Everyday Instructional Coaching - Nathan D. Lang

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members to process information differently and to consider different ways of working (Phillips et al., 2004). According to researchers Katherine W. Phillips, Elizabeth A. Mannix, Margaret Ann Neale, and Deborah H. Gruenfeld (2004), even though people often feel more comfortable with others who are like them, like-mindedness hinders the exchange of different ideas and the intellectual processes that arise from disagreements. Generally, people prefer to spend time with other agreeable people. But this unchecked affirmation does not always produce productivity and problem solving. Facing unfamiliarity takes more cognitive processing because it demands conflict resolution and emotional-energy expenditure. Through this cognitive struggle, new ideas emerge, and people learn from one another in unexpected ways and discover new solutions.

      If we recognize that diversity builds stronger collaborative thinking and innovation, why do schools have difficulty addressing diversity in working relationships? I would argue the answer to this question has to do with the fact that when emotions and dissenting opinions mix together, acting on decisions becomes more complex and time consuming. Additionally, because teachers are already strapped for time, it seems more efficient for them to sync up with the teacher friend next door who will validate their opinion or practice. Teachers find comfort in sharing with a colleague who shares their beliefs. However, when we choose to surround ourselves only with those who agree with us or who reinforce or validate our beliefs, rather than those with diverse experiences and opinions, we develop an implicit bias.

      According to Ohio State University’s Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity (2015):

      Implicit bias refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. These biases, which encompass both favorable and unfavorable assessments, are activated involuntarily and without an individual’s awareness or intentional control.

      Whether we like to admit it, implicit bias is pervasive and affects every person connected to a school, no matter how open-minded educators think they are, or how diverse their team has tried to become (Staats, 2016). One example of implicit bias is that people tend to believe others more if they have an accent similar to their own (Lev-Ari & Keysar, 2010). Educators can possess implicit bias toward students who speak differently or colleagues who have a different accent. As you think about that statement, reflect on your own attitudes and actions toward people who speak with the same accent as you, and your attitudes toward people who speak with different accents. Also honestly evaluate your perceptions of anyone who might speak with a different tone, display differing personality traits, or approach conversations differently.

      Implicit biases also have an enormous impact on both our own personal behavior and coach-teacher relationships. It impacts the decisions we make about student potential and student behavior correction, and our perception of colleagues’ credibility or competence. The great news is that research does conclude we can take purposeful steps to create inclusive teams. In Everyday Bias, Howard Ross (2014) provides a framework of systems and structures that illuminate bias patterns and provide remedies to address them to promote an open exchange of diverse ideas within teams.

      Ross (2014) provides a strategy using the mnemonic PAUSE.

      ■ P: Pay attention to what’s actually happening beneath the judgments and assessments.

      ■ A: Acknowledge your own reactions, interpretations, and judgments.

      ■ U: Understand the other reactions, interpretations, and judgments that may be possible.

      ■ S: Search for the most constructive, empowering, or productive way to deal with the situation.

      ■ E: Execute your action plan.

      Consider a scenario in which you have a coaching conversation with a teacher and he or she exhibits less eye contact than you prefer. Let’s pause and think through what’s really happening. (See figure 1.1.)

       Figure 1.1: PAUSE sample scenario.

      Using the PAUSE strategy encourages a coach to look at all the possibilities to help disarm immediate conclusions. In the eye-contact example, PAUSE can help the person re-evaluate assumptions (Should I assume the person lacks confidence because his or her eye contact doesn’t meet my personal standards?) and chosen responses (Should I get to know this person a little better before I make an assessment? How should I engage this person in the future?). By illuminating our natural inclinations when working with others and making proactive changes in our actions, we can truly build a collaborative culture where everyone wins.

      Besides the PAUSE strategy, coaches have three additional actions they can take to address bias head-on and proactively engage diversity.

      1. Create a list of unstructured processes, and structure them: What activities do you do that don’t align with a specific purpose or process? Consider, for example, the teachers you engage with daily. How did you make the decision to focus on those teachers? Are they your friends? Do you have pleasant and comfortable interactions with them? Do you primarily interact with the predominant ethnic group in the school? Do you tend to give more praise to certain teachers, regardless of the evidence you collect? Also consider your feedback system. Have you structured it to align with previously established goals, or have you based it on your own presuppositions about teachers?

      Once you develop your list of unstructured processes, create an unbiased structure. Ensure your daily interactions include all teachers. Create feedback processes that align with co-created goals. (See chapter 5, page 49, for more about feedback.) Structure allows us to make sure that all teachers have opportunities to be nurtured, embraced, and successful and to grow.

      2. Engage with teachers who are different from you: As noted earlier, diversity does not only refer to demographics. Different from you means more than just race, gender, sexual orientation, and so on. It also includes thinking style and personality. Although a coach is expected to work with all teachers, undoubtedly, coaches may tend to favor having more frequent interactions with teachers who are more like them. As our schools become more diverse, so will (or should) our faculty. Personally and professionally, I have observed that the more we get to know someone, the more differences we become familiar with and even embrace subconsciously.

      3. Encourage others with opposing viewpoints to speak out: Dissenters and devil’s advocates can often frustrate us, especially when we are pushing our own ideas or ways of working. Organizational change often gets pushed through by those teachers who speak the loudest and who talk over those with opposing viewpoints. But if coaches preach to challenge the status quo in education, they must listen to and act on well-reasoned dissonance and criticism from teachers. Which teachers disagree with you or often try to derail your efforts? Give those teachers the opportunity to reason through their thinking by having thoughtful, reflective dialogues in a safe environment. This encourages collaboration through embracing diverse ideas and freely giving trust. (For more on dissonance, see the next section beginning on this page.)

      Of course, schools must also address diversity in recruiting, hiring, and onboarding practices. In his book Originals, psychologist Adam Grant (2016) advises organizational leaders seeking to build more innovative and successful organizational cultures to hire for cultural contribution rather than cultural fit by actively seeking diversity in experiences, skills, and personality traits, rather than hiring those who think in similar ways. To ensure diversity, coaches must take part in the hiring decisions made by leadership. These practices foster dissonance that can lead to collaborative strength.

      Dissonance occurs when some elements of collaboration don’t seem to work in concert with one another. It can damage collaboration

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