Creating a whole-school coaching culture Why is it important, and how can we start to do it? Creating a Coaching Culture

Outline and objectives of session To explore our current ideas of what coaching means and how it connects to our roles. To understand why coaching is seen to be an effective school improvement tool. To identify how coaching strategies could support our work with students. To consider how coaching can be used to effectively improve school development in teaching and learning. Creating a Coaching Culture

You have two sticky notes before you. Without talking to anyone else on your table, write on one of them the answer to the question on the following slide… Creating a Coaching Culture

‘It is one-to-one support.’ ‘It is all about trying to get better.’ What do you mean by coaching? ‘Coaching is first and foremost a relationship.’ ‘It’s a solutions-focused and systematic process.’ Creating a Coaching Culture

Creating a Coaching Culture When you are happy with your definition, share it with the rest of your group. Now, create a definition that you can all agree on and put it on the central piece of paper, with your sticky notes around it. Creating a Coaching Culture

Remember your second sticky note? Write on it an example of a coaching situation that you have experienced – this could be in or out of school. Creating a Coaching Culture

Share your definitions and experiences with everyone here. Put your definitions and sticky notes on the display board, and look at other people’s definitions and experiences of coaching. Creating a Coaching Culture

Creating a Coaching Culture What is coaching? ‘Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximise their own performance. It is helping them learn rather than teaching them.’ J Whitmore (2003) Do you agree? Creating a Coaching Culture

How do we help others to flourish? Think of someone who has had a profoundly positive impact on your personal development. Someone who has helped you to get to be the person you are now. It could be a colleague or a friend. What did they do, and what qualities did they demonstrate that helped you to flourish? Creating a Coaching Culture

Did they… Listen to what you had to say? Give you space and time to think for yourself? Give you things to think about? Believe in your abilities? Challenge your ideas? Encourage you? Treat you with respect? Make you feel safe? Make you feel valued? Make you feel more confident? What would happen if we did this for students? Creating a Coaching Culture

What does coaching involve? It is NOT about: It IS about: giving all the answers offering advice giving sympathy reinforcing prejudices taking on other’s tasks getting the job done counselling others creating dependent learners. creating a safe space empowering others offering challenge questioning thoughtfully keeping an open mind listening and responding giving time to reflect creating independent learners. Creating a Coaching Culture

Why should we use coaching in schools? Geoff Barton maintains these principles: good teaching can be learned – it is not innate performance management should be about performance experimentation should be encouraged we should not tolerate mediocrity proper evaluation creates reflection real change comes from within. Creating a Coaching Culture

Creating a Coaching Culture ‘Characteristics of High Performing Schools’ by Miranda Bell and Philippa Cordingley Study commissioned for CUREE (Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education). Examined 14 schools, some of which were ‘strong’ (around the national average for progress in English and maths) and some of which were ‘exceptional’ (over 75% expected progress in English and maths). Exceptional schools invested more heavily in mentoring and coaching training cross-school. Strong schools had less of a focus on formal coaching. Creating a Coaching Culture

The idea of ‘Natural talent’ is a trap for both teachers and students Professional sports coaches, among others, have shown that it is not your motivation or anything else other than the regularity of your practice which improves performance. Believing in a growth mindset – where you are able to change your performance through persistent practice – is a feature of high-achievers. The ‘10,000 hours’ theory explains how continual practice, not innate talent, is a signifier of mastery. Coaching encourages this culture of excellence. Creating a Coaching Culture

What does coaching look like? Look at the discussion cards and decide which are coaching activities and which are not. What makes the difference? Can you think of better coaching activities for students? On the sticky notes, write down suggestions for coaching activities that could help teachers work more effectively with students. Creating a Coaching Culture

What makes a good teacher? Using the ‘Good teacher’ sort cards as prompts, discuss in your groups the characteristics that you think define a really good teacher. Can you decide on the key characteristics? Creating a Coaching Culture

Make a diamond nine to demonstrate the priorities. Most important Least important Make a diamond nine to demonstrate the priorities. Creating a Coaching Culture

What makes a bad teacher? ‘I think I was a bad teacher. It wasn’t that my results were bad, though they were not good. It was that I went into class every day dreading it. The school I worked at was not that tough, but it was challenging. I spent ages planning but lessons never went well, and I was always behind with my marking. Everyone knew I was no good – even students would make jokes about how I was a rubbish teacher. Eventually I decided I couldn’t stand coming in any more and went off sick with stress.’ Creating a Coaching Culture

How could you help this teacher? What strategies do you think could move this teacher on from being a ‘bad’ teacher? How do you think coaching strategies could help this teacher to improve their experience at work? Discuss this in your table groups, and be ready to report back – nominate a spokesperson! Creating a Coaching Culture

Feedback Please put all your sticky notes on the display board. Creating a Coaching Culture