Coaching Unpacked LIVE! Episode 12: The Vague Opener

This episode unpacks the problem with the “vague opener” in coaching conversations—questions like “How do you think the lesson went?” that seem reflective but actually create confusion and anxiety. From the teacher’s perspective, this forces them to scan an entire lesson and guess the coach’s focus, often leading to defensive responses or overemphasis on perceived mistakes.

We show how this approach can quickly become awkward, especially when a teacher identifies something as successful that the coach intends to critique, undermining trust and wasting valuable coaching time.

Instead, the episode advocates for a more purposeful, focused approach: zooming in immediately on a specific moment of the lesson and asking about the teacher’s intended goal for that segment. This removes the guesswork, sharpens reflection, and allows insight to emerge more naturally. By anchoring the conversation in a clear instructional moment and the teacher’s own intentions, coaching becomes more efficient, collaborative, and productive, leading to deeper thinking and more meaningful professional development.