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Philip Mongan, Radford University
Keywords: Mentoring, Teacher Support, Change
Key Statement: Teachers may resist adapting their teaching approach for many reasons. Motivational Interviewing provides a valuable framework for peers hoping to nudge their colleagues toward change.
Introduction
There are times when teachers develop a personal teaching strategy that is not effective, yet they are resistant to change. What happens if you find that a colleague is unwilling to adapt? As a colleague or mentor, how do you engage and encourage that peer to experiment with a novel approach? Do you worry that you may come across as judgmental, dismissive, or even meddling? If so, and if you are committed to helping your peer grow in their teaching skill, then a communication model based on Motivational Interviewing (MI) provides an opportune framework for respectfully approaching your colleague while maintaining professionalism during the interactions.
Image courtesy of Chris Lawton, Unsplash
Motivational Interviewing and Creating Change
Change is intimidating, and it is essential to note that a colleague may resist changes to their teaching approach for various valid reasons. There is comfort in the status quo, and resistance to change can be viewed as a natural defense mechanism against potential discomfort. If we are honest with ourselves, we can all likely think of an experience in our own life in which we did not engage in change because of the fear or discomfort that change elicits. At some level, change requires vulnerability, and if we embrace a trauma-informed approach to our professional lives, we must remember that there are valid reasons why individuals may be uncomfortable with being professionally vulnerable.
Therefore, the first step in being a colleague’s catalyst for change is critically assessing our thoughts and beliefs. Are we coming from a place of understanding and empathy or judgment and condescension? If it is the former, we foster an environment where change can occur. The latter will create a situation where our colleague's defensiveness will (understandably) increase, change is unlikely, and our professional relationship could even be damaged. How we approach our colleagues is as important as what we say when we do. This principle of MI underlies its "spirit," which is fundamentally about compassion and acceptance (Miller & Rollnick, 2013).
Initially crafted for addressing addictions like smoking cessation and alcohol dependency (Rubak et al., 2005), MI's foundations are rooted in creating change. However, professionals across various fields have demonstrated the efficacy of MI as a tool for far more than just addictions. In education, MI has proved helpful for teachers (Svensson et al., 2021) and for promoting teachers’ adoption of new approaches (Larson et al., 2021). Most importantly, using MI-consistent messaging has been shown to increase teacher change talk (Pas et al., 2021), which is when the words a person uses reinforce an openness to change. As an individual’s openness to change increases, their resistance to those changes inherently decreases.
Another way to understand this concept of eroding resistance to change is through movement toward ambivalence. Think about the road toward change as a continuum that starts from the perspective of "I am not going to change" and then transitions to "maybe this one thing could change" until it finally ends up at "this needs to change." When a colleague is in the "I am not going to change" part of the continuum, we should aim for ambivalence. Although ambivalence may not have the most positive connotation, it can be a critical step in the process of motivating change. Essentially, a person is more likely to move gradually along the continuum (i.e., including ambivalence), than jump from being strongly opposed to change to supporting the change.
MI provides an evidence-supported framework for eliciting change. Here are three easy-to-implement MI strategies that can start the process toward changing one’s own teaching approach, or supporting your colleague through those changes.
Foot-in-the-Door Approach
Apprehension about change tends to increase with the amount of change under consideration. Therefore, start small. One technique, as advocated by DiClemente (2006), is the "foot in the door" approach (p. 136). That is where you introduce small changes, opening the door – even a crack – for future changes. Practically speaking, this would mean that instead of asking your colleague to make sweeping changes to their teaching approach, or totally overhauling your own, start with something that is not complicated, does not involve a lot of time or prep, and carries little risk when implemented. The goal here is not to change their teaching approach directly but to create an environment that is more open to change. MI is all about small, incremental changes that build upon each other, and this strategy leverages that essence.
Example: If a colleague dislikes introducing additional evaluation tools to their course, you may suggest they ask their students to complete a minute paper during a single class session. This minute paper could be as simple as asking the students to identify one thing they learned from class or one thing they liked about the class session. It is a bonus if you can tie the minute paper into something that would elicit positive feelings from your colleague, which can act as a force multiplier for change (see strategy 3).
