Coaching

Background

The theoretical underpinnings, models, and techniques of coaching can be traced back to field of psychology and related therapies. While these therapies are more concerned with resolving deeper underlying issues, coaching is more concerned with the practical issues of setting goals and achieving results within specific time frames.

In this sense, coaching is a process that equips people with the tools, knowledge and opportunities to be effective in their work and organizations. Coaching distinguishes itself from training insofar as it is seen as a process rather than an event. Coaching is based on a collaborative partnership between a coach and an individual willing and ready to engage in work to develop his or her skills to their full potential. As such, coaching is a vehicle for analysis, reflection, and action that ultimately enables the person to achieve success.

Benefits

The benefits of coaching encompass both the personal and business/professional realm. Since the line between personal and business life is blurring more and more, coaching has come to be seen as a tool that has the potential to focus on all aspects of a person’s character. Primarily, coaching is meant to develop individual strengths and abilities for maximum performance while increasing people’s confidence in their own skills and performance. This enables behavioral shifts that can have a positive impact on both, the person’s professional attitude and the work environment. Note, however, that coaching is not generally performed on the basis that the coach has direct experience of their client’s formal occupational role unless the coaching is specific and skills focused.

Examples

The literature highlights different types of coaching such as individual versus team coaching/peer coaching, business coaching, executive coaching, performance coaching, skills coaching, and personal coaching. Depending on the type of coaching, most individuals have several topics they work on with their coach. These topics include: a) Business/Career Section b) Dealing With Life Section c) You As A Person Section d) Personal Success. Group and peer-coaching especially allow issues of concern to be circulated across communities and organizations. This encourages collaborative development, refinement, and a sharing of professional knowledge and skills. Individual coaching, on the other hand, is about the goals, values, and priorities of the person being coached. Additionally, this type of coaching also focuses on the individual’s personal learning style.

Overall, coaching--group or individual--encourages improvements which are likely to be felt throughout the school, district, and community.

Related Links

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What Is It?

Coaching and Collegiality

The article discusses the move to define standards for teachers and administrators, which is being seen as having inspired hopes for greater professionalization and more focused staff development. In particular, the article focuses on feedback and its usefulness for staff development. (From Educational Leadership Volume 53 Number 6 1996)

How to Plan and Implement a Peer Coaching Program

Although directed towards teachers rather than school administrators this article has a lot of insightful advice for how to go about planning and implementing a coaching program. (From Pam Robinson, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development)

Strategic Executive Coaching's Bottom-Line

This article is targeted toward business leaders in corporations but still useful for the education realm. The author argues that the rapid growth of executive coaching reflects its bottom-line benefits - increased profits and reduced costs, achieved within a defined timeframe. To be effective, executive coaching must be both strategic and individualized: A balance must be struck between the needs of the organization and the needs of the individual. To engage and motivate individuals, executive coaching must be tailored to their needs and aspirations. To deliver business results, the coaching must be tailored to the strategy, vision, and values of the organization. (From Alyssa M. Freas, Ph.D., 2001)

What are Peer Coaching and Peer Review

This site addresses in more detail the benefits of peer coaching including the reasons why it might be of use to your institution. It also includes a useful bibliography of articles related to the issue. (From Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development)
Tools & Resources

Coaching for Commitment: Interpersonal Strategies for Obtaining Superior Performance from Individuals and Teams

Trainer's Package: includes one Trainer's Guide and video, plus sample copies of all participant materials. (From Kinlaw, D. (March 1999), 2nd Edition, Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer)

Coaching: The ASTD Trainer's Sourcebook

This sourcebook should be used as an introduction to coaching. Additionally, it includes program outlines for full-day, half-day, one-hour trainings. It also provides implementation guidelines, participant handouts, games and activities, assessment instruments and questionnaires, and overhead masters. (From Kinlaw, D. (1996), McGraw-Hill )

Practical Guide to Peer Coaching

Based on the author's personal experience and surveys submitted from 70 educators from across Saskatchewan, this guide for educators interested in peer coaching is designed to be concise and easy to use, and provides suggestions for implementation, with difficulties and solutions pointed out. Included in its contents are the driving and resisting forces for the implementation of peer coaching; the issues of choosing a partner, trust, supporting roles and skill development; and preparing staff and oneself for peer coaching. The guide includes worksheets and lists of resources. (From Mills, S. (1990), SK: Mills Consulting)
Model Programs

Coaching for Leadership: How the World's Greatest Coaches Help Leaders Learn

This book brings together the advice of the best executive coaches to give the reader an understanding of how coaching works, why it works, and how leaders can make the best use of the coaching process. (From Goldsmith, Marshall. Lyons, Laurence. Freas, Alyssa (eds. ) (2000), Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer )

