Locus of Support
It's critical for educators to accurately interpret statements and actions students make about their math work. In my opinion, it is even more important that an instructional leader correctly interprets statements made by teachers and helps to determine root causes. Here’s an example of flipping the script and getting closer to a root cause.
A teacher says, “My students won’t do it that way. They don’t know how to do it.”
If I take the statement at face value it will lead me to frustration and without a plan. The problem is outside of my locus of control and outside of the teachers. I need to
What I hear is, “I’m not sure how to teach this concept and I need help understanding the math.”
I see solutions. I see possibilities to support. I see steps forward.
This mindset shift is effective because it restores a leader’s locus of control over the task. They are able to take proactive measures to enhance their coaching and better assist their teachers rather than feeling helpless or frustrated. To apply this idea takes practice, space and is not always linear.
Listen to understand rather than listening to respond: A coach needs to hear what is being said and takes time to process. The goal of listening is not to respond and give an answer but to really understand what is being communicated.
Pause: Instructional leaders (coaches, assistant principals, principal etc) are in their roles because they are problem solves and executors. A strong coach will pause to help them process and not automatically try to ‘fix’.
Ask questions: Coaches need to be curious about the problem and ask questions so that they can see the full picture and not only the aspect that was shared originally.
Flip the Script: The coach can then bring the problem within their locus of support and guide their coachee to bring the problem within their locus of control.
This mindset shift is effective because it restores the teacher's locus of control over the task. They are able to take proactive measures to enhance their teaching and better assist their pupils rather than feeling helpless or frustrated.
