The Waterfall: Recent Episodes
Chris Briggs-Hale
Sometimes educators are haunted by the tension between building strong relationships with students and the need to ensure high academic achievement. Enjoy the story of the journey I took to embrace both!
In the noise of daily teaching, learning, and navigating the public school world, it is too easy for teachers and leaders to miss the tiny movements in the “needle of learning" that indicate you nailed it with students.
How do you get to the learning in a student-centered classroom if student behavior isn't ready? Here's some quick thoughts on making the shift to thinking about "consequences" through an accountability versus a responsibility "lens" and the implications it might have on how you structure your classroom. At Waterfall Learning, we don't just talk about the work, we help you do it. Call us today at 719-510-4543 or go to https:waterfalllearning.com Let us help you get a new start to the school year!
Ever notice how children don’t miss anything adults say to each other? They hear what adults say to each other even when the adults don’t hear each other. I find it interesting that there is a mismatch between listening and age: research shows that little children hear more of what’s said but have fewer skills to process what they hear. Adults, on the other hand, hear less of what is said while having more skills to process the information they didn’t hear.
This episode explores why that might be and what we might do to increase deep listening between colleagues.
So often, we think that great listening means we ask lots of questions. Sometimes that’s true. But if our questions are random or unconnected to the person we are listening to, they can feel dishonoring. Also, if our questions are long, it’s possible we are revealing a bias to “steer” the person we are listening to. Open ended questions have a lot of power. When they are based in pure curiosity, and are uniformed by an agenda, they can make it feel safe for others to pause, think more deeply, and refine what they have to say. In the end, deep listening isn’t always about making sense for ourselves. It’s a gift we give to others to help them make sense of their own thinking.
Today’s episode features a story about how ONE, simple, open-ended question completely changed how I taught in the classroom.
Chris Briggs-Hale
Certified Professional Coach
https://waterfalllearning.com/
Chris Briggs-Hale is the CEO of Waterfall Learning, LLC, and a Certified Professional Coach. He served public schools for 30 years, 15 of which were as a principal. Chris served as a Senior Consultant for McRel and Marzano and Associates, a site visitor for the National Schools of Character Award (Character.org), and was a Board Member with Eunice Kennedy Shriver for the Community of Caring in Washington, DC. Chris has consulted for schools extensively across the United States. He is the recipient of the 2013 Red Cross Community Hero Award, the 2004 Sally K. Lenhardt Professional Leadership Award from Lesley University, the 2004 Community of Caring National Administrator of the Year, and the 2013 Community Service Hero, American Red Cross, Colorado Springs.
This week, Chris dives into the critical relationship between crafting high-quality action plans and issues of equity in schools.