Some more ideas for promoting C4E during the International Coach Week...

Put up a notice at the local supermarket

"Every teacher deserves a coach. Nominate a teacher who deserves coaching at (your e-mail), include teacher's name and e-mail address. See www.coaching-for-educators.com for more details."

Contact the local Newspaper

Tell them that the coach week is annual and happening May 18-24 and that C4E coaches are offering to support teachers in their efforts to educate children.

After a little brain-storm, we came up with these ideas.


1) Contact the local teachers' union and offer to hold a presentation about coaching (some teacher unions have coaches!)

2) Contact a local employer and offer to talk about "coaching skills for parents" to the employees who are parents of teenagers

3) Offer to coach a class of students at the local school, every week for 3 months

4) Contact the local teacher training school, and offer to hold a presentation about "coaching for work-life balance".

5) Contact a local youth club, sports, music... and offer to hold a presentation about "coaching for excellence"

6) Tell the local newspaper that you are goinf to do one of the above

7) With a partner, have a LOUD coaching session at a cafe, and leave your business card on the table. Or you could use your mobile phone to call your partner

8) with a partner, have a LOUD coaching session on a bus, and leave your business card on the seat. Or you could use your mobile phone to call your partner

9) Record yourself coaching a teacher, and post it on your website (and link to C4E)

It's as easy as 1, 2 , 3

1 Get in touch
2 Present, demonstrate and activate
3 Follow up!

You can download the presentation and use it for presenting to teachers, for example.

Active Listening

I showed them the chinese symbol for listening, which combines the symbols for you, eyes, ears, heart and undivided attention

We discussed the benefits of the process of listening actively, and what we might need to do more of / less of than in ordinary conversations. A situation that was useful to refer to was when a colleague comes into the staffroom "full of emotion" from a "tough lesson". Active listening is the best thing you can do for your colleague.

Here's two films that I used, http://www.coaching-for-educators.com/coaching-in-education.html




Task: Actively listen to your colleague
A listens to B speaking about their experiences of the day, in silence, using both ears, both eyes, whole heart, giving no comments, dismissing own thoughts and ideas - just actively listening.


Follow up
We debriefed the BENEFITS and CHALLENGES, and whether or not it's worth mastering the challenges to reach the benefits. We noted that the person mastering the challenges is not the one receiving the benefits; and that this must be part of a MUTUAL effort, from all the staff. A call to action was sometimes appropriate.

Powerful Questions

I used business guru, Steven Covey's quote (chosen from many others)



"Most people don't listen with the intent to understand, they listen with the intent to reply"

We discussed the aim of having a coaching conversation in the context of classroom leadership.

I told them that my opinion is that classroom leadership can be described as "Further the action and/or deepen the learning"

I told them that the best thing to do to keep the coaching conversation moving forwards, to further the action or deepen the learning, was to ask open questions rather than closed questions or leading questions. We discussed examples of these types of questions and where they come from in the coaching conversation.


Task: Further the action or deepen the learning
A listens to B talking about a tough lesson, then asks only open questions based on what B said. A uses active listening of course!

Follow up
We debriefed the BENEFITS and CHALLENGES, and whether or not it's worth mastering the challenges to reach the benefits. We noted that the person mastering the challenges is not the one receiving the benefits; and that this must be part of a MUTUAL effort, from all the staff. A call to action was sometimes appropriate.

I love giving demos standing up! 
Teachers are used to standing in front of people and find it odd to sit down in the classic "coaching chair".

By this time I had identified several teachers who had something to share, and who had the courage needed to be coached live in front of their colleagues. I invited one of them to come up.

I invited the whole group to agree to full confidentiality, "What we say in this room, stays in this room - we don't mention it after today". A show of hands was usually enough to seal the deal.


I used the GROW method for the demo, making clear each step by moving to a different position in the room. In cases where I wanted to sell the GROW coaching cards, I physically selected each question from the pack that I held in my hand. In between the GROW questions I asked follow up "tell me more" questions and summarised what the client had said (two more skills!). Sometimes I used prepared GROW questions, that were displayed on the screen / whiteboard.

Follow up
We debriefed the BENEFITS and CHALLENGES, and whether or not it's worth mastering the challenges to reach the benefits. We noted that the person mastering the challenges is not the one receiving the benefits; and that this must be part of a MUTUAL effort, from all the staff. A call to action was sometimes appropriate.

At this point the conversations were sometimes about the benefits to colleagues, and at other times it was about the benefits to the students. 
I just went with the flow!

You can order these cards for yourself, with the C4E logo on the back.

You are welcome to come to these meetings. 

BOOK here

C4E colleague Alexandra Tittus and I presented coaching (in the context of observations and feedback) to 60+ teachers at a college in Sweden. We carried out a brief evaluation, we asked these two questions of the teachers

What do you take with you?
What was the best?

Teachers replies

Self-reflection on how I am and do in certain situations.

Some confidence from the workshop.

