Coaching For The PGCLTHE

COACHING IN HIGHER EDUCATION: HOW TRAINING AS A LIFE COACH HAS AFFECTED THE WAY I TEACH Dr Bex Lewis Bex.Lewis@winchester.ac.uk

Coming Up…
What is coaching?
What defines a successful coach?
Effect on Self
Encouragement
Commitment & Responsibility
Group Work
Learning Styles
Facilitating Group Sessions
Thinking Hats
Techniques
Active Listening
Questioning
Silence

What is (life) coaching?
“ Life coaching gives you the opportunity to step back and take a look at your life, allowing focused time out to analyse your motivations and dreams, tuning into the possibilities and defining action plans for direction in life, with accountability to your life coach”
http://drbexl.co.uk/life-coaching/what-is-life-coaching/

“ The Learning Organisation”
“ Most of us, at one time or another, have been part of a great ‘team’, or group of people who functioned together in an extraordinary way – who trusted each other, who complemented each other’s strengths and weaknesses and compensated for each other’s limitations , who had common goals that were larger than individual goals and who produced extraordinary results. I have met many people who have experienced this sort of profound teamwork – in sports or in the performing arts or in business. Many say they have spent much of their life looking for that experience again. What they experienced was a learning organisation.”
Parsloe & Leedham, 2009, 62-63

Mentor vs Coach
Mentor
More experienced in the subject they are giving your advice on, likely a long-term relationship
Focus on the person, their career, giving support for individual growth
“ Off-line help from one person to another in making significant transitions in knowledge, work or thinking” (Clutterbuck, 2004, 13)
Coach
Elicits ideas to help coachees reach their potential, doesn’t need to be an expert in that field, likely a short-term relationship
Draw out the expertise from the coachee

Greater Awareness & Responsibility Whitmore, 2009, 54

The Traits of a Successful Coach
They are interested in people
They truly want to help
They are determined, committed, and willing to learn
They are flexible and resilient
They see the best in people – even when others don’t

Brilliant Coaches
Authenticity
Empathy
Insight
Curiosity
Ability to listen
Courage and willingness to offer feedback
Ability to use (appropriate) humour
Ability to tolerate ambiguity
Ability to confront others
Respect for self and own boundaries
Respect for others and tolerate their differences

Brian Draper: “Spiritual Intelligence”
“ So what kind of story will people tell at your funeral? What kind of story will those who have worked with you, lived with you, loved you, really tell about the way you have lived and loved? You have the chance – before that funeral! – to craft something much richer, deeper and more beautiful than the usual script; but only if you dare to awaken to the possibilities – and to the harder fact that you are, at the moment, asleep.” (2009, 11)

Being open to experimentation
Experiment
Aim for excellence rather than perfection
Prepare
Turn Up
Do Your Best
Evaluate

Start from where you are
You can’t change who you are now…
So what do you want to improve for the next stage?

Encourage Students
Where possible, don’t GIVE solutions.
If possible reaffirm solutions already given.
“ You mentioned x, a really good idea... Do more of that”

Commitment Based Teaching
I will do whatever it takes!
I will do it unless/I will do it until
I’ll try
I don’t really care (but I’ll act like I do to ‘play the game’)
Results or relationship focused?

Individuals? Groups?

Learning Styles

Visual (65%)
Take numerous detailed notes
Sit at the front of the class
Like to see what they are learning
Benefit from illustrations & presentations that use vivid colours
Are attracted to written & spoken language rich in imagery, including mind maps
Need to use ‘big’ questions then chunk down
Find something to watch if they are bored
“ I see what you’re saying”

Auditory (30%)
Sit where they can hear, but needn’t pay attention to what is happening in front
May not co-ordinate colours or clothes, but can explain why they are wearing what they are wearing and why
Acquire knowledge by reading aloud
Remember by verbalising lessons to themselves.
Hum or talk to themselves or others when bored
“ I hear what you’re saying”

Kinaesthetic (5%?)
Learn by imitation/practice
May be slower to learn, but retain knowledge
Need to be active and take frequent breaks
Speak with their hands and with gestures
Remember what was done, but have difficulty recalling what was said or seen
Communicate by touching, appreciate physical encouragement, e.g. pat on the back
Find reasons to tinker or move when bored
“ I feel bad about that”

In practice…
Break up Sessions
Provide a range of activities
Lectures
Visuals on slides
YouTube
Discussions
Practical

Role of the Facilitator
The facilitator’s job is to support everyone to do their best thinking. To do this, the facilitator encourages full participation, promotes mutual understanding and cultivates shared responsibility, By supporting everyone to do their best thinking , a facilitator enables group members to search for inclusive solutions and build sustainable agreements.
Kaner, S et al, 2007

Identifying
Observed Behaviours
Underlying Motivation
Suggestion for positive impact
Quiet/Shy Participant
Overly Talkative Participant
Overly Negative or Argumentative Participant
‘ Multiple Conversation’ Participant
http://www.fao.org/docrep/X0185E/p041.gif

Quiet/Shy Participant
Sitting back
Listening more than speaking
Quiet
Looking down/away
Not engaging

Quiet/Shy Participant: Solutions
Ask direct questions
Smile/eye contact
Pair work – ask them to summarise group discussions
Name games
Warn will ask questions after break – maybe take to one side over the break
Recognise contribution positively & ask for more.

