Program Outcomes

• Understanding and application of all three elements of effective coaching
  • the GROWTH framework;
  • the four key coaching skills; and
  • a coaching way of being;
  
  
• Greater confidence and skill in taking a coaching approach to providing feedback
  
  
• Understanding the relationship between feedback and coaching conversations
  
  
• Numerous opportunities for direct experience of the impact of coaching conversations applied to real leadership situations in educational settings
  
  

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 six weeks of the program. The notional time to engage with the Introduction to Leadership Coaching modules is approximately 6 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.

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"
(van Nieuwerburgh, 2012)

"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"
(Munro, 2016)

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"
(Campbell, 2016)