Studies have shown that trust is a key factor in teacher retention and job satisfaction. Trust is vital to building positive school culture, developing strong teacher-admin relationships, and creating feedback cycles that generate real growth. But how do we build trust? It's important to remember that trust is a two-way street. To trust your teachers is to value them and believe in them; to have your teachers' trust is to provide them a confidant and a collaborator to help them along their journey of growth.
You can build trust with your teachers by putting into place simple support systems that, when done consistently with a system like Bullseye, have significant impacts on trust and rapport. Check out the 3 tips below for simple and consistent ways that you can build trust and rapport with your teachers.
1. Conduct walkthroughs using strengths-based feedback
We recommend taking a strengths-based approach where you identify all the things a teacher is doing well while only providing one or two areas for growth. This will allow for more focused, manageable, and actionable feedback for teachers, while also building confidence by highlighting teachers’ strengths.
2. Create opportunities for reflection & collaboration
When delivering feedback, it's important to provide context so that teachers have a better understanding as to why they received the feedback they did. But to ensure teacher point of view is included within feedback cycles, we recommend asking questions to encourage teacher reflection. Not only does this allow for the teachers to feel heard and more in ownership of their growth, but it also offers opportunities for the teacher and admin to collaborate on teachers' growth.
3. Support the teacher AND the person
Teachers are going above and beyond every day for their students. It's important that we are providing them the support they need as teachers and also as individuals. Trust is not built between teachers and administrators; rather trust is built between two people. Personalizing support to ensure teachers are feeling heard, valued, and respected as individuals is key to building trust.
HELPFUL HINTS FROM BULLSEYE USERS:
Dr. Javier Martinez
Principal, Le Grand High School
At Le Grand High School, the administrative team has prioritized building a positive adult culture around observation and feedback using Bullseye. Teachers appreciate that they are receiving feedback and use it as an opportunity to collaborate with their administrators. To build this rapport, Principal Dr. Javier Martinez has focused on the following steps:
- Make sure feedback is positive and focus on questions such as “I wonder…?”
- Ask questions about what is happening in the lesson, which encourages teachers to respond to feedback and engage in dialogue.
- Follow up after the observation for a debrief conversation especially if the teacher is struggling and ask questions such as “What can I do to support you?“
We’re always happy to help and provide input where we can. If you have questions about your instructional support system, we’d love to talk to you. Schedule a complimentary strategy session with a Bullseye expert!