The workshops where we got to try ourlves were best

The talks gave the most, to understand how to ask open-ended questions to colleagues questions that can get them to think about, for example, its strategy to help students understand something. Open questions and reflective questions are important. That we should not assume ourselves but completely assume the person being coached. This kind of conversation can be useful in everyday work.

That coaching means equality and trust

The best part was your suggestions questions and examples of situations on stage

The difference between direct and reflective feedback! This is a good basis for future coaching innings. Good structure of the lecture.

I have learned more about coaching, most rewarding was to sit with his colleagues and discuss lesson set up.

To ask reflective questions rather than telling the client what he/she needs to do

Interesting, with short, simple tips and tricks.

Tools and mindset. Briefing, Q & A, practical way. Test and discussions with the colleagues

I get me the tools for reflective feedback. To try to coach and be coached by a colleague. I will use this in both my teaching and in my personal development and my development in my role as a teacher.

GROW - good model in many contexts. Living examples on stage - very good. Asking questions in this way is extremely interesting and challenging! Could be just fine!

A common platform so we know what we can expect from each other.

SMART gave the most, and afternoon workshops

A schematic of how coaching can go.

It was good to have lectures mixed with exercises

How you can coach in practice and how to be coached. It triggers many thoughts on how things can change. The cards were good. Good balance of lecture and hands-on practice.

The models for coaching

The exercises were good. Joy from you, you are very open

The following day, I feel safer and more secure in the coaching situation and the role are you then occupies. Practice driving was very useful for future coaching.

Continued curiosity about coaching as a method of training.

It was best were talks in triads.

A much better understanding of each open-ended questions can make for a discussion and a person's reflections. It gave the most.

A new way to discuss, all of which can reasonably and familiar. A new instrument.

The best thing was to train in the triad

Good thing we got started with coaching. Good observer and that you went around when we flunked. The exercises gave the most.

Reflecting the feedback difficult but interesting. It was the best were the exercises in a group when we had avdramatiserade process.

Call is important never mind how and if it's Kurt felt the call or not. The important thing in any relationship professional and private is the converse does not provide ready answers and solutions. However, dine advice is sometimes good.

To use my colleagues coaching when I need help.

Good to visualize the conversation. The best part was the practical exercises.

The importance of discussing cross-curricular. Concentration on general didactic things. To practice coaching in the classroom so that students become more autonomous.

The model itself feels familiar from previous training courses in counseling. However, it was good that we were advised to use the model with the teachers we do not know so well. Committed leaders for the education!

Tools for coaching. Experience of the triad talks. The best part was the triad talks when they feel as a starting point for future coaching situations in the classroom. As a colleague said, it helps us to defuse coaching and opens doors.

Collaboration with other substances. What gave most was the exercises

Innovative. Good opportunities, discussion ideas, developmental issues. The best was the thought, the ability to get someone to draw from development.

Model to ask questions, do not open the answer. The best were the exercises that avdramatiserades. I had some anxiety before this study day. But it was not so bad.

Good that everyone gets the same toolbox. Good to test the model.

It gave a lot to talk about their lessons, to see what needs to be changed. Coaching and direct feedback was the best.

Have passed similar courses earlier and therefore there was not much new to me today. You confirm that is what I already knew.

Not to try to find solutions. The best thing was to think about what I want to improve.

Good thing we got going with the query technology and feedback. The best was the exercises

It was rewarding with a new attacked manner to develop in the teacher role. The best was that the exercises were repeated and that you got to try different roles.

Tools for coaching.

That this is something you're unfamiliar with. The best was the conversations with colleagues.

A renewed conviction that the call is an unbeatable method of self-awareness

Formalized form [for coaching and counseling] - [I feel] secure

These playing-card sized cards have ten of each kind of GROW question, (Goals, Reality, Opportunity and Will). 

The cards have many uses. 

Novice coaches
* They are perfect for developing the coaching skills of novice coaches, the GROW structure is a useful guide.

* They are a great reminder of the open questions that we use. Every question leads the coachee into deep exploration.

* The cards are endlessly mixable. OK, they can be mixed in only ten thousand combinations, but that's enough to coach once every day for 30 years.

Self-coaching
* 'They are very helpful for coaching yourself, when your coach colleagues are too busy. Just write down your topic, deal yourself four cards, and get ready to take yourself on a journey of exploration.

Demonstrations
* They are a powerful tool in demonstrating the benefits of coaching. I have used them many times in demonstrations where I have preselected 4 cards (one of each type) and asked only those questions in the demonstration. In some of the demonstrations the coachees have answered in silence for themselves, on topics they have secretly chosen, and they still get great value from the coaching demonstration.

The cards come in packs of 50 different cards, ten each of GROW questions, plus ten Tips cards which remind novice coaches what to have in mind when they coach.

Price
The price depends on how many packs of cards you would like, where you want them delivered (they are shipped from the UK), and how quickly you want them. 

As a guide, one pack of 50 cards, delivered to Sweden, in ten days costs 20 Euro plus VAT.