Flow With Resistance
One of the foundational pieces of MI is the ability to avoid meeting resistance head-on and instead roll with it (Miller et al., 1994). If your colleague pushes back on suggestions for change, avoid meeting the resistance with defensiveness. Instead, affirm their concerns and reframe those concerns to see if they can identify anything they could potentially adjust.
Example: You talk with a colleague about how impactful a recent classroom activity was that you recently implemented, and that colleague immediately responds by saying they do not have time to make sweeping changes to their classroom and, at the moment, they are just trying to survive each day. If your activity lends itself to their classroom, you could respond to your colleague's resistance by affirming their complaints and empathizing with their struggles. Then let them know that your activity is ready to be used with almost no effort needed on their part. Also, it will save them some prep time since it is ready to go.
Draw Attention To Success and Elicit Positive Feelings Around Change
This premise falls into the concept of emotional arousal (DiClemente, 2006) and is one of the critical processes in helping resistant individuals move towards ambivalence (Mongan, 2020). Emotional arousal signifies the positive feelings that arise when thinking about and initiating change. Ways to elicit this with colleagues include highlighting the positives you have experienced when adjusting your teaching method, redirecting discussion that focuses too much on the challenges of change, and affirming any small movements towards change that your colleague expresses. Essentially, you want to foster an environment where trying new things feels safe and positive.
Example: Your colleague was willing to try a minimal adjustment to a module and is saying they are not sure it made any difference. First, affirm their willingness to try something new and reinforce that it can sometimes take a little time to see substantive improvements with a new approach. Then, through your discussion, attempt to find even the slightest success to elevate and draw attention to it. Finally, you can end with an affirming statement that shows that even such a small change can have a positive impact. As long as you are authentic in this discussion with your colleagues, it should elicit positive feelings and increase the likelihood that they will attempt another small change in the future.
Conclusion
Understanding the reasons why people may be hesitant to change helps us reframe how we see their resistance, or even our own. Motivational Interviewing provides a solid foundation for how we can approach and engage colleagues in the process of change. The three strategies outlined here can help move a colleague toward ambivalence, where they are at least willing to try a new teaching strategy, even if they do not believe it will make a difference. As the saying goes, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." When people are willing to try something new, they are already on the road to change.
Discussion Questions
How might you discover why a colleague is resisting trying a new teaching approach? What are some ways to start that conversation with them?
What are your immediate thoughts when a colleague refuses to try new teaching approaches, or when you notice your own instinctive resistance? What non-blame-based reasons may be behind their resistance?
What are one or two easy-to-implement changes to teaching modules that you suggest a colleague use? How could you discuss using these "ready-to-implement" modules with a colleague?
References
DiClemente, C. (2006). Addiction and change: How addictions develop and addicted people recover. Guilford Press.
Larson, M., Cook, C. R., Brewer, S. K., Pullmann, M. D., Hamlin, C., Merle, J.L., Duong, M. Gaias, L., Sullivan, M., Morrell, N., Kulkarni, T., Weeks, M., & Lyon, A.R. (2021). Examining the effects of a brief, group-based motivational implementation strategy on mechanisms of teacher behavior change. Prevention Science, 22, 722–736. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-020-01191-7
Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2013). Motivational interviewing: Helping people change (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.
Miller, W. R., Zweben, A., DiClemente, C. C., & Rychtarik, R. G. (1994). Motivational enhancement therapy manual: A clinical research guide for therapists treating individuals with alcohol abuse and dependence. Project MATCH Monograph Series, Vol. 2. DHHS Publication No. 94-3723. NIAAA.
Mongan, P. (2020). Creating change: 4 essential tools for social work practice. Cognella.
Pas, E., Borden, L., Herman, K., & Bradshaw, C. P. (2021). Leveraging Motivational Interviewing to coach teachers in the implementation of preventive evidence-based practices: A sequential analysis of the Motivational Interviewing process. Prevention Science, 22, 786-798. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-021-01238-3
Rubak, S., Sandbaek, A., Lauritzen, T., & Christensen, B. (2005). Motivational Interviewing: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The British Journal of General Practice: The Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 55(513), 305–312. https://bjgp.org/content/55/513/305/tab-article-info
Svensson, M., Wagnsson, S., & Gustafsson, H. (2021). Can motivational interviewing be a helpful professional tool? Investigating teachers' experiences. Educational Research, 63(4), 440-455. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2021.1989318
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