We want to give you a peek inside our Coach Certificate & Mentorship Program. Coaches taking part in this academic-year-long journey have graciously given us permission to post some of their learning and reflections from the private coursework they are undertaking during this program. Where possible, we have shared the course and the action task to give context for the guest post.
The Coach Learning Journey Video Reflection
The Learning Journey Video Reflection is a chance for you to reflect on everything you’ve learned and/or discovered throughout this Certificate Program. You will create an 8-10 min video sharing on the goal that you set, documenting the process of working towards your goal, reflecting on your achievement and sharing the process/outcome with our learning community. The most important part of your personal project is that it’s relevant to you, and you can demonstrate, through documentation and video, the impact your work has had on your school.
Watch Jessica’s Video
The Coach has impacted my practice and our school program in so many ways. Through the research, I’ve had some of my practices affirmed, and I’ve figured out which ones I need to change. My workbook notes are a fantastic resource that I will refer back to again and again. I now have a much bigger view of the role of coaching in a school AND a better understanding of the micro moves that make coaching impactful.
What goals did you set for yourself at the beginning of the program?
At the start of my program, my goals were to set up some efficient and effective systems for record keeping and measuring impact. Since this was the first year of a coaching program at our school, my real goal was just to learn from the program so I would do a good job for my colleagues!
How did each milestone support you in reaching your goal?
All the milestones were really helpful. I learned a lot from all the curated content in the LMS, but the milestones forced me to pause and really think about what I was doing. Having lots of options for each milestone forced me to think about what I needed to move things forward, and the work of creating the artifacts helped me synthesize my theoretical and practical learning.
What has been your biggest area of growth in the program?
My biggest area of growth has been to develop a clear vision for faculty development at our school. Even though that was an early part of the program, I wasn’t ready for such big picture thinking at the start of the year. I’ve also grown in confidence as a coach – I am more comfortable about ‘coaching heavy’ and more aware when I shift between the different coaching stances.
Where do you still have room to grow?
I still have room to grow in my 1:1 coaching, especially in using data as a 3rd point in coaching conversations, and I also need to share my coaching vision with my school community.
What’s YOUR level of coaching mastery?
All coaches go through various stages of coaching mastery. Once you identify where you’re at, you can begin to build the skills needed to move to the next stage.
This quiz is based on real-life case studies compiled from years of working with coaches inside The Coach Certificate & Mentorship Program!
When you receive your results, you’ll also get your matching case study from the STRIVE Case Studies to see where you fit in the stages of coaching mastery.
Ready to tackle your challenges and move on to the next level in YOUR coaching practice?
The STRIVE Model of Coaching Mastery quiz will help you identify your level of coaching mastery by matching you with case studies compiled from years of working with coaches inside The Coach Certificate & Mentorship Program so you can easily see where you fit!
What surprises and/or challenges have you had along the way?
A big surprise was realizing that all parts of my role could be considered coaching. At first I thought that was just a single thread in a role with many parts. I’ve learned that how I show up in all aspects of my job contributes to the culture of development at my school, and I can leverage the trust and respect I earn in all my roles to invite more colleagues into a coaching cycle.
What would you do differently next time? What did you learn?
I plan to start next year by sharing my coaching vision with the faculty. Last year, I was a bit embarrassed to advertise myself that way, but now I am more confident about the value I can offer and I have a better idea of how I can position coaching for them. I’ll also move from mentoring to coaching earlier with the new hire teachers I work with. I was worried about stressing them out, but I have learned that their stress is reduced when they feel effective, so I’ll find ways to make their growth and effectiveness visible to them earlier on.
How did the Coach support you in your learning journey?
As a lone coach at our school, the Coach was a significant source of support in my learning journey. On a practical level, having a timeline for each module inside the coach helped space out my learning when I was tempted to try to learn everything all at once, and the milestones forced me to reflect and decide on the right next steps for me. Seeing all the artifacts from the Global Cohort was amazing! There are so many skilled practitioners on this course. On a more personal level, the regular mentor meetings with Diana and the Americas team were foundational to my growth this year. My biggest challenge was having moments of self-doubt when I didn’t feel like I was making much difference. The cohort mentor meetings were an important source of support and inspiration for me. Thanks Diana and the Americas group – your wisdom and enthusiasm has been so appreciated!
How has your learning inside the Coach impacted your coaching practice & program in your school setting?
The Coach has impacted my practice and our school program in so many ways. Through the research, I’ve had some of my practices affirmed, and I’ve figured out which ones I need to change. My workbook notes are a fantastic resource that I will refer back to again and again. I now have a much bigger view of the role of coaching in a school AND a better understanding of the micro moves that make coaching impactful.
What next for your professional learning?
Next year will mainly be a year for consolidation in terms of coaching, but I have plans to make PD at our school more impactful by attending PD with teaching teams and then coaching them as they implement the new learning in their classrooms. I’m quite excited about this idea … and now I have to persuade teachers to share their PD with me!
Level Up Your Coaching with The Coach!
If you are ready to develop your coaching practice over the next academic year, and explore topics like transitioning your work from individuals to teams, please join us for our next cohort of The Coach!
Wherever you are in building a coaching culture in your school, The Coach will give you the strategies, skills and tools you need to make coaching a success and will empower you to confidently apply instructional coaching strategies in any situation – from building a coaching program, to having coaching conversations, to being a leader in your school community. We facilitate only one cohort each academic year so we can offer individualized support for each participant.
Registration for our next global cohort opens once a year – check the website for details!
Find out more at: https://edurolearning.com/coach/
Recent Comments