well? What needs attention?
Focus: Teacher or Coach’s focus
Teacher focus topic (usually brought up during the check-in)
Coach focus: Observation Feedback, Data Meeting and/or Internalization
Practice: Spend 5-10 mins practicing the skill/action step based on the meeting.
*We will break down these points more in a later post.
Clear goals are another essential element in creating a culture of growth. Teachers need to understand what is expected of them, what they are working towards, and how their progress will be measured. Whenever possible, name how the work that you are doing together is bringing them closer to their goals. When goals are clearly defined, teachers can focus their efforts and stay motivated to achieve their objectives.
Finally, celebrating growth is vital. As the coach, I need to name strengths and teachers need to be able to name strengths in their own practice. Teachers need to feel valued and appreciated for their efforts and progress. When growth is celebrated, it reinforces the idea that growth and improvement are essential components of the profession.
Overall, creating a culture of growth is a powerful way to support and empower teachers in their professional development. By providing consistent coaching meetings, clear goals, and opportunities to celebrate growth, educators are more likely to be motivated to improve and grow in their profession. When educators are supported in this way, the students they serve ultimately benefit as well, leading to improved academic outcomes and overall success.
