Identifying Teacher Challenges - Challenge Jam

 

Sometimes teachers who reach out for support are so overwhelmed that they don't know where to start. I am working with a teacher in that situation. She knows that she would benefit from some guidance, but she isn't quite sure what her area of "greatest need" is at the moment. To help her identify a starting point, I suggested we use a strategy from Jenny Magiera called a "Gripe Jam." (Read more about this activity here.) I modified it a little and called it a "Challenge Jam."

I created a template using Jamboard and shared it with the teacher. Then, I took her through the following steps:

1. I had her share as many challenges as she could think of that are frustrating her right now. As she shared them, I wrote each one down on a separate sticky note.
2. I asked her to rank the challenges from Most Frustrating to Least Frustrating. She moved sticky notes in a straight line from left to right as she identified the most frustrating problems.
3. I asked her to rank the challenges from More People Affected to Fewer People Affected. She raised the challenges that affected more people and lowered those that affected fewer people.
4. I asked her to circle the three challenges she was most passionate about solving. 
5.  She chose the problem to focus on during this coaching cycle.

This was the first time I have tried this activity with a teacher, and I really enjoyed it! 

Things that went well:

• I LOVE the conversation that we had as the teacher was ranking her challenges. Listening to her think through decisions out loud allowed me to gather so much valuable information about her thought process and her perceptions of her own challenges.
• She really enjoyed the activity. As soon as I explained the steps, she said, "This is my kind of thinking!"
• She seemed calmer and more confident after the activity. It seemed like identifying and organizing the challenges helped her feel more in control of the situation. 

Areas for improvement:

• I didn't do a very good job explaining Step #3 when she was ranking challenges from More People Affected to Fewer People Affected. I need to explain more clearly that we need to keep the sticky notes in their order and in the straight line of frustration from left to right (from the previous step). 
• I underestimated how long this could take. I felt like I was rushing her a little at the end because I had another meeting to get to. Next time I need to schedule more time.

Next Steps

We scheduled a time to meet next week. My goals for that meeting are:

1. Better understand the challenge.
2. Positively frame the challenge.
3. Make sure the stated challenge really is the problem.