Overly Talkative Participant
Talks more than listens
Animated
Not aware of other’s needs
Not necessarily relevant to discussion point
Tunes out when others are talking

Overly Talkative Participant: Solutions
Ask them to hold that thought
Stop and ask for relevance
Give them 10 words to summarise their point
Small groups – get groups to resummarise each others arguments
Ask them to allow space for others after a break – recognise they have great contributions to make
During pause for breath – speak/restate agenda, look at watch, emphasise relevant points/time limits, refuse to catch their eye
If they look like they’re about to speak, invite someone else into the discussion (say you may come back to them)

Overly Negative or Argumentative Participant
Argues
Plays ‘Devil’s Advocate’
Can’t seem to see the positive in any points
“ Yes, but…”
“ Why am I doing this?”

Overly Negative or Argumentative Participant: Solutions
Find a relevant example for their arguments
Help them find their own goals
Empathise (defuse)
Ban the word BUT
Thank them for the comment and ask them how we would turn that into a positive statement.
Paraphrase and recap in objective terms.
Find merit, express agreement and move on.
Respond to comments, not the attack.
Open discussion of their comments to the group.
Mention – time constraints – will ‘park’ for the next meeting.

‘ 6 Thinking Hats’ (Edward de Bono) http://mappio.com/mindmap/ajwilcox/six-thinking-hats-by-edward-de-bono

‘ Multiple Conversation’ Participant
Mobile Usage
Not listening to everyone else
Not engaging
Clock-watching
Looking around room
Staring into space
Distracting others

‘ Multiple Conversation’ Participant: Solutions
Do something unexpected to catch their attention
Draw attention to them if they are being disruptive
Give a look
Use them as a focus to bring them in positively.
Keep them engaged – show them the value and set up rules of engagement.
Ask them to share their ideas with the group
Walk near them
Restate a recent point and ask them for their opinion

Techniques

Active Listening: Listening for ‘the total message’
Benefits for the Speaker
The speaker feels understood
The speaker has opportunities to express thoughts more clearly and concisely without having to rush
The speaker has opportunities to correct misunderstanding
Benefits for the listener
The listener will obtain a wealth of information about the speaker’s thoughts , ideas and failings
The listener will be accepted and trust more readily by the speaker
The listener will actually get to know and understand the speaker as an individual

Recognising Poor Listening
Faking attention whilst thinking about something else
Showing impatience or irritation (doodling, etc)
Distracted by what’s going on around you
Being put off by another’s appearance, accent, choice of words, etc.
Being too pre-occupied with getting own ideas across, so don’t hear what other is saying
Impatience, no time to listen
Switching off whilst mentally rehearsing a response
Trying to finish a sentence before the other has finish speaking
Switching off

Questioning
Use a wide variety of questions, divergent/convergent
Respond and acknowledge
Provide positive reinforcement
Interrelate previous comments
Restate discussion goal periodically
Equitably select those to question
Select volunteers and non-volunteers to answer questions
“ 5 levels of why ”

Sitting with the Silence
Allow people time to reflect
If you’re too preoccupied with keeping a flow going and filling all the gaps (with questions, etc), the other person doesn’t have time to reflect and work things out
Three Second Rule
Question clarification?
Extended if necessary – trust intutition

Bibliography
Professional Coaching Certification Programme, ICF Accredited, The Kerslake Company, 2008-9
Clutterbuck, D. Everyone needs a mentor: Fostering talent in your organisation CIPD, 2004 (4 th Ed)
Draper, B. Spiritual Intelligence Lion Hudson, 2009
Minter, T. ‘Personal Effectiveness’, CIPD, 2007
Parsloe, E. and Leedham, M. Coaching and Mentoring: Practical Conversations to Improve Learning Kogan Page, 2009 (2 nd Ed)
Townsend, J. & Donovan, P. The Facilitator’s Pocketbook Management Pocketbooks, 1999
Whitmore, J. Coaching for Performance Nicholas Brealey, 2009 (4 th Ed)

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME QUESTIONS?

Coaching For The PGCLTHE

by Bex Lewis on Mar 22, 2010

Accessibility

Categories

Tags

Upload Details

Usage Rights

2 Embeds 129

Statistics

Coaching For The PGCLTHE — Presentation Transcript

http://drbexl.co.uk	124
http://www.slideshare.net	5