#205: A Skill Gap Is Not the Same as a Will Gap [Resistance Solution Mini-Session]

What if “we learn from our mistakes” is only half true?In this episode of Coaching the Whole Educator, Becca Silver talks with Dr. Doug Fisher, professor and chair of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College, about success-oriented learning and what it means for instructional coaching.We’ve all heard that mistakes are opportunities for learning. But making a mistake doesn’t automatically mean we learn from it. And when failures keep piling up, especially in a public space like a classroom, students can become discouraged, disengaged, and less willing to try.Doug shares why experiencing success matters for learning, motivation, and confidence, and how his school is putting that into practice. Through incremental success criteria, teachers chunk each hour of class into at least four checkpoints, giving students frequent opportunities to recognize their progress and experience success. What started in ninth grade a couple of years ago is now school-wide.Then Becca and Doug turn the conversation to instructional coaching.Full-cycle coaching (pre-observation, observation, debrief) has its place. But when it’s the only model a school uses, coaches run out of time to support the range of teachers, it can feel like evaluation when a leader runs it, and it reduces how often coaches are in classrooms.Doug introduces two alternatives: short-cycle (goal-driven) coaching, built around a shared goal over two to four weeks, and micro-coaching, including his Notice → Name → Nudge approach for helping teachers recognize what they’re doing well and consider a small next step.Becca makes the case that walkthrough forms are a data tool, not a coaching tool. When every visit turns into a laundry list, teachers walk away feeling like they’re never doing enough. And when teachers are stuck, experiencing resistance, or facing a lot to change, another full coaching cycle is often the opposite of what they need. The place to start is small, quick wins.Because recognizing what needs to change is one thing. Believing you can change it is another.In this episode, you’ll learn:Why learning from mistakes isn’t enough, and how small successes help build confidence and momentumWhat the Eighty Five Percent Rule suggests about balancing challenge and successHow incremental success criteria create frequent opportunities for students to recognize progressHow remembering previous successes can support persistence with challenging tasksThe differences between full-cycle, short-cycle, and micro-coachingHow to use Notice → Name → Nudge to offer focused feedback without overwhelming teachersWhy walkthrough forms shouldn’t be your default tool for every coaching conversationHow frequent peer observations can help build a culture of coachingWhy collective efficacy depends on experiencing success, not team buildingWho this episode is for: Instructional coaches, teacher leaders, principals, and district leaders who want practical coaching approaches that build teacher efficacy, treat resistance as information, and help educators experience meaningful progress.Resources mentioned:The Art and Science of Teacher Coaching by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, John Almarode, and Toni Osborn Faddis (Corwin, 2026)Fisher and Frey: fisherandfrey.comConnect with Doug Fisher on LinkedIn: Douglas FisherThe Eighty Five Percent Rule for Optimal Learning (Wilson et al., 2019, Nature Communications)Related research:Not Learning From Failure: The Greatest Failure of All (Eskreis-Winkler & Fishbach, 2019, Psychological Science)Keep the conversation going:Get The Resistance Solution by Becca Silver: https://amzn.to/4pRCaa5Lead your team through it with Book Study Facilitator Training: https://www.thewholeeducator.com/book-study-facilitator-trainingLet's Stay Connected!www.thewholeeducator.com  |  [email protected]

