RESEARCH


The post-compulsory education phase at Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) has been offering solution-focused coaching to students on our initial teacher education (ITE) programmes in colleges across London and the South East for four years. The current coaching offer is a result


of an amalgam of learning experiences and opportunities, initially using project funding from the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS), then the Education and Training Foundation (ETF), and now fully supported by the university’s School of Teacher Education and Development. We initially targeted students whose


observation data indicated that they ‘required improvement’. However, we received negative


feedback from some trainee teachers in colleges who felt threatened and vulnerable after negative feedback from teaching observations. One, now infamous, response was:


“I am sick of it, I am sick of it. Have I mentioned I am sick of it?” We now offer coaching to all our


ITE students within the PCET phase, including our newly qualified teachers (NQTs), irrespective of their observation profile. We encourage students to review and refresh their teaching and skills at every stage, and to aim for


FURTHER READING:


• Pemberton, C. (2011) Coaching to Solutions, A Manager’s Toolkit for Performance Delivery; Routledge: London


• Pemberton, C. (2015) Resilience, A practical guide for coaches; Open University Press: Maidenhead


Catherine Ashdown is a senior lecturer at Canterbury Christ Church University


Realising the power of solution-focused coaching


Coaching can increase the confidence and skills of trainee teachers and trainers, and it is an approach that they then use in their own teaching practice for the benefit of learners By Catherine Ashdown


their personal best much the same as sporting superstars, who continually look for improved performance. Coaching both forms and informs


the ongoing professional development needs of all those involved in coaching conversations. We have refined our offer and


systems by working with, and listening to, our students and their tutors, and responding to information and feedback from both those receiving and facilitating the coaching. To quote Carole Pemberton (2011,


p178) on this approach: “Coaching provides space for exploration so that the right goal can emerge.” Our coaches provide a fresh voice


and ears, and devote time to individual concerns, to identify and find solutions where “…two people engage together in raising the awareness of one of them, and therefore their ability to act…” (John Leary Joyce cited in Pemberton: 2011). The offer of additional support and


collaborative learning has resulted in improvements in teaching and learning, and some see an upward shift in observation grades. Most significantly, our trainees report


that they feel an increased sense of confidence that has a direct impact on the learning of their own learners. Students report that they feel more


connected to the university. Our coaches:


• focus on the individual, explore their thoughts and ideas, and encourage them to develop solutions;


• take themselves out of the equation – coaching is NOT about giving advice or voicing opinion;


• observe and listen intently and effectively, rather than assess and evaluate;


• encourage our trainee teachers to think about what they do in their roles and what effect this has on the students they teach;


• use ‘What’ questions rather than ‘Why’ to avoid getting lost in the back story, while using forward-thinking questions around, ‘How’ ‘Where’ and ‘When’;


• remember that the intention of coaching is that the person being coached needs to commit to, and take, action. We aim to develop a ‘coaching


culture’ by encouraging tutors in our partner colleges to come forward for training as coaches, and we are seeing the coaching approach being mirrored by trainees working with their learners. Solution-focused coaching is


now embedded in our teaching and learning. We cannot recommend it enough.


Catherine Ashdown has kindly supplied a handy Coaching Skills Crib Sheet which is available to SET members by logging on at goo.gl/VAUMPJ


INTUITION ISSUE 27 • SPRING 2017 15


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