Building Trust - What does the research suggest?

Retrieved from https://thedilettantesdilemma.com/2015/04/21/accountability-and-trust/

Trust is the underpinning of all successful relationships including educational coaching.  "Developing trust isn't a linear, steady process" (Aguilar, 2016, p. 42).  Through gaining trust within a relationship, it will be built up and broken down along with the other ups and downs that are experienced by those involved.  When working with educators, a safe environment for learning and growing the craft of teaching is imperative to the effectiveness of the work.

As a part of our professional growth this school year, AMSTI is doing a book study as an initiative to continue to improve the support we provide teachers across the state of Alabama.  We are studying Student-Centered Coaching: A Guide for K-8 Coaches and Principals by Diane Sweeney. We are also using her book Student-Centered Coaching: The Moves. Sweeney (2017) emphasizes a focus on student work with student learning at the center of any coaching cycle. By looking at evidence in student work based on goals written together at the beginning of the coaching cycle, the focus is taken off of the teacher and placed on the learning.  

When working with eleven school districts and over twelve hundred teachers, there is not enough time to build the type of trust that is necessary using the coaching models that Marzano suggests. Therefore, student-centered coaching gives AMSTI Specialists a way to coach teachers while fostering trust in the relationships we are forming with them.  They are able to see that this approach is non-judgemental of them as professionals.  The graphic below illustrates that when you are following the student-centered coaching cycle, you are making the biggest impact on student learning.  The outer ring represents coaching that is focused on relationship building.  At times, it is necessary to go to this type of coaching because of the need for trust and a safe environment; however, this coaching is farthest from student learning. The middle ring represents coaching that is focused on the teacher and places the coach in an evaluative position.  This type of coaching feels negative and causes barriers to improving student learning.  The center ring is considered the growth ring by Sweeney (2017) because this is where the student learning is greatly affected.

Retrieved from https://dianesweeney.com/getting-started-with-student-centered-coaching/

In the article "Teachers' roles and identities in student-centered classrooms" by Keiler (2018), it is  reported that teachers who have moved away from traditional pedagogy to a student-centered model have "become the teachers they always wanted to be" (n.p.).  I have heard similar responses since shifting to student work as the focus of discussion.  We began this process last year while piloting our new math training.  During our Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), teachers looked at student work to determine trends, misconceptions and next instructional steps.  While completing follow-up visits with individual teachers, they would often comment on how powerful the process was for student learning and their growth because of the intentionality.  When the teachers in Keiler's study took on the roles of facilitators rather than lecturers, there was a shift in focus to assessing (2018). Therefore, I see a direct connection between student-centered teaching and student-centered coaching.  Becoming good stewards of assessments provides us with the opportunity to make, what Sweeney (2018) states, up to 68% growth in student proficiency over the time frame of 4-6 week coaching cycles (n.p.).

When teachers are able to see the direct connection of a coaching cycle to student learning, then they are invested in the process.  By building trust in the coaching relationship, one coaching cycle can extend to more.

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