Episode SummaryWhat if the scripted curriculum we hand new teachers is the very thing burning them out? In this episode of Coaching the Whole Educator, Becca Silver talks with Bob Lenz, CEO of PBLWorks, about how project-based learning (PBL) helps early career teachers thrive instead of just surviving, and why school systems built for consistency keep pulling innovative teachers back into compliance.Bob shares findings from a randomized controlled trial of the Knowledge in Action AP curriculum, where PBL students outscored peers on AP exams by 8% in year one and 10% in year two, across all demographics. He explains why teachers trained in student-centered schools often revert to traditional instruction within three years of moving to a traditional school, and why giving new teachers high-quality PBL curriculum acts as a “floor,” not a script. Becca connects the conversation to her resistance work, naming the compliance culture that shapes how we treat both students and adults.In this episode, you’ll learn:Why the portrait of a graduate works as a “Trojan horse” for deeper learning and PBL adoptionThe biggest gap between teacher prep programs and day one in the classroomHow PBL partner districts improved chronic absenteeism (one middle school went from 66% to 96% attendance)The four areas leaders need to address for systemwide PBL: vision, conditions, professional learning, and measurementWhy “two projects a year” is a realistic starting point for reluctant departmentsHow making expert thinking visible builds new teacher agency and confidenceWhy PBL is an equity issue, and why it may be less “innovation” than overdue updatingWho this episode is for: instructional coaches, principals, district leaders, and teacher leaders supporting new teachers, implementing project-based learning, or working to reduce teacher burnout and turnover.Frequently asked questionsDoes project-based learning improve test scores? According to Bob, a randomized controlled study validated by USC found PBL students scored 8 to 10% higher on AP exams than students in traditional classes, with strong gains in critical thinking and communication.How can schools support new teachers with PBL? Pair high-quality, student-centered curriculum with embedded professional learning and coaching, so new teachers start from a strong floor instead of designing units from scratch on Sunday night.Why do innovative teaching practices fade? When school policies, pacing, and observation practices conflict with student-centered goals, teachers drift back to compliance-based instruction. Leaders have to surface those conflicts and build a coherent system.Timestamps00:00 Welcome and introduction to Bob Lenz00:58 What PBLWorks does and why agency matters01:50 Portrait of a graduate as a path to PBL05:10 Helping new teachers thrive, not survive06:40 The AP study results10:10 Curriculum as a floor and giving Sundays back to teachers12:55 The gap between teacher prep and day one15:00 Compliance curriculum, burnout, and attendance gains16:20 Compliance culture and resistance17:00 Schools built for consistency, not innovation19:30 Moving the whole system: what leaders need in place24:00 Agency, professional judgment, and making thinking visible27:30 Innovation or overdue update?29:20 PBL as an equity floor30:20 Bob’s new book and resourcesResources mentionedPBLWorks: pblworks.orgPBL for All: A Leader’s Guide by Bob Lenz and Lisa MoralesPBL World coaching academy (June, Napa Valley)Keep goingGet The Resistance Solution: https://amzn.to/4pRCaa5Lead your team through it with Book Study Facilitator Training: https://www.thewholeeducator.com/book-study-facilitator-trainingLet's Stay Connected!www.thewholeeducator.com  |  [email protected]

You've modeled it, co-planned it, and practiced it side by side, and it's still not showing up in the classroom. In this Resistance Solution Mini-Session, Becca Silver reads from Chapter 2 of The Resistance Solution on why more PD and more modeling often miss the mark. Coaches and school leaders get one question to ask before their next coaching move.In this episode:Why resistance often looks like a skill problem on the surfaceThe quiet calculation teachers run before trying something new: Is this worth it? What if it doesn't work? Can I pull this off?Why a fourth round of modeling rarely fixes a will gapThis week's challenge: pick the coaching conversation that keeps looping and ask yourself, "Is this a gap in skill, or a gap in will?" If it's will, swap your next model for a question.Take the free quiz, What Is Resistance Costing You?: https://www.thewholeeducator.com/resistance-quizGet The Resistance Solution: https://amzn.to/4pRCaa5Free reader tools: thewholeeducator.com/book-resourcesLet's Stay Connected!www.thewholeeducator.com  |  [email protected]

