Coaching approaches in personal academic tutoring With a focus on - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Tutoring Matters Webinar Series Coaching approaches in personal academic tutoring With a focus on remote tutoring and helping students feel in control and connected Welcome! Today’s seminar starts at 2pm BST. Please MUTE your microphone. You can introduce yourself and ask questions in the Zoom chat window. Tutoring Matters is sponsored by Tutoring Matters Webinar Series Sensitivity: Internal

Webinar Presenters Dr Melanie Pope Julie de Witt Clair Zawada Presenter Presenter Host University of Derby University of Derby Birmingham City University Tutoring Matters Webinar Series Sensitivity: Internal

Aims . To explore how you To discuss some To consider why might use coaching common questions and we are using a approaches as part address some concerns coaching of your personal approaches as academic tutoring part of a Personal meetings academic tutoring strategy and as part of a remote strategy Tutoring Matters Webinar Series Sensitivity: Internal

Why a coaching approach? We consider that a Personal Academic Tutor enables the student to: • Is developmental • Make links across and between elements • Builds professional of the whole programme of study skills, develops autonomy and • To set personal goals and identify ways of increases internal locus working towards achieving them of control, reflective • To see the bigger picture of their skills etc.. • Change is attained by programme of study – personally and focusing on goals and professionally outcomes, not by telling • Feel that they belong in the university • STOPS spoon feeding ! environment • It is the art of having a better, more productive conversation Coaching can be one way that students can be supported to making their own decisions and setting their own actions to help them to achieve these. Tutoring Matters Webinar Series Sensitivity: Internal

Why a coaching approach is possibly especially relevant now ? We think… A sense of agency right now ! • But the challenges? We might be assuming everyone has the technology, Wi-Fi • capacity, space, privacy, time and time during the day, headspace to do this effectively online – it is different. But, where it works it can be better? • Tutoring Matters Webinar Series Sensitivity: Internal

When you hear the word ‘coach’ or ‘coaching’ what do you think ? What do they do? What are they for? In what contexts are you aware of coaching? How can this be applied to students in personal tutoring ? Tutoring Matters Webinar Series Sensitivity: Internal

What is a coaching conversation ? “Coaching is the art and science of facilitating an individual’s self -directed discovery and change. It's a collaborative activity designed to help a person think through a situation with greater depth and clarity than they could do on their own, and come up with actionable goals to which they are willing to commit ” Hicks and McCracken (2013, p85) It is simply a series of well timed questions which aim to move the other person towards a solution which they will own Hicks, R (2014) Coaching as a Leadership Style. The art and science of Coaching Conversations for healthcare Professionals. Routledge Tutoring Matters Webinar Series Sensitivity: Internal

What is specific about solutions focused coaching approach? Acknowledges the issue/matter at hand • But the shift is then to how the person (the student in this case) will know the issue has been solved • What could they do? • Grant (2017) talks about What are they already doing the role of workplace • Demonstrating they are capable of change coaching and creating a • culture of quality They are the expert, they know their own lives best, their workplace conservations. resources He terms this ‘third’ generation coaching Grant, A (2017) The third ‘generation’ of workplace So, this is future focused coaching: creating a culture of quality conversations. Coaching; An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice . Vol 10, No 1, pp37-53 . It’s about finding the exception, away from issues/problems and towards solutions Incremental, creating continuums Our job is then to listen and question, so these skills and qualities emerge Tutoring Matters Webinar Series Sensitivity: Internal

Building rapport • Essential for effective conversations, the evidence shows this is key in a coaching conversation too. • How do we do that online ? Is it different ? Or is it the times too? • It is good practice to have a ‘check - in’ but don’t let it then become a ‘therapy session’. • But, understanding how someone is feeling does build a sense of connection • Listening to concerns, encouraging conversation towards solutions focused outcomes? Tutoring Matters Webinar Series Sensitivity: Internal

What else – the online set up • This is part of ‘contracting’ and does help rapport, because we are essentially being ‘invited’ into someone's home • Video on or video off ? An audio conversation is absolutely OK • Do they know how to use ‘blurring’ backgrounds? • What else? What time is OK ? • Dress code ? For you ? • Anything else about your home environment I might need to consider? • If they are uncomfortable from word go- then it won’t work…. Tutoring Matters Webinar Series Sensitivity: Internal

How well do you listen? 0 1 2 3 Level 0 – oh they Level 1 – you are Level 2 – the voice is Level 3 – you are listening listening to the voice in still there, but you are well, and also noticing. are talking alright but Intuition is kicking in too. your head ,you know the able to supress it. You blarr blarr, did you Maybe the words are saying answer !!! Hurrah! You are properly listening one thing, but the actions and leave the iron on? are going to butt in most of the time. You the silences another….You What time is your now… here goes - not are not doing much of are doing very little talking, next meeting/? listening that well really the talking and when you are you are using all the cues to bring but giving it a go. observations together. Tutoring Matters Webinar Series Sensitivity: Internal

How would you rate this listening ? She’s not very good is she…. It will get better! Tutoring Matters Webinar Series Sensitivity: Internal

About listening well, some questions ? • How do you demonstrate you are listening ? • Why is this important • What is that urge to intervene? What does that do to a conversation? • How is this different online ? How is this similar ? • What are the challenges of an online conversation in terms of listening well – for us and a tutee ? • How do we maintain concentration and focus in a conversation online? Tutoring Matters Webinar Series Sensitivity: Internal

Asking open questions Ideas the other person generates are more likely to be meaningful to them; and therefore more likely to be carried out/actioned Open questions will open conservation. Closed questions will slam it shut ! ‘But’ and ‘however’ or ‘why’ will do the same and close a conversation down. Way to open a question: Tutoring Matters Webinar Series Sensitivity: Internal

Giving advice • Giving advice CRUSHES a coaching conversation • A ‘yard stick’ is the person ‘coaching’ should do most of the listening • At least 80% of the time the tutee should be doing the talking • I am willing to wager it is often the other way around ! Why do we like to give advice? Tutoring Matters Webinar Series Sensitivity: Internal

A note about Rescuing Rescuing does not work . Being the hero does not work. And in the long run it actually is worse than that. It serves to keep the other person dependent, down, in ‘victim’ position, not developing those autonomous, thinking graduate level skills. Keeping them ‘knocking on your door’. When your solution does not work you are no longer the hero, you are then cast in the role of the ‘villain’ and then you end up feeling like the ‘victim’ in some circumstances. Learning not to rescue is liberating for both parties In the long run it frees up your time for really good academic conversations A good starting point to read more is in chapter 12 of Cox, E., Bachkirova., Clutterbuck, D. (2013) Complete Handbook of Coaching. Sage. London. Tutoring Matters Webinar Series Sensitivity: Internal

Can I tell a student what to do if they are stuck? I’m confused ! • Coaching is primarily non-directive; this is about letting the other person develop their own solutions, recognising they are your thinking equal • However, you do have more experience and knowledge – this is why you are working in education after all • So, this is about recognising WHEN and HOW to offer advice, not that you cannot offer advice or suggest solutions. • Watch that ‘ rescuing’ is not your default though • One way to think about this to recognise which ‘hat’ you are wearing and that this ‘hat’ can change depending on the nature of the conversation. You should also ensure the other person (the student in this case), knows which hat you are wearing, so you will involve the student in that change. Tutoring Matters Webinar Series Sensitivity: Internal

Which hat ? Teaching Mentoring Coaching A non-directive Skills, knowledge and Specific conversation, experience are teaching shared/passed on thinking equals goals are the focus Tutoring Matters Webinar Series Sensitivity: Internal