Dear {tag_recipientfirstname}

How do the work-based conversations we have with others at school get to function as a form of professional learning? As someone who has a longstanding interest in how teachers learn in the workplace, Dr Kristine Needham considers this question in our feature article below.

Also in this edition, we share another two insightful video case studies: one from a Principal’s Network perspective, and the other from a NSW school which embeds a Solutions Focused (SF) approach into coaching. You can learn more about SF from our recent podcast which is shared again below for those who might not yet have had a chance to listen along.

Here at GCI we are thrilled to now have our Arabic programs up and running in the Middle East. The positive impact of coaching in education is gaining momentum in a variety of contexts, nationally as well as internationally.

In other news, we are awaiting the arrival in Australia of our new book, The Leader’s Guide to Coaching in Schools, co-written with Dr Christian van Nieuwerburgh. The book launch coincides with ACEL Conference in Sydney (4-6 Oct) and the International Coaching and Mentoring Conference at the University of Waikato in NZ (11-13 Oct). I’ll be at both events and would love to catch up with you at one or other of these conference events.

As usual, we hope you find this newsletter a useful read.

Best wishes,
John Campbell
Executive Director

Talking Heads

By Dr Kristine Needham

As someone who has a longstanding interest in how teachers learn in the workplace, I consider one-on-one conversations to be one of the most useful strategies to evoke reflection, to open up and clarify thinking, to challenge beliefs that are no longer useful and to embed previous learning. They are also a great way to explore individual differences and to build relationships.

The question remains, however: how do we move from habitual forms of ‘talking’ to a form of conversation or dialogue that has more traction as a vehicle for learning?

Part of the answer lies in understanding more about the way this functions – getting below the waterline to see what’s going on underneath the words. Continue to Dr Needham’s article.

Recommended Resource
We are delighted to share the third series of Video Case Studies, filmed the
5th National Coaching in Education Conference.

Keilor/St Albans Principal Network

In this short case study interview, we chat to Andrea Federico.

Andrea is Principal at University Park Primary School in Victoria and is also Executive Chair of the Keilor/St Albans Principal Network. She shares her coaching story, both from a school perspective and also at a Network level.

St Andrew’s College, Marayong

Here we speak with Nicholas Vidot and Shauna Nash of St Andrew’s College, Marayong in NSW.

They share how the GROWTH coaching model, together with a solutions-focused approach, allows staff and students at St Andrew’s College to reach their full potential.

Coaching in Education Podcast Series

This month we shared a podcast on The Solutions Focus Approach to Finding Answers and Achieving Faster Personal and Organisational Progress.

In this audio interview Annette Gray, Director at GCI, shares the story of the success of the SF approach and gives a simple demonstration to show how adopting a Solutions Focused approach in conversations can lead to quick and long-lasting progress.

To delve deeper into SF we invite you attend one of our Solutions Focus Master Classes.

GCI Foundation Projects

At our National Coaching in Education Conference in Melbourne earlier this year we announced the launch of the GCI Foundation, an arm of GCI that supports professional learning projects for educators in communities with much fewer resources than most of us are able to enjoy.

Two projects supported by the Foundation are now ready to go to the next stage…

• Next month, GCI Sydney based consultant Penny Verdich, will travel to the Manyara region of Tanzania to lead workshops for teachers. In her spare time Penny serves as a Director of the LBW Trust and this project is being delivered in partnership with LBW Trust, supporting the work of so they can.

• In January Ben Calleja, GCI Director in WA, will travel to Cambodia to lead similar professional learning workshops for Cambodian principals and teachers in partnership with the Angkor Project and the WA Department of Education.

We are delighted that the GCI Foundation can support both of these projects. A big thank you to Penny and Ben for their commitment to this work.

Details about these projects will be featured in future newsletters.