What happens when a new school leader tries so hard to meet everyone’s expectations that they stop leading like themselves? In this episode of Coaching the Whole Educator, Becca Silver talks with Joshua Stamper, author of Aspire to Lead and host of the Aspire to Lead podcast, about perseverance, adversity, and the quiet ways aspiring leaders slip into compliance while trying to prove they belong.Josh shares his unexpected path from art teacher to athletic coach, Dean of Students, and assistant principal for nearly a decade, and now speaker, author, and leadership consultant. He opens up about his first months as Dean of Students, when staff and families expected him to be “the sheriff.” He tried to fill that role, and discipline referrals climbed every month. Then he made a shift: he got clear on his own values, rebuilt the campus approach to student behavior around teaching skills instead of punishment, and watched both the data and the culture turn around.Becca and Josh also dig into:Influence vs. control: how to tell whether you want to lead people or simply want more control over decisions, and why “I’m just a teacher” holds back progressHow “no” creates compliance culture: why turning down a teacher’s idea can move them from ownership back to compliance, and what a “yes, and” leader does insteadThe cost of being chosen: navigating jealousy, rivalry, and shifting peer relationships when you’re tapped for leadership earlyRejection as “not yet”: what Josh learned from being passed over for promotion, and why talking about what you have done beats what you would do in leadership interviewsRegulation under pressure: why anticipating hard moments (and deciding in advance who you’ll be) is one of the strongest leadership practices, plus Becca’s reframe that every breakdown carries the seed of a breakthroughThe ASPIRE framework: Activate, Support, Persevere, Identity, Reflection, and Execution, with practical advice on “activating” by becoming visibly available to your admin teamThis episode is for teachers considering an administrative path, assistant principals eyeing the next role, instructional coaches, and any educator who leads with or without a title.About the guest: Joshua Stamper is a former art teacher, coach, Dean of Students, and assistant principal who now speaks, writes, and coaches educators nationwide. He is the author of Aspire to Lead and The Language of Behavior, hosts three podcasts, and leads the Aspire to Lead cohort for aspiring school leaders.Connect with Joshua: https://joshstamper.com | Instagram and X: @joshua__stamperExplore Becca’s book: The Resistance Solution: https://amzn.to/4pRCaa5 Lead your own book study with the Book Study Facilitator Training: https://www.thewholeeducator.com/book-study-facilitator-trainingLet's Stay Connected!www.thewholeeducator.com  |  [email protected]

Ever leave a coaching conversation feeling great about the advice you gave, only to come back a week later and find nothing has changed? You're not alone, and it's probably not the teacher's fault.In this episode, Becca sits down with her friend and colleague coaching master Chrissy Beltran, known to many as Buzzing with Ms. B, to unpack why coaching conversations so often go nowhere. Chrissy shares why coaches feel pressure to have all the answers, how teachers often ask for help in the only way they know how (a complaint), and the simple mindset shift that keeps every interaction moving toward real partnership.In this episode, you'll learn:Why our "advice monster" is so loud as coaches (hint: it feels really good)The difference between coaching and consulting, and why quick fixes rarely change thinkingWhy "it doesn't matter what you say, it matters what they hear"Chrissy's ABC model: Always Be Coaching, and where the idea came from (spoiler: knives)How to narrow your follow-up to a simple yes or no ("Can I come by tomorrow at 9?")Why you should offer two or three support options, topsThe red flag phrases that signal it's time to point the finger back at yourselfThe difference between manipulation and intentionally building connectionWhy connection is the shortest distance to coachabilityTimestamps:00:00 Welcome and introducing Chrissy Beltran00:55 The problem: a whole conversation and nothing changes01:29 Why coaches feel they have to have all the answers03:26 Taming the advice monster05:22 That's not coaching, that's consulting06:30 The psychology on both sides of unsolicited advice08:00 When "okay" at the end of PD really means compliance08:57 Selling Cutco and the birth of Always Be Coaching11:45 Making follow-up easy to say yes to13:00 Showing up the next day with two or three options14:37 "Guess what? They're coming back tomorrow."15:42 Red flag phrases like "Well, I told them"18:07 Manipulation vs. authentic connection19:47 Being right vs. making a difference21:24 Chrissy's new book, Expand Your Coaching ToolboxAbout Chrissy Beltran: Chrissy Beltran is an instructional coaching expert, the voice behind Buzzing with Ms. B, and host of the Instructional Coaching with Ms. B podcast. Her new book, Expand Your Coaching Toolbox: 20 Practical Strategies That Improve Teaching and Learning (ASCD), is a hands-on guidebook with strategies for relationship building, knowledge and alignment, and instructional skill, each with a note on how to forward the coaching conversation.Resources mentioned:Expand Your Coaching Toolbox by Chrissy Beltran: pre-order through ASCD now, available everywhere (including Amazon) in NovemberConnect with Becca: Learn more about Becca's work and The Resistance Solution at thewholeeducator.com. Let's Stay Connected!www.thewholeeducator.com  |  [email protected]

