Supporting Perspective Taking

Uses a variety of prompts until the practitioner articulates their own explanations about the connection between their instruction/interaction(s) and child behaviors/responses, or offers explanations if the practitioner is unable to make connections on their own

• Definition: The coach asks as many questions and/or uses as many prompts as needed to help the practitioner describe why children behaved or responded in a certain way to their instruction or interaction. A coach may use this strategy when they want the practitioner to make explicit connections between the practitioner’s actions and children’s actions. This competency may likely follow one of the “Supporting Awareness and Objectivity” competencies, as the coach had previously helped the practitioner be more aware of child signals. At this stage, the coach is helping the practitioner connect an explanation or rationale for the specific child signal. 

Uses a variety of prompts as needed until the practitioner generates alternative explanations that consider others’ perspective (e.g., administrator, student, teacher, etc.)

• Definition: The coach uses different prompts or asks different questions to help the practitioner verbalize possibilities that consider different perspectives. For example, the coach may want to help the practitioner step outside their own comfort zone to consider a different way of thinking. This could help to inform how they approach a similar interaction in the future. 
  • Example prompts to help the practitioner think about alternate perspectives:  
    • “Why do you think the children were struggling with this activity? Was there anything you could have done prior to the lesson to help clarify?” 
    • “What else?”
    • “Why else do you think that happened?”
    • “What do you think they were thinking?”

Offers alternative or contrasting perspectives in response to a practitioner’s own explanations or judgments of an interaction or situation

• Definition: Sometimes a practitioner may need a coach’s help thinking about a different perspective based on how the practitioner described or explained an interaction/situation. A coach may be able to help the practitioner think of a new perspective that they had not otherwise considered.