Are you an educator looking to enhance the quality of your conversations?
Chris Munro, Managing Director, shares 5 things about GCI and our online programs.
About Us
Growth Coaching International (GCI) has been providing coaching and coaching training to the education sector since 2002. Our courses are now delivered in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the United Kingdom, North America, the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia.
Our purpose is to enhance the quality of conversations in education communities:
- Leaders with teachers
- teachers with teachers
- leaders and teachers with parents
- and everyone with students
So that leaders lead well, teachers teach well, parents contribute well, and student learning and wellbeing are enhanced!
How is coaching in education different from coaching in other sectors?
The key differentiator is that coaching in education has a clear purpose: improved outcomes for learners. While the focus is on the success and wellbeing of learners, coaching is used to support everyone in the educational community.
The Global Framework for Coaching and Mentoring in Education (van Nieuwerburgh, Knight & Campbell, 2019) shows 4 areas where coaching is being used currently in schools, colleges and universities:
To support students directly
- Teachers with coaching skills are able to have more positive and solution-focused conversations with students
- Teachers can use coaching to help students to build on their strengths, set inspiring goals, and increase their agency
- Student coaching conversations elevate student voice and choice, enhancing student motivation and wellbeing
To support educational leadership
- Educational leaders who receive coaching benefit from having a safe space reflect and plan, leading to greater strategic clarity, confidence and agency.
- Educational leaders who adopt coaching as a way of leading are able to better support and engage their colleagues in a way that promotes ownership , responsibility and professionalism .
To improve the professional practice of educators
- Teachers and other educators who receive coaching in relation to their professional practice experience increased self-efficacy and are able to sustain the implementation of new practices to meet the needs of their students.
- Teachers and other educators can use coaching skills to improve the quality of dialogue, including providing feedback, with their peers that leads to increased levels of collegiality , collaboration and trust.
To connect educational institutions to their communities
- Teachers and leaders can deploy their coaching skills with parents , carers and other members of the school community to increase levels of authentic engagement and collaboration.
- Teachers and leaders talking a coaching approach to communication with multiple stakeholders in their school community can increase their sense commitment and support for the aims and aspirations of the institution.
Define Coaching and A Coaching Approach
"a one-to-one conversation focused on the enhancement of learning and development through increasing self-awareness and a sense of personal responsibility, where the coach facilitates the self-directed learning of the coachee through questioning, active listening, and appropriate challenge in a supportive and encouraging climate"
"intentionally managed conversations that employ active listening, skilful questioning and other coaching skills tempered with high levels of emotional intelligence, in order to raise awareness and encourage responsibility in the coachee"
A ‘coaching approach’ is about intentionally utilising the transferable elements of coaching in a range of conversational situations that would not typically be considered coaching interactions.
Some ‘transferable’ elements of coaching include:
- A focus on learning
- Encouraging personal responsibility and self-direction
- A focus on the coachee’s agenda
- Providing both support and challenge
- A non-evaluative stance and encouraging climate
- Based on a partnership approach
- They focus more on the present and future (than the past)
"In defining coaching as a form of ‘conversation’ it can be easy to trivialise and underplay the critical importance of effective coaching skill development training. Coaching is a specific kind of conversation, full of intention; subtle and not so subtle shifts in perspective; carefully nuanced language; and acutely refined listening among other things"
What will I learn in Fundamentals of Coaching Practice?
This program is a practical introduction to our three elements of effective coaching practice:
- the GROWTH framework
- the key skills of listening to encourage thinking & asking powerful questions
- a coaching way of being
You will leave the program with:
- A clear understanding of what coaching is and how intentional coaching skills can enhance all conversations
- Confidence to use the GROWTH conversational framework immediately
- Practical ways of setting and achieving professional goals
- Direct experience of the impact of coaching conversations applied to real situations in educational settings
Who Is It For?
This course is for any educator looking for a common language and approach for coaching conversations.
3 Live Interactive Workshops (120 mins each)
These are not webinars or online lectures. Our programs utilise the versatility of the Zoom Pro platform to enable the most interactive and engaging experience in each of our live workshops.
This is achieved through a careful balance of :
- screen-share lecturettes
- live and recorded coaching demonstrations
- whole group debrief
- open-forum Q&A
- paired and triad coaching practice in breakout rooms
- small group discussion and practical activities in breakout rooms, and the use of the chat and whiteboard functions to capture the insights of the whole group
Regular stretch breaks are built into each 2 hour workshop.
Pre and post workshop modules (self-paced on our LMS)
The live interactive workshops are complemented by self-paced modules on our Learning Management System (LMS). Participants create an account and complete pre and post workshop modules over the three weeks of the program. The notional time to engage with the Introduction to Leadership Coaching modules is approximately 4 hours in total.
The LMS modules contain a curated selection of readings, podcasts, videos and guided reflection activities designed to extend and deepen participant learning and set the scene for the next workshop.
By creating an LMS account, participants have ongoing access to the materials beyond the completion of the program.
Mode of Delivery
Thoughtfully designed for online learning, this program builds on the pedigree of our highly regarded face-to-face training programs that are underpinned by high-quality, research-informed and up-to-date intellectual property; a commitment to interactive and engaging learning experiences; and expert facilitation by skilled professionals with extensive experience of working in education.
A Learning Design to Enable ‘Praxis’
Our spaced learning design consists of live interactive workshops using Zoom complemented
by self-paced modules on our Learning Management System (LMS). By spreading the learning over a number of
weeks, participants are able to go through a praxis-enabling process of learning, reflecting and implementing in context. When
we are engaged in praxis we are reflecting in action – taking what we are learning and applying it in real-life situations.
Our online program design provides greater opportunity for immediate implementation in context than conventional
multi-day programs.
What Our Clients are Saying...
"I used to think that participating in an online professional learning would be difficult to engage in and I might not learn as well as face to face. Now I think that online learning is engaging and I have learnt a lot. Thank you."
"I appreciated that we were able to try the method in small chunks and receive feedback. I also liked that is was spread over 3 weeks and we could process and try what we had learnt. Zoom was great as I didn't need to travel to attend."
"Thank you for this course. It is the best PD I have ever been involved in. It already has positive real-world application not only in my workplace but wider sphere of life."
Why Us?...
People
Our facilitators, all of whom also coach, are skilled professionals immersed in the field of coaching in education. They bring a rich range of educational experience and credentials to our work and all embody a ‘coaching way of being’.
Our senior staff are internationally recognised leaders in coaching in education who contribute to the knowledge base of the field through writing and research.
Programs
Our programs are underpinned by high-quality, research-informed and up-to-date intellectual property alongside a commitment to interactive and engaging learning experiences with immediate applicability. We understand what it is like to operate in complex and busy educational environments and we design our programs and services accordingly.
Register
Global Open-enrolment Cohort
Note: You must be available on all dates listed for your chosen cohort