Coaching: A Strategy for Developing Instructional Capacity

Coaching is an increasingly popular strategy for districts seeking large-scale improvement in instruction. In this paper, Barbara Neufeld and Dana Roper describe what coaching is, what coaches do, the kinds of supports that coaches need, and the potential benefits to both educators and students. The paper is co-published by the Annenberg Institute and the Aspen Institute Program on Education. A print copy of this report can be ordered via the web site of the Annenberg Institute. (From Barbara Neufeld and Dana Roper. Education Matters, Inc. 2003)

Life Coaching

This project will build the leadership capacity of those leaders who work with populations of high poverty and minority students by developing a cadre of life coaches and providing coaching to principals and superintendents. This project is funded by the Brande Foundation and NSDC and is ongoing. This long-term initiative is designed to develop a cadre of National Staff Development Council life coaches and to provide training and coaching to principals and superintendents. The work occurs in several phases. Phase I concentrates of preparing a cadre of life coaches who will each in turn, provide coaching to two clients. Phase II involves identifying and selecting clients to receive coaching. Subsequent phases will involve training more coaches and perpetuating coaching for every leader who desires the support. (From National Staff Development Council)

Masterful Coaching Fieldbook

This book outlines a model of coaching-style management that will help you become a masterful coach. (From Hargrove, Robert.(1999), Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer)

More than Mentors: Principal Coaching

This paper describes a model principal coacing program developed by The New Teacher Center at University of California Santa Cruz, in collaboration with the Association of California School Administrators: Coaching Leaders to Attain Student Success (CLASS). In designing CLASS, program developers drew from research and experience in the private and public sectors, and their own work and research in supporting school leaders. CLASS is a unique approach to coaching that is built around the particular needs of school leaders. You can learn more about CLASS by visiting e-Lead's Programs Database. (From Leadership. May/June 2003.)

Peer coaching for principals

Principals in a Pennsylvania district are voluntarily observing one another in order to improve their supervisory skills. Two principals jointly observe a teacher, compare their notes, label the data, conduct the teacher post-conference, and then hold the principal post-conference. (From Gibble, J. L., & Lawrence, J. D. (1987), Educational Leadership, 45(3), 72-73.)

Peer coaching: One district's experience using teachers as staff developers

University-District-School Collaboration for School Restructuring

The purpose of this paper is to examine the changing roles and relationships of schools, central offices, and university facilitators as 11 schools in Louisiana implement the nationally recognized Accelerated Schools process. The process involved a coaching model that allowed training by those most familiar with a school's history and would eventually permit districts to launch additional accelerated schools. Written evaluations and questionnaire data from 19 participating coaches suggested several areas for improvement: selection of coaches, negotiation of time commitments, and use of expertise and authority to secure commitment. Coaching needs to be viewed more as a privilege than an extra chore. Coaches reported conflicts in trying to balance competing roles and problems in scheduling training sessions. Commitment to the change process appears to be directly influenced by level of support from those in authority and by perceptions concerning the coach's expertise. (From Kirby, Peggy C.; Meza, James, Jr., Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (Washington, DC, February 12-15, 1995). ERIC Number: ED421800)
Selected Research & Articles

Directions in Language & Education

An effective staff development model for educators of linguistically and culturally diverse students.
The article focuses on coaching as an effective professional development strategy. It addresses the issue of how to implement a peer-coaching program in the context of education of linguistically and culturally diverse students by emphasizing the importance of leadership training for teachers. (From Galbraith Paul, Anstrom Kris. Peer Coaching, National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education; vol. 1, no. 3, Spring 1995)

Masterful coaching

This book provides the reader with details as to how to transform the way people think and work together, build shared understanding within a diverse group, encourage productive contributions from individuals and groups, and expand people's capacity to achieve goals and realize change. (From Hargrove, R. (1995), San Diego, CA: Pfeiffer and Co. )

Peer coaching for educators

Includes chapters on peer coaching in reform and restructuring; the rationale, process, and phases of peer coaching; how to manage peer coaching interactions; things to do and not do; troubleshooting and preventing problems. (From Gottesman, B.L. and Jennings, J.O. (1994), Lancaster, PA: Technomic Press. )

School Improvement Programs: A Handbook for Educational Leaders

This book is intended to serve as a sourcebook that provides descriptions of some of the best and most popular school-and classroom-improvement programs in America. It offers a comprehensive framework for selecting and adapting these programs to address a local school's particular needs. It was also designed to help school leaders understand and use major research-based school-improvement programs. Each chapter describes the program's innovation, how it works, how well it works, and where it is headed. One chapter of the book focuses on coaching. "Peer Coaching: Quality through Collaborative Work" (Pam Robbins). (From Block, James, Everson, Susan, and Thomas Guskey (1995), New York: Scholastic, Inc. ERIC Number: ED381856)

The evolution of peer coaching