The strategy everyone nodded along to in August? It's thriving in one classroom and missing in action next door. And that eye roll from the back of the room is still living rent-free in your head.In this first episode of Solution Sessions, a new weekly segment of Coaching the Whole Educator, Becca reads the opening pages of The Resistance Solution and names what most leaders feel but rarely say out loud: the emotional whiplash of thinking a teacher is on board, then walking into their classroom and finding nothing has changed.When that happens, most of us reach for one of two explanations. Either some people just don't want to change, or we need more accountability. Both are understandable. Neither gets you very far.Becca offers a different read: the eye roll, the polite nod, and the strategy that never shows up aren't verdicts on the teacher or on you. They're information.In this episode:Why uneven implementation is one of the most common pain points coaches and leaders reportThe two default reactions to resistance, and why neither one worksOne question to bring into your walkthroughs this weekYour challenge: Pick one classroom where the training isn't showing up yet. Before restating the expectation, ask, "What's getting in the way right now?" Then listen.Wondering what resistance is costing your school? Take the free What Is Resistance Costing You? quiz and get next steps matched to where you are: https://www.thewholeeducator.com/resistance-quizLet's Stay Connected!www.thewholeeducator.com  |  [email protected]

 What if the colleague you've been describing as "quirky" is the most underused talent in your building? In this episode of Coaching the Whole Educator, Becca Silver sits down with Justin Permenter of NDI Institute to talk about building workplaces where neurodivergent educators, coaches, and leaders can perform, contribute, and lead without lowering expectations. Roughly one in five people is neurodivergent, including people with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and dyspraxia. Yet most schools and organizations are built for neurotypical ways of working by default. Students get IEPs and 504 plans. Adults get a workplace that expects everyone to sit at the same table, the same way, on the same timeline. Justin shares his journey from the classroom in Kansas City to international education in Qatar and his work with Franklin Covey's Leader in Me, plus the story of Omar, a 16-year-old autistic intern who outperformed full-time staff at the Waldorf Astoria within three weeks. Becca opens up about her own ADHD diagnosis and the moment she started seeing it as a strength instead of a deficit. You'll learn: Why accommodation and compliance checklists aren't the same as strengths activationHow curiosity (the C in NDI's CLEAR framework) replaces judgment when a colleague works differentlyWhat "results alignment" means: keeping outcomes high while allowing multiple pathways to get thereOne thing school leaders and instructional coaches can do tomorrow to lead more neuroinclusivelyPerfect for instructional coaches, principals, district leaders, and anyone who leads adults in schools. Resources mentioned:Website: www.ndiinstitute.comWebinar on October 6th: https://www.ndiinstitute.com/webinarFree C.L.E.A.R. Framework: https://www.ndiinstitute.com/download The Resistance Solution: Why Educators Resist and What They Need Instead: amzn.to/4pRCaa5Resistance Solution Book Study Facilitator Training: https://www.thewholeeducator.com/book-study-facilitator-training Let's Stay Connected!www.thewholeeducator.com  |  [email protected]

Ever notice how the same piece of feedback lands beautifully with one person on your team and completely bombs with another? Robyn Jackson is back, and this time we're digging into Will Drivers, her framework for the four things that motivate every human being: mastery, purpose, belonging, and autonomy.Here's the twist. Each driver comes with its own core question running in the background of someone's mind: how, why, who, and what. Once you know someone's dominant driver, you stop guessing why they're not responding to your coaching and start speaking a language they can actually hear.We get into:What Will Drivers are and where the theory came fromWhy the people you connect with most easily probably share your dominant driverHow the same feedback needs to be delivered four completely different ways depending on who's receiving itWhy some of the meanest, most aimless, or most struggling people on your team are driven by the exact thing they seem worst atThe principal who couldn't get his staff moving because he was autonomy driven and they were mastery driven, and neither one understood the otherRobyn's reframe for ditching the shoulds: be curious, not furiousThis one will have you diagnosing your own driver, your partner's, and probably three people on your leadership team before the episode is even over.📖 The Resistance Solution: amzn.to/4pRCaa5Book Study Facilitator Training: www.thewholeeducator.com/book-study-facilitator-training About Robyn Jackson: Robyn R. Jackson is the founder of Mindsteps and the creator of the Buildership framework. She's spent years helping leaders move from compliance-driven management to real ownership, and her Will Drivers work grew out of motivation research she originally applied to students before realizing it works just as well on adults.Connect with Robyn: 100PercentPrincipal.com — free weekly newsletter with practical tools for the challenges you're actually facing.Let's Stay Connected!www.thewholeeducator.com  |  [email protected]

 **Join the Resistance Solution Facebook Community** https://www.facebook.com/share/g/19TRR5VfpX/Danny Bauer of Better Leaders Better Schools joins Becca Silver to unpack self mentorship, why traditional PD falls short, and how to become a ruckus maker. Most professional development follows the same script: someone else decides what educators need to learn, when they need to learn it, and how. Danny Bauer, founder of Better Leaders Better Schools and creator of the Ruckus Maker movement, calls this "permission-based development," and he thinks it is holding school leaders back. In this episode, Becca Silver talks with Danny about self mentorship: a radical ownership model where school leaders define their own growth instead of waiting for central office to approve it. Danny shares real stories of principals who used self mentorship to build "sticky core values," eliminate outdated practices like midterms and finals, and protect their own boundaries without sacrificing results. He and Becca also dig into an uncomfortable pattern Danny has seen again and again: leaders who win Principal of the Year and then get placed on an improvement plan for doing the very work that made them stand out. If you have ever sensed something was off in how your school or district operates but could not quite name it, this conversation gives you language and a starting question to explore it. What You'll Learn What self mentorship is and how it differs from traditional professional developmentWhy Danny calls conventional PD "permission-based development," and why that framing mattersReal examples of self mentorship in action: sticky core values, eliminating midterms and finals, and protecting personal boundaries as a leaderWhy some of the most innovative school leaders get quietly punished for standing outHow systems resist disruption, and why that resistance is not personalA simple question you can ask tomorrow to start thinking like a "Ruckus Maker" **Join the Resistance Solution Facebook Community** https://www.facebook.com/share/g/19TRR5VfpX/📖 The Resistance Solution: amzn.to/4pRCaa5Guest Bio Danny Bauer is the founder of Better Leaders Better Schools and the voice behind the Ruckus Maker movement in education. After years in the classroom and central office, Danny now helps school leaders build campus experiences worth showing up for through coaching, a mastermind community, and the Ruckusmakers Media Substack. Key QuotesDanny Bauer on traditional professional development: PD is often too little, too late, and disconnected, arriving on a schedule the system sets rather than the leader.On self mentorship: it is a radical ownership over your own growth and vision, not a curriculum someone else hands you.On why leaders get punished for innovating: fragile egos at central office sometimes resent when a subordinate gets the credit for doing something new.On the mindset shift: the real question is not "can I change this," but what would need to be true for it to be different.Timestamps03:00 What is self mentorship, and how is it different from professional development05:30 Why Danny renamed PD "permission-based development"07:30 Real self mentorship stories: sticky core values, eliminating midterms and finals, protecting boundaries12:00 The Ruckus Maker movement and questioning how school "has to be"15:00 Why Principal of the Year winners sometimes end up on improvement plans18:30 Systems built to stay alive, and why disruption meets resistance20:30 Where to find Danny's free resources22:00 One question to ask tomorrow to start your own self mentorship journeyResources MentionedBetter Leaders Better Schools: betterleadersbetterschools.comRuckusmakers Media (Danny's Substack of mini-books on leadership and school change)The Art of Self Mentorship (Danny's free mini-book)Let's Stay Connected!www.thewholeeducator.com  |  [email protected]

In this episode, Becca sits down with instructional coaching and lesson planning expert Lori Cohen (co-author of The PD Book) to talk about her new book, The Science of Lesson Planning, and what transformative lesson design can teach coaches and school leaders about building psychological safety in schools. They dig into psychological safety, the difference between coaching and "coaxing," and why celebration and reflection only work when they happen together. In this episode: Why great lesson planning is about more than activities and standardsHow psychological safety gets built (and spent) in daily interactions, not just at the start of the yearThe real difference between conventional and transformative practice: who holds control of the "right answer"Why "coaxing" isn't coaching, and how it breaks trustWhy celebration and reflection have to happen together for real growth📖 The Resistance Solution: amzn.to/4pRCaa5Book Study Facilitator Training: www.thewholeeducator.com/book-study-facilitator-trainingAbout Lori Cohen: Lori Cohen has spent three decades in education as a teacher, instructional coach, school leader, consultant, and author. Her new book, The Science of Lesson Planning, releases in September through ASCD (preorders open now). She is also co-author of  The PD Book: 7 Habits that Transform Professional Development (with Elena Aguilar) and Integrating Educator Well-Being, Growth, and Evaluation: Four Foundations for Leaders. Let's Stay Connected!www.thewholeeducator.com  |  [email protected]