A Key Element of Professional Trust
Today I video recorded four classrooms in action plus my instructional walks. Previously I had asked if any faculty were interested in this project. (I am putting together content for an e-Course/book on instructional walks; read more about walks here, pg 2.) I had four teachers volunteer their time.
I would not have made this request three years ago when I first started in my school. Why not? Because the trust wasn't there yet.
So how do I know there is trust now? In a word: confidence.
Confidence is defined as "the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something." It didn't fully occur to me until I started reflecting on the informal observations today how critical confidence was for developing professional trust. Below is my list of all the ways confidence influences trust.
I was confident that some teachers would respond to my request to video record their instruction and share it with other educators.
Teachers were confident that their instruction would guide their students to high levels of literacy success (and they did!).
I was confident in my knowledge about literacy that I could note and name effective practices during instruction.
Teachers were confident that I would acknowledge the positive things happening in the classroom while conducting the walks.
I was confident enough to admit that I didn't know everything about literacy and would be willing to ask for them to share their expertise.
Teachers were confident that I would listen and not hold it against them if they could be open about their challenges and struggles.
I was confident in my ability to frame suggestions as inquiry, for example asking why they did what they did instead of making assumptions.
Teachers were confident that any questions I might pose were out of genuine curiosity and interest.
And how do we develop confidence? By making intentional efforts to learn and to grow, week after week, month after month. It means getting into classrooms on a regular basis, reading about what works, engaging in dialogue with faculty about this work, and through regular reflection.
Like trust, we can't manifest confidence. It only comes with time and commitment. Investing in changing how others might perceive us (and changing how we perceive ourselves) is slow and challenging, but like the tortoise, it eventually wins the race.