Articles

Why Am I Talking?

Sonja Howard, Coordinator for Administrator Quality, Region 13 Education Service Center

There seems to be an unspoken rule in leadership. Somehow the leader is the one who does all the talking. Yet, as leaders, how do we foster the growth and development of others if we possess all the knowledge, all the answers, and we do all the talking?

As a campus principal my mantra to my teachers was, “The one who does all the talking is the one who is doing all of the learning.”

We know through research that learning is multiplied for students when they are engaged in meaningful dialogue including the use of effective questioning. How more so for adult learners?

Effective coaching conversations with teachers are an expectation of the new Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (T-TESS).  If within these discussions with teachers you find that you are doing all of the talking, stop and ask yourself:  

Why Am I Talking? 

How might you, instead, transform your work with teachers through listening and questioning?

-Originally posted on Region 13's Campus Leadership Blog, 1/11/16

Monday, January 18, 2016