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.

Watch Starr’s Video

Read Starr’s Reflection

*What goals did you set for yourself at the beginning of the program?*

I was looking forward to learning new coaching techniques, and my goals were to build up a bank of strategies to choose from in my future coaching work, and to learn more about making a success of the Instructional Coach role. I also wanted to make connections with other coaches around the world and learn more about what coaching looks like in different schools, with a view to finding a new job with some coaching responsibilities.

*How did each milestone support you in reaching your goal?*

Each milestone gave me an opportunity to reflect on my priorities and ethos as a coach, and to create something which will hopefully be useful to me in my future roles. This made me feel more confident in my skills and knowledge, and it was really helpful to get feedback from people who are already working as coaches and could tell me whether my artifacts would be useful to them. It was also really helpful to see everyone else’s artifacts and their reflections, as this gave me a better understanding of the various ways coaches work in different schools so I could consider what type of coaching programs would fit best with my values and skills.

*What has been your biggest area of growth in the program?*

I feel like I have a much better understanding of all aspects of coaching, not only the techniques used in coaching conversations but also things like how to build relationships and track the impact of my coaching.

*Where do you still have room to grow?*

Because I’m not currently working in a school, I had little opportunity to use the skills I was developing, so I’m keen to put these into practice and consolidate what I’ve learnt on the course. I’d also like to build on my skills in delivering professional development, as I know that this is part of a coach’s role in many schools.

*What surprises and/or challenges have you had along the way?*

One of the challenges for me was doing this course while not working in a school or as a coach, as I had limited opportunities to apply my new skills and knowledge and I was apprehensive about whether I would be able to fully complete the various tasks. However there was always a choice of tasks to allow for people’s different situations, and my mentor Diana was very helpful in suggesting adaptations to tasks when necessary.

I also had an unexpected amount of difficulty finding someone to coach for the coaching cycle. I’d expected that people would be keen to take the opportunity for free coaching, but despite my efforts to find a coachee via former colleagues, teaching forums and social media, I only managed to find one person and they could only commit to a single session. This showed me that one of the biggest challenges for a coach may be to engage teachers and convince them of the benefits of coaching, so I’ll make sure this is a priority if I’m in a coaching role in the future.

I was surprised by how much a coach’s role can vary from schools to school. They may work alone or within a team of coaches; they may be a full-time coach or have to balance this role with teaching responsibilities; their place in the school hierarchy could vary from being part of the leadership/admin team with significant responsibilities, to being on a par with teachers; they may work closely with admin who have a strong vision of what they want from the coaching program, or they may be given a great deal of autonomy and little guidance from admin who don’t have a clear idea of what the coaching role involves. This made me realise that when I’m applying for jobs as a coach, it’s very important for me to find out what coaching looks like in each school and whether it matches my values and priorities as a coach.

*What would you do differently next time? What did you learn?*

At times I found it hard to balance the workload from my Masters course and the tasks from The Coach – I did well with this in the first half of the year, but got behind with The Coach in January when I was writing my Masters essays and after that I felt like I was always trying to catch up for the rest of the program. This taught me how important it is to stay on top of things, as it’s hard to catch up once I’m behind.

*How did the Coach support you in your learning journey?*

I’ve been very grateful for the opportunities to have regular meetings with my mentor and the other members of my cohort throughout this year, as our discussions really helped to consolidate what we were learning and to see different ways of thinking. This was also invaluable in building connections and finding out how coaching works in different schools, which has helped me to consider what sort of coaching program and school would best match my priorities and ethos as a coach. The materials were very good and I appreciated the mix of videos, articles and additional resources. Everything was very interesting and exposed us to a wide range of knowledge about coaching.

*What next for your professional learning?*

My next job is as a teacher, however the school does have a coaching program which the principal has said she wants to develop, so I’ve made it clear that I’d be very interested in being involved with this and I’m hoping to have the opportunity to take on some coaching responsibilities so I can put my new skills and knowledge into practice.

---

Level Up Your Coaching with The Coach!

If you are ready to dive deep into your coaching practice, to help you #coachbetter and build a thriving coaching culture in your school, 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.

Coaches of all levels are welcome: you’ll start the program with a self-assessment to determine exactly what the next